Defining a novel leptin-melanocortin-kisspeptin pathway involved in the metabolic control of puberty.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Puberty is a key developmental phenomenon highly sensitive to metabolic modulation. Worrying trends of changes in the timing of puberty have been reported in humans. These might be linked to the escalating prevalence of childhood obesity and could have deleterious impacts on later (cardio-metabolic) health, but their underlying mechanisms remain unsolved. The neuropeptide α-MSH, made by POMC neurons, plays a key role in energy homeostasis by mediating the actions of leptin and likely participates in the control of reproduction. However, its role in the metabolic regulation of puberty and interplay with kisspeptin, an essential puberty-regulating neuropeptide encoded by Kiss1, remain largely unknown. We aim here to unveil the potential contribution of central α-MSH signali

SUBMITTER: Manfredi-Lozano M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5034608 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature