Trimming the fat — is leptin crosstalk the link between obesity and osteoarthritis?

Historically, the role of obesity in osteoarthritis (OA) has been dismissed as a consequence of excessive mechanical loading. With improved understanding of obesity and metabolic syndrome, cytokines and adipokines (e.g., interleukin (IL)-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-6, leptin) have been demonstrated to play a role in OA, leading to many comprehensive studies on this topic1–21. We wish to clarify some of the points raised and discuss our perspective on the complex mechanisms of leptin in OA.