Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Mar 23;27(5):350-5.
doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000546.

The role of leptin in central nervous system diseases

Affiliations
Review

The role of leptin in central nervous system diseases

Xiao-Mei Li et al. Neuroreport. .

Abstract

Leptin is a peptide hormone produced by adipose tissue and acts in brain centers to control critical physiological functions. Leptin receptors are especially abundant in the hypothalamus and trigger specific neuronal subpopulations, and activate several intracellular signaling events, including the JAK/STAT, MAPK, PI3K, and mTOR pathway. Although most studies focus on its role in energy intake and expenditure, leptin also plays a critical role in many central nervous system diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Summary of intracellular molecular signaling pathways of leptin and their possible effects for central nervous system diseases. See text for more information. CREB, cAMP response element-binding; I/R, ischemia–reperfusion; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase, mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; NMDA, N-methyl-d-aspartate; ObR, leptin receptor, UCP2, uncoupling protein-2.

References

    1. Zhang Y, Proenca R, Maffei M, Barone M, Leopold L, Friedman JM. Positional cloning of the mouse obese gene and its human homologue. Nature 1994; 372:425–432. - PubMed
    1. Maffei M, Halaas J, Ravussin E, Pratley RE, Lee GH, Zhang Y, et al. Leptin levels in human and rodent: measurement of plasma leptin and ob RNA in obese and weight-reduced subjects. Nat Med 1995; 1:1155–1161. - PubMed
    1. Banks WA, Kastin AJ, Huang W, Jaspan JB, Maness LM. Leptin enters the brain by a saturable system independent of insulin. Peptides 1996; 17:305–311. - PubMed
    1. Shan X, Yeo GS. Central leptin and ghrelin signalling: comparing and contrasting their mechanisms of action in the brain. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 2011; 12:197–209. - PubMed
    1. Morton GJ, Schwartz MW. Leptin and the central nervous system control of glucose metabolism. Physiol Rev 2011; 91:389–411. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types