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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jan 31.
Published in final edited form as: Cell. 2013 Jan 31;152(3):612–619. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.12.022

Figure 6. The central melanocortin system decreases parasympathetic activity and increases sympathetic activity via direct activation of MC4Rs.

Figure 6

The central melanocortin system innervates parasympathetic preganglionic (DMV) and sympathetic preganglionic (IML) neurons, both of which express MC4Rs. DMV cholinergic neurons are inhibited by MC4Rs via a PKA-dependent activation of putative KATP channels, whereas IML cholinergic neurons are activated via an MC4R-induced activation of a putative non-selective cation channel. The altered cellular activity supports an MC4R-dependent suppression of parasympathetic activity and enhancement of sympathetic activity, which has implications for a variety of disease states including diabetes and hypertension.