Everything below concerns MC1R. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2025-09-12. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Melanotan-2 is a synthetic linear peptide built from seven amino acids arranged in a short chain. Its sequence is commonly written as Ac-Nle-Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys-NH2, which includes a modified N-terminus and an amidated C-terminus. The molecule belongs to the melanocortin family and acts as a receptor agonist. Structural features such as the D-phenylalanine residue and the Nle substitution are associated with increased stability against enzymatic degradation relative to the natural parent peptide.
The compound emerged from research programs in the 1980s that examined analogues of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone for pigmentation and photoprotection. Investigators modified the native sequence to extend activity duration and potency. A related analogue, afamelanotide, was developed within the same broad line of inquiry and eventually gained approval in certain jurisdictions for a rare light-sensitivity condition. Melanotan-2 itself did not progress through the same regulatory route and has no approved therapeutic indication.
Melanocortin receptors comprise five subtypes with distinct tissue distributions and functions. Melanotan-2 is described in the literature as a non-selective agonist that engages several of these subtypes, including MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, and MC5R. MC1R is the subtype most directly linked to melanin production in skin cells. Because the compound is not subtype-selective, its observed effects in experimental settings are generally attributed to activity across multiple receptor pathways rather than to a single target.
Receptor binding at MC1R on melanocytes raises intracellular cyclic AMP and increases expression of tyrosinase and related enzymes. The downstream result is greater synthesis of eumelanin, the dark pigment, without ultraviolet exposure acting as the trigger. The compound is not selective, however, and also engages MC3R, MC4R and MC5R, which are expressed in the central nervous system and elsewhere. That lack of selectivity is the explanation usually offered for effects reported outside pigmentation, including appetite suppression and nausea. Selectivity remains a central theme in comparative studies of related peptides.
Human data remain limited and mostly short-term. Reports describe small trials and observational accounts rather than large controlled studies, so questions about dose-response relationships and long-term effects on melanocytes stay open. Whether repeated exposure alters naevus behaviour is not settled in the published record. Researchers also note that self-administered use outside clinical settings makes actual exposure difficult to quantify. Statements about efficacy and safety should therefore be read as preliminary rather than established.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C50H69N15O9 | Free base; salt forms differ |
| Molecular weight | Approximately 1024 g/mol | Calculated for the free base |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typically supplied as a lyophilised solid |
| Solubility | Soluble in water and polar solvents | Poorly soluble in non-polar solvents |
| Typical storage | -20 degrees Celsius, dry, protected from light | Refers to the solid form |
Published pharmacokinetic information is limited and comes mainly from small studies rather than registrational trials. Plasma half-life is usually described as short, on the order of tens of minutes, followed by rapid tissue distribution and clearance of the intact peptide. Metabolites and low concentrations of parent compound have been reported in urine, a detail relevant to anti-doping and forensic testing. Whether repeated exposure changes receptor sensitivity or clearance over time remains an open question. Values differ noticeably between analytical assays, so published numbers should be read as approximate rather than definitive.
Melanotan II is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide with the sequence Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2, corresponding to a molecular formula of C50H69N15O9 and a monoisotopic mass near 1024 daltons. It was designed as a structural analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a peptide hormone produced by cleavage of proopiomelanocortin. A lactam bridge between the aspartate and lysine side chains closes the ring, and the C-terminal amide removes a free carboxyl group. Both modifications increase resistance to enzymatic degradation compared with the linear parent hormone. Four substitutions distinguish it from afamelanotide, the linear analogue studied under the name melanotan I.
Receptor-binding studies classify melanotan II as a non-selective melanocortin agonist. It interacts with MC1R, MC3R, MC4R and MC5R, with reported affinities in the low nanomolar range and no strong subtype preference. Activation of MC1R on dermal melanocytes shifts pigment synthesis toward eumelanin, the dark polymer deposited in melanosomes and transferred to keratinocytes. Because the same peptide engages MC4R in the hypothalamus, it also appears in animal work on food intake and erectile response, which is why it is discussed in both pigment and metabolic research. Which receptor populations dominate after systemic exposure in humans is not fully established.
The peptide acts as a non-selective agonist at melanocortin receptors, showing affinity for MC1R, MC3R, MC4R and MC5R. Activation of MC1R on melanocytes drives the conversion of tyrosine into melanin and shifts production toward the darker eumelanin form. MC4R signalling in the central nervous system is linked to appetite and energy balance, which helps explain why reduced food intake appeared in early human studies. Effects on MC4R and on vascular tone also account for the erectile responses recorded as unexpected findings in those same trials.
Melanotan-2 is frequently confused with afamelanotide, a linear analogue authorised in the European Union for erythropoietic protoporphyria. The two compounds differ in chain length, ring structure and receptor selectivity, so findings for one cannot be transferred directly to the other. Published controlled human data on melanotan-2 remain sparse, and much of what circulates online derives from small studies or unpublished reports. Questions about effect size, dose-response behaviour and long-term safety therefore remain unresolved.
No regulatory authority has approved melanotan-2 for human use, and several countries classify it as a prescription-only or controlled substance, which restricts lawful supply. Material sold online is generally labelled as a research chemical and is not required to meet pharmaceutical standards of identity or purity. Published human data consist mainly of small uncontrolled studies, case reports and adverse-event notifications, so the evidence base is descriptive rather than confirmatory. Whether repeated melanocyte stimulation alters long-term naevus behaviour remains an open question that no completed trial has resolved.
Melanotan-2 is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide designed as a structural analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, the endogenous tridecapeptide that regulates pigment production. Two modifications distinguish it from the natural hormone: norleucine replaces methionine at the N-terminus, which limits oxidation, and a D-phenylalanine substitution raises receptor affinity. The ring is closed through an aspartate-lysine lactam bridge, giving the molecule a constrained conformation. The free base has a molecular mass near 1024 daltons, and commercial material is usually supplied as an acetate salt. It appears in the literature as a research peptide rather than an approved therapeutic agent.
== Function == This locus encodes a protein that may play a role in the cellular response to arterial injury through involvement in vascular remodeling. Mutations at this locus have been associated with Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Alternatively, spliced transcript variants have been described.
In 1968, Culp also made an uncredited cameo appearance as an inebriated Turkish waiter on Get Smart, the spy-spoof comedy series, in an I Spy parody episode titled "Die Spy". In this, secret agent Maxwell Smart played by Don Adams in effect assumes Culp's Kelly Robinson character, as he pretends to be an international table-tennis champion. The episode faithfully recreates the I Spy theme music, montage graphics, and back-and-forth banter between Robinson and Scott, with actor/comedian Stu Gilliam imitating Cosby. In 1971, Culp, Peter Falk, Robert Wagner, and Darren McGavin each stepped in to take turns with Anthony Franciosa's rotation of NBC's series The Name of the Game after Franciosa was fired, alternating a lead role of the lavish, 90-minute show about the magazine business with Gene Barry and Robert Stack. Also in 1971, he portrayed an unemployed actor, the husband of ambitious Angie Dickinson, in the TV movie See the Man Run. Culp played the murderer in three Columbo episodes ("Death Lends a Hand" in 1971, "The Most Crucial Game" in 1972, "Double Exposure" in 1973) and also appeared in the 1990 episode "Columbo Goes to College" as the father of one of two young murderers. He also played the murderer in the pilot episode of Mrs. Columbo starring Kate Mulgrew in the title role. In 1973, Culp almost took the male lead in the sci-fi television series Space: 1999. During negotiations with creator and executive producer Gerry Anderson, Culp expressed himself to be not only an asset as an actor, but also as a director and producer for the proposed series.
== Medical uses == Imipenem/cilastatin is used for lower respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, intra-abdominal infections, gynecologic infections, bacterial sepsis, bone and joint infections, skin and skin structure infections, endocarditis and polymicrobic infections. It is a broad-spectrum beta-lactam containing equal quantities of imipenem and cilastatin.
Liu Wenhui entered the Xikang area with around ten to twenty thousand troops of the 24th Army at his disposal, equipped with automatic weapons, mortars, and artillery. The size and strength of Liu's remaining forces, even in this diminished state, gave him much authority in dealing with local elites and in pacifying the province. To strengthen control over the local tusi of Kham, Liu ordered from 1932 onwards that all local tribal soldiers be integrated directly into the 24th Army, a measure that reportedly maintained peace in the region.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
BioDuro provides end-to-end CRDMO services spanning early discovery through clinical development. Rather than list individual assays or sub-services, the company groups its offerings into several major business units.
Olanzapine/fluoxetine (trade name Symbyax, created by Eli Lilly and Company) is a fixed-dose combination medication containing olanzapine (Zyprexa), an atypical antipsychotic, and fluoxetine (Prozac), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Olanzapine/fluoxetine is primarily used to treat the depressive episodes of bipolar I disorder as well as treatment-resistant depression.
The Senedd Commissioner for Standards finds that Senedd member Siân Gwenllian breached the Senedd's code of conduct after sharing a confidential letter, but recommends no further action is taken against her. 25 April – The electoral officer of North Kesteven District Council rules that Andrea Jenkyns is entitled to stand in the 2025 Lincolnshire mayoral election after questions were raised about her eligibility because she is not on the Lincolnshire electoral register, a prerequisite for standing. 28 April – Martin Dowey temporarily stands down as leader of South Ayrshire Council over a secret recording in which he appears to suggest he can help award contracts to "pals". 29 April – Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman survives an attempt to remove her from the Scottish Parliament's equalities committee following her criticism of the judiciary over the Supreme Court's ruling on biological sex. 30 April – The Parliamentary Commissioner on Standards launches an investigation into Chancellor Rachel Reeves' failure to declare receiving theatre tickets within the required time that MPs must declare gifts.
== Legal issues == On June 25, 2010, Bayer sued Teva for falsely claiming that Teva's Gianvi was stabilized by betadex as a clathrate, and could consequently be advertised as a generic of Yaz. The settlement resulted in Teva changing its product marketing to remove the claim that it used the same ingredients as Yaz. Bayer's method specifically prevents oxidative degradation of the estrogen, while Teva's does not. In January 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States decided for Teva on the Copaxone patent in Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc. In December 2016, the attorneys general of 20 states filed a civil complaint accusing Teva of a coordinated scheme to artificially maintain high prices for a generic antibiotic and diabetes drug. The complaint alleged price collusion schemes between six pharmaceutical firms including informal gatherings, telephone calls, and text messages. In January 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided for Teva in Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. On May 11, 2019, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA was one of 19 drug companies sued for price fixing in the United States by 44 states for inflating its prices, sometimes up to 1000%, in an illegal agreement among it and its competitors. In June 2021, Teva agreed to pay $925M to settle allegations it had engaged in price fixing in Mississippi. In January 2022, Teva agreed to pay $425M to settle allegations that it had concealed price fixing practices from shareholders. In May 2019, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA agreed to pay $85 million to the U.S.
=== Connection with Cancer treatment === hCTR1 is upregulated in various cancer types, and it's associated with prognosis in several solid tumors. Atox1 and ATP7B were found to be important for Pt-based drug resistance. hCTR1 plays a role in oncology, hCTR1 facilitates uptake of platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents, such as cisplatin. Yeast and mammalian cells lacking CTR1 were resistant to cisplatin, while cells overexpressing CTR1 accumulated more of the drug. Tumor cells when exposed to cisplatin often react by increased degradation of hCTR1, thereby they become drug-resistant while simultaneously exhibiting signs of perturbed copper homeostasis. Studies of Atox1 in cancer cells demonstrated that this copper chaperone is crucial for cancer cell proliferation and survival. Small molecules targeting Atox1 have been proved to effectively block Cu-trafficking. For that reason reduce cell proliferation in lung, leukemia, breast, head, and neck cancer cell lines by elevating cellular ROS levels and reducing cellular NADPH and GSH levels. In contrast, healthy cells were barely affected by these small molecules.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Other === Hydrogels also possess a degree of flexibility very similar to natural tissue due to their significant water content. As responsive "smart materials", hydrogels can encapsulate chemical systems which upon stimulation by external factors such as a change of pH may cause specific compounds such as glucose to be liberated to the environment, in most cases by a gel–sol transition to the liquid state. Chemomechanical polymers are mostly also hydrogels, which upon stimulation change their volume and can serve as actuators or sensors.
=== Basic spellings === IUPAC establishes rules for harmonized spelling of some chemicals to reduce variation among different local English-language variants. For example, they recommend "aluminium" rather than "aluminum", "sulfur" rather than "sulphur", and "caesium" rather than "cesium".
=== Biological effects === Ibotenic acid typically affects both NMDA and APCD or metabolotropic quisqualate receptor sites in the central nervous system. Due to their targeting of these systems the symptoms associated with ibotenic acid poisoning are often related to perception and control. At least some ingested ibotenic acid is likely decarboxylated into muscimol so some of the effects of ingesting ibotenic acid are similar to muscimol's effects. Symptoms associated with ibotenic acid are usually onset within 30–60 minutes and include a range of nervous system effects. The most common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness. However, after the first hour symptoms begin to include confusion, euphoria, visual and auditory distortions, sensations of floating, and retrograde amnesia. Symptoms are slightly different for children, typically beginning after 30–180 minutes. Dominant symptoms in children include ataxia, obtundation, and lethargy. Seizures are occasionally reported, however, more commonly with children. In contrast, ibotenic acid has a completely different action in invertebrates. Instead of an excitatory effect, it increases the permeability of invertebrate skeletal muscle and nerve cell membranes to chloride ions but shows no affinity for invertebrate glutamate excitatory receptors. This effect was first observed in locust muscle fibers, leading to the discovery of a new ion channel, the glutamate-gated chloride channel (GluCl), which was later cloned from the soil nematode C.
Valve is an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1996 by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. The company is based in Bellevue, Washington. Valve's first game was Half-Life, a first-person shooter released in 1998. It sold over nine million retail copies. Alongside Half-Life's launch, Valve released development tools to enable the player community to create content and mods. The company then proceeded to hire the creators of popular mods such as Counter-Strike. Valve continued their trend of developing predominantly first-person video games in the 2000s with a number of critically successful releases. In 2004, they released the highly anticipated sequel Half-Life 2 through their own digital distribution service Steam. The game sold over 10 million copies and was met with acclaim. Valve released two subsequent episodes for Half-Life 2 and later packaged those games together with the puzzle game Portal and the multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 in a collection known as The Orange Box. By the end of 2008, combined retail sales of the Half-Life series, Counter-Strike series and The Orange Box had surpassed 32 million units. Newell also projected that digital sales of Valve's games would eventually exceed retail sales as Steam continued to grow. In the late 2000s, Valve released two zombie-themed first-person shooters focusing on cooperative gameplay with the Left 4 Dead series. The company continued to release multiplayer games with the launches of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2, both of which have large esports communities fostered by Valve.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. Melanotan-2 is manufactured synthetically. The naturally occurring peptide in the same family is alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, which the body produces as part of normal endocrine and neural signalling.
Both are synthetic analogues derived from the same parent hormone. Reference descriptions usually characterise afamelanotide as more selective for the MC1R subtype, whereas melanotan-2 is reported to interact with a wider range of melanocortin receptors.
Early studies explored melanocortin signalling and pigmentation, which later led to informal use of the label tanning peptide. That label is not a regulatory category and does not imply approved status for any purpose.
It is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide and a non-selective melanocortin receptor agonist. Structurally it is modelled on alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a peptide that occurs naturally in the body.