Leptin, like estrogen, is one of the endo/paracrine factors, which are synthesized in and secreted from mature adipocytes. The roles of the mammary fat pad and mammary adipocytes in the initiation of lactation are not clear. In this study, we showed that combination of prolactin, leptin and estrogen elevated the expression of the milk protein beta-lactoglobulin. We also showed that after prolac...

Leptin is known to selectively suppress neural and behavioral responses to sweet-tasting compounds. However, the molecular basis for the effect of leptin on sweet taste is not known. Here, we report that leptin suppresses sweet taste via leptin receptors (Ob-Rb) and KATP channels expressed selectively in sweet-sensitive taste cells. Ob-Rb was more often expressed in taste cells that expressed T...

BACKGROUND Leptin, an adipocyte-secreted hormone that centrally regulates weight control, may exert proinflammatory effects in the joint, depending on the immune response. Leptin is abundantly expressed in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage and synovium. However, the relationship between leptin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in OA synovial fibroblasts (OASFs) remains obscure. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDI...

It is well established that leptin is a circulating hormone that enters the brain and regulates food intake and body weight via its hypothalamic actions. However, it is also known that leptin receptors are widely expressed in the CNS (central nervous system), and evidence is accumulating that leptin modulates many neuronal functions. In particular, recent studies have indicated that leptin play...

Removal of adrenal steroids by adrenalectomy (ADX) slows or reverses the development of many forms of obesity in rodents, including those that are leptin or leptin receptor deficient. Obesity is associated with hyperleptinemia and leptin resistance. We hypothesized that glucocorticoids impair leptin receptor signaling and that removal thereof would activate the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transdu...

Leptin is an adipocyte-derived cytokine coded by the obese gene, not only regulates metabolism, but also participates in hematopoiesis. Aberrant leptin levels in patients with hematologic malignancies were observed and associates with clinical characters, such as body mass index (BMI), gender, blast cell percentage. Leptin concentrations alter while diseases progress or remission. Leptin recept...

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the leptin receptor (LEPR) polymorphism/serum leptin level and preeclampsia. The prevalence of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the LEPR gene exon 14 at -656 and the serum leptin concentrations in 97 preeclamptic pregnant mothers were compared to those of 110 healthy controls. The Lys656Asn genotype and Lys656Asn + Asn656Asn f...

Leptin is a circulating hormone secreted by adipose and a few other tissues. The leptin receptor consists of a single transmembrane-spanning polypeptide that is present as a long physiologically important form as well as in several short isoforms. Recent studies have suggested that the anterior pituitary may have a role in the regulatory effects of leptin in animal models. To test this possibil...

BACKGROUND Leptin plays a key role in the regulation of energy expenditure and is known to circulate in both free and bound forms. Soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) is a unique circulating form of leptin receptor that can bind to leptin. Leptin and leptin receptor have been implicated in processes leading to breast cancer initiation and progression. Our study was aimed to investigate the relation...