Fig. 2.

Leptin stimulates N-acetylation of αMSH in the hypothalamus. (A) HPLC elution profile of Des-αMSH and Act-αMSH peptide standards detected by UV (OD₂₂₀). AU, absorbance units. (B) Representative HPLC/RIA profiles of Des-αMSH and Act-αMSH in hypothalamic (HYP) extracts from PBS-treated, pair-fed, and leptin-treated C57BL/6J mice. (C) Hypothalamic (HYP) amounts of Des-αMSH and Act-αMSH in C57BL/6J mice treated with leptin and PBS or pair-fed for 3 days. (D) Hypothalamic (HYP) levels of Des-αMSH and Act-αMSH 3 h after leptin or PBS injection in ob/ob mice. Data in C and D are means ± SE of five animals. Significant differences were determined by Student's t test. **, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.0005.