Synopses & Reviews
The discovery of leptin little more than a decade ago, as a hormone produced in white adipose tissue with an important role in satiety and energy expenditure, was a seminal event in our understanding of adiposity. This initial advance in the new endocrinology of obesity was soon followed by the realization that leptin was not only produced in adipose tissue, but in many different tissues of the body, and that receptors were similarly distributed. Additionally, the early recognition of infertility that was associated with leptin deficiency prompted research that identified roles for the polypeptide in virtually every area of reproductive biology. A general interest in leptin has rapidly produced inroads into unexpected areas of physiology that may eventually elucidate the varied relationships of adiposity to human health and disease. These developments have been paralleled by a rigorous investigation as a product of pharmaceutical interest. The broad range of physiology and the clinical situations in which leptin is now implicated is reviewed for the first time in the present volume. ***Series Editor's comments**** This volume integrates cutting edge basic and clinical information encompassing the expression of leptin and leptin receptors, pathophysiology and clinical role of leptin- a new neuroendocrine hormone with pleiotropic roles in appetite regulation, metabolic, inflammatory, neoplastic, cardiovascular and reproductive functions. This single volume encyclopedic coverage is indispensable to students, postdoctoral trainees, fellows, scientists and practitioners interested in neuroendocrine peptide control of multiple cellular functions. Shlomo Melmed, M.D. Series Editor Endocrine Updates
Review
From the reviews: "This book is unique among reviews on leptin because it covers a number of different areas, and does so well. ... Overall, the book serves as an excellent resource for students and researchers and will provide an accessible starting point for more in-depth reading of the primary literature for a given topic." (Matthew J. Brady, Doody's Electronic Journal, January, 2007)
Synopsis
The discovery of leptin by Friedman and his colleagues in 1994 was a seminal discovery in the study of metabolism, providing a new tool to study energy expenditure and appetite regulation. Early studies actively investigated many aspects of metabolism, obesity, and diabetes but it was soon evident that leptin was much more than a metabolic hormone. Today leptin, with almost 11,000 reports in the world's literature, is recognized to be important in many areas of physiology with strong suggestions for involvement in clinical conditions as well. Leptin, of course, remains of great interest in obesity and diabetes but other, previously unimagined, areas are now in the realm of leptin physiology. Perhaps leptin and its involvement in many areas of reproductive physiology may be of greatest interest outside of obesity, but other physiological arenas are becoming increasingly involved in the broader understanding of leptin and its pleiotropic functions. These areas include cardiovascular disease, bone physiology, immune regulation, and even cancer and genetics. Clinical trials have suggested other areas of leptin pharmaceutical potential beyond the original promise of obesity management. These topics and others, for the first time, have been collected in one volume as the first comprehensive review of leptin and its many actions. This area will continue to increase and is now compounded by new endocrine factors that have been elucidated in the wake of leptin's explosion onto the physiological scene.
Synopsis
This book is an edited collection of the literature on leptin beginning with the discovery of leptin and a study of its affect on animals and in humans. Chapters will focus on the discovery, history, roles and regulation of leptin in all the major areas of physiology, as well as on assay methods, phylogeny and genetics. The timing of this volume is long overdue and is the first comprehensive coverage of leptin physiology in the field.
Table of Contents
The obese (ob/ob) mouse and the discovery of leptin.- Leptin receptors.- Leptin and obesity.- Leptin and neuroendocrinology.- Leptin-insulin interrelationships.- Leptin and other endocrine systems.- Leptin and immune function, inflammation and angiogenesis.- Leptin and bone: central control of bone metabolism by leptin.- The roles and regulation of leptin in reproduction.- Leptin and cardiovascular disease.- Leptin and cancer.- Lipodystrophy: The experiment of nature to study leptin.- Pulsatile and diurnal leptin rhythms.- Leptin in farm animals.- Genetic disorders involving leptin and the leptin receptor.- Immunoassays for leptin and leptin receptors.- Clinical applications of leptin.- Index.