Leptin (obesity homolog, mouse) Adenovirus

This gene is similar to the mouse obesity gene (ob). The protein encoded by this gene is secreted by white adipocytes. In the mouse study, mutations in this gene are linked to severe and morbid obesity. The recessive obesity mutation, Ob, identified in 1950, results in profound obesity and type II diabetes as part of a syndrome that resembles morbid obesity in humans. It has been postulated that the Ob gene product may represent a component of a signaling pathway in adipose tissue that functions to regulate body fat depot size. Ob encodes a 4.5 kb adipose tissue-specific mRNA with a highly conserved 167 amino acid open reading frame. The Ob gene product has been identified as a 16 kDa secreted protein, designated leptin, that is apparently produced only in adipose tissue.