Abstract
Leptin concentrations were measured in the serum of cycling, pregnant, and lactating Sprague-Dawley rats. Serum leptin concentrations did not vary significantly during the estrous cycle. In contrast, as gestation advanced, serum leptin concentrations increased significantly, p < 0.0001. Following delivery, leptin concentrations declined and remained stable during lactation. Leptin messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) was identified in the visceral adipose tissue and placenta of rats sacrificed on days 14 and 21 of pregnancy. The relative abundance of placental leptin mRNA increased ≃4 to 5 fold from day 14 to 21 of gestation. The pattern of elevated leptin concentrations in the serum of late pregnant rats is similar to that reported in pregnant women, therefore the rat may be a useful model for the study of leptin during pregnancy. The increase in leptin in the serum of late pregnant rats, as well as an increase in placental mRNA, raises the possibility that leptin may serve a physiological role for the late parturient rat and/or its young.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1387-1395 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Life Sciences |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 16 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 11 1998 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Dr. M.P. Thompson for the genomic clone for rat leptin. The expert technical assistanceo f Norma Kim, Debby Hollingshead,T heresaT oczek, and th.ts ecretariaal ssistanceo f Ms. Shawna Thompson, are gratefully acknowledged. The work was supported by Merit Review funds from the Departmento f VeteransA ffairs. RSC was recipiento f a medical student researchf ellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AT was supportedb y NIH grant #5T32-DK-0752 for training in Endocrinology and Metabolism. AT presenta ddressi s 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 36-Room 4D20, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,M D, 20892-41 30.
Keywords
- Adipose tissue
- Estrous cycle
- Lactation
- Leptin
- Placenta
- Pregnancy