Phenomenon of leptin resistance in seasonal animals: the failure of leptin action in the brain

The core of the leptin resistance hypothesis promulgated several years ago to explain obesity as a result of environmental causes consists of two tenets: the extinction of leptin-induced intracellular signaling downstream of leptin binding to the long form of the neuronal receptor LTRb in the hypothalamus and the impedance to leptin entry imposed at the blood-brain barrier (BBB). A recent comprehensive investigation concluded that a central leptin insufficiency associated with obesity can be attributed to a decreased efficiency of BBB leptin transport and not to leptin insensitivity within the hypothalamus.
Source: Domestic Animal Endocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Source Type: research