Abstract

The pulsatile release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus serves as the ultimate output signal for the regulation of reproductive processes, which integrate a number of elements from both the internal and external environment. A potent endogenous secretagogue of GnRH, kisspeptin, is produced by hypothalamic neurons. Kisspeptin has physiological relevance and a variety of reproductive functions. It controls both the pulsatile GnRH secretion that drives folliculogenesis, spermatogenesis, and steroidogenesis as well as the GnRH surge that causes ovulation in females. It plays a crucial role in the central regulation of the timing of puberty onset and reproduction in animals. Kisspeptin and related substances could therefore be valuable for the development of novel strategies for the management of fertility in farm animals and are now universally recognized as a key player in the control of critical aspects of reproductive development and function from sexual differentiation to regulation of GnRH /gonadotropin secretion.

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