May function as part of a signaling pathway that acts to regulate the size of the body fat depot. An increase in the level of LEP may act directly or indirectly on the CNS to inhibit food intake and/or regulate energy expenditure as part of a homeostatic mechanism to maintain constancy of the adipose mass.
[1]Positional cloning of the mouse obese gene and its human homologue.Zhang Y., Proenca P., Maffei M., Barone M., Leopold L., Friedman J.M.Nature 372:425-432(1994) [2]Genomic structure and promoter analysis of the human obese gene.Gong D.W., Bi S., Pra
