title: Plasma kisspeptin levels are elevated in cord blood and present sexual dimorphism in the adult population: relation with leptin, gonadotropins and anthropometrical data.
abstract: Kisspeptin, the product of the hypothalamic KISS1 gene, is a main regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and could be a link between metabolism and reproduction through its interaction with leptin. Kisspeptin could be involved in gonadotropin regulation and responsive to leptin levels from the first stages of life, exhibiting, as does leptin, sexual dimorphism. To test our hypothesis, we have analyzed plasma kisspeptin levels and their possible relationship with gonadotropins and leptin in a cohort composed of newborns (n = 86) and adults (n = 55). Plasma kisspeptin, gonadotropin and leptin levels were measured by RIA and multiplexed bead immunoassays, respectively. We have built a multivariate linear regression model (analyzing kisspeptin and LH separately as dependent variables) by stepwise analysis, incorporating the variables that had shown significant correlation in the univariate analysis. Cord blood samples exhibited high kisspeptin levels 127.01(113-141.02 pmol/l), but these were not sexually dimorphic. The adult population exhibited sexual dimorphism (3.72(2.95-4.49) vs. 1.77(1.23-2.31)pmol/l women vs. men, p<0.05). Leptin levels showed sexual dimorphism in cord blood samples and also in the adult population. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between LH and kisspeptin levels and kisspeptin was negatively correlated with age. The high kisspeptin levels observed in cord blood, with no sexual dimorphism, suggest a placental source. The sexual dimorphism exhibited in adulthood supports the notion that there are different sources and/or differential kisspeptin regulation between men and women.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrinology, Institute of Biomedical Research- Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jimena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pita
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rado-Peralta
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gavela-Pérez
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aragón
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.forename: Adela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rovira
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Argente
authors.forename: Leandro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soriano-Guillén
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006062:Gonadotropins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D059648:Kisspeptins; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006062:Gonadotropins; C106628:KISS1 protein, human; D059648:Kisspeptins; D020738:Leptin; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins