# The Melanocortin-4 Receptor in Human Obesity

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $456,241

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Obesity leads to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack, many types of cancer, hypertension,
stroke, and is estimated to soon be the leading cause of death in the US. Through twin and family studies,
obesity has been found to have a 40-70% heritability rate, pointing to a strong genetic etiology.
The general objective of our research is to understand the cellular and molecular basis of long-term regulation
of energy homeostasis in order to identify genes in which mutations cause obesity in humans and to discover
new targets for the treatment of obesity.
This research proposal focuses on the G-protein coupled Melanocortin-4 Receptor (MC4R), a gene expressed
in the central nervous system and implicated in the regulation of food intake. Different mutations in the coding
sequence of MC4R cause severe obesity in humans.
In this proposal, we will extend our recent novel findings related to the genetic and cellular biology of MC4R.
Specifically, we will study the disease consequences of the observation that only one copy of the Mc4r gene is
active in each neuron expressing this receptor. We will also study the importance of the observation that MC4R
localizes to the primary cilia, a cellular organelle that serves as a signaling hub for eukaryotic cells in general
and neurons in particular.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10237200
- **Project number:** 5R01DK060540-15
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTIAN VAISSE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $456,241
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2002-02-15 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10237200

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10237200, The Melanocortin-4 Receptor in Human Obesity (5R01DK060540-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10237200. Licensed CC0.

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