Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34561620›Full record

ArticleCell research2021

Structures of active melanocortin-4 receptor-Gs-protein complexes with NDP-α-MSH and setmelanotide.

Nicolas A Heyder, Gunnar Kleinau, David Speck, Andrea Schmidt, Sarah Zschunke, Michal Szczepek, Brian Bauer, Anja Koch, Monique Gallandi, Dennis Kwiatkowski and 12 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Advances in Cyclic Peptides Targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. The Synthetic Melanocortin Agonist NDP-MSH Ameliorates THSD7A-Associated Membranous Nephropathy in an Active Immunization Mouse Model.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Article
  4. Ultrarapid MC1R protein and associated plumage color evolution in the domestic chicken.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. GPCR Heterodimers: Implications for Biased Signaling.Handbook of experimental pharmacology · 2026
    Review
  9. Review
  10. Elucidating biased signaling in class A GPCRs.Trends in pharmacological sciences · 2025
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Nicolas A HeyderCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8755-5433
Gunnar Kleinau *Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
David Speck *Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Andrea Schmidt *Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1985-1908
Sarah Zschunke *Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology, Berlin, Germany.
Michal SzczepekCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Brian BauerCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Anja KochCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Monique GallandiCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Dennis KwiatkowskiCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Jörg BürgerCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.
Thorsten MielkeMicroscopy and Cryo-Electron Microscopy Service Group, Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9275-3146
Annette G Beck-SickingerFaculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biochemistry, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Peter W HildebrandCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.
Christian M T SpahnCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.
Daniel HilgerDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Magdalena SchacherlCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5478-2509
Heike BiebermannCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology, Berlin, Germany.
Tarek HilalResearch Center of Electron Microscopy and Core Facility BioSupraMol, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7833-8058
Peter KühnenCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology, Berlin, Germany.
Brian K KobilkaBerlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Core Facility Genomics, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany.
Patrick ScheererCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, Group Protein X-ray Crystallography and Signal Transduction, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany. patrick.scheerer@charite.de.ORCID 0000-0001-5028-2075

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) CRC1423 - project number 394046635, A03Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) CRC1423 - project number 421152132, A05Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) CRC1423 - project number 421152132, Z03Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) Germany's Excellence Strategies - EXC2008/1 (UniSysCat) - 390540038
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R), a hypothalamic master regulator of energy homeostasis and appetite, is a class A G-protein-coupled receptor and a prime target for the pharmacological treatment of obesity. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of MC4R-Gs-protein complexes with two drugs recently approved by the FDA, the peptide agonists NDP-α-MSH and setmelanotide, with 2.9 Å and 2.6 Å resolution. Together with signaling data from structure-derived MC4R mutants, the complex structures reveal the agonist-induced origin of transmembrane helix (TM) 6-regulated receptor activation. The ligand-binding modes of NDP-α-MSH, a high-affinity linear variant of the endogenous agonist α-MSH, and setmelanotide, a cyclic anti-obesity drug with biased signaling toward Gq/11, underline the key role of TM3 in ligand-specific interactions and of calcium ion as a ligand-adaptable cofactor. The agonist-specific TM3 interplay subsequently impacts receptor-Gs-protein interfaces at intracellular loop 2, which also regulates the G-protein coupling profile of this promiscuous receptor. Finally, our structures reveal mechanistic details of MC4R activation/inhibition, and provide important insights into the regulation of the receptor signaling profile which will facilitate the development of tailored anti-obesity drugs.

Indexed as

alpha-MSHReceptor, Melanocortin, Type 4Amino Acid SequenceCryoelectron Microscopyalpha-MSHMSH, 4-Nle-7-Phe-alpha-Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4setmelanotide

Identifiers

PMID34561620
PMCPMC8563958

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.