Minireview: Glucocorticoid-Leptin Crosstalk: Role of Glucocorticoid-Leptin Counter-regulation in Metabolic Homeostasis And Normal Development.

Glucocorticoids and leptin are two important hormones that regulate metabolic homeostasis by controlling appetite and energy expenditure in adult mammals. Also, glucocorticoids and leptin strongly counter regulate each other such that, chronic stress-induced glucocorticoids upregulate the production of leptin and leptin suppresses glucocorticoid production directly via action on endocrine organs and indirectly via action on food intake. Altered glucocorticoid or leptin levels during development can impair organ development and increase the risk of chronic diseases in adults but there are limited studies depicting the significance of glucocorticoid-leptin interaction during development and it's impact on developmental programming. In mammals, leptin-induced suppression of glucocorticoid production is critical during development where leptin prevents stress-induced glucocorticoid production by regulating a period of short-hyporesponsiveness (SHRP) when the adrenal glands fail to respond to certain mild to moderate stressors. Conversely, reduced or absent leptin signaling increases glucocorticoid levels beyond what is appropriate for normal organogenesis. The counter-regulatory interactions between leptin and glucocorticoids suggest the potential significant involvement of leptin in disorders that occur from stress during development.