Kisspeptin regulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion in gonadotropin-releasing hormone/enhanced green fluorescent protein transgenic rats

Kisspeptin is essential for activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. In this study, we established gonadotropin-releasing hormone/enhanced green fluorescent protein transgenic rats. Rats were injected with 1, 10, or 100 pM kisspeptin-10, a peptide derived from full-length kisspeptin, into the arcuate nucleus and medial preoptic area, and with the kisspeptin antagonist peptide 234 into the lateral cerebral ventricle. The results of immunohistochemical staining revealed that pulsatile luteinizing hormone secretion was suppressed after injection of antagonist peptide 234 into the lateral cerebral ventricle, and a significant increase in luteinizing hormone level was observed after kisspeptin-10 injection into the arcuate nucleus and medial preoptic area. The results of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that luteinizing hormone levels during the first hour of kisspeptin-10 infusion into the arcuate nucleus were significantly greater in the 100 pM kisspeptin-10 group than in the 10 pM kisspeptin-10 group. These findings indicate that kisspeptin directly promotes gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion and luteinizing hormone release in gonadotropin-releasing hormone/enhanced green fluorescent protein transgenic rats. The arcuate nucleus is a key component of the kisspeptin-G protein-coupled receptor 54 signaling pathway underlying regulating luteinizing hormone pulse secretion.