Primary cilia enhance kisspeptin receptor signaling on gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons.

ABSTRACT: Most central neurons in the mammalian brain possess an appendage called a primary cilium that projects from the soma into the extracellular space. The importance of these organelles is highlighted by the fact that primary cilia dysfunction is associated with numerous neuropathologies, including hyperphagia-induced obesity, hypogonadism, and learning and memory deficits. Neuronal cilia are enriched for signaling molecules, including certain G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), suggesting that neuronal cilia sense and respond to neuromodulators in the extracellular space. However, the impact of cilia on signaling to central neurons has never been demonstrated. Here, we show that the kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r), a GPCR that is activated by kisspeptin to regulate the onset of puberty and adul

SUBMITTER: Koemeter-Cox AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4104922 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature