该基因编码的蛋白质属于细胞因子受体gp130家族，已知该家族通过激活细胞溶质stat蛋白来刺激基因转录。该蛋白是瘦素（一种调节体重的脂肪细胞特异性激素）的受体，参与脂肪代谢的调节，以及正常淋巴生成所需的新的造血途径。该基因突变与肥胖和垂体功能障碍有关。另外，还描述了编码不同亚型的剪接转录变体。值得注意的是，这个基因和Leprot基因（geneid:54741）共享相同的启动子，但是前2个外显子编码不同的蛋白质（pmid:9207021）。
The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the gp130 family of cytokine receptors that are known to stimulate gene transcription via activation of cytosolic STAT proteins. This protein is a receptor for leptin (an adipocyte-specific hormone that regulates body weight), and is involved in the regulation of fat metabolism, as well as in a novel hematopoietic pathway that is required for normal lymphopoiesis. Mutations in this gene have been associated with obesity and pituitary dysfunction. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene. It is noteworthy that this gene and LEPROT gene (GeneID:54741) share the same promoter and the first 2 exons, however, encode distinct proteins (PMID:9207021).