Kisspeptin is thought to have a major role in the control of the onset of puberty in vertebrates. However, our current understanding of its function in fish and how it integrates with other hormones is incomplete due to the high diversity of this group of animals and a still limited amount of available data. This study examined the temporal and spatial changes in expression of kisspeptin, gonad...

The prominent role of the G protein coupled receptor GPR54 and its peptide ligand kisspeptin in the progression of puberty has been extensively documented in many mammalian species including humans. Kisspeptins are very potent gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretagogues produced by two main populations of neurons located in two ventral forebrain regions, the preoptic area and the arcuate nucle...

Deorphanization of GPR54 receptor a decade ago led to the characterization of the kisspeptin receptor (Kissr) in mammals and the discovery of its major role in the brain control of reproduction. While a single gene encodes for Kissr in eutherian mammals including human, other vertebrates present a variable number of Kissr genes, from none in birds, one or two in teleosts, to three in an amphibi...

Jiang Q, He M, Ko WK, Wong AO. Kisspeptin induction of somatolactinrelease in goldfish pituitary cells: functional role of cAMP/PKA-, PLC/PKC-, and Ca /calmodulin-dependent cascades. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 307: E872–E884, 2014. First published September 2, 2014; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00321.2014.— Although the importance of kisspeptin in the pituitary is firmly established, the signaling me...

Sex differences in brain function underlie robust differences between males and females in both normal and disease states. Although alternative mechanisms exist, sexual differentiation of the male mammalian brain is initiated predominantly by testosterone secreted by the testes during the perinatal period. Despite considerable advances in understanding how testosterone and its metabolite estrad...

The kiss1 peptide (kisspeptin), a product of the kiss1 gene, is one of the key neuropeptides regulating vertebrate reproduction. In 2009, we identified a paralogous gene of kiss1 in the brain of amphibians and named it kiss2. Currently, the presence of the kiss2 gene and the kiss2 peptide is still obscure in amniotes compared with that in other vertebrates. Therefore, we performed genome databa...

Following the discovery of kisspeptin (Kiss) and its receptor (GPR54 or KissR) in mammals, phylogenetic studies revealed up to three Kiss and four KissR paralogous genes in other vertebrates. The multiplicity of Kiss and KissR types in vertebrates probably originated from the two rounds of whole-genome duplication (1R and 2R) that occurred in early vertebrates. This review examines compelling r...

Mutations in the GPR54 gene have already been identified as a cause of idiopathic hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and central precocious puberty (CPP) in certain patients. However, currently there is only a limited amount of data available regarding KISS1 gene mutations or polymorphisms. The aim of this study is to identify KISS1 gene mutations or polymorphisms in Korean girls with CPP. 101 Kore...

The Kiss1/GPR54 system has recently been shown to play a key role in the onset of puberty in mammals. Growing evidence suggests that this system is also conserved across vertebrates although very few studies so far have been performed in lower vertebrates. The aims of this study were firstly in the teleost Nile tilapia to screen tissues for GPR54 expression levels, secondly to measure the expre...