Leptin up-regulates TLR2 in human monocytes.

The adipokine leptin elicits changes in the expression of the activation markers CD40 and CD69 in PBMCs and DCs, yet its effect on PRRs remains to be elucidated. Serum leptin concentrations are elevated in obesity and T2DM, which are both diseases associated with a proinflammatory state. We therefore investigated a possible role for leptin in monocyte TLR and CD14 expression.