Short communication: Tissue distribution of leptin and leptin receptor mRNA in the bovine

Detection of leptin and leptin receptor mRNA in various tissues is crucial to an understanding of leptin physiology in dairy cattle. We report here evidence of leptin receptor gene expression in central and peripheral tissues of the bovine by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction analysis. Leptin mRNA was detectable in mammary parenchyma and in adipose tissue with similar transcript abundance among the subcutaneous, pericardial, perirenal, and mesenteric adipose depots. The mRNA for the long-form of the leptin receptor, Ob-Rb, was detectable in all four adipose depots, mammary parenchyma, semintendinosus muscle, liver, adrenal cortex, spleen, kidney, testis, mesenteric lymph node, lung, aorta, abomasum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, hypothalamus, pituitary, brain stem, cerebral cortex, cerebellar cortex, pons, and pineal gland. The mRNA for the short form of the leptin receptor, Ob-Ra, was detectable in the liver, adrenal cortex, spleen, pituitary, and brain stem, but not in the other tissues surveyed. The wide spectrum of tissues expressing the leptin receptor gene reveals that leptin may have multiple physiological functions in the bovine.