The Importance of Leptin in Animal Science

There are two different neurons that control the energetic homeostasis in animals: appetite-stimulating and appetite-suppressing neurons. Leptin is a peptide hormone (also known as “satiety hormone”), released by adipose cells, being an anorexigenic compound which inhibit the hunger. Leptin function in animal organism is opposite by the action of ghrelin – a peptide hormone acting as an orexigenic compound that activate the hunger sensation. The quantity of leptin produced in organism is correlated by the size and the number of adipocytes, and of course by the lipid tissue mass. The action of leptin is in accordance with the neuropeptide Y that signaling the brain to increase the appetite and make the animal to eat. When the animals lose weight, the mass of adipose tissue is diminished, that has as consequence a decrease the leptin concentration in the blood. Blood leptin is correlated also with other characteristics, such as: fasting for a short term, stress, physical activity, sleep duration (prehibernation and hibernation), insulin concentration, obesity and diabetes.