AAV-mediated leptin receptor installation improves energy balance and the reproductive status of obese female Koletsky rats

Leptin is a hormone secreted primarily by white adipocytes that regulates energy homeostasis and reproduction via CNS receptors. Koletsky (f/f) rats with a leptin receptor (OB-Rb) gene mutation are obese, diabetic and infertile. We employed recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors to transfer the human OB-Rb gene into the brains of female Koletsky rats to identify sites of leptin action in the brain. rAAV-OB-Rb was microinjected into the medial preoptic area (MPOA), the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the ventromedial hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus (ARC), or the dorsal vagal complex in the brainstem. Food intake and body weight were monitored bi-weekly for 55 days. Vaginal cytology was examined daily to assess estrous cyclicity. After sacrifice, uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) mRNA in brown adipose tissue and serum concentrations of leptin, insulin, glucose, estradiol and progesterone were measured. Expression of OB-Rb was documented by RT-PCR and site specificity of microinjection was verified by immunohistochemical detection of green fluorescent protein following a control microinjection of rAAV-GFP. OB-Rb installation in the ARC reduced food intake, however, energy expenditure, assessed by UCP-1 mRNA expression, was increased by OB-Rb installation in all sites except the PVN. When injected into the MPOA and ARC, rAAV-OB-Rb stimulated the reproductive axis as evidenced by normalization of estrous cycle length and increased luteinizing hormone releasing hormone concentrations in the hypothalamus. These studies show that long-term installation of a functional leptin receptor in the CNS is achievable using rAAV vectors and further show that leptin acts on specific sites in the brain to produce differential effects on food intake, energy expenditure and reproduction.