Martínez Uña, MaiteLópez Mancheño, YaizaDiéguez González, CarlosFernández Rojo, Manuel A.Garrido Novelle, Marta2020-12-172020-12-172020Martínez-Uña, M.; López-Mancheño, Y.; Diéguez, C.; Fernández-Rojo, M.A.; Novelle, M.G. Unraveling the Role of Leptin in Liver Function and Its Relationship with Liver Diseases. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 9368http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24068Since its discovery twenty-five years ago, the fat-derived hormone leptin has provided a revolutionary framework for studying the physiological role of adipose tissue as an endocrine organ. Leptin exerts pleiotropic effects on many metabolic pathways and is tightly connected with the liver, the major player in systemic metabolism. As a consequence, understanding the metabolic and hormonal interplay between the liver and adipose tissue could provide us with new therapeutic targets for some chronic liver diseases, an increasing problem worldwide. In this review, we assess relevant literature regarding the main metabolic effects of leptin on the liver, by direct regulation or through the central nervous system (CNS). We draw special attention to the contribution of leptin to the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis and its progression to more advanced stages of the disease as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Likewise, we describe the contribution of leptin to the liver regeneration process after partial hepatectomy, the mainstay of treatment for certain hepatic malignant tumorseng© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Atribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/LeptinAdipose tissueNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)Hepatocarcinoma (HCC)Partial hepatectomyLiver regenerationjournal article10.3390/ijms212493681422-0067open access