Scripps VIVO scripps research logo

  • Index
  • Log in
  • Home
  • People
  • Organizations
  • Research
  • Events
Search form

Leptin binding activity changes with age: The link between leptin and puberty

Academic Article
uri icon
  • Overview
  • Identity
  • Additional Document Info
  • View All
scroll to property group menus

Overview

authors

  • Quinton, N. D.
  • Smith, R. F.
  • Clayton, P. E.
  • Gill, Matt
  • Shalet, S.
  • Justice, S. K.
  • Simon, S. A.
  • Walters, S.
  • Postel-Vinay, M. C.
  • Blakemore, A. I. F.
  • Ross, R. J. M.

publication date

  • July 1999

journal

  • Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism  Journal

abstract

  • The timing of the physical transition from child to adult is determined by a biological clock that switches off the pituitary gonadal axis during infancy until puberty. Body composition (and in particular, fat mass), through leptin, are critical signals to this clock. However, no direct relationship between leptin and puberty has been demonstrated. Leptin is bound in the circulation by a high-affinity binding protein, which has been identified as a soluble leptin receptor. We found circulating levels of leptin binding activity (LBA) to be low at birth, to be high in the prepubertal years, to fall through puberty, and then to remain stable during adult life. LBA correlated with pubertal status in both boys and girls. We postulate that the fall in LBA, associated with increasing age and puberty, reflects a reduction in expression of truncated leptin receptors, and leptin is then available to the full-length receptor, which transmits the biological signal for leptin. The high levels of LBA occur during the years when the pituitary gonadal axis is quiescent. Thus, the change in LBA could explain how leptin regulates puberty.

subject areas

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aging
  • Binding, Competitive
  • Body Mass Index
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Leptin
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Protein Binding
  • Proteins
  • Puberty
  • Receptors, Cell Surface
  • Receptors, Leptin
  • Testis
scroll to property group menus

Identity

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0021-972X

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1210/jc.84.7.2336

PubMed ID

  • 10404799
scroll to property group menus

Additional Document Info

start page

  • 2336

end page

  • 2341

volume

  • 84

issue

  • 7

©2021 The Scripps Research Institute | Terms of Use | Powered by VIVO

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Support