ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Brief Summary: This study uses a combination of proteomics and murine transgenics to identify the role of Kisspeptin signalling in astrocytes and how it impacts the reproductive axis.Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide, is essential for regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which controls reproduction by acting on GnRH neurons. While most studies have focused on GnRH neurons as the primary mediators of kisspeptin signalling and function, this ...

To read the full abstract: Nat Commun. 2018 Oct 10;9(1):4194.This study identifies Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a fuel-sensing deacetylase, as a molecule that restrains female puberty via epigenetic repression of the puberty-activating gene, Kiss1 in rats.The last few years have brought evidence regarding the epigenetic control of the onset of puberty. It is now cle...

Cell Metab. 2020 Dec 1;32(6):951–966.e8. 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.10.001. PMID: 33080217. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413120305349?via%3DihubIn brief: This study reveals the critical role of hypothalamic ceramide synthesis in the induction of precocious puberty in obe...

Brief summary: A newly developed mouse model of congenital ablation of Dicer in kisspeptin neurons was used to identify a role for miRNAs in kisspeptin neuron activity and control of reproduction.The last few years have seen a shift in paradigm with the discovery of epigenetic mechanisms regulating GnRH neuron activity and thus puberty and reproduction. In particular, miRNAs appear to play a crucial role in the maturation and function of the hypothalamic...