Leptin and hypothalamic gene expression in early- and late-maturing Bos indicus Nellore heifers

We investigated wether early-maturing or late-maturing Bos indicus Nellore heifers produced more leptin mRNA in adipose tissues and altered expression of hypothalamic genes related to leptin signaling. Six prepubertal and six pubertal heifers aged about 34 months and weighing 280 kg to 300 kg each were selected from a population of 100 Nellore heifers. Real-time PCR was used to quantify the expression of the leptin gene (LEP) in adipose tissues and the long isoform of the leptin receptor gene (Ob-Rb), the NK2 homeobox 1 hypothalamic marker gene NKX2-1, the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 ge...

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