Clarke Iain J, Smith Jeremy T, Caraty Alain, Goodman Robert L, Lehman Michael N
Department of Physiology, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia.
Peptides. 2009 Jan;30(1):154-63. doi: 10.1016/j.peptides.2008.08.022. Epub 2008 Sep 16.
Sheep are seasonal breeders, experiencing a period of reproductive quiescence during spring and early summer. During the non-breeding period, kisspeptin expression in the arcuate nucleus is markedly reduced. This strongly suggests that the mechanisms that control seasonal changes in reproductive function involve kisspeptin neurons. Kisspeptin cells appear to regulate GnRH neurons and transmit sex-steroid feedback to the reproductive axis. Since the non-breeding season is characterized by increased negative feedback of estrogen on GnRH secretion, the kisspeptin neurons seem to be fundamentally involved in the determination of breeding state. The reduction in kisspeptin neuronal function during the non-breeding season can be corrected by infusion of kisspeptin, which causes ovulation in seasonally acyclic females.
绵羊是季节性繁殖动物,在春季和初夏会经历一段生殖静止期。在非繁殖期,弓状核中吻肽的表达显著降低。这有力地表明,控制生殖功能季节性变化的机制涉及吻肽神经元。吻肽细胞似乎调节促性腺激素释放激素(GnRH)神经元,并将性类固醇反馈传递至生殖轴。由于非繁殖季节的特征是雌激素对GnRH分泌的负反馈增加,吻肽神经元似乎在繁殖状态的决定中起着根本作用。在非繁殖季节,通过注射吻肽可纠正吻肽神经元功能的降低,这会使季节性无发情周期的雌性动物排卵。