Serum leptin concentration in pigs selected for high or low daily food intake

摘要

Leptin is synthesised and secreted from adipocytes into the blood stream and transported to the brain, where it acts to cause a release of factors which can reduce food intake (Houseknecht et RAID., 1998). There are two murine mutations of the recessive gene coding for leptin which are associated with obesity. The Lep~(ob) allele determines synthesis and secretion of leptin, while the Lep~(db) allele determines responsiveness to leptin. In the Edinburgh lean growth experiment in pigs, selection for high and low daily food intake (DFI) has been practiced for seven generations in a Large White herd, which provides the experimental resource to determine if the correlated response in fat deposition is consistent with insufficient leptin production or with insensitivity to leptin.