Typically heterozygous rats are cryo-recovered in 10-12 weeks to an age of 7 weeks old. Subsequently homozygous rats to an age of 7 weeks old can be produced within 20-22 weeks.

• This model possesses a 151 bp deletion within Exon 1 on chromosome 4
• Homozygous knockout rats display loss of Leptin protein via Western blot
• Homozygous knockout rats demonstrate significant weight gain compared to wild type littermates
• Homozygous knockout rats demonstrate insulin resistance
• Homozygous knockout rats show greatly elevated serum cholesterol levels
• Background Strain:Sprague-Dawley

Availability: Cryopreserved as heterozygous embryos
Zygosity: Heterozygous as live colony

Leptin is essential for energy intake and expenditure. It is one of the most important adipose-derived hormones, being primarily expressed in adipocytes of white adipose tissue. Loss of function of Leptin creates an uncontrolled appetite leading to severe obesity and abnormal metabolism, making this a useful model for the study of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.