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Neuropeptide Y: A hypothalamic brake restraining the onset of puberty in primates

M El Majdoubi1, A Sahu, S Ramaswamy

  • 1Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|May 17, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) restrains puberty onset in male rhesus monkeys by inhibiting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release during juvenile development. Blocking NPY signaling precociously activates the reproductive axis.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Reproductive Biology
  • Primate Development

Background:

  • The adult reproductive axis relies on pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release from the hypothalamic GnRH pulse generator.
  • In primates, puberty is delayed by a central neural mechanism that suppresses GnRH release during juvenile development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in regulating GnRH pulse generator activity and pubertal onset in male rhesus monkeys.

Main Methods:

  • Examined the relationship between NPY gene/protein expression and GnRH pulse generator activity in the mediobasal hypothalamus.
  • Administered an NPY Y(1) receptor antagonist to juvenile male rhesus monkeys.
  • Utilized cell imaging to identify the location of NPY neurons.

Main Results:

  • Postnatal GnRH pulse generator activity showed an inverse correlation with NPY gene and protein expression in the mediobasal hypothalamus.
  • Central administration of an NPY Y(1) receptor antagonist induced precocious GnRH release in juvenile monkeys.
  • Developmentally regulated NPY neurons were localized to regions dorsal to the arcuate nucleus.

Conclusions:

  • NPY acts as a key neurobiological brake, inhibiting GnRH release and restraining the onset of puberty in primates.
  • NPY signaling is a critical regulator of juvenile reproductive axis suppression.

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