Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Keeping Puberty on Time:
Novel
Signals and Mechanisms Involved
,1
*
Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, University of C´ rdoba, C´ rdoba, Spain
†
CIBER Fisiopatolog
´
a de la Obesidad y Nutrici
´
n, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C
´
rdoba, Spain
{
Instituto Maim´nides de Investigaciones Biom´dicas (IMIBIC)/Hospital Universitario Reina Sof´a, C´ rdoba,
Spain
1
Corresponding author: e-mail address: fi1tesem@uco.es
,
†
,
{
Manuel Tena-Sempere
*
Contents
1. Puberty is a Key Developmental Transition
300
2. Neurobiology of Puberty: Essential Roles of GnRH and Kiss1 Neurons
301
3. Putative Roles of Kisspeptin Partners in the Control of Puberty: The Case of NKB
307
4. Early Development and the Timing of Puberty: Kiss1 Neurons in Brain
Sex Differentiation
309
5. Metabolic Control of Puberty: Leptin, Kisspeptins, and Cellular Energy Sensors
312
6. Novel Mechanisms in the Control of Puberty: Roles of Epigenetics and microRNAs
317
7. Concluding Remarks
320
Acknowledgments
321
References
321
Abstract
Puberty is the culmination of a complex series of maturational events that lead to the
completion of sexual and somatic maturation and the acquisition of reproductive com-
petence. This key developmental transition, which defines the boundary between
immaturity and adulthood, is under the control of sophisticated regulatory networks
that impinge upon the brain centers governing the reproductive axis. These networks
are sensitive to earlier maturational events, such as brain sex differentiation, and dynam-
ically regulated by a plethora of hormonal factors and environmental signals, which are
essential for the fine-tuning of the tempo of puberty. While much knowledge on mam-
malian puberty had been gleaned during the last decades, important recent develop-
ments have substantially expanded our understanding of the neuroendocrine and
molecular mechanisms governing puberty onset. We will provide here a synoptic
account of some of these important advancements, including the identification of
the essential roles of hypothalamic kisspeptin signaling, and some of its putative part-
ners, in pubertal maturation, the characterization of novel mechanisms involved in the
metabolic regulation of puberty, and the recognition of the potential roles of epige-
netics and miRNA-related pathways in the central control of puberty. It is expected that
further progress in these and related areas will follow in the coming years. This will
