Selectivity · by receptor
MC5R: ligand selectivity
Melanocortin 5 receptor · exocrine glands
8 catalogued melanocortin ligands bind MC5R, but none prefer it: every one grips another receptor more tightly. That is much of why MC5R (exocrine glands) remains the least-drugged of the five — there is no ligand selective for it to build on.
Most MC5R-selective
No catalogued ligand is MC5R-selective. Every ligand that binds MC5R binds another receptor more tightly, soMC5R is always a secondary target — the central reason it has no dedicated drug.
Everything that binds MC5R
Ranked by binding strength. Filled bars are agonists; blue bars are blockers. Select a ligand for its full fingerprint across all five receptors.
Binding is not the whole story: these bars show how tightly each ligand holds MC5R, not what the receptor then does once bound. For the receptor's own biology — where it sits, what it controls, and what breaks when it fails — see the MC5R page. To put any one ligand next to the others, use the selectivity visualizer; for every value with its citation, the binding matrix.
Affinity values from the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY; selectivity is derived from them. Educational resource, not medical advice — see the editorial standards.