HomeAboutRankingsData Sources
© 2026 GeneE
🧬
GeneE
10 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
ⓘGeneE is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
PMCH
pro-melanin concentrating hormone
Chromosome 12 · 12q23.2
NCBI Gene: 5367Ensembl: ENSG00000183395.5HGNC: HGNC:9109UniProt: P20382
69PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
type 1 melanin-concentrating hormone receptor bindingfeeding behaviornegative regulation of synaptic transmission, dopaminergicextracellular regionprostate carcinomaendometriosisplacental retentionAlzheimer disease
✦AI Summary

PMCH (pro-melanin-concentrating hormone) is a neuropeptide precursor gene located on human chromosome 12-q24 1 that encodes melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and additional peptides including NEI and NGE 2. PMCH primarily regulates feeding behavior and energy homeostasis through MCH signaling in the hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens 3. Chr12 loss of PMCH in rats decreases meal size and reduces high-fat food-reinforced responding, indicating MCH acts as an amplifier of motivational aspects of feeding 3. The MCH-MCH1R system in the nucleus accumbens shell positively mediates motivational and incentive-related aspects of food consumption by modulating limbic dopamine signaling 3. PMCH is selectively expressed in activated human Th2 immune cells, potentially linking allergic inflammation to energy homeostasis and contributing to asthma-obesity associations 4. In vertebrate evolution, the three-exon PMCH gene encoding MCH is highly conserved and participates in feeding behaviors, while a teleost-specific variant (PMCHL) may have hormonal functions in color adaptation 5. PMCH has been identified as a differentially methylated gene in preeclampsia, suggesting potential diagnostic relevance 6. These findings position the PMCH-MCH system as a viable therapeutic target for obesity treatment.

Sources cited
1
PMCH localization to human chromosome 12q23-q24 and identification of variant forms on chromosome 5
PMID: 8188237
2
PMCH encodes MCH and additional neuropeptides NEI and NGE involved in stress response and food intake
PMID: 1572663
3
Chronic PMCH loss decreases meal size and reduces motivational aspects of feeding via MCH-MCH1R signaling in nucleus accumbens
PMID: 21573180
4
PMCH is selectively expressed in activated human Th2 cells, linking allergic inflammation to energy homeostasis
PMID: 17640905
5
PMCH gene is conserved across vertebrate evolution and participates in feeding behaviors
PMID: 30791235
6
PMCH identified as differentially methylated gene and potential diagnostic marker in preeclampsia
PMID: 36660680
Disease Associationsⓘ20
prostate carcinomaOpen Targets
0.28Weak
endometriosisOpen Targets
0.16Weak
placental retentionOpen Targets
0.16Weak
Alzheimer diseaseOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
depressive disorderOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
amyotrophic lateral sclerosisOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
CataplexyOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
risk-taking behaviourOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
cholestasisOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
steatosisOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
AnxietyOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.05Suggestive
COVID-19Open Targets
0.05Suggestive
melanomaOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
Abnormality of the skeletal systemOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
Parkinson diseaseOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
Sleep DisorderOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
attention deficit hyperactivity disorderOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
chronic laryngitisOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.04Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
MCHR1Protein interaction100%POMCProtein interaction94%MCHR2Protein interaction92%PARPBPProtein interaction90%CARTPTProtein interaction88%GALProtein interaction86%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Brain
100%
Lung
0%
Ovary
0%
Heart
0%
Liver
0%
Bone Marrow
0%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
PMCHMCHR1POMCMCHR2PARPBPCARTPTGAL
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB8WST · 2.40 Å · EM
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.98LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.17Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.47 [0.24–0.98]
RankingsWhere PMCH stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #6,831of 20,598
    Most Researched69
  • #9,432of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.98
Genes detectedPMCH
Sources retrieved10 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
10▼
1
Breast tuberculosis.
PMID: 30797285
Indian J Tuberc · 2019
1.00
2
Molecular cloning and SNP association analysis of chicken PMCH gene.
PMID: 23670042
Mol Biol Rep · 2013
0.90
3
Pro-melanin-concentrating hormone gene (PMCH) is localized on human chromosome 12q and rat chromosome 7.
PMID: 1572663
Genomics · 1992
0.80
4
Assignment of the human pro-melanin-concentrating hormone gene (PMCH) to chromosome 12q23-q24 and two variant genes (PMCH1 and PMCHL2) to chromosome 5p14 and 5q12-q13.
PMID: 8188237
Genomics · 1994
0.70
5
Plasticity for colour adaptation in vertebrates explained by the evolution of the genes pomc, pmch and pmchl.
PMID: 30791235
Pigment Cell Melanoma Res · 2019
0.60