Kisspeptin

Overview

Kisspeptin is a hormone the body makes naturally. It acts high up in the brain, switching on the neurons that release GnRH, which in turn controls the hormones that drive puberty and fertility. The body makes several lengths of it, and shorter fragments such as kisspeptin-10 are used in research.

What the research has looked at

Human physiology studies have given kisspeptin to volunteers to measure how it stimulates reproductive hormones. Research has also explored its use in fertility treatment and in understanding conditions of reproductive hormone deficiency.

What we do not know

• Most human studies are short and small, and they measure hormone responses rather than long-term health outcomes.
• Safety with repeated or long-term use has not been established.
• Interest in kisspeptin for sexual function is based mainly on its role in reproductive signaling, and clinical evidence for that use is limited.

Regulatory context

Kisspeptin is not an approved medicine.

Related pages

See also PT-141, which acts on a different pathway.

References & further reading

• Dhillo WS, et al. Kisspeptin-54 stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal axis in human males. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90(12):6609-6615.

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