Cell Biology Commons^™

The Effect Of Exogenous Leptin On Murine Dendritic Cell Morphology And Function, Christine Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Leptin is a pleiotropic hormone primarily secreted by white adipose tissue. Although originally found to regulate food intake and energy expenditure, it is now known to also significantly affect the immune system. In this study we assessed the effect of leptin on bone marrow derived dendritic cell (BM-DC) cytoskeletal structure and functionality. Our preliminary data demonstrates that the addition of physiological concentrations of exogenous leptin to BM-DC causes cytoskeletal rearrangement specifically that of actin as evidenced by increased number of llamelopodia/dendrites and increased staining for actin within the llamelopodia/dendrite region. This suggests that leptin is a necessary component of DC …