ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Brief summary: This article shows that intra-cerebroventricular injections of a recombinant adeno-associated virus expressing MKRN3 resulted in delayed puberty in female mice.MKRN3 loss-of-function mutation is the most frequent cause of familial central precocious puberty (CPP) (1).These authors investigated the effect of MKRN3 overexpression on pubertal timing, by generating a mouse model of neonatal hypothalamic Mkrn3 ov...

Brief Summary: This review summarizes the role of macronutrients and hormones which regulate energy balance and sexual maturation by conveying energy availability information to the GnRH system.30 years ago, Kennedy and Mitra were the first to use translational studies to show that nutrition is a key factor regulating puberty timing1. Their seminal protocol modified the size of rat litters to affect weight increase and showed that nutritional ...

J Clin Invest. 2020 Aug 3;130(8):4486–4500. 10.1172/JCI136564. PMID: 32407292 https://www.jci.org/articles/view/136564In brief: This study in rats and non-human primate models investigated the mechanisms by which MKRN3 regulates pubertal onset in rats and non-human primates.Comment: Pubertal timing is in...

Elife. 2021 Sep 8;10:e69765. doi: 10.7554/eLife.69765. PMID: 34494548. https://elifesciences.org/articles/69765Brief Summary: Using a database for arcuate nucleus transcripts, this study identifies Nhlhl2 as a key regulator of the Kiss1 gene in male mice.The timing of puberty onset is i...

To read the full abstract: Elife. 2018 Jun 15;7. pii: e35960.Using transgenic mice, this team discover a new role for Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) in female puberty and reproduction. This neuropeptide relays nutritional state information in the hypothalamus to regulate gonadotropin-releasing hormone release.Metabolic cues play...

Brief summary: Using human induced pluripotent stem cells as well as transgenic mouse models, this paper shows that MKRN3 could initiate pubertal onset by regulating hypothalamic development and plasticity.The reactivation of GnRH secretion at puberty is thought to result from a loss in inhibitory input together with an increase in transactivation onto GnRH neurons. The main component of this inhibitory tone was incompletely understood until the discover...

Metabolism. 2022 Apr;129:155141. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2022.155141. Epub 2022 Jan 22. PMID: 35074314. https://www.metabolismjournal.com/article/S0026-0495(22)00019-1/fulltextBrief Summary: the authors used pharmacological and transgenic models to demonstrate the role of GRK2, G protein coupled-recept...

Brief Summary: This cross-sectional study identifies two pathogenic variants in the Delta-like noncanonical notch ligand 1 ( DLK1 ) gene in a French cohort of 121 children with idiopathic central precocious puberty (CPP).DLK1 is a noncanonical ligand of the Delta Notch pathway known to be involved in adipocyte differentiation. Its hypothalamic expression suggests a potential role in coordinating reproductive and metabolic functions. Pathogenic v...

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Mar 25;106(4):1041–1050. 10.1210/clinem/dgaa955. PMID: 33383582. https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/106/4/1041/6056669?redirectedFrom=fulltextIn brief: This paper describes the clinical and hormonal features of a large cohort of patients wit...

To read the full abstract: PLoS biology vol. 17,11 e3000532. 7 Nov. 2019. doi: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000532This study unravels the role of the miR-30/Mkrn3 pathway in the hypothalamic regulation of puberty Puberty onset is triggered by a hypothalamic network of interconnected...