Leptin, a neuroendocrine mediator of immune responses, inflammation, and sickness behaviors

This article is part of a Special Issue “Neuroendocrine-Immune Axis in Health and Disease.”Effective immune responses are coordinated by interactions among the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Mounting immune, inflammatory, and sickness responses requires substantial energetic investments, and as such, an organism may need to balance energy allocation to these processes with the energetic demands of other competing physiological systems. The metabolic hormone leptin appears to be mediating trade-offs between the immune system and other physiological systems through its actions on immune cells and the brain. Here we review the evidence in both mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates that suggests leptin is involved in regulating immune responses, inflammation, and sickness behaviors. Leptin has also been implicated in the regulation of seasonal immune responses, including sickness; however, the precise physiological mechanisms remain unclear. Thus, we discuss recent data in support of leptin as a mediator of seasonal sickness responses and provide a theoretical model that outlines how seasonal cues, leptin, and proinflammatory cytokines may interact to coordinate seasonal immune and sickness responses.

► Interactions between the endocrine and immune systems facilitate pathogen clearance. ► Research among vertebrate classes shows that leptin regulates immune responses. ► Recent work suggests that leptin, in concert with cytokines, mediates sickness.