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Review
. 2019 May 14;20(10):2392.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20102392.

Leptin and Immunological Profile in Obesity and Its Associated Diseases in Dogs

Laura Cortese  1 , Giuseppe Terrazzano  2   3 , Alessandra Pelagalli  4   5
Affiliations
Review

Leptin and Immunological Profile in Obesity and Its Associated Diseases in Dogs

Laura Cortese et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Growing scientific evidence has unveiled increased incidences of obesity in domestic animals and its influence on a plethora of associated disorders. Leptin, an adipokine regulating body fat mass, represents a key molecule in obesity, able to modulate immune responses and foster chronic inflammatory response in peripheral tissues. High levels of cytokines and inflammatory markers suggest an association between inflammatory state and obesity in dogs, highlighting the parallelism with humans. Canine obesity is a relevant disease always accompanied with several health conditions such as inflammation, immune-dysregulation, insulin resistance, pancreatitis, orthopaedic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and neoplasia. However, leptin involvement in many disease processes in veterinary medicine is poorly understood. Moreover, hyperleptinemia as well as leptin resistance occur with cardiac dysfunction as a consequence of altered cardiac mitochondrial metabolism in obese dogs. Similarly, leptin dysregulation seems to be involved in the pancreatitis pathophysiology. This review aims to examine literature concerning leptin and immunological status in obese dogs, in particular for the aspects related to obesity-associated diseases.

Keywords: dog; human; immune function; leptin; obesity; physiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Inflammatory roles of leptin in the course of obesity and their relevance in both human and veterinary medicine.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Physiological role of leptin on innate and adaptive immunity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Obesity in dogs and diseases associated with hyperleptinemia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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