Leptin signaling in adipose tissue: Role in lipid accumulation and weight gain

Rationale: The link between obesity, hyperleptinemia, and development of cardiovascular disease is not completely understood. Increases in leptin have been shown to impair leptin signaling via caveolin-1-dependent mechanisms. However, the role of hyperleptinemia versus impaired leptin signaling in adipose tissue is not known. Objective: To determine the presence and significance of leptin-dependent increases in adipose tissue caveolin-1 expression in humans. Methods and Results: We designed a longitudinal study to investigate the effects of increases in leptin on adipose tissue caveolin-1 expression during weight gain in humans. Ten volunteers underwent 8 weeks of overfeeding, during which they gained an average weight of 4.1±1.4 kg, with leptin increases from 7±3.8 to 12±5.7 ng/mL. Weight gain also resulted in changes in adipose tissue caveolin-1 expression, which correlated with increases in leptin (rho=0.79, P=0.01). In cultured human white preadipocytes, leptin increased caveolin-1 expression, which in turn impaired leptin cellular signaling. Functionally, leptin decreased lipid accumulation in differentiating human white preadipocytes, which was prevented by caveolin-1 overexpression. Further, leptin decreased perilipin and fatty acid synthase expression, which play an important role in lipid storage and biogenesis. Conclusions: In healthy humans, increases in leptin, as seen with modest weight gain, may increase caveolin-1 expression in adipose tissue. Increased caveolin-1 expression in turn impairs leptin signaling and attenuates leptin-dependent lowering of intracellular lipid accumulation. Our study suggests a leptin-dependent feedback mechanism that may be essential to facilitate adipocyte lipid storage during weight gain.