Editing Proopiomelanocortin (section)

== Derivatives ==
{{POMC}}

The large molecule of POMC is the source of several important biologically active substances . POMC can be cleaved enzymatically into the following [[peptides]]:
* [[N-Terminal peptide of proopiomelanocortin|''N''-Terminal Peptide of Proopiomelanocortin]] (NPP, or pro-γ-MSH)
* [[Melanocyte-stimulating hormone|α-Melanotropin]] (α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone, or α-MSH)
* [[Melanocyte-stimulating hormone|β-Melanotropin]] (β-MSH)
* [[Melanocyte-stimulating hormone|γ-Melanotropin]] (γ-MSH)
* '''𝛿'''-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone ('''𝛿'''-MSH, present in sharks<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Dores RM, Cameron E, Lecaude S, Danielson PB | title = Presence of the delta-MSH sequence in a proopiomelanocortin cDNA cloned from the pituitary of the galeoid shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni | journal = General and Comparative Endocrinology | volume = 133 | issue = 1 | pages = 71–9 | date = August 2003 | pmid = 12899848 | doi = 10.1016/S0016-6480(03)00151-5 }}</ref>)
* ε-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone (ε-MSH, present in some [[teleost]]s<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Harris RM, Dijkstra PD, Hofmann HA | title = Complex structural and regulatory evolution of the pro-opiomelanocortin gene family | journal = General and Comparative Endocrinology | volume = 195 | pages = 107–15 | date = January 2014 | pmid = 24188887 | doi = 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.10.007 }}</ref>)
* [[Corticotropin]] (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, or ACTH)
* [[Corticotropin-like intermediate peptide|Corticotropin-like Intermediate Peptide]] (CLIP)
* [[Lipotropin#β-Lipotropin|β-Lipotropin]] (β-LPH)
* [[Lipotropin|Gamma Lipotropin]] (γ-LPH)
* [[Beta-endorphin|β-Endorphin]]
* [[Met-Enkephalin|[Met]Enkephalin]]

Although the N-terminal 5 amino acids of [[β-endorphin]] are identical to the sequence of [[Met-enkephalin| [Met]enkephalin]],<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Cullen JM, Cascella M | chapter = Physiology, Enkephalin|date=2022| chapter-url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557764/ | title = StatPearls|place=Treasure Island (FL)|publisher=StatPearls Publishing|pmid=32491696|access-date=2022-01-12}}</ref> it is not generally thought that β-endorphin is converted into [Met]enkephalin.{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=December 2013}} Instead, [Met]enkephalin is produced from its own precursor, [[proenkephalin A]].

The production of [[melanocyte-stimulating hormone|β-MSH]] occurs in humans but not in mice or rats due to the absence of the enzymatic processing site in the rodent POMC.