What is it about?
Mammals must go through puberty in order to be fertile and reproduce. Puberty and fertility are regulated by hormonal feedback loops between the brain and the gonads. We found that brain kisspeptin-releasing neurons- which stimulate puberty and regulate fertility- change their properties just before puberty in female mice, and these changes requires estrogen.
Featured Image
Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This is the first demonstration that kisspeptin-releasing neurons show hormone-dependent changes- known as plasticity- at a critically important stage of development- puberty. We believe this plasticity at puberty ensures mature kisspeptin-releasing neurons have the properties they need to control the reproductive axis.
Perspectives
This project reflects my long-standing interest in neuronal modulation and plasticity combined with my more recent interest in the control of the reproductive axis by the brain. Most of the work would not have been possible without two talented PhD students, Yuanxin Zhang and Leonie Pakulat; it has been a pleasure to work with them and with my collaborators on this project.
Susan Jones
University of Cambridge
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Neuronal plasticity at puberty in mouse hypothalamic
Kiss1
neurons that control fertility, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2512855122.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
