Patent ID: 6100048
Filing Date: 2000-08-08
Classification: A61K,A61P,C07K,C12Q,G01N

Abstract:
A method for characterizing a compound as a mammalian MC-3 or MC-4 melanocortin receptor agonist that inhibits feeding behavior in an animal, the method comprising the steps of:(a) providing a panel comprising a first mammalian cell comprising a recombinant expression construct encoding a mammalian melanocortin receptor that is the .alpha.-MSH receptor identified by Seq. ID Nos. 4 or 6, a second mammalian cell comprising a recombinant expression construct encoding a mammalian melanocortin receptor that is the ACTH receptor identified by Seq. ID Nos. 8 or 10, a third mammalian cell comprising a recombinant expression construct encoding a mammalian melanocortin receptor that is the MC-3 receptor identified by Seq. ID No. 12, a fourth mammalian cell comprising a recombinant expression construct encoding a mammalian melanocortin receptor that is the MC-4 receptor identified by Seq. ID No. 16, and a fifth mammalian cell comprising a recombinant expression construct encoding a mammalian melanocortin receptor that is the MC-5 receptor identified by Seq ID No. 18, wherein each mammalian cell expresses the melanocotin receptor encoded by the recombinant expression construct comprising tie cell;(b) contacting each of the cells of the panel with a test compound to be characterized as an agonist of a mammalian melanocortin receptor;(c) detecting binding of the test compound to each of the mammalian melanocortin receptors by assaying for a metabolite produced in the cells that bind the compound, wherein detection of the metabolite indicates that the test compound is an agonist of the melanocortin receptor;(d) selecting the test compounds that are MC-3 or MC-4 melanocortin receptor agonists, and(e) determining whether the MC-3 or MC-4 melanocortin receptor agonist inhibits feeding behavior in an animal.