This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Miyakawa, M. Articles by Tanaka, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Miyakawa, M. Articles by Tanaka, T. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH

Effect of Growth Hormone (GH) on Serum Concentrations of Leptin: Study in Patients with Acromegaly and GH Deficiency¹

Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Endocrinology Tokyo Women’s Medical College (M.M., T.Ts., H.M., O.I., H.D.), and the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Children’s Medical Research Center (T.Ta.), Tokyo, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Megumi Miyakawa, M.D., Department of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Endocrinology, Tokyo Women’s Medical College, 8–1 Kawada-cho, Tokyo, Japan.

As leptin, an ob gene product, plays a pivotal role in the regulation of adiposity and energy homeostasis, the level of its expression is likely to fluctuate under various physiological, nutritional, and disease conditions. Reports regarding the effect of GH on serum leptin levels are inconsistent. We have measured serum leptin levels and correlated them with several variables in patients with acromegaly, patients with adult GH deficiency (GHD), and normal controls. In 116 normal subjects, the mean serum concentration of leptin was 5.0 ± 2.8 (mean ± SD) ng/mL in men (n = 42) and 10.7 ± 7.3 ng/mL in women (n = 73), respectively. As reported previously, the leptin levels in women were significantly (P < 0.001) higher than in men, and there was a strong positive correlation between log-transformed serum leptin levels and percent body fat in simple regression analysis (in men: r = 0.606; P < 0.0001; in women: r = 0.707; P < 0.0001). In 36 acromegalic patients, the percent body fat mass was significantly lower than that in normal subjects, and the mean serum leptin level was 2.2 ± 1.8 ng/mL in men (n = 18) and 3.6 ± 2.5 ng/mL in women (n = 18). Analysis of covariance revealed that serum leptin levels in acromegalics were significantly lower than those in normal subjects after correcting percent body fat (P = 0.016 for men and P < 0001 for women). In male patients with GHD (n = 20), the mean percent body fat was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that in age-matched controls, whereas the value in female GHD patients (n = 15) did not differ from that in age-matched controls. Serum leptin levels in GHD patients were 5.1 ± 2.5 ng/mL in men and 11.5 ± 8.1 ng/mL in women, which were not different from those in normal subjects adjusted for percent body fat mass. In multiple regression analysis models with log-transformed leptin as the dependent variable, gender, percent body fat (or body fat mass), and serum insulin-like growth factor I levels entered the equations at a statistically significant level. These data suggest that excess GH/insulin-like growth factor I reduces serum leptin levels by reducing body fat mass and/or by unknown mechanisms.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M Jarfelt, B Lannering, I Bosaeus, G Johannsson, and R Bjarnason Body composition in young adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Eur. J. Endocrinol., July 1, 2005; 153(1): 81 - 89. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. S. Block, R. P. Rhoads, D. E. Bauman, R. A. Ehrhardt, M. A. McGuire, B. A. Crooker, J. M. Griinari, T. R. Mackle, W. J. Weber, M. E. Van Amburgh, et al. Demonstration of a Role for Insulin in the Regulation of Leptin in Lactating Dairy Cows J Dairy Sci, November 1, 2003; 86(11): 3508 - 3515. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Cartmill, D. L. Thompson Jr., W. A. Storer, L. R. Gentry, and N. K. Huff Endocrine responses in mares and geldings with high body condition scores grouped by high vs. low resting leptin concentrations J Anim Sci, September 1, 2003; 81(9): 2311 - 2321. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Marzullo, C. Buckway, K. L. Pratt, A. Colao, J. Guevara-Aguirre, and R. G. Rosenfeld Leptin Concentrations in GH Deficiency: The Effect of GH Insensitivity J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., February 1, 2002; 87(2): 540 - 545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. S. Randeva, R. D. Murray, K. C. Lewandowski, C. J. O'Callaghan, R. Horn, P. O'Hare, G. Brabant, E. W. Hillhouse, and S. M. Shalet Differential Effects of GH Replacement on the Components of the Leptin System in GH-Deficient Individuals J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., February 1, 2002; 87(2): 798 - 804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Freemark, D. Fleenor, P. Driscoll, N. Binart, and P. A. Kelly Body Weight and Fat Deposition in Prolactin Receptor-Deficient Mice Endocrinology, February 1, 2001; 142(2): 532 - 537. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. S. Damjanovic, M. S. Petakov, D. Micic, J. Marinkovic, C. Dieguez, F. F. Casanueva, and V. Popovic Serum Leptin Levels in Patients with Acromegaly before and after Correction of Hypersomatotropism by Trans-Sphenoidal Surgery J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., January 1, 2000; 85(1): 147 - 154. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				M. S. Gill, A. A. Toogood, J. Jones, P. E. Clayton, and S. M. Shalet Serum Leptin Response to the Acute and Chronic Administration of Growth Hormone (GH) to Elderly Subjects with GH Deficiency J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., April 1, 1999; 84(4): 1288 - 1295. [Abstract] [Full Text]