The prevalence of obesity has tripled over the past four decades, imposing an enormous
burden on people's health. Polygenic (or common) obesity and rare, severe, early-onset …

The initial discovery that ob/ob mice become obese because of a recessive mutation of the
leptin gene has been crucial to discover the melanocortin pathway to control appetite. In the …

The composition of gut microbiota has been associated with host metabolic phenotypes, but
it is not known if gut bacteria may influence host appetite. Here we show that regular nutrient …

Obesity research is advancing swiftly, but the increase in obesity prevalence is faster. Over
the past three decades, researchers have found that biopsychosocial factors determine …

The melanocortin system provides a conceptual blueprint for the central control of energetic
state. Defined by four principal molecular components—two antagonistically acting ligands …

The focus of this overview is on the animal models of obesity most commonly utilized in
research. The models include monogenic models in the leptin pathway, polygenic diet …

The 'obesity epidemic'represents a major global socioeconomic burden that urgently calls
for a better understanding of the underlying causes of increased weight gain and its …

POMC-derived melanocortins inhibit food intake. In the adult rodent brain, POMC-
expressing neurons are located in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and the nucleus tractus …

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is the archetypal polypeptide precursor of hormones and
neuropeptides. In this review, we examine the variability in the individual peptides produced …

The central melanocortin system is perhaps the best-characterized neuronal pathway
involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis. This collection of circuits is unique in …