Description
Leptin was identified as a protein product of the obese gene. Mice with mutations in the obese gene that block the synthesis of leptin have been found to be obese and diabetic and to have reduced activity, metabolism and body temperature. Leptin expression is restricted to adipose tissue. Leptin binds to a high affinity receptor (OB-R) with homology to gp130 and G-CSF-R. OB-R is expressed in the choroid plexus, in the hypothalamus and in very primitive hematopoietic cell populations. Mouse leptin cDNA encodes a 167 amino acid protein containing a 21 amino acid signal peptide. The recombinant methionyl form of mouse leptin contains 147 amino acid residues and has a predicted molecular mass of approximately 16 kDa