Volume 10, No 2, Jun 2000
ISSN: 1001-0602
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018
impact factor 17.848*
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)
Volume 10 Issue 2, June 2000: 81-92
REVIEWS
Leptin: a multifunctional hormone
HUANG Lu1, Cai LI1,2,*
1 Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research
1 Departments of Physiology and,
2 Departments of Internal Medicine
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
5323 H. Hines Boulevard Dallas, TX 75390-8854, USA
Correspondence:
Leptin is the protein product encoded by the obese ( ob) gene. It is a circulating hormone produced primarily by the adipose tissue. ob/ ob mice with mutations of the gene encoding leptin become morbidly obese, infertile, hyperphagic, hypothermic, and diabetic. Since the cloning of leptin in 1994, our knowledge in body weight regulation and the role played by leptin has increased substantially. We now know that leptin signals through its receptor, OB-R, which is a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily. Leptin serves as an adiposity signal to inform the brain the adipose tissue mass in a negative feedback loop regulating food intake and energy expenditure. Leptin also plays important roles in angiogenesis, immune function, fertility, and bone formation. Humans with mutations in the gene encoding leptin are also morbidly obese and respond to leptin treatment, demonstrating that enhancing or inhibiting leptin's activities in vivo may have potential therapeutic benefits.
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