Leptin from rat has been used:

• to check the effect of intranasal nerve growth factor (NGF) on NGF activity in the spinal cord of Sprague-Dawley rats
• for validation of labelling for leptin-bearing cells of Sprague-Dawley rats
• to study the effect of leptin on STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) phosphorylation in neural population of Sprague-Dawley rats
• to study leptin response towards chemoreflex in nucleus of the solitary tract
• in rats, to check the effect of association between leptin and neuronal nitric oxide pathway on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity

Hormone produced primarily in adipocytes; primary site of action appears to be on neurons in the hypothalamus that are involved in regulating energy balance, appetite, and body weight.

In rodents with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, leptin is crucial for normalizing hyperglycemia. In the digestive tract, it also participates in the absorption of dietary molecules via controlling transporters activity.

Leptin is a hormone produced primarily in adipocytes, although leptin mRNA has also been identified in placenta and fetal tissues, gastric tissue and liver. Its primary site of action appears to be on neurons in the hypothalamus that are involved in regulating energy balance, appetite, and body weight. Leptin increases the production of nitric oxide in endothelial cells and stimulates angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.
Human and mouse leptin share ~84% sequence identity.

Lyophilized from a 0.2 μm filtered solution with 4.5 mM NaHCO₃.

The biological activity is measured by its ability to induce proliferation of leptin-dependent human OB-R transfected murine BAF3 cells.