Leptin is an adipocyte hormone involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Generally accepted biological effects of leptin are inhibition of food intake and stimulation of metabolic rate in ob/ob mice, that are defective in the leptin gene. In contrast to these centrally mediated effects of leptin, we are reporting here on leptin effects on glucose incorporation into lipids and glucose decarboxylation in adipocytes isolated from male lean albino rats. Adipocytes previously cultivated (15 h) in the presence of leptin presented a 25% (P < 0.05) reduction of the insulin stimulated incorporation of glucose into lipids. Concurrently, the basal conversion of (U-14C)D-glucose into 14CO2 increased (110%) in the leptin cultivated adipocytes and reached values (1.54 nmol/10(5) cells) similar to the insulin stimulated group (not cultivated with leptin) (1.40 nmol/10(5) cells). In addition, in the presence of insulin, the leptin cultivated adipocytes elicited a 162% (P < 0.05) increase in 14CO2 production that was significantly higher than the increase observed for the not-leptin-cultivated insulin group (92%). We conclude that leptin: 1) directly inhibits the insulin stimulated glucose incorporation into lipids; 2) stimulates glucose decarboxylation, and also potentiates the effect of insulin on glucose decarboxylation in isolated adipocytes. Leptin per se does not alter glucose incorporation into lipids.