Research background · Updated November 1, 2026
MT-II Research: Publications, Study Types and Background
Short answer
MT-II is listed as synthetic cyclic heptapeptide melanocortin analogue, N-acetylated and C-terminally amidated. As of November 1, 2026, PubMed indexes 199 records matching MT-II, the earliest from 1992; 26 were published in 2021–2025 and 10 are reviews. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1 registered study matching the compound.
- PubMed records
- 199
- Earliest record
- 1992
- Published 2021–2025
- 26
- Reviews
- 10
- Animal-only studies
- 137
- Registered studies
- 1
Publications per year, 2006–2025
62 records in 2016–2025 against 115 in 2006–2015; the busiest year was 2008, with 15.
See the numbers
| Year | PubMed records |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 9 |
| 2007 | 11 |
| 2008 | 15 |
| 2009 | 11 |
| 2010 | 12 |
| 2011 | 9 |
| 2012 | 10 |
| 2013 | 10 |
| 2014 | 14 |
| 2015 | 14 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 9 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 13 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 |
| 2025 | 1 |
Study types
| All PubMed records | 199 |
|---|---|
| Reviews | 105% |
| Animal studies (no human subjects indexed) | 13769% |
| Indexed as clinical trials | 42% |
| Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov | 1 |
Categories overlap and follow PubMed’s own indexing; recent records may not be indexed yet.
Primary research directions
What 1 of the most-cited and most recent MT-II papers report, in their own authors’ terms. Each line links the paper it came from.
Thermoregulation and histamine
In mice, melanotan II caused hypothermia through histamine acting at H1 receptors; the effect occurred in wild-type and MRGPRB2-null mice but not in mast-cell-deficient KitW-sh mice.
MiceJain S 2018American journal of physiologyPMID 29812984
Most-studied topics
The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) PubMed indexers most often marked as a main topic, across 199 of the 199 records. They describe what the literature is about, not what MT-II does.
- alpha-MSH99 papers
- Peptides, Cyclic80 papers
- Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 434 papers
- Receptors, Melanocortin26 papers
- Obesity22 papers
- Eating19 papers
- Hypothalamus16 papers
- Pro-Opiomelanocortin11 papers
Key papers
Earliest indexed record
Ugwu SO (1992). Journal of chromatography.
PMID 1336500Most-cited paper · 320 citations
Bartness TJ (2010). International journal of obesity (2005).
PMID 20935665Most-cited #2 · 210 citations
Chen AS (2000). Transgenic research.
PMID 10951699Most-cited #3 · 198 citations
Kublaoui BM (2008). Molecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.).
PMID 18451093
Citation counts from NIH iCite, among the 199 records sampled. Titles are left out; open each record on PubMed to read it.
Identity
| Synonyms and codes | Melanotan II, Melanotan-2 |
|---|---|
| Description | Synthetic cyclic heptapeptide melanocortin analogue, N-acetylated and C-terminally amidated |
| Supplied form | Lyophilized powder |
| CAS number | 121062-08-6 |
| Molecular formula | C50H69N15O9 |
| Molecular weight | 1024.2 g/mol |
| Sequence | Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2 |
As published by Vanta Labs, with its sources, on the MT-II page.
How these numbers were counted
- PubMed search, run November 1, 2026:
"melanotan II"[tiab] OR "melanotan-II"[tiab] OR "melanotan 2"[tiab]re-run it. Study types add PubMed’s own filters (review, clinical trial, animals not humans). - Topics: MeSH major-topic headings counted across up to 400 of the matching records; headings for study set-up (species, sex, age) are left out.
- Citations: NIH iCite citation counts for the same records.
- ClinicalTrials.gov search:
"melanotan II"re-run it. Any phase, any status.
This page reports what has been published and what papers say they found, with each source linked. It gives no dosing or usage information, and nothing here is a reason to use MT-II outside a laboratory.
Wholesale supply
MT-II for research, documented lot by lot.
10mg vials, with a published report printing 99.714% HPLC purity. Every wholesale lot comes with its certificate of analysis, and your quote names the lot. Pricing on inquiry.
MT-II research questions
How much research has been published on MT-II?
PubMed indexes 199 records matching MT-II (searched November 1, 2026), including 10 reviews and 4 records indexed as clinical trials. 26 were published in the five years 2021–2025.
When was MT-II first described in the literature?
The earliest PubMed record matching MT-II is from 1992 (Ugwu SO, Journal of chromatography, PMID 1336500).
What topics does the MT-II literature cover?
The subject headings PubMed indexers most often marked as a main topic of MT-II papers are alpha-MSH, Peptides, Cyclic, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4, Receptors, Melanocortin. These describe what the literature is about. Findings from individual papers, with their sources, are summarized on this page.
What is the regulatory status of MT-II?
Melanotan II is not listed as an approved drug in the FDA's Drugs@FDA database (searched 24 September 2026).
Is MT-II sold for human use?
No. Vanta Foundry supplies it for laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use, and not a drug, food, cosmetic or dietary supplement.
Where can I buy MT-II wholesale for research?
From the Vanta Foundry wholesale catalog: add it to your list, choose sizes and the number of vials, and send it on WhatsApp or by email. Every wholesale lot comes with a certificate of analysis.
Research materials supplied by Vanta Foundry are for laboratory research use only. They are not for human or veterinary use and are not drugs, foods, cosmetics or dietary supplements. Websites and payment processing are business services for research-supply brands.
All compounds: research peptide publication statistics.