Skip to main page content
U.S. flag
See More

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Sep 11;281(5383):1683-6.
doi: 10.1126/science.281.5383.1683.

Biological action of leptin as an angiogenic factor

M R Sierra-Honigmann  1 , A K Nath, C Murakami, G García-Cardeña, A Papapetropoulos, W C Sessa, L A Madge, J S Schechner, M B Schwabb, P J Polverini, J R Flores-Riveros
Affiliations

Biological action of leptin as an angiogenic factor

M R Sierra-Honigmann et al. Science. .

Abstract

Leptin is a hormone that regulates food intake, and its receptor (OB-Rb) is expressed primarily in the hypothalamus. Here, it is shown that OB-Rb is also expressed in human vasculature and in primary cultures of human endothelial cells. In vitro and in vivo assays revealed that leptin has angiogenic activity. In vivo, leptin induced neovascularization in corneas from normal rats but not in corneas from fa/fa Zucker rats, which lack functional leptin receptors. These observations indicate that the vascular endothelium is a target for leptin and suggest a physiological mechanism whereby leptin-induced angiogenesis may facilitate increased energy expenditure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Leptin sparks blood vessel growth.
    Barinaga M. Barinaga M. Science. 1998 Sep 11;281(5383):1582. doi: 10.1126/science.281.5383.1582. Science. 1998. PMID: 9767018 No abstract available.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources