Melanotan II (MT-II) is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide analogue of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (\u03b1-MSH) that acts as a non-selective agonist of melanocortin receptors MC1R through MC5R. Developed at the University of Arizona, it was designed to stimulate melanogenesis \u2014 the production of melanin pigment in melanocytes \u2014 as a protective mechanism against UV radiation damage. MT-II activates MC1R on melanocytes, triggering the cAMP-PKA-CREB signaling cascade that upregulates tyrosinase and other melanogenic enzymes, resulting in increased eumelanin synthesis. Beyond melanogenesis, MT-II’s activation of MC3R and MC4R produces effects on appetite regulation (decreased food intake), sexual function signaling (erectile response in males, sexual arousal in females), and cardiovascular parameters. MC4R activation in the hypothalamus modulates both feeding behavior and autonomic nervous system output. Research applications include pigmentation biology, melanocyte biology and melanoma research, appetite and energy homeostasis studies, sexual function pathway investigation, and UV-protective mechanism analysis in skin cell models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Melanotan II (MT-II) is a synthetic cyclic heptapeptide analogue of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (\u03b1-MSH) that acts as a non-selective agonist of melanocortin receptors MC1R through MC5R. Developed at the University of Arizona, it was designed to stimulate melanogenesis \u2014 the production of melanin pigment in melanocytes \u2014 as a protective mechanism against UV radiation damage. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[21],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-116","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-cosmetic","first","instock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n