Abstract
The peptide hormone leptin regulates food intake, body mass, and reproductive function and plays a role in fetal growth, proinflammatory immune responses, angiogenesis and lipolysis. Leptin is a product of the obese (ob) gene and, following synthesis and secretion from fat cells in white adipose tissue, binds to and activates its cognate receptor, the leptin receptor (LEP-R). LEP-R distribution facilitates leptin’s pleiotropic effects, playing a crucial role in regulating body mass via a negative feedback mechanism between adipose tissue and the hypothalamus. Leptin resistance is characterized by reduced satiety, over-consumption of nutrients, and increased total body mass. Often this leads to obesity, which reduces the effectiveness of using exogenous leptin as a therapeutic agent. Thus, combining leptin therapies with leptin sensitizers may help overcome such resistance and, consequently, obesity. This review examines recent data obtained from human and animal studies related to leptin, its role in obesity, and its usefulness in obesity treatment.
Highlights
Obesity-associated co-morbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, heart disease, and some types of cancer cause about 3.4 million adults deaths in 2016, according to the World Health Organization [1]
Leptin treatment normalized the synaptic density on neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-related protein (AgRP) and POMC neurons 6 hours after treatment, a few hours before it affected food intake [40]. These findings indicate that leptin acts on the hypothalamus by regulating neuronal plasticity [34, 41]
Zelissen et al carried out a study with calorific intake restricted to 500 kcal/day coupled with 10 mg of recombinant leptin administered daily for 12 weeks [134]
Summary
Obesity-associated co-morbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, heart disease, and some types of cancer cause about 3.4 million adults (over age 18) deaths in 2016, according to the World Health Organization [1]. Studies demonstrated that the concentration of circulating leptin decreases during fasting [11] or energy restriction [12] but increases during refeeding [13], Leptin and obesity overfeeding [14], as well as during surgical stress [15] These effects provide an overview of how various pathways regulate the leptin signaling system to maintain body mass.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
