Table 2.

Effects of Melanocortin Peptides on Tissues and Organs

Tissue/Organ		Action	Reference
Skin	Keratinocytes	Increased proliferation Decreased ROS following UVA exposure	[64] [65, 66]
	Fibroblasts	Decreased collagen types I, III, and V Decreased TGF-β Increased superoxide dismutase and hemoxygenase I Reduced ICAM-1	[61, 67]
	Melanocytes	Pigmentation Increased proliferation Decreased apoptosis	[61, 66]
	Dendritic cells	Induce tolerogenic dendritic cells	[44]
Kidney	Podocytes	Reduced foot process effacement	[68]
	Tubular epithelial cells	Reduced apoptosis	[14]
	Kidney	Reduced glomerular damage in AKI model	[14]
CNS	Glia	Reduced apoptosis Decreased cyclooxygenase Decreased iNOS	[39, 53, 69–71]
	Neurons	Indirect survival	[69]
Cardiovascular	Endothelial cells	Downregulation of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin Increased eNOS expression Increased relaxation Increased mitochondrial superoxide dismutase	[48, 50]
	Serum lipids	Decreased serum triglycerides and LDL cholesterol Increased HDL cholesterol	[72–75]