[KISS-1/GPR54 genes and their role in reproduction].

KISS-1 gene and its receptor gene GPR54 play key roles in the initiation of puberty onset. The peptide product of the KiSS-1 gene, Kisspeptins stimulate gonadotrophins release to initiate puberty through the expression of GPR54 gene in the brain. So the level of KISS-1 and GPR54 mRNA in hypothalamus was very high on the onset of puberty. The expression of KISS-1gene was regulated by steroid hormone in different nuclei within the forebrain to control the reproduction in puberty. Loss of function mutations of GPR54 gene could cause idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) and gonadotrophin-dependant premature puberty. This review also introduced the structure, expression, homology comparison, polymorphism of KISS-1 and GPR54 genes and their interrelation with other regulators of reproduction.