[Genetic abnormalities of regulatory mechanism of appetite]

Recently, leptin was cloned and characterized as a sateity factor which acts through the hypothalamus. alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone derived from pro-opiomelanocortin(POMC) and melanocortin receptor-4(MC4-R) have been reported to be involved in the downstream of the effect of leptin. In this paper, we summarized the clinical characteristics and the mechanisms of obesity caused by genetic abnormalities involved in the regulatory mechanism of appetite such as leptin, leptin receptor, POMC, MC4-R and prohormone convertase 1.