Intraperitoneal leptin regulates lipid metabolism in ethanol supplemented Mus musculas heart.

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are a major cause of illness and disability worldwide. The relationship between ethanol consumption and cardiovascular disease are both complex and interconnected. Our aim of this study was to explore the effect of leptin on lipid metabolism in ethanol supplemented mice. Male Swiss mice (Mus musculas) weighing 25+/-2 g were administered ethanol (6.32 g kg(-1) body weight) for the first 30 days. Subsequently, ethanol fed mice were given intraperitoneal injections of exogenous mouse recombinant leptin (230 microg kg(-1) body weight) every alternate day for 15 days. Food and water intake and total body weight were measured every day and at the end of the experimental period of 45 days, plasma and cardiac lipids were analyzed. Exogenous leptin injections to ethanol fed mice significantly (P < 0.05) prevented the accumulation of total cholesterol, phospholipids (PL), triglycerides (TG) and free fatty acids (FFA) in the mouse heart and blood as compared to the untreated ethanol fed mice whereas, the plasma concentration of free cholesterol was significantly increased on leptin administration as compared to normal untreated mice. Moreover leptin administration significantly elevated the activities of cardiac lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and plasma lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) and significantly reduced the activities of cardiac HMG CoA reductase and cholesterol ester synthase (CES) on leptin administration to ethanol fed mice. Thus we could postulate that an increase in systemic leptin level prevents the accumulation of lipids in the plasma and heart of ethanol treated mice.