PT-141 10mg

About This Compound

PT-141 is a cyclic peptide in the α-MSH-derived melanocortin series, closely related in structure to other cyclic lactam melanotropins in this class. Cryo-electron microscopy research has resolved the compound in complex with the human melanocortin-4 receptor and its associated G protein, providing structural detail on how this class of peptide agonists engages the receptor binding pocket and triggers the conformational changes associated with receptor activation. The way a key's specific cut pattern determines which tumblers it can turn, the peptide's cyclic ring geometry is studied for the specific contacts it makes inside the receptor's transmembrane pocket.

Research Context

Zhang, Chen, Yang, and colleagues (Cell Research, 2021; PMID 34433901) reported four high-resolution cryo-EM structures of the full-length melanocortin-4 receptor in complex with its Gs protein, including a structure bound to this peptide, revealing the conserved binding mode shared by peptidic melanocortin receptor agonists and a receptor activation mechanism distinct from small-molecule ligands. Yuan and Tao (Biomolecules, 2022; PMID 36291616) reviewed the broader family of ligands for neural melanocortin receptors, situating this compound among the ligands characterized for MC3R and MC4R across more than a century of melanocortin receptor research. Borland, Kohut-Jackson, Peyla, Hall, Mermelstein, and Meisel (Neuropharmacology, 2025; PMID 39793696) mapped melanocortin-4 receptor mRNA expression across the mesolimbic dopamine system in a female Syrian hamster model, finding receptor expression concentrated in ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons and nucleus accumbens interneurons.

Research Use Disclaimer

For Research Use Only. Not for human consumption.