Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2025

Hypothalamic Kisspeptin Neurons as a Target for Whole-Cell Patch-Clamp Recordings
Published on: March 17, 2023
Conserved functions of hypothalamic kisspeptin in vertebrates
Mageswary Sivalingam1, Satoshi Ogawa1, Vance L Trudeau2
1Brain Research Institute, Jeffery Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Abstract:
Hypothalamic kisspeptin encoded by KISS1/Kiss1 gene emerged as a regulator of the reproductive axis in mammals following the discovery of the kisspeptin receptor (Kissr) and its role in reproduction. Kisspeptin-Kissr systems have been investigated in various vertebrates, and a conserved sequence of kisspeptin-Kissr has been identified in most vertebrate species except in the avian linage. In addition, multiple paralogs of kisspeptin sequences have been identified in the non-mammalian vertebrates. The allegedly conserved role of kisspeptin-Kissr in reproduction became debatable when kiss/kissr genes-deficient zebrafish and medaka showed no apparent effect on the onset of puberty, sexual development, maturation and reproductive capacity. Therefore, it is questionable whether the role of kisspeptin in reproduction is conserved among vertebrate species. Here we discuss from a comparative and evolutional aspect the diverse functions of kisspeptin and its receptor in vertebrates. Primarily this review focuses on the role of hypothalamic kisspeptin in reproductive and non-reproductive functions that are conserved in vertebrate species.
Related Concept Videos
Diencephalon: Hypothalamus and Coordination
The hypothalamus interacts with other brain regions, including the pituitary gland, through a direct physical connection called the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The hypothalamus receives somatic and visceral inputs and...
Regulation of Food Intake
Regulation of Hormone Secretion
Humoral...
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Endocrine Signaling
Hormones of the Pituitary Gland
The most abundantly secreted hormone from the anterior lobe is the growth hormone, which controls overall growth by...

