Kisspeptin

Kisspeptin-10 is the biologically active 10-amino-acid C-terminal fragment of the larger kisspeptin protein, encoded by the KISS1 gene. It is the principal known activator of the GPR54 receptor (also called Kiss1R), and it functions as the master upstream regulator of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion from the hypothalamus.

Discovered in the late 1990s and characterized as essential for reproductive function in the mid-2000s, kisspeptin signaling is now recognized as the central trigger that initiates puberty and maintains adult reproductive endocrine function. Loss-of-function mutations in KISS1R cause hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in humans, while gain-of-function mutations cause central precocious puberty.

In research, Kisspeptin-10 has been studied for its ability to stimulate luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) release through the GnRH pathway, its role in restoring reproductive function in hypothalamic dysfunction, its effects on sexual response and limbic system activity in neuroimaging studies, and its potential applications in fertility research.