What is kisspeptin?
Kisspeptin-10 has ten amino acids (YNWNSFGLRF-NH2, 1,302.4 g/mol). The KISS1 gene was first described as a suppressor of metastasis, hence the older name metastin; later it emerged as a central signal for the onset of puberty and the control of sex hormones.
Research status
Kisspeptin activates GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus, which in turn trigger LH and FSH release. Clinical research uses kisspeptin as a tool to probe this axis, for example in fertility disorders; other work concerns metabolism and tumour biology.
Status
Not approved in the EU. Research use only. Another peptide of the reproductive axis is gonadorelin.
