Recent evidence suggests that besides its action on the central nervous system, leptin can modulate vascular tone through local mechanisms involving nitric oxide (NO) release. In this study, using a fluorescent probe for direct determination of NO, we demonstrated both in endothelial cells and in vessels that leptin is able to stimulate NO release. The effect of leptin on NO is abolished by erbstatin A, a Ca²⁺-independent tyrosine kinase inhibitor, whereas it is not influenced by calcium removal or by other protein phosphorylation inhibitors, such as genistein (an ATP-dependent tyrosine-kinase inhibitor) or wortmannin and LY294002 (two different phosphatidylinositol [PI] 3-kinase inhibitors). Accordingly, leptin-induced vasorelaxation in aortic rings was abolished only by erbstatin A. Furthermore, immunoblotting studies revealed that leptin evokes Akt phosphorylation, with a comparable time course in both endothelial cells and vessels. Also in this experimental system, the effect of leptin was abolished by erbstatin A and not by other inhibitors. Finally, a considerable increase in endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation in Ser¹¹⁷⁷ was found when vessels were treated with leptin. In conclusion, leptin induces NO production by activating a PI 3-kinase–independent Akt-eNOS phosphorylation pathway.

In this study, we reveal that leptin evokes an acute hypotensive effect in 6-hydroxydopamine sympathectomized rats (response to maximal leptin dose, mean blood pressure: from 92 +/- 4 to 78 +/- 2 mmHg, P < 0.01). This hemodynamic effect is related to a direct action of the hormone on vascular tone, since in aortic and mesenteric rings increasing doses of leptin evoke a dose-dependent vasorelaxation (aorta: from 3 +/- 1 to 36 +/- 3, n = 15; mesenteric: from 6 +/- 1 to 30 +/- 5, n = 10), which is impaired by endothelial denudation. In particular, leptin-evoked vasorelaxation is impaired by nitric oxide synthase inhibition in aorta (delta% of maximal response: from 36 +/- 3 to 3 +/- 1, P < 0.01) and by endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) inhibition in mesenteric arteries (delta% of maximal response: from 30 +/- 5 to 7 +/- 2, P < 0.01), suggesting that vasorelaxation evoked by leptin is heterogeneous and related to the vascular bed. Finally, the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase by NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester does not modify blood pressure response to leptin, suggesting a predominant role of the EDHF mechanism in the hypotensive effect of leptin.