Neurokinin B signaling in puberty: human and animal studies.
Recent reports of humans who have normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism due to TAC3 or TACR3 (encoding neurokinin B and its receptor, NK3R, respectively) mutations provided compelling evidence for the involvement of neurokinin B (NKB) signaling in puberty. This apparently stimulated the field to understand the exact mechanism through which NKB signaling exerts its effects. With the important findings from these recent studies a sketch of GnRH pulse generator has emerged in which NKB signaling appears to play a key role. In this communication, NKB involvement in puberty is reviewed from the perspective of the fundamental question of "what controls puberty?"
Topaloglu
A Kemal
AK
Cukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, Balcali, Adana 01330, Turkey. ktopaloglu@cu.edu.tr
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D015287:Neurokinin B / Q000378:metabolism*; D011627:Puberty / Q000378:metabolism*; D012098:Reproduction; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015320:Tachykinins / Q000378:metabolism
D015320:Tachykinins; D015287:Neurokinin B