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Kisspeptin and KISS1R: a critical pathway in the reproductive system

Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, BHX 5, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to E Gianetti; Email: egianetti{at}partners.org

In 2003, three groups around the world simultaneously discovered that KISS1R (GPR54) is a key gatekeeper of sexual maturation in both mice and men. Developmental changes in the expression of the ligand for KISS1R, 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 kisspeptin/KISS1R pathway in the reproductive system.