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Kisspeptin and GPR54: a critical pathway in the reproductive system.

E Gianetti, Reproductive Endocrine Unit of the Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States
S Seminara, Reproductive Endocrine Unit of the Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States

Correspondence: Elena Gianetti, Email: EGIANETTI{at}PARTNERS.ORG

Abstract

In 2003, three groups around the world simultaneously discovered that GPR54 is a key gatekeeper of sexual maturation in both mice and men. Developmental changes in the expression of the ligand for GPR54, kisspeptin, support its critical role in the pubertal transition. In addition, kisspeptin, a powerful stimulus of GnRH-induced gonadotropin secretion and may modulate both positive and negative sex steroid feedback effects at the hypothalamic level. Genetic studies in humans have revealed both loss-of-function and gain-of-function mutations in patients with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and precocious puberty respectively. This review examines the neuroendocrinology of the kisspeptin/GPR54 pathway.