[86]. Animals deprived of food have decreased the expression of CART mRNA. Intracerebroventricular administration of CART in rats inhibits normal and starvation-induced feeding, as well as blocking the NPY feeding response [18, 85, 87]. CART may be useful to combat obesity. However, clinical trial utilizing CART agonists or antagonists for weight regulation is still lacking. CART receptor has not been cloned. However, the first interaction partner for CART was recently identified by yeast two-hybrid system. Succinate dehydrogenase, a unique mitochondrial protein of both the Krebs TCA cycle and complex II of the electron transport chain, is a crucial enzyme for intermediary metabolism and energy production [88]. Thus, the biochemical and physiological linkage between CART and energy homeostasis has been firmly established.
