Potent peptide agonists for human melanocortin 3 and 4 receptors derived from enzymatic cleavages of human beta-MSH(5-22) by dipeptidyl peptidase I and dipeptidyl peptidase IV

Human beta-MSH(1-22) was first isolated from human pituitary as a 22-amino acid (aa) peptide derived from a precursor protein, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). However, Bertagna et al. demonstrated that a shorter human beta-MSH(5-22), (DEGPYRMEHFRWGSPPKD), is a true endogenous peptide produced in human hypothalamus. In this report, we demonstrated that in vitro enzymatic cleavage of native human beta-MSH(5-22) with two ubiquitous dipeptidyl peptidases (DPP), DPP-I and DPP-IV, generated two potent MC3/4R peptide analogues, beta-MSH(7-22) (GPYRMEHFRWGSPPKD) and beta-MSH(9-22) (YRMEHFRWGSPPKD). In fact, the MC4R binding affinity and functional potency of beta-MSH(7-22) (Ki=4.6 nM, EC50=0.6 nM) and beta-MSH(9-22) (Ki=5.7 nM, EC50=0.6 nM) are almost an order of magnitude greater than those of their parent peptide, beta-MSH(5-22) (MC4R, Ki=23 nM, EC50= 3nM). Furthermore, the DPP-I/DPP-IV cleaved peptide, beta-MSH(9-22), when administered intracerebroventricularly (ICV) at a dose of 3 nmol/rat, potently induced an acute negative energy balance in a diet-induced obese rat model, while its parent molecule, beta-MSH(5-22), administered at the same dose did not have any effect. These data suggest that DPP-I and DPP-IV may play a role in converting the endogenous beta-MSH(5-22) to more potent peptides that regulate energy homeostasis in the hypothalamus.