Sex Steroids and the Control of the Kiss1 System: Developmental Roles and Major Regulatory Actions

Kisspeptins, encoded by the Kiss1 gene, and their canonical receptor, GPR54 (also termed Kiss1R), are unanimously recognised as essential regulators of puberty onset and gonadotrophin secretion. These key reproductive functions stem from the capacity of kisspeptins to stimulate gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion in the hypothalamus, where discrete populations of Kiss1 neurones have been identified. In rodents, two major groups of...