Melanocortins: Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Peptides

The melanocortin system includes the melanocortins, their receptors and two endogenous antagonists. This system is involved in several physiological processes in the brain. Melanocortins have potent anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, they are suitable candidates for the treatment of inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders within the brain.

also expressed in the skin (Wakamatsu et al., 1997). -MSH was detected in adrenal medulla (Bjartell et al., 1987), intestine neurons (Wolter, 1985), and the brain (Kawai et al., 1984) whereas -MSH was found in human hypothalamus (Bertagna et al., 1986), but not in rodent brain. All melanocortins share a conserved sequence of aminoacids: Met-Glu(Gly)-His-Phe-Arg-Trp necessary for their biological activity. Rare mutations in POMC gene have been found in humans, and are associated with severe early-onset obesity, adrenal insufficiency and red hair pigmentation (Krude et al., 1998). cleaves POMC protein to generate pro-ACTH and -lipotropin (-LPH). Pro-ACTH is further cleaved by PC1 to generate ACTH and N-terminal peptide (N-POC). In the brain and in the intermediate lobe of pituitary, PC2 cleaves ACTH to generate corticotropin-like intermediate peptide (CLIP) and -MSH. Then, two more peptidases, carboxipeptidase E and peptidyl -amidating monooxygenase, are needed to produce mature -MSH. PC2 also generates -lipotropin (-LPH) and -endorphin (-END) from -LPH cleavage, -MSH from -LPH, and -MSH from N-POC cleavage.

Melanocortin receptors
Cloning of melanocortin receptors (MCRs) led to the characterization of five distinct MCRs which help to explain the wide range of physiological functions of melanocortins. Each receptor is the product of a small, intronless separate gene. MCRs belong to class A of seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and are positively coupled to adenylate cyclase. MCRs exhibit sequence homology from 40% to 60%. All MCRs have several potential N-glycosylation sites in their N-terminal domains, conserved cysteine residues in their carboxyl termini for potential acetylation with fatty acids, and consensus recognition sites for protein kinase A (PKA) and C. ACTH, -MSH, and -MSH are agonists of all MCRs except MC2R which only recognizes ACTH (Schiöth et al., 1996), whereas -MSH is a selective MC3R agonist (Roselli-Rehfuss et al., 1993) (Table 1).
MC1R was the first receptor cloned from a melanoma cell line (Chhajlani & Wikberg, 1992) and from normal melanocytes (Mountjoy et al., 1992), and is expressed predominantly in the skin where it mediates -MSH induction of melanogenesis. MC1R mutations are associated with increased risk of developing melanoma (Kennedy et al., 2001). MC1R is also found in immune cells such as macrophages (Lam et al., 2005), monocytes , neutrophils (Catania et al., 1996), and B lymphocytes (Cooper et al., 2005). It is also expressed in endothelial cells (Hartmeyer et al., 1997) and fibroblasts (Böhm et al., 1999).
www.intechopen.com MC1R is involved in the anti-inflammatory action of -MSH in leukocytes (Taherzadeh et al., 1999). Indeed, MC1R involvement in the anti-inflammatory effects of melanocortins has been widely studied in peripheral cells (Catania et al., 2004). Recently, MC1R expression was also found in rat heart (Catania et al., 2010). In the CNS, MC1R was detected only in neurons of periaqueductal grey matter (Xia et al., 1995) and in mouse brain (Rajora et al., 1997a). However, nothing is known about the role of MC1R in central effects of melanocortins.
MC2R is present in the adrenal gland and is selectively activated by ACTH leading to production and release of steroids (Mountjoy et al., 1992). Mutations in MC2R gene that produce a non functional receptor are associated with familial glucocorticoid deficiency (Elias et al., 1999), a rare autosomal recessive disorder. MC2R is also present in rodent adipocytes (Boston & Cone, 1996), suggesting a role for melanocortins in lipolysis, although it was not found in human adipocytes (Chhajlani, 1996). MC2R was found in human keratinocytes where its activation by ACTH induced cortisol synthesis (Slominski et al., 1996), and it was recently shown to be present in bone cells as well (Isales et al., 2010).
MC3R is widely distributed in the CNS, highly expressed in the hypothalamus and the limbic system (Roselli-Rehfuss et al., 1993). It has been proposed to function as an autoreceptor since it is expressed in POMC neurons where it might regulate melanocortin release (Jégou et al., 2000). However, MC3R knock-out mice are obese and hyperphagic and have increased fat mass (Chen et al., 2000), indicating that MC3R may have other actions in the brain. MC3R is present in the digestive tract in stomach, duodenum and pancreas and in human placenta (Gantz et al., 1993), as well as in human heart, kidney, testis, ovary, mammary gland, and skeletal muscle (Chhajlani, 1996). Immune cells such as macrophages (Lam et al., 2005) and B lymphocytes (Cooper et al., 2005) express this receptor which is involved in anti-inflammatory effects of melanocortins in macrophages (Getting et al., 2006). MC3R plays a role in sodium homeostasis having natriuretic actions (Lin et al., 1987) and has protective effects in heart ischemia in rats (Guarini et al., 2002).
MC4R is expressed throughout the brain including the cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, and the spinal cord Mountjoy et al., 1994), and it was shown to be more widely distributed than MC3R in the brain. Outside the CNS, it has been detected in human adipose tissue (Chhajlani, 1996), and it was recently detected in human epidermal melanocytes where it regulates pigmentation (Spencer & Schallreuter, 2009). MC4R is involved in neuroendocrine and autonomic functions, being a key factor in the regulation of food intake and metabolism (Huszar et al., 1997). The anorexigenic effect of -MSH involves this receptor (Marsh et al., 1999). In this regard, mutations in MC4R gene in humans are associated with obesity (Yeo et al., 1998) and are now considered the most common monogenic cause of obesity. In contrast, no MC3R variants are associated with obesity in humans. MC4R is also involved in the antipyretic actions of -MSH (Sinha et al., 2004), and it also mediates the neurotrophic effect of -MSH on cultured neurons (Adan et al., 1996) and on neurite elongation of dorsal root ganglia neurons (Tanabe et al., 2007). MC4R is involved in melanocortins anti-inflammatory action in the brain (Lasaga et al., 2008). MC4R is the only MCR expressed in astrocytes (Selkirk et al., 2007;Caruso et al., 2007) where it exerts anti-inflammatory effects (Caruso et al., 2007). We recently showed that hypothalamic cultured neurons express MC4R and MC3R, and -MSH also exerts an anti-inflammatory action on these cells (Caruso et al., 2010). Activation of MC4R in astrocytes also induces the www.intechopen.com expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Caruso et al., 2011), which suggests that BDNF could mediate melanocortins effects.
MC5R is found in adipocytes, kidney, liver, lung, bone marrow, thymus, mammary gland, testis, ovary, uterus, pituitary, stomach and skin (Chhajlani, 1996;Gantz et al., 1994;Labbé et al., 1994;van der Kraan et al., 1998). Observation of MC5R knock-out mice indicates that its main functions involve regulation of lacrimal glands and of secretion of sebaceous glands . These mice showed no changes in anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective or analgesic actions induced by administration of -MSH. MC5R was also found in the adrenal gland (Liakos et al., 1998) where -MSH induces aldosterone production in vitro, although to a lesser extent. MC5R is expressed in B and T lymphocytes, indicating that it could be involved in immune regulation. This receptor has also been detected in some areas of the CNS but its physiological functions are unknown (Griffon et al., 1994). Table 1. Ligand, function and distribution of MCRs The melanocortin system is unique in that it is the only system with endogenous antagonists. The Agouti protein (Miller et al., 1993) produced in the skin of rodents is a competitive antagonist of MC1R and also of MC4R albeit with lower affinity (Blanchard et al., 1995). In humans, Agouti is expressed in the skin, adipose tissue, testis, ovary, liver, heart and kidney (Wikberg et al., 2000) and regulates skin pigmentation. The Agouti-related protein (AGRP) was cloned based on its homology with Agouti (Shutter et al., 1997). It is present in the brain only in neurons of the arcuate nucleus (Dinulescu & Cone, 2000) where it promotes increased feeding and decreased energy expenditure by binding MC4R (Cone, 2005). Ubiquitous expression of AGRP causes obesity in mice (Ollman et al., 1997). AGRP is a competitive antagonist of MC3R and MC4R and it was shown to inhibit constitutive MC4R activity (Haskell-Luevano & Monek, 2001).

MCR signaling pathways
The classical signaling pathway for MCRs couples to stimulatory G protein that activates adenylate cyclase and increases intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) production. In turn, cAMP www.intechopen.com can activate PKA. This kinase was reported to be involved in melanocortins effects in melanoma cells (Ao et al., 1998) and in adrenal cells (Roy et al., 2011). In Agouti mice PKA constitutive activity even rescued mice from obesity syndrome (Czyzyk et al., 2008). As a result of its activation, PKA can phosphorylate and activate the cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), which then acts within the nucleus as a transcription factor. CREB is activated by -MSH in neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (Sarkar et al., 2002), in neurons of the solitary nucleus (Sutton et al., 2005), in hypothalamic cultured neurons (Caruso et al., 2010), and also in cultured rat astrocytes (Caruso et al., 2011). Apart from the cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway MCRs also activate other signaling pathways. MC3R has been shown to induce inositol phosphate signaling  and MC5R was reported to activate the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (Jak/STAT) pathway in B cells (Buggy, 1998). Stimulation of all MCRs leads to activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) ERK-1/2 Chai et al., 2007;Herraiz et al., 2011;Patten et al., 2007Roy et al., 2011). Depending on the cell type this effect may involve phosphoinositol 3 kinase activation Vongs et al., 2004). Some reports also show that ERK activation may be PKAindependent in MCR transfected cell lines Vongs et al., 2004). Intracellular calcium is also elevated by MC1R, MC3R, and MC4R stimulation (Eves et al., 2003;Newman et al., 2006). Although these data show some insight into MCR signaling, much work is still needed to fully elucidate signaling pathways of MCRs and to evaluate their importance in in vivo models. Pathways may also interact with each other as cross-talk between receptors, adding complexity to the picture. For example, MC4R activation enhances insulin-stimulated mTOR signaling (Chai et al., 2010) and potentiates leptin signaling (Zhang et al., 2009).
In addition to G proteins, MCRs can interact with other proteins that regulate their function. Some accessory proteins help folding and trafficking GPCRs to the cell membrane whereas others are found associated with the receptor and are involved in ligand binding. It is now established that a functional MC2R requires the expression of melanocortin 2 receptor accessory protein (MRAP). MRAP interacts with MC2R and facilitates MC2R cell surface expression, thereby producing an ACTH-responsive receptor ). MRAP has two isoforms, MRAP and MRAP, both expressed in the human adrenal gland (Metherell et al., 2005). Both MRAP isoforms interact directly with MC2R enabling ligand binding and activation (Roy et al., 2007). Individuals lacking MRAP have familial glucocorticoid deficiency disease (Metherell et al., 2005), which highlights the role of MRAP in MC2R functionality. Another accessory protein, MRAP-2, is expressed in the brain and the adrenal gland . MRAP and MRAP-2 act as negative regulators of MCRs other than MC2R since they reduce cAMP production in response to receptor activation ). In addition, mahoghany, mahoganoid (also called mahogunin ring finger-1), and syndecan-3 were identified as accessory proteins for MCRs. Mahoghany, a transmembrane protein present in the brain and skin, was shown to be a low-affinity receptor for Agouti but not for AGRP (He et al., 2001). Recently, mahoganoid was shown to reduce MC1R and MC4R coupling to cAMP (Perez-Oliva et al., 2009). Finally, syndecan-3 is a proteoglycan that enhances AGRP antagonism of -MSH at MC4R (Reizes et al., 2003). In spite of all this evidence, interaction between MCRs and accessory proteins is still not fully understood.

Synthetic compounds acting on MCRs
Some synthetic compounds for MCRs have been developed. (Nle 4 , D-Phe 7 ) -MSH (NDP-MSH), also known as melanotan I (MTI), is the most potent linear analogue of -MSH (Sawyer et al., 1980). It shows high affinity for all MCRs and has been widely used in radioligand binding studies. Other agonist peptides are melanotan II (MTII), a small cyclic peptide that is a non selective agonist of all MCRs except MC2R, and HP-228, a linear analogue that is also a non selective agonist for MCRs but shows greater affinity for MC1R (Abou-Mohamed et al., 1995). Several MC4R agonists have also been developed. Ro27-3225 is a full agonist in human cells that express MC4R (Benoit et al., 2000) and was shown to protect against haemorrhagic shock (Giuliani et al., 2007b). Also, THIQ is a MC4R agonist that reduced food intake less effectively than MTII (Muceniece et al., 2007). Antagonists have also been developed. SHU9119 is a potent non-selective antagonist of MC3R and MC4R (Schiöth et al., 1999). HS014 (Schiöth et al., 1999), is the first selective MC4R antagonist since it has 20-fold higher affinity for MC4R over MC3R. HS024 is a competitive analog of -MSH (Kask et al., 1998) with 100 times more affinity for MC4R over MC3R, although it antagonizes cAMP accumulation induced by all MCRs except MC2R. All antagonists stimulate food intake when administered centrally.

Anti-inflammatory effects of melanocortins
Inflammation is a physiological response to infection or tissue damage which, if properly controlled, ultimately leads to the restoration of homeostasis. Cytokines, chemokines, nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGs) are mediators of inflammatory processes that induce vasodilation and extravasation of immune cells into injured tissues, activation of pathogen clearance mechanisms and tissue regeneration. These factors have also been linked to the pathology of several CNS disorders with an exacerbated inflammatory component, such as Alzheimer´s disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), HIV infection, and brain ischemia/reperfusion. Among their many physiological functions, melanocortins play an important role in the regulation of immune and inflammatory reactions. These effects can be exerted through their binding to centrally expressed MCRs which in turn regulate descending neural anti-inflammatory pathways, or by acting directly on immune cells or non-immune cells present in peripheral tissues (Lasaga et al., 2008), where they modulate the production of inflammatory mediators and the migration of inflammatory cells. Different MCRs may be responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of melanocortins depending on the tissue or cell type involved. MC1R, MC3R and MC5R are the subtypes most commonly associated with these peripheral effects, whereas MC3R and MC4R are more likely responsible for melanocortins anti-inflammatory action within the CNS. Some studies also indicate that alternative non-MCR-mediated pathways may be involved in the signaling of certain melanocortin peptides such as -MSH (Langouche et al., 2002) and -MSH C-terminal tripeptide Lys-Pro-Val (KPV).

In vitro studies
Melanocortins effects on peripheral tissues have been studied in a broad range of in vitro systems, particularly in immune cells where they appear to act mainly by decreasing the www.intechopen.com production and release of inflammatory mediators and impairing leukocyte activation and infiltration into damaged tissues. For instance, it was shown that -MSH inhibits synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), interferon- (IFN-), and IL-2 in cells of the immune system Luger et al., 2003;Manna et al., 2006;Star et al., 1995;Taherzadeh et al., 1999). It enhances the release of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in monocytes  and keratinocytes (Redondo et al., 1998) as well. -MSH can also inhibit chemokine production in a human retinal epithelial cell line that expresses MC1R (Cui et al., 2005), and IL-8 in fibroblasts and in human adipocytes, (Böhm et al., 1999(Böhm et al., , 2002. Melanocortins modulate the expression of adhesion molecules in response to inflammatory stimuli. For instance, -MSH inhibits the expression of adhesion molecules induced by LPS or TNF- in endothelial cells , leading to impaired lymphocyte adhesion. Another target of melanocortins is the inducible NO synthase (iNOS). This enzyme is induced by inflammatory stimuli and produces a high output of NO, a short-lived molecule which plays a major role in the regulation of immune, nervous and cardiovascular systems. Beyond its many physiological roles, excessive NO production may be harmful and mediate tissue damage and cell death. Several studies indicate that melanocortin peptides exert a protective role by inhibiting iNOS expression in stimulated macrophages, thus leading to decreased NO production (Mandrika et al., 2001;Star et al., 1995;Taylor, 2005). PGs are a family of lipid molecules derived enzymatically from fatty acids with a broad spectrum of physiological functions. They participate in multiple homeostatic effects and play a dual role in immunomodulation, different members of the family being involved in both the onset and resolution of the inflammatory response. Their production is catalyzed by cyclooxygenase (COX) 1 and 2, COX-2 being the isoform specifically activated by inflammation. -MSH inhibits pro-inflammatory PG synthesis from fibroblasts induced by IL-1 (Cannon et al., 1986). Furthermore, in melanocyte and keratinocyte cell lines -MSH was shown to reduce the release of PGE 2 induced by TNF- (Nicolaou et al., 2004).

In vivo studies
Some of the in vivo anti-inflammatory actions of melanocortins in the periphery are due to ACTH binding to its receptor MC2R in the adrenal cortex which promotes the production of glucocorticoids with a consequent systemic anti-inflammatory response. Melanocortin peptides can have anti-inflammatory effects acting via central MCRs through descending neurogenic pathways or directly on peripheral tissues through other MCR subtypes. Both -MSH and -MSH are capable of inhibiting the effects of IL-1 on the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis by acting on central melanocortin receptors (Cragnolini et al., 2004). Several studies show that systemic and/or central administration of -MSH exerts protective effects in diverse models of peripheral inflammation. Circulating levels of -MSH have also been shown to be increased in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, MS, PD, and HIV infection (Catania et al., 2000). Anti-inflammatory actions of melanocortins have been widely studied in animal models of systemic inflammation such as septic shock where -MSH has been shown to reduce circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF- and IL-1 (Gonindard et al., 1996) and to improve animals' survival rate from 10% to 50% by 24 h (Lipton et al., 1994). Treatment with ACTH and POMC-derived peptides was also shown to inhibit cytokine release and neutrophil migration in a mouse www.intechopen.com model of acute experimental inflammation (Getting et al., 1999). In a model of acute hepatitis induced by LPS, Chiao et al. (1996) showed that -MSH was able to prevent liver inflammation by inhibiting NO production, TNF- and IL-8 mRNA increase, and neutrophil infiltration. -MSH was also shown to reduce chemokine synthesis and prevent damage to lungs and kidneys under hypoxic conditions in a model of renal ischemia (Chiao et al., 1997;Deng et al., 2004). It also reduced heart injury and size of the ischemic area in a rat model of myocardial ischemia, through activation of MC3R (Bazzani et al., 2001;Guarini et al., 2002). Research on experimental inflammatory bowel disease showed that treatment with -MSH effectively reduces inflammatory mediators in experimental colitis (Rajora et al., 1997b). As for skin inflammation, both centrally and locally administered -MSH has been shown to modulate the cutaneous immune response in several mouse models of contact dermatitis or cutaneous vasculitis (Brzoska et al., 2008). Furthermore, this peptide was proved to induce hapten-specific tolerance in vivo by a mechanism involving IL-10 as a crucial mediator (Grabbe et al., 1996). Since -MSH and MC1R protein levels are up-regulated in human burns and scars a role in cutaneos injury is also suggested (Muffley et al., 2011). A gene therapy approach based on an -MSH expression vector has been tested in a model of experimental autoimmune uveitis, in which the treatment was successful in suppressing this condition by a mechanism dependent on MC5R expression, suggesting that this approach might provide effective therapy for uveitis (Lee et al., 2009).
MC1R involvement in the anti-inflammatory effects of melanocortins has been widely observed in peripheral cells (Catania et al., 2004). Recently, it was shown that the selective MC1R agonist BMS-470539 was succesful in inhibiting leukocyte trafficking in the vasculature of mice subjected to mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion. This anti-inflammatory effect was lost when examining the vasculature of mice with mutant inactive MC1Rs (Leoni et al., 2010), indicating that MC1R plays a prominent role in melanocortins effects. In models of allergic and nonallergic lung inflammation, melanocortins inhibited leukocyte accumulation, a protective effect that was associated with MC3R activation (Getting et al., 2008). On the other hand, Ro27-3225, a selective MC4R agonist, reduced the expression of TNF- and IL-6, and reduced pancreatitis severity, effects that were blocked by HS024, a selective MC4R antagonist (Minutoli et al., 2011). On the other hand, several MCRindependent effects of melanocortin C terminal sequence-derived peptides were described. The melanocortin-derived tripeptide KPV was shown to reduce the inflammatory infiltrate in a model of inflammatory bowel disease, leading to recovery (Kannengiesser et al., 2008). Another synthetic peptide (CPVK) 2 also showed anti-inflammatory activity similar to NDP-MSH against endotoxin treatment in vitro and in vivo by reducing TNF- and NO production (Gatti et al., 2006). The mechanism of action of these peptides seems to involve interaction with the IL-1 receptor I, thereby preventing IL-1 binding (Mastrofrancesco et al., 2010).

In vitro studies
Inflammatory reactions within the CNS constitute a physiological host-defense mechanism by which damaging agents are cleared and tissue homeostasis is restored. As part of this response, glial cells become reactive and release a wide variety of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, chemokines, complement factors and acute phase reactants. These factors are necessary for an adequate immune or inflammatory response, but if the response is not properly controlled, they may also lead to tissue damage and cytotoxicity. Therefore, the discovery of compounds with the ability to modulate inflammatory responses in the brain is of paramount importance.
Activation of MCRs in the brain is known to be essential to the anti-inflammatory circuit of melanocortins. Expression of MC1R (Xia et al., 1995;Rajora et al., 1997a) and MC5R (Griffon et al., 1994) has been described but their physiological functions in the CNS are unknown. Considering that -MSH has anti-inflammatory action in brain of mice with non-functional MC1R , this receptor may not be an important mediator of antiinflammatory effects of melanocortins in the CNS. Therefore, the main candidates to mediate central effects of melanocortins are MC3R and MC4R since these are the subtypes expressed in the brain. Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell population in the brain. The only MCR subtype found in these cells is MC4R (Caruso et al., 2007;Selkirk et al., 2007). On the other hand, subtypes 1, 3, 4 and 5 were detected in a human microglial cell line (Lindberg et al., 2005). Melanocortins were shown to inhibit production of IL-6, TNF- and NO in a murine microglial cell line, where endogenous -MSH released from microglial cells was proposed to act as an autocrine immunomodulatory factor (Delgado et al., 1998). They also inhibited the release of both NO and TNF- from microglia stimulated with amyloid peptides and IFN- (Galimberti et al., 1999), suggesting that these peptides might modulate the local response to -amyloid deposition. In human astrocytoma cells, -MSH inhibits LPS-induced TNF- release (Wong et al., 1997). We showed that -MSH attenuates LPS+IFN--induced inflammation in rat astrocytes by decreasing iNOS and COX-2 expression and NO and PGE 2 release (Caruso et al., 2007). These effects were prevented by HS024, strongly suggesting a role for MC4R in brain anti-inflammatory melanocortin effects. However, -MSH had no effect on basal or IL-1-induced PGE 2 levels in astrocytes (Katsuura et al., 1989), although it inhibited LPS-or IL-1-induced PGE 2 production from hippocampus fragments (Weidenfeld et al., 1995), but not IL-1-induced PGE 2 release from hypothalamic fragments (Mirtella et al., 1995). We recently showed that hypothalamic neurons express MC3R and MC4R and that -MSH reduces TNF- expression in these cells where it induces CREB activation (Caruso et al., 2010).

In vivo studies
A typical reaction to inflammatory processes in the CNS is the induction of fever as a hostdefense response. Melanocortin anti-pyretic action has been known for some time (Tatro, 2000) and is considered adrenal-independent (Murphy et al., 1983). -MSH central administration reduces fever caused by LPS (Huang et al., 1997), IL-1 (Daynes et al., 1987) and TNF- (Martin et al., 1991). Also, during fever episodes, levels of -MSH increase in the brain (Bell & Lipton, 1987) suggesting a physiological role for melanocortins in fever control. -MSH circulating levels increase in response to endotoxin administration in humans (Catania et al., 1995). Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of -MSH was shown to inhibit fever by activating central MCRs, since their blockade prevented an -MSH anti-pyretic effect (Huang et al., 1998). This effect was also blocked by HS014, a selective MC4R antagonist, thereby highlighting MC4R involvement in -MSH effect over LPS-induced fever (Sinha et al., 2004). Central administration of -MSH in mice reduces the expression of iNOS in lungs and liver and serum TNF- levels induced by endotoxemia (Delgado www.intechopen.com Hernandez et al., 1999). Conversely, i.p. injection of -MSH has no effect over endotoxemiainduced iNOS expression in lung and liver, supporting the notion that activation of central MCRs is responsible for the peripheral anti-inflammatory effect of -MSH. Moreover, treatment with -MSH reduces expression of TNF- and IL-1 after cerebral ischemia (Huang & Tatro, 2002), lowers TNF- and NO production induced by LPS+IFN- in the CNS (Delgado et al., 1998), and also reduces TNF- production in brain inflammation (Rajora et al., 1997a). Furthermore, melanocortins inhibit the IL-1-induced production of NO and PGs in rat hypothalamus (Cragnolini et al., 2006). We demonstrated that -MSH reduces induction of iNOS and COX-2 gene expression at hypothalamic level in rats during endotoxemia, and that this effect is mediated by MC4R activation (Caruso et al., 2004). Together with -MSH, -MSH and -MSH were found to exert anti-inflammatory action in a model of neuroinflammation in mice by reducing LPS-induced NO production (Muceniece et al., 2004).

Mechanisms of anti-inflammatory actions of melanocortins
The nuclear factor-B (NF-B) is an essential regulator of the immune response since it drives the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes such as cytokines, chemokines, iNOS and COX-2 induced by diverse inflammatory stimuli (Li & Verma 2002). Under resting conditions it is held within the cytoplasm in an inactive state by its inhibitor (IB). Upon proper stimulation, IB is phosphorylated and dissociates from the complex, allowing NF-B to translocate to the nucleus where it acts as a transcription factor. The most attractive feature of melanocortins is that they reduce production of a variety of inflammatory mediators but do not enterily suppress the inflammatory response. -MSH is able to inhibit the activation of NF-B induced by a great diversity of inflammatory stimuli in different cell lines (Manna & Aggarwal, 1998), and in brain inflammation . This inhibitory action, thought to be the main mechanism responsible for the antiinflammatory effects of melanocortins, appears to be mediated by cAMP production and PKA activation (Manna & Aggarwal, 1998). -MSH regulates NF-κB and also p38-MAPK pathways probably through a common upstream element by inducing the binding of the IL-1R-associated kinase 1 (IRAK 1) to its inhibitor IRAK-M in activated macrophages (Taylor, 2005). However, NF-B inhibition might not be the mechanism of action of melanocortins in all cell types studied. Apart from NF-B, melanocortins activate CREB, a transcription factor acting on cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. It also regulates the expression of genes involved in immune responses and long term memory. In rat astrocytes, MC4R activation by -MSH stimulates the cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway without involving inhibition of NF-B (Caruso et al., 2011). CREB activation by -MSH occurs in hypothalamic neurons as well, and also without modifying NF-B activation (Caruso et al., 2010). Similarly, -MSH failure to modify NF-B activation was reported in H4 glioma cells (Sarkar et al., 2003).
Another important mediator in -MSH effects is IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine capable of inhibiting NF-B activity and the release of many pro-inflammatory mediators such as IL-1, IL-6, TNF-, and IL-8 (Sabat et al., 2010). This cytokine is induced by -MSH in monocytes and keratinocytes, and knock-out mice for IL-10 were found to be resistant to -MSH treatment in a model of allergic inflammation (Raap et al., 2003), strongly supporting a role for IL-10 as a mediator in melanocortin effect. Furthermore, a MC3R/4R antagonist, SHU9119, reduces LPS-induced IL-10 release in monkeys (Vulliémoz et al., 2006), thereby establishing a physiological role for endogenous melanocortins as modulators of this cytokine's release.

Neuroprotective effects of melanocortins
Melanocortins neuroregenerative actions were described long ago. The first reports showed that melanocortin peptides improve nerve regeneration following peripheral nerve injury. ACTH administration improved recovery of adrenalectomized rats subjected to sciatic nerve denervation (Strand & Kung, 1980). -MSH and ACTH also induced recovery after crushing the sciatic nerve (Bijlsma et al., 1983). -MSH-like peptides stimulate neurite outgrowth in peripheral nerve injury in vivo (Plantinga et al., 1995), and axonal outgrowth from fetal spinal cord slices (van der Neut et al., 1988), and regrowth of injured axons in rat adult spinal cord (Joosten et al., 1999). Endogenous -MSH also improved recovery of rats with destruction of dopamine neurons of the nucleus accumbens (Wolterink et al., 1990). Its analog MTII also induced nerve regeneration and neuroprotection by preventing toxic neuropathy induced by cisplatin (Ter Laak et al., 2003). Several studies suggested that MC4R is the receptor involved in the neuroregenerative properties of melancortins. -MSHinduced neurite-like outgrowth in the neuroblastoma cell line 2A was shown to be blocked with a specific MC4R antagonist (Adan et al., 1996). The MC4R agonist ME10501 is neuroprotective in spinal cord injury (Sharma et al., 2006). In mouse dorsal root ganglia neuron cultures, -MSH promoted neurite outgrowth, an effect entirely inhibited by a selective MC4R blocker, JKC-363 (Tanabe et al., 2007). This study also showed that only MC4R mRNA expression was induced after sciatic nerve injury, suggesting that MC4R could play a central role in nerve regeneration. The mechanism of neurotrophic effects of melanocortins remains largely unknown although it is suggested to be a consequence of the anti-inflammatory effects of these peptides.
Several models of brain injury were shown to improve after melanocortin treatment. In rats subjected to four-vessel occlusion global cerebral ischemia, i.p. administration of -MSH prevented CA1 pyramidal cell death and reduced glial activation (Forslin Aronsson et al., 2006). NDP-MSH protects hippocampal neurons from dying after cerebral ischemia in gerbils (Giuliani et al., 2006), and after excitotoxicity (Forslin Aronsson et al., 2007). Also, delayed treatment with -MSH diminished stratial damage and neuronal death after focal cerebral ischemia (Giuliani et al., 2007a). Melanocortins reduced hippocampal damage and improve learning and memory as long as 50 days after ischemia (Giuliani et al., 2009). These studies showed that neuroprotection by melancortins involved MC4R whereas the selective MC3R agonist -MSH had no protective effect on cerebral ischemia (Giuliani et al., 2006). In addition, melanocortins through MC4R blocked memory impairment (Gonzalez et al., 2009) as well as memory reconsolidation impairment (Machado et al., 2010) induced by IL-1 administration in the hippocampus. We showed that MC4R activation protects astrocytes from apoptosis induced by LPS+IFN- (Caruso et al., 2007), and other authors showed that it also protects hypothalamic neurons from serum deprived-induced apoptosis . Protection of astrocytes by melanocortins involved decreasing caspase 3 activity induced by LPS+IFN- and inducing expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 as well as decreasing expression of the apoptotic protein Bax induced by LPS+IFN- (Caruso et al., 2007). This protective effect was also shown to involve ERK activation in a cell line of hypothalamic neurons . These data strongly suggest that melanocortins are neuroprotective through MC4R.
A common feature of neurodegenerative diseases is chronic immune activation in the brain. Cytokines have a dual role in inflammation and disease. They contribute to the acute phase of inflammation but also play protective roles in later stages of injury. This is also the case in neurodegeneration: given that IL-1 and TNF- are increased in neurodegenerative diseases such as AD, PD, and MS, they are believed to be involved in the etiology of these pathologies. However, the role of inflammation in the development of neurodegenerative disorders is not clear. A general understanding indicates that inflammatory processes contribute to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Although there is no evidence of melanocortin effects on models of PD or AD, anti-inflammatory therapies such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were neuroprotective (Asanuma & Miyazaki, 2008;McGeer & McGeer, 2007). However, the use of NSAIDs for long periods of time can have undesired side effects. Melanocortins could be a better approach for treating these disorders since they could preserve the benefits of the inflammatory response and at the same time prevent its harmful effects. In fact, -MSH was suggested to be useful in the treatment of inflammatory experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a T-cell mediated inflammatory autoimmune process that resembles the human demyelinating disease MS. Alterations in plasma concentrations of -MSH were shown to occur during exacerbation of MS (Sandyk & Awerbuch, 1992). However, in cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients concentrations of -MSH-like peptides were normal (Pinessi et al., 1992). Orally administered -MSH can reduce signs of EAE and inhibit CNS inflammation by reducing Th1-cytokines released by CNS lymphocytes (Brod & Hood, 2011). Injection of -MSH at the onset of EAE also profoundly diminished the severity of EAE in mice (Taylor & Kitaichi, 2008). Furthermore, it was shown that modified T-cells that express and release -MSH reduce the signs of this disease when they are transferred into mice with EAE, suggesting the possibility of their use in future therapeutic applications (Han et al., 2007).
Astrocytes actions help neurons to perform their physiological functions and contribute to maintain brain homeostasis. They have both beneficial and damaging responses in the CNS. Astrocytes proliferate in response to trauma and provide an environment that can help neurons to survive injury. They are activated by pro-inflammatory agents or by injury and contribute to brain-repair processes, but when inflammation is chronic their sustained activation can have harmful effects. Astrogliosis was found to be present in neurodegenerative diseases (Maragakis & Rothstein, 2006). However, mice deficient in glial fibrillary acidic protein having consequently impaired astrocyte functions develop more severe EAE disease compared to wild type mice (Liedtke et al., 1998). Astrocytes are able to produce neurotrophic factors that can promote neuron survival. We recently showed that MC4R activation induces expression of BDNF in rat astrocytes (Caruso et al., 2011). BDNF has proved to be neuroprotective in AD, MS and PD (Nagahara & Tuszynski, 2011). Indeed, MS patients have decreased levels of BDNF compared to healthy controls (Frota et al., 2009). Therefore, BDNF is a possible mediator of melanocortin action in the brain. It is likely that melanocortins may induce neuroprotective genes such as Bcl-2 and BDNF, thereby contributing to ameliorate neurodegenerative diseases. However, much study is needed to prove this hypothesis. www.intechopen.com

Conclusions
Acute inflammatory response usually ends once the insult is eliminated and tissue is repaired. If this does not occur, inflammation becomes chronic, leading to harmful effects. Since local inflammation is necessary for pathogen clearance, tissue recovery and regeneration, ideal anti-inflammatory agents should prevent exacerbated immune reaction without completely eliminating inflammatory response. Thus, modulation rather than abolishment of inflammation seems to be the best option, and provides an opening to new treatment approaches in acute and chronic diseases of the CNS. Melanocortins are suitable candidates for this task. Their anti-inflammatory properties are well known and they also have neuroregenerative and neuroprotective properties that can help preserve neuron function. However, in view of the variety of effects produced by these peptides, we need to develop more selective and potent agonists for each receptor in order to avoid undesired side effects. Neurodegenerative diseases are tightly linked to chronic inflammation. The extent to which inflammatory mediators functionally impair cognition and memory is largely unknown. Astrocytes in particular might be especially attractive and underappreciated targets for neurodegenerative disease therapeutics. Finally, future studies need to determine the underlying mechanisms of inflammation that lead to neurodegeneration in order to advance towards the development of effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.  (1996)  Melanocortin 4 receptor activation induces brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in rat astrocytes through cyclic AMP -Protein kinase A pathway.  www.intechopen.com