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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Feb 26.
Published in final edited form as: J Mol Med (Berl). 2010 Jul 10;88(12):1195–1201. doi: 10.1007/s00109-010-0651-0

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Schematic illustration showing the site of action of PRCP on α-MSH. PRCP is mainly expressed in the dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (DMH) where MC4R-expressing neurons are located and in the lateral hypothalamic (LH) hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt) and melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons. Thus, it is hypothesized that, in the DMH, PRCP degrades α-MSH at the membrane and/or intracellularly, terminating the effect of α-MSH on MC4R. From the lateral hypothalamus, Hcrt and MCH neurons project to several areas of the hypothalamus, such as the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), where α-MSH terminals strongly innervate MC4R-expressing neurons. Thus, it is hypothesized that PRCP is released from the axon terminals of Hcrt and/or MCH terminals in the PVN, degrading α-MSH extracellularly and increasing the antagonistic effect of AgRP. VMH ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Squares are magnifications of the corresponding zone in the figure. Dotted lines delimitate hypothalamic nuclei