Kisspeptin is a small brain protein made from the KISS1 gene. It switches on the hormone chain that controls puberty and fertility. It has been tested in several small human trials, but no agency has approved it as a medicine.
Why scientists study it
- It makes the brain release GnRH in pulses. GnRH then tells the pituitary gland to release LH and FSH, which drive the sex hormones.
- Specialist hormone clinics use it as a test to see how well a person’s GnRH nerve cells still work.
- It is being tested as a different way to ripen eggs in IVF, with an LH surge closer to the body’s own than hCG gives.
Three studies to know
2003 · N Engl J Med
Seminara and colleagues found that broken copies of the GPR54 gene cause a condition in which the body makes too little LH and FSH. This showed that people need the kisspeptin signal to be fertile. Read the paper
2005 · J Clin Endocrinol Metab
Dhillo and colleagues gave kisspeptin-54 into a vein in healthy men. It was the first test in people, and blood LH, FSH and testosterone all went up. Read the paper
2017 · Hum Reprod
Abbara and colleagues ran a Phase 2 randomized trial in women having IVF who were at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation. Two doses of kisspeptin-54 ripened eggs better. Read the paper
Safety and legal status
- In published human trials, people tolerated kisspeptin-54 and kisspeptin-10 well at the doses tested. All of that use took place in specialist reproductive hormone clinics.
- It is not an approved medicine. Any use as a test or IVF trigger is clinical research under institutional and ethics oversight, and research status differs by region.
- For laboratory research use only. It is not approved for human use.
Related compounds
- PT-141: Lab-made peptide (bremelanotide) that acts on the brain, tested for low sexual desire.
- Selank: Lab-made chain of seven amino acids, approved in Russia as a nasal spray for anxiety.
- Ipamorelin: Lab-made chain of five amino acids, tested mostly in animals for growth hormone release.