A role for leptin in brain development

Leptin,the product of the obese gene, is a circulating hormone involved in feeding behavior and energy homeostasis. Ob/ob mice which are leptin deficient have many phenotypic abnormalities including brains that are smaller in both weight and cortical volume. To this end, we monitored the effects of leptin administration on brain growth. Intraperitoneal administration of leptin for 2 weeks daily to 4-week-old ob/ob mice resulted in a maximal 10% increase in both wet and dry brain weights. This increase appears to be partially the result of increased cell number as indicated by a 19% increase in total brain DNA. In summary, our data suggest that the decreased brain size-of the ob/ob mouse is due to a developmental defect that can be corrected upon leptin administration and therefore leptin plays a role in brain growth and development. (C) 1999 Academic Press.