Leptin and its receptors in human fetal and adult ovaries.

The objective of the study was to investigate the immunocytochemical expression and presence of messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts for leptin and its receptors in ovaries from human adults and adolescents and second- and third-trimester fetuses. Staining for leptin and the long form of its receptor was identified in oocytes of follicles from primordial stages onward, and for leptin only in granulosa cells of a minority of the samples. Expression of mRNA transcripts for both ligands was detected in all the samples tested.