What is it about?

Steps of sexual differentiation occurs in specific phases during fetal development. Early in development it is not clear if certain brain pathways that regulate release of sex steroids are intact yet, or if sex steroid production occurs independently of those pathways. In this study, we found that the brain pathway was intact in which kisspeptin stimulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which leads to luteinizing hormone (LH) release.

Why is it important?

The midgestation period is critical to brain masculinization. This is the first demonstration that kisspeptin and neurokinin B have roles in activating and regulating reproductive development in the midgestation fetus. This study helps us better understand how brain masculinization occurs during development.

Read the paper at Endocrinology or find it on PubMed.