UC Berkeley

Mutations in the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) are the leading cause of monogenic obesity. MC4R is a key player in the leptin melanocortin pathway, which regulates long term energy homeostasis. Mutations in anorexigenic components of this pathway leads to monogenic obesity. However, the method in which this pathway encodes, and stores body weight set point, thus energy homeostasis, is unknown.In chapter 1, we will characterize and validate two different knock-in mouse models that will allow for studying MC4R localization and specific manipulation of MC4R neurons. In chapter 2, we will show how dynamic localization of MC4R encodes information on peripheral energy stores by integrating information from upstream components of the leptin melanocortin pathway.