Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone inhibits monocytes adhesion to vascular endothelium

Inflammation and its subsequent endothelial dysfunction have been reported to play a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of chronic vascular diseases. Inhibiting the attachment of monocytes to endothelium is a potential therapeutic strategy for vascular diseases treatment. -Melanocyte stimulating hormone is generated from a precursor hormone called proopiomelanocortin by post-translational processing. However, whether -melanocyte stimulating hormone plays a role in regulating endothelial inflammation is still unknown. In this study, the effects of -melanocyte stimulating hormone on endothelial inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cell lines were investigated. And the result indicated that -melanocyte stimulating hormone inhibits the expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, including vascular adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin, thereby attenuating the adhesion of THP-1 cells to the surface of endothelial cells. Mechanistically, -melanocyte stimulating hormone was found to inhibit NF-B transcriptional activity. Finally, we found that the effect of -melanocyte stimulating hormone on endothelial inflammation is dependent on its receptor melanocortin receptor 1.