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Serum Leptin Levels as a Marker for a Syndrome X-Like Condition in Wild Baboons

Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center-St. Louis (W.A.B., J.E.M.), St. Louis, Missouri 63106; Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine (W.A.B., J.E.M.), Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63104; Biology Department (R.M.S.), Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305; Department of Anthropology (J.E.P.-C.), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology (J.E.P.-C.), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110; Institute of Primate Research (J.A., R.M.S.), National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (J.A.), Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544; and Department of Conservation Biology (J.A.), Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois 60513

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: William A. Banks, 915 North Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63106. E-mail: bankswa{at}slu.edu.

We measured serum leptin levels in two groupings of wild male baboons, one with access to abundant quantities of food from gardens and garbage dumps near human habitations (Garbage; n = 11) and one without access (No Garbage; n = 10). A Garbage subgroup had high leptin levels (Garbage HL), whereas the rest of the Garbage group had low leptin levels (Garbage LL) similar to those in the No Garbage group. The Garbage HL individuals were obese, with higher mass, body mass index, and leptin to mass ratios; were insulin to resistant, with elevations in serum insulin, glucose, and insulin to glucose ratios; and were hyperlipidemic. This syndrome X-like condition occurred only in the Garbage HL subset. The Garbage LL subset did not differ from the No Garbage individuals in mass, body mass index, leptin to mass ratio, insulin, glucose, or insulin to glucose ratios. The highest cholesterol levels, however, occurred in the Garbage LL individuals, suggesting that susceptibility to hyperlipidemia is distinguishable from susceptibility to obesity and insulin resistance. The differences were not explained by age or social status. These results show that a subgroup of wild baboons is susceptible to developing obesity and insulin resistance and that this susceptibility is not related to age or social rank.

This work was supported by Veterans Affairs Merit Reviews (to W.A.B. and J.E.M.), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Grant R01 NS41863 (to W.A.B.), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Grant R01 AA12743 (to W.A.B.), the Chicago Zoological Society (to J.A.), and National Science Foundation Grant IBN-9983910 and its predecessors (to J.A.).

Abbreviations: BMI, Body mass index; HL, high leptin; IBW, ideal body weight; LL, low leptin.

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