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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Isolation of Adipose Tissue Immune Cells
Published on: May 22, 2013
The role of leptin in innate and adaptive immune responses
Eiva Bernotiene1, Gaby Palmer, Cem Gabay
1Department of Experimental Research, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Abstract:
Leptin is produced primarily by adipocytes and functions in a feedback loop regulating body weight. Leptin deficiency results in severe obesity and a variety of endocrine abnormalities in animals and humans. Several studies indicated that leptin plays an important role in immune responses. It exerts protective anti-inflammatory effects in models of acute inflammation and during activation of innate immune responses. In contrast, leptin stimulates T lymphocyte responses, thus having rather a proinflammatory role in experimental models of autoimmune diseases. Clinical studies have so far yielded inconsistent results, suggesting a rather complex role for leptin in immune-mediated inflammatory conditions in humans.
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