Related Experiment Videos
Leptin binding in the arcuate nucleus is increased during fasting
D G Baskin1, J F Breininger, S Bonigut
1VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA. baskindg@u.washington.edu
Brain Research
|May 13, 1999
Abstract:
The arcuate nucleus (ARC) mediates the anorexic effects of leptin and expresses the long form (Ob-Rb) of the leptin receptor. To determine whether ARC leptin binding increases when plasma leptin levels are low during fasting, [125I]-leptin specific binding to rat brain slices was measured by quantitative autoradiography. [125I]-leptin specific binding was dense in the ARC and increased 2-fold after a 48-h fast (P<0.001). These findings suggest that leptin receptor binding in the ARC is upregulated during fasting and that fasting changes the sensitivity of the ARC to leptin.