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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Dual Somatic Recordings from Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone GnRH Neurons Identified by Green Fluorescent Protein GFP in Hypothalamic Slices
Published on: February 23, 2010
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone by any other name would smell as sweet
1Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0354, United States.
Abstract:
The goal of this article is to discuss the nomenclature of members of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) superfamily. This superfamily currently consists of 5 families: (1) vertebrate GnRH, (2) adipokinetic hormone, (3) corazonin, (4) adipokinetic hormone/corazonin-related peptide and (5) invertebrate GnRH (or GnRH/corazonin). The naming of some of these peptides, especially members of the invertebrate GnRH family, may not have reflected their true evolutionary origin, leading to some confusion and controversy. Using a few examples from the invertebrate GnRH family, this article proposes several peptide-naming criteria and discusses naming challenges and problem cases. It is recommended that the invertebrate GnRH family be renamed based on the naming criteria of (1) mature peptide structure, (2) prepropeptide phylogeny, and (3) receptor phylogeny. Following this approach, the names of the peptides should reflect their phylogeny, and if possible, delineate a monophyletic group.
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