Leptin and Its Role in Diabetes

Leptin, a hormone central to energy balance, was first conceptualized in 1958 through Hervey’s parabiosis experiments, which proposed a circulating satiety factor targeting the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). His work, followed by Kennedy’s hypothesis of a weight-regulating feedback loop, laid the groundwork for identifying leptin. This hormone was later isolated in 1994 by Jeffrey L. Halaas, revealing its role in appetite suppression and weight regulation. Leptin’s encoding gene, ob, primarily expressed in adipose tissue, provides leptin’s signal through a network of receptors distributed across brain regions and peripheral tissues, especially concentrated in the hypothalamus. Upon binding, leptin receptors activate intracellular pathways like JAK-STAT, PI3K, MAPK, and AMPK, which collectively mediate appetite control, metabolic rates, and energy storage adjustments, particularly during fasting or caloric deficits. Clinically, leptin resistance is frequently observed in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), where leptin’s ability to modulate glucose homeostasis is impaired, exacerbating insulin resistance and cardiovascular complications. Additionally, studies suggests that leptin has been involved in memory formation and immune response, playing an important role in neurobiology function.

The poster presentation is designed as part of the course Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (HSCI3001). The poster of mine is designed as an interactive poster to provide supplementary information as well as multi-media resources for readers to grasp the content of the poster.

A NFC tag is sticked on the title column of each section of the physical poster, readers may directly scan the NFC label to obtain the supplementary information. For those prefer to use traditional methods, they may scan the QR code provided at the bottom of the poster and jump to this page. Readers may use the navigator bar at the top of this website to jump to the corresponding page of poster sections.

The physical poster is shown at FHS lobby (G floor of E12) on University of Macau campus now. I sincerely invite you to come to the poster presentation to read my poster and my colleague's posters. A digital poster of mine is provided below as well.

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