title: Kisspeptin and the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).
abstract: The present article reviews recent studies of monkeys and, in some cases, humans that have been conducted to examine the role of kisspeptin-GPR54 signaling in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in higher primates. This area of peptide biology was initiated in 2003 by the discovery that loss of function mutations of GPR54 in man were associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and absent or delayed puberty. Puberty in the monkey, an experimental model commonly used to study this fundamental developmental stage, is first described. This is followed by a review of the role of kisspeptin in the regulation of the postnatal ontogeny of GnRH pulsatility. The roles of kisspeptin in GnRH pulse generation and in the feedback loops governing gonadotropin secretion in primates are then discussed. A brief section on kisspeptin-GPR54 signaling at the pituitary and gonadal levels is also included. The review concludes with a discussion of the phenomenon of GPR54 downregulation by continuous exposure to kisspeptin and its therapeutic implications.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Magee-Womens Research Institute, 204 Craft Avenue, Room B311, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. plant1@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Tony M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Plant
authors.forename: Suresh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramaswamy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D006066:Gonads / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D010507:Periodicity; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism; D000074502:Receptors, Kisspeptin-1; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C118688:KISS1R protein, human; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D000074502:Receptors, Kisspeptin-1; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone