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Chapter 3
Neuroanatomy of the Kisspeptin Signaling
System in Mammals: Comparative
and Developmental Aspects
Michael N. Lehman , Stanley M. Hileman , and Robert L. Goodman
Abstract
Our understanding of kisspeptin and its actions depends, in part, on a
detailed knowledge of the neuroanatomy of the kisspeptin signaling system in the
brain. In this chapter, we will review our current knowledge of the distribution of
kisspeptin cells, fi bers, and receptors in the mammalian brain, including the devel-
opment, phenotype, and projections of different kisspeptin subpopulations. A fairly
consistent picture emerges from this analysis. There are two major groups of kiss-
peptin cell bodies: a large number in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and a smaller col-
lection in the rostral periventricular area of the third ventricle (RP3V) of rodents and
preoptic area (POA) of non-rodents. Both sets of neurons project to GnRH cell
bodies, which contain
Kiss1r
, and the ARC kisspeptin population also projects to
GnRH axons in the median eminence. ARC kisspeptin neurons contain neurokinin
B and dynorphin, while a variable percentage of those cells in the RP3V of rodents
contain galanin and/or dopamine. Neurokinin B and dynorphin have been postu-
lated to contribute to the control of GnRH pulses and sex steroid negative feedback,
while the role of galanin and dopamine in rostral kisspeptin neurons is not entirely
clear. Kisspeptin neurons, fi bers, and
Kiss1r
are found in other areas, including
widespread areas outside the hypothalamus, but their physiological role(s) in these
regions remains to be determined.
M. N. Lehman
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi
Medical Center , Jackson , MS , USA
e-mail: mlehman@umc.edu
S. M. Hileman • R. L. Goodman, Ph.D. (
*
)
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, West Virginia University School of Medicine,
PO Box 9229 , Morgantown , WV 26505-9229 , USA
e-mail: rgoodman@hsc.wvu.edu
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