Neurokinin B (NKB) and its cognate receptor neurokinin 3 (NK3R) play a critical role in reproduction. NKB and NK3R are coexpressed with dynorphin (Dyn) and kisspeptin (Kiss1) genes in neurons of the arcuate nucleus (Arc). However, the mechanisms of action of NKB as a cotransmitter with kisspeptin and dynorphin remain poorly understood. We explored the role of NKB in the control of LH secretion ...

Stress elicits activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which leads to enhanced circulating glucocorticoids, as well as impaired gonadotropin secretion and ovarian cyclicity. Here, we tested the hypothesis that elevated, stress-levels of glucocorticoids disrupt ovarian cyclicity by interfering with the preovulatory sequence of endocrine events necessary for the LH surge. Ovarian c...

This review aims at synthesizing the most relevant information regarding the neuroendocrine circuits controlling reproduction, mainly gonadotropin release, in teleost fish. In teleosts, the pituitary receives a more or less direct innervation by neurons sending projections to the vicinity of the pituitary gonadotrophs. Among the neurotransmitters and neuropeptides released by these nerve ending...

Kisspeptin is an important regulator of reproduction in many vertebrates. The involvement of the two kisspeptins, Kiss1 and Kiss2, and their receptors, Gpr54-1 and Gpr54-2, in controlling reproduction was studied in the brains of the modern teleosts, striped and hybrid basses. In situ hybridization and laser capture microdissection followed by quantitative RT (QRT)-PCR detected coexpression of ...

Among the numerous physiological changes that accompany lactation is the suppression of the reproductive axis. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible role for the kisspeptin system in the restoration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis during late lactation in rats using a food restriction model that allows manipulation of the duration of lactational anovulation. Kiss1 mRNA ...

Kisspeptin, encoded by Kiss1, plays a key role in pubertal maturation and reproduction as a positive upstream regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. To examine the role of high-fat diet (HFD) on puberty onset, estrous cycle regularity, and kisspeptin expression, female rats were exposed to HFD in distinct postnatal periods. Three groups of rats were exposed to HFD containin...

We previously reported the development and characterization of transgenic mice containing a large 160-kb P1 artificial chromosome (PAC) encompassing the renin (REN) locus from human chromosome 1. Here we demonstrate that PAC160 not only encodes REN, but also complete copies of the next upstream (KISS1) and downstream (FLJ10761) gene along human chromosome 1. Incomplete copies of the second upst...