Wauters M, Considine R V, Van Gaal L F
Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650 Edegem, Antwerp, Belgium.
Eur J Endocrinol. 2000 Sep;143(3):293-311. doi: 10.1530/eje.0.1430293.
Leptin is a mainly adipocyte-secreted protein that was discovered 5 years ago. Most of the research following this discovery focused on the role of leptin in body weight regulation, aiming to illuminate the pathophysiology of human obesity. However, more and more data are emerging that leptin is not only important in the regulation of food intake and energy balance, but that it also has a function as a metabolic and neuroendocrine hormone. It is now clear that it is especially involved in glucose metabolism, as well as in normal sexual maturation and reproduction. Besides this, interactions with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, thyroid and GH axes and even with haematopoiesis and the immune system have also been described. It has been shown that leptin secretion by the adipocyte is partly regulated by other hormones, such as insulin, cortisol, and sex steroids, mainly testosterone. Also, other hormones like thyroid hormone and GH are possibly involved in leptin synthesis. Leptin itself exerts effects on different endocrine axes, mainly on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and on insulin metabolism, but also on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, thyroid and GH axes. Leptin may thus be considered a new endocrine mediator, besides its obvious role in body weight regulation.
瘦素是一种主要由脂肪细胞分泌的蛋白质，于5年前被发现。这一发现后的大多数研究都集中在瘦素在体重调节中的作用，旨在阐明人类肥胖的病理生理学。然而，越来越多的数据表明，瘦素不仅在食物摄入和能量平衡的调节中很重要，而且还具有代谢和神经内分泌激素的功能。现在很清楚，它特别参与葡萄糖代谢，以及正常的性成熟和生殖。除此之外，还描述了它与下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴、甲状腺轴和生长激素轴的相互作用，甚至与造血和免疫系统的相互作用。已经表明，脂肪细胞分泌瘦素部分受其他激素调节，如胰岛素、皮质醇和性类固醇，主要是睾酮。此外，甲状腺激素和生长激素等其他激素可能也参与瘦素的合成。瘦素本身对不同的内分泌轴产生影响，主要是对下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴和胰岛素代谢，也对下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴、甲状腺轴和生长激素轴产生影响。因此，除了其在体重调节中的明显作用外，瘦素可能被认为是一种新的内分泌介质。
