The influence of leptin on early life programming of obesity

Epidemiological evidence together with experimental models shows a direct relationship between fetal and early postnatal growth patterns and an increased risk of adult metabolic disease. Maternal health and nutrition are key determinants in influencing infant growth but the precise molecular mechani...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2008-10, Vol.26 (10), p.545-551
Main Authors: Stocker, Claire J, Cawthorne, Michael A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Animal models
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Birth weight
Disease Models, Animal
energy metabolism
Feeding Behavior - physiology
Female
Human populations
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Insulin resistance
Internal Medicine
leptin
Leptin - metabolism
Leptin - therapeutic use
maternal effect
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
Metabolic disorders
Metabolic Syndrome - physiopathology
neonates
Nutrition
Obesity
Obesity - physiopathology
Obesity - prevention & control
oral administration
Peptides
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - physiopathology
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - prevention & control
Rodents
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Summary:Epidemiological evidence together with experimental models shows a direct relationship between fetal and early postnatal growth patterns and an increased risk of adult metabolic disease. Maternal health and nutrition are key determinants in influencing infant growth but the precise molecular mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear, although it is evident that there are critical time windows when these effects are important. Animal models show mechanistic parallels with human populations and highlight that the early environment represents a therapeutic window for protection from obesity and metabolic disease. The observation that developmental programming can be reversed has been demonstrated in studies in which both maternal and neonatal leptin treatment prevents the induction of the adverse metabolic phenotype. Given that orally administered peptides are absorbed intact by the new born, the prospect of providing supplemental leptin either as drops or in milk deserves serious consideration as a means of reducing or reversing the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic.
ISSN:0167-7799
1879-3096
DOI:10.1016/j.tibtech.2008.06.004