BRAIN ADMINISTRATION OF LEPTIN CAUSES DELETION OF ADIPOCYTES BY APOPTOSIS

Leptin, produced in adipocytes, works through the central nervous syst em (CNS) to modulate food intake and energy expenditure, resulting in rapid loss of body fat depots. It is now shown that this process inclu des adipocyte apoptosis. Adipocyte deletion by apoptosis occurred afte r intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of leptin in rats. Adip ose tissue of leptin-treated rats demonstrated characteristic features of apoptosis, including internucleosomal fragmentation of genomic DNA , elevated levels of DNA strand breaks and a reduction in total DNA co ntent and cellular volume. These apoptotic features were absent in con trol and pair-fed rats in other tissues of leptin-treated rats.