Skip to main content

Leptin Receptor

Meaning

The Leptin Receptor, scientifically known as OB-R or LEPR, is a transmembrane protein primarily found in the hypothalamus of the brain, as well as on various peripheral cells, that binds to the adipokine hormone leptin. Leptin, secreted by adipose tissue, signals the body’s energy stores to the central nervous system, and the receptor’s function is to transmit this crucial signal of satiety and long-term energy homeostasis. The long isoform, OB-Rb, possesses the complete intracellular signaling domain necessary to elicit a biological response. Defects in this receptor or chronic resistance to its signaling can lead to severe metabolic dysregulation and obesity.