Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Business Headlines | Internet | Science | Scientific Ethics | Technology | Search

 

Flipping the fertility master switch

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Otago research shows which neurons flip fertility master switch

New Zealand scientists have achieved another milestone in their world-leading efforts to understand the neural mechanisms underlying the brain’s master control of fertility.

Researchers at the University of Otago Centre for Neuroendocrinology have published the first direct evidence that it is kisspeptin* neurons working in synchrony that generate the small, episodic hormone pulses that are crucial to normal reproductive functioning in humans and other mammals.

The findings are published this week in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Professor Allan Herbison, who led the study, says that episodic pulses of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to the pituitary gland have long been known to be essential to maintain fertility.

“These episodic pulses—which occur roughly every hour or so—prompt the pituitary to release two key hormones (LH and FSH) into the bloodstream also in a pulsatile manner.

“Many types of infertility result from disorders of pulsatile hormone release ranging from problems at puberty through to the inability to conceive. For example, a very common cause of infertility in women, polycystic ovarian syndrome, is caused when pulses occur too fast,” Professor Herbison says.

He says a key unresolved question has been what the underlying mechanism is that generates the GnRH pulses.

“Is it solely the GnRH neurons generating the pulse, or other activity in the wider network of neurons governing fertility?”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Studying mice, the research team sought to answer this question by using state-of-the-art optogenetic techniques to selectively activate kisspeptin neurons in a particular part of the brain’s hypothalamus.

After measuring blood samples they found that activating this small population of kisspeptin neurons was remarkably potent at generating pulses of LH secretion.

When the researchers activated the kisspeptin neurons in mice lacking kisspeptin receptors on their GnRH neurons, no LH pulses were generated.

“These findings represent an important insight that will inform future efforts to develop new fertility treatments aimed at producing more or fewer GnRH pulses, depending on the problem,” he says.

It is thought that up to one-third of all cases of infertility in women involve disorders in the area of brain circuitry that Professor Herbison and his team are studying.

The research was supported by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Royal Society’s Marsden Fund.


ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.