Does anyone know anything about leptin?
Leptin (Greek leptos meaning thin) is a 16 kDa protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. Leptin is one of the most important adipose derived hormones. The effects of leptin were observed by studying mutant obese mice that arose at random within a mouse colony at the Jackson Laboratory in 1950. These mice were massively obese and hyperphagic. Leptin itself was discovered in 1994 by Jeffrey M. Friedman and colleagues at the Rockefeller University through the study of such mice. The Ob(Lep) gene (Ob for obese, Lep for leptin) is located on chromosome 7 in humans. Leptin is produced by adipose tissue and interacts with six types of receptor (LepRa–LepRf). LepRb is the only receptor isoform that contains active intracellular signaling domains. This receptor is present in a number of hypothalamic nuclei. Leptin binds to the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, known as the “appetite center.” Leptin signal
