Leptin resistance before and after obesity: evidence that tissue glucose uptake underlies adipocyte enlargement and liver steatosis/steatohepatitis in Zucker rats from early-life stages.

In fa/fa Zucker rats, leptin resistance leads to glucose intolerance, mainly due to hepatic glucose overproduction, preceding obesity, and explaining pancreatic and intestinal hormonal changes and fat accumulation in adipocytes and hepatocytes. Our data support the involvement of liver glucose uptake in the pathogenesis of liver inflammatory disease. Its potential as more generalized biomarker or diagnostic approach remains to be established outside of our leptin-receptor-deficient rat model.