Disease relevance of POMC

• There was a correlation between tumor size (measured as the pituitary tumor height/brain area ratio [P/B]) and POMC/pro-ACTH concentration (r = .70; P < .0001) [1].

High impact information on POMC

• Since regulation of PI secretion probably varies across mammalian species, this study was undertaken to identify substances potentially involved in the control of dog PI POMC peptide secretion and to determine if these substances altered the secretion of immunoreactive (IR) ACTH and IR-alpha MSH in a parallel fashion [2].
• We, therefore, sought to determine the effects of daily treatment with the DA receptor antagonist, domperidone (DOM), on secretion of the POMC peptides adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) from the dog pituitary, and on concentrations of another pituitary hormone regulated by DA, prolactin (PRL) [3].
• While dopamine (DA) is known to inhibit pituitary intermediate lobe proopiomelanocortin (POMC) peptide secretion and synthesis in most species, its influence on anterior-lobe (AL) POMC peptide synthesis and secretion is less clear [3].
• Beagle dogs were given saline, insulin or the dopamine antagonist, haloperidol, to examine peripheral concentrations of immunoreactive (ir)-pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) peptides resulting from pars distalis or pars intermedia stimulation [4].
• These data indicate that the dopaminergic system plays an important role in the control of acetylation processes of POMC-related peptides in the pituitary.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)[5]

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of POMC

• Studies of the molecular size of the immunoreactive ACTH in plasma by gel filtration revealed that most of the circulating immunoreactivity was not ACTH but its precursor pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and low-molecular-weight POMC-derived peptides [6].

References