Molecular pharmacology of the mouse melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2

The main melatonin receptors are two G-protein coupled receptors named MT1 and MT2. Having described the molecular pharmacology of the human versions of these receptors, we turned to two of the three species most useful in studying melatonin physiology: rat and sheep (a diurnal species used to understand the relationship between circadian rhythm and depression). We also employed previously used compounds to describe the mouse melatonin receptors; despite the early cloning of mouse receptors, few molecular pharmacology studies on these receptors exist. To our surprise, we detected no major differences between the data obtained from mice and those from other species. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.