Role of Leptin in Mood Disorder and Neurodegenerative Disease

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience Vol. 13; p. 378
• Main Authors: Zou, Xiaohan, Zhong, Lili, Zhu, Cuilin, Zhao, Haisheng, Zhao, Fangyi, Cui, Ranji, Gao, Shuohui, Li, Bingjin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 03-05-2019; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Antidepressants; Binding sites; Brain; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Cloning; depression; Diabetes; Dopamine; Emotional disorders; Hippocampal plasticity; Hippocampus; Homeostasis; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; Hypothalamus; Kinases; Leptin; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mood; mood disorders; Movement disorders; neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroendocrine system; Neurological diseases; Neuroprotection; Neuroscience; Neurotransmitters; Neurotrophic factors; Parkinson's disease; Phosphorylation; Pituitary; Proteins; Synaptic plasticity; China; neurodegeneration; depression; leptin; mood disorders; neuroprotection
• ISSN: 1662-4548; 1662-453X; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00378

The critical regulatory role of leptin in the neuroendocrine system has been widely reported. Significantly, leptin can improve learning and memory, affect hippocampal synaptic plasticity, exert neuroprotective efficacy and reduce the risk of several neuropsychiatric diseases. In terms of depression, leptin could modulate the levels of neurotransmitters, neurotrophic factors and reverse the dysfunction in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). At the same time, leptin affects neurological diseases during the regulation of metabolic homeostasis. With regards to neurodegenerative diseases, leptin can affect them via neuroprotection, mainly including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. This review will summarize the mechanisms of leptin signaling within the neuroendocrine system with respect to these diseases and discuss the therapeutic potential of leptin.