Kisspeptin as a test of hypothalamic dysfunction in pubertal and reproductive disorders
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis is regulated by the gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse generator in the hypothalamus. This is comprised of neurons that secrete kisspeptin in a pulsatile manner to stimulate the release of GnRH, and, in turn, downstream gonadotropins from the pituitary gland, and subsequently sex steroids and gametogenesis from the gonads. Many reproductive disorders in both males and females are characterized by hypothalamic dysfunction, including functional disorders (such as age-related hypogonadism, obesity-related secondary hypogonadism, hyperprolactinemia, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and polycystic ovary syndrome), structural pathologies (such as craniopharyngiomas or radiation or surgery-related hypothalamic dysfunction), and pubertal disorders (constitutional delay of growth and puberty and congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism). However, in many of these conditions, the relative contribution of hypothalamic dysfunction to the observed hypogonadism is unclear; as to date, there is no direct method of evaluating hypothalamic reproductive function in humans. Indeed, it is not possible to directly measure gonadotropin-releasing hormone levels in the hypothalamo-pituitary portal vessels, such that secondary (i.e., pituitary dysfunction) and tertiary (i.e., hypothalamic dysfunction) hypogonadism are often conflated as one entity. In this review, we examine the evidence for the use of kisspeptin as a method of directly evaluating hypothalamic reproductive dysfunction, and deliberate its potential future role in the evaluation of pubertal and reproductive disorders.
Date Issued
2026-05-01
Date Acceptance
2025-01-14
Citation
Andrology, 2026, 14 (4), pp.1002-1016
ISSN
2047-2919
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1002
End Page
1016
Journal / Book Title
Andrology
Volume
14
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Andrology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39834030
Subjects
hypogonadism
kisspeptin
pubertal disorders
reproductive disorders
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2025-01-20