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Cellular immunity before and after leptin replacement therapy
Gilberto Jorge Paz-Filho1, Tuncay Delibasi, Halil Kutlu Erol
1John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Insights
Congenital leptin deficiency does not always cause immune defects. Leptin replacement therapy improved T-cell responsiveness in a leptin-deficient boy, even without significant baseline immune issues.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Immunology
- Genetics
Background:
- Congenital leptin deficiency is rare.
- Previous cases suggest a link between leptin deficiency and immune dysfunction.
Observation:
- A 5-year-old boy with congenital leptin deficiency was studied.
- Immune parameters were assessed before and after recombinant methionyl human leptin therapy.
Findings:
- Baseline immune function was normal, with increased thymic volume.
- Leptin therapy enhanced T-cell proliferation (1.5-3 fold increase) and altered lymphocyte counts.
Implications:
- Immune defects are not mandatory in congenital leptin deficiency.
- Leptin therapy can boost T-cell function, irrespective of baseline immune status.
Background:
The few identified leptin-deficient children have immune deficiency.
Aims:
To evaluate whether a newly-identified leptin-deficient boy has immune defects; to assess the immune changes during leptin replacement.
Methods:
A 5 year-old boy with congenital leptin deficiency was evaluated before, 2 weeks and 6 weeks after the initiation of recombinant methionyl human leptin. Thymic volume was measured by computed tomography. Humoral immunity was assessed by measuring levels of several immunoglobulins. Cellular immunity was evaluated by the analysis of lymphocyte proliferation in response to mitogens. Lymphocyte subsets were quantified by flow cytometry.
Results:
At baseline, thymic volume was increased. The lymphocyte subsets count and humoral/cellular immunities were normal. After treatment, proliferative response to mitogens increased by 1.5- to 3-fold, and lymphocyte count decreased by 17%.
Conclusions:
Immune defects are not an obligatory feature of congenital leptin deficiency. Even in the absence of significant immune defects, leptin replacement therapy enhanced T-cell responsiveness.
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