Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in rodents decreases lipid accumulation and body weight. Melanocortin receptor 2 (MC2R) and MC2R accessory protein (MRAP) are specific receptors for ACTH in adipocytes. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) plays a role in the transcriptional regulation of metabolic pathways such as adipogenesis and beta-oxidation of fatty acids. In this study we investigated the transcriptional regulation of MRAP expression during differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. Stimulation with ACTH affected lipolysis in murine mature adipocytes via MRAP. Putative peroxisome proliferator response element (PPRE) was identified in the MRAP promoter region. In chromatin immunoprecipitation and reporter assays, we observed binding of PPAR gamma to the MRAP promoter. The mutagenesis experiments showed that the -1209/-1198 region of the MRAP promoter could function as a PPRE site. These results suggest that PPAR gamma is required for transcriptional activation of the MRAP gene during adipogenesis, which contributes to understanding of the molecular mechanism of lipolysis in adipocytes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.