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Original Studies |
Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center (J.J.R., J.W.K., R.J.C.), Institute on Aging (J.J.R.), and Department of Medicine (J.W.K.), University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53715-1299; and Department of Molecular Sciences (D.C.) and Metabolic Diseases (A.G.S.), Pfizer Central Research, Groton, Connecticut 06340
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Jon J. Ramsey, Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, 1223 Capitol Court, Madison, Wisconsin.
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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It has been hypothesized that the brain is the major target organ of leptin action. Consistent with this idea, the active form of the leptin receptor has been shown to be densely concentrated in the hypothalamic region of the brain (10, 11, 12), suggesting that transport across the blood-brain barrier could limit access of leptin to hypothalamic leptin receptors and thus regulate activity of circulating leptin. This is supported by the observation that obese humans have a lower cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/blood leptin ratio than lean individuals (13, 14). In contrast, the concept of blood brain-barrier restrictions to leptin activity is not consistent with studies that reported leptin to be active when administered peripherally to lean and obese rodents. It is possible that leptin transport into the brain is more tightly regulated in humans (and nonhuman primates) as compared with rodents. To test this idea, the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) and iv leptin administration on food intake was determined in rhesus monkeys. Additionally, the effect of ICV injections of leptin on energy expenditure was also evaluated.
| Materials and Methods |
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The recombinant human leptin used for this experiment was greater than 95% pure as determined by silver-stained SDS-PAGE. Following purification, the leptin was treated with polymixin B agarose to remove endotoxin. The final endotoxin concentration was 612 EU/mg protein (or <0.025 endotoxin units (EU)/kg for the 22 µg ICV dose), as determined by the limulus amebocyte lysate assay. Even at the highest dose, the endotoxin level was well below the upper limit for intrathecal administration (viz. 0.2 EU/kg) established by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The authenticity of the final preparation was confirmed by both N-terminal sequence analysis and mass spectroscopy. Analytical size exclusion chromatography revealed a single peak with a retention time typical of a 16-kDa globular protein. In addition, the spectra generated from far ultraviolet circular dichroism analysis was typical of a folded protein with high helical content, whereas thermal and denaturant unfolding suggested a very high degree of conformational stability. Furthermore, the specificity of the anorectic effect was supported by the observation that the preparations of leptin were active when administered ICV (1 µg) to ob/ob mice, but inactive in db/db mice.
Experimental design and animals
Four adult, male rhesus monkeys (Table 1
), born and raised at the Wisconsin
Regional Primate Research Center, were used for this study. All phases
of the experiment were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and
Use Committee at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The animals were
individually caged to allow accurate measurement of food intake. The
cages were constructed of stainless steel with inside dimensions of 89
cm wide x 86 cm deep x 86 cm high. The cages were fitted
with food hoppers and water spigots that allowed the animals continuous
access to water. The animals were maintained on a 12 h light/12 h
dark cycle with lights on between 0600 and 1800 h, and room
temperature was maintained at approximately 21 C. Each animal was fed a
preweighed amount of monkey biscuits (5038; PMI Feeds, St. Louis, MO)
at 0800 h each morning. Before the start of the experiment, food
allotments for each animal were determined, which prevented excessive
waste and yet normally resulted in food remaining after 24 h. At
0800 h, food remaining in the cage was collected and weighed, and
the animals were given another preweighed allotment of food. Food
intake was measured daily during all phases of the experiment.
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Food intake and energy expenditure were measured following ICV injections (40 µL) vehicle (phosphate buffer) or leptin at doses of 500 ng and 22 µg. Additionally, food intake measurements were made following ICV injections of vehicle and 2 µg leptin. The doses used in this experiment were selected after dose tests in the monkeys had shown that these amounts of leptin consistently decreased food intake without any signs of harmful side effects. One animal was removed from the ICV portion of the experiment following the 500-ng injection phase because of cannula problems. The monkeys were given ICV injections of vehicle, leptin, and vehicle on consecutive days. Measurements of food intake and energy expenditure were completed on the same day.
A peripheral injection of 3 mg leptin was given to all four animals 2 weeks after the completion of the ICV portion of the experiment. On the first day, the animals were given an iv injection of vehicle, and blood samples were collected at 5 min and 6 h following injection. A single iv leptin injection was then given on the second day, and blood samples were again collected at 5 min and 6 h following injection. On the third day, only food intake measurements were collected for each animal. All blood samples were collected from the saphenous vein into Vacutainer tubes. Blood samples were analyzed for leptin using a RIA kit (Primate Leptin RIA Kit, LINCO, St. Louis, MO) that does not differentiate between rhesus and human leptin.
Indirect respiration calorimetry
Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production were measured by indirect respiration calorimetry. The monkeys were placed in the calorimetry chambers and allowed to adapt to their surroundings for at least 2 days before the start of calorimetry measurements. The calorimetry chambers had inside dimensions of 75 cm wide x 75 cm deep x 80 cm high, and the animals were able to see and hear other animals the entire time that they were in the chambers.
Air was drawn through the chambers and flow rate was measured by a mass flowmeter (FMA-408; Omega, Stamford, CT). The chamber exhaust was continuously sampled at a rate of 100 mL/min (Flow Control R-1; Ametek, Pittsburgh, PA) for analysis of O2 content (Oxygen Sensor N-22 M and Oxygen Analyzer S-3A/I; Ametek, Pittsburgh, PA), CO2 content (Carbon Dioxide Sensor P-61B and Carbon Dioxide Analyzer CD-3A), and temperature and humidity (RH411 Digitial Thermo-Hygrometer; Omega). Outputs from the analyzers and mass flowmeter were recorded every 10 min with the use of a Flash 12 data acquisition system (Strawberry Tree, Sunnyvale, CA) and Diversified Systems 486 PC (Middleton, WI). The chambers were calibrated by burning ethanol lamps and measuring the recovery of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the system.
Energy expenditure was calculated using 16.50 kJ/L oxygen consumed plus 4.63 kJ/L carbon dioxide produced (15). For analysis, energy expenditure was divided into daytime (06001800 h), nighttime (18000600 h), and 24-h measurements.
Statistical analyses
Food intake differences with ICV treatments were examined by analysis of covariance (SAS system software, SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Energy expenditure and all measurements following iv leptin administration were compared using paired Students t test. All values are presented as means ± SE.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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ICV leptin administration resulted in a potent, dose-dependent decrease in food intake. The decrease in food intake following ICV leptin injection in rhesus monkeys was similar to the results obtained for lean strains of rodents receiving similar absolute ICV leptin amounts (4, 10, 19, 20). This suggests that the monkeys used in this experiment were at least as sensitive to exogenous leptin administration as the previously studied lean rodent strains. The anorectic effect of ICV leptin administration lasted for 1 day with the lowest leptin doses, whereas the highest dose resulted in a 2-day suppression of food intake in some animals. This result is consistent with ICV leptin injection studies in rodents which have shown that a single injection can induce an inhibition of food intake for 2 days (19, 20).
Individual differences in food intake response to ICV leptin administration were observed between monkeys. These differences in response to leptin could reflect either differences in leptin sensitivity or slight differences in cannula location within the left cerebral ventricle, which could effect leptin concentration at target sites. Different strains of mice have been shown to differ in their response to central or peripheral leptin infusions (21), and studies in humans have shown variability in serum leptin concentrations between individuals with similar body fat percentages (9). These results suggest that individuals do show large differences in their sensitivity to leptin. In addition to differences in sensitivity to leptin, slight differences in cannula location within the left ventricle could potentially contribute to the observed responses to leptin administration. Experiments have shown that leptin activates the paraventricular nucleus (22, 23) and ventrobasal (23) region of the hypothalamus. It is possible that slight differences in cannula location could influence leptin concentration around these or other critical sites and thus contribute slightly to the observed differences in response to leptin.
Energy expenditure was not different between placebo and leptin ICV treatments. Considering that food intake was substantially decreased during these measurements, a decrease in the thermic effect of feeding would have been expected. Because thermic effect of feeding is related to energy intake and responsible for 1015% of total energy expenditure, a 38% decrease in energy expenditure would have been predicted with the decreases in food intake observed with leptin treatment. A slight increase in energy expenditure of less than 10% may have obscured this decrease in the thermic effect of feeding. A previous study with lean and obese strains of mice also showed that leptin does not increase energy expenditure but prevents the decrease in energy expenditure following a decrease in food intake (21). Studies have shown that leptin dramatically increases oxygen consumption and energy expenditure (2, 16) in ob/ob mice, but large increases in energy expenditure generally have not been reported with leptin treatment in other strains of mice. These results suggest that large, leptin-associated changes in energy expenditure may be unique to the leptin deficiency disorder in ob/ob mice, whereas in other animal models, leptin may result in only a slight increase (<10%) in energy expenditure that counteracts the decrease in thermic effect of feeding.
In contrast to the ICV results, a single peripheral injection of leptin did not alter food intake despite the fact that serum leptin levels were elevated by as much as 100-fold following the injection. Studies in mice have demonstrated that some animals are resistant to peripheral leptin, but respond to central leptin administration (21, 24). Experiments with human volunteers have shown that obese individuals have a lower leptin CSF/serum ratio than lean individuals, suggesting a saturable transport system from the blood to the CSF (13, 14). In support of this idea, evidence for a saturable leptin-specific receptor for endocytosis across the blood-brain barrier has been found in isolated human brain capillaries (25). The presence of a saturable transport system from the blood to the CSF could explain how large increases in serum leptin concentration with obesity are associated with smaller changes in CSF leptin levels. Failure of iv leptin administration to inhibit food intake in monkeys suggests that saturation of the system for transportation of leptin across the blood-brain barrier may limit the ability of peripheral leptin to regulate food intake. It is also possible that binding proteins may play a role in limiting the action of peripheral leptin. It has been reported that a soluble isoform of the leptin receptor acts as a binding protein and may inhibit leptin interaction with its receptor (26). Binding proteins may play a role in preventing peripheral leptin from interacting with receptors or transport proteins needed for movement into the CSF, however, additional research is needed to determine the role these proteins may play in regulating the action of circulating leptin.
It has been proposed that the primary physiological function of leptin may not be as a signal of adiposity and regulator of food intake, but as a regulator of the neuroendocrine system during starvation (27). Studies in humans (28, 29) and mice (27) have shown that short-term fasting results in a rapid decrease in blood leptin levels, despite the fact that body fat content is only slightly decreased during this time. Leptin administration to fasted mice blunts many of the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive hormone changes (27) with this condition. It is possible that the body rapidly responds to a decrease in leptin concentrations, whereas it is resistant to leptin concentrations above those measured in the fed state. Increases in leptin transporter numbers may be required for food intake response to high doses of leptin. Our study demonstrates that food intake in rhesus monkeys is rapidly altered by central but not peripheral leptin administration. It is possible that increased leptin receptor concentrations are needed for effective transport of leptin from the blood to the CSF. The obese Koletsky rat has nearly complete absence of leptin receptor messenger RNA in the brain, and has been shown to have greatly reduced ratio of CSF/plasma leptin when compared with lean animals (30). These results suggest that leptin receptor concentrations in critical brain sites play an extremely important role in regulating leptin transport from the blood to CSF. The obese Koletsky rat, however, has similar CSF leptin concentrations as lean rats, indicating that at least some leptin can enter the brain through a pathway separate from the leptin receptor. The failure of this pathway to increase CSF leptin concentrations above normal levels in obese rats with peripheral hyperleptinemia has led to speculation that this pathway is saturated at normal physiological plasma leptin concentrations (30). It is possible that long-term exposure to high peripheral leptin concentrations could influence food intake by inducing leptin receptor synthesis or by some other adaptive mechanism. In the short term, however, the blood brain barrier may prevent rhesus monkeys from responding to leptin levels above those in the fed state.
Overall, ICV doses of as little as 500 ng leptin tended to decrease food intake, whereas a peripheral dose sufficient to elevate serum leptin concentrations up to 100-fold above baseline concentrations and maintain elevated leptin for at least 6 h had no effect on food intake in rhesus monkeys. These results suggest that leptin is a potent regulator of food intake in rhesus monkeys, but is only effective when concentrations are elevated in the CSF. The transport system for movement of leptin across the blood-brain barrier appears to limit the effective regulation of food intake by peripheral administration of leptin to monkeys. Additional research on this transport system will probably be needed before leptin may be successfully used for the treatment of obesity.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received April 2, 1998.
Revised May 8, 1998.
Accepted May 21, 1998.
| References |
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