Leptin


Description

Leptin is a hormone predominantly made by adipose cells and enterocytes in the small intestine that helps regulate energy balance by inhibiting hunger, which in turn diminishes fat storage in adipocytes; leptin acts on the neurons in certain brain areas such as the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and brain stem to regulate food intake, thermogenesis, energy expenditure, and homeostasis of glucose/lipid metabolism. A role for leptin in pregnancy was suggested by the findings that plasma levels during gestation are greater than in nongravid individuals and that leptin is synthesized within the fetoplacental unit, and observational studies have established that leptin production is dysregulated in several pathologic stages of pregnancy in association with alterations of fetal growth (Hauguel-de Mouzon, Lepercq et al. 2006). The adiponectin/leptin ratio has been suggested as a marker of adipose tissue dysfunction since it correlates with insulin resistance better than adiponectin or leptin alone, and is decreased with increasing number of metabolic risk factors proposed as predictive markers for the metabolic syndrome and stroke (Fruhbeck, Catalan et al. 2018). We have not been able to find reagents that recognize MAR leptin.

Alignment

Protein alignment for human, rhesus macaque and marmoset leptin:

image of Protein alignment for human, rhesus macaque and marmoset Leptin

Protein alignment for marmoset, owl monkey, and squirrel monkey leptin:

Protein alignment for marmoset, owl monkey, and squirrel monkey leptin

References

  • Fruhbeck, G., V. Catalan, A. Rodriguez and J. Gomez-Ambrosi (2018). "Adiponectin-leptin ratio: A promising index to estimate adipose tissue dysfunction. Relation with obesity-associated cardiometabolic risk." Adipocyte 7(1): 57-62.
  • Hauguel-de Mouzon, S., J. Lepercq and P. Catalano (2006). "The known and unknown of leptin in pregnancy." Am J Obstet Gynecol 194(6): 1537-1545.

Status

Mice have been immunized with recombinant marmoset protein.