Gonadotropin-releasing hormone

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone is a hypothalamic peptide hormone that stimulates pituitary release of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. Its pulsatile secretion helps regulate reproduction.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse generator: A hypothalamic neural network that produces rhythmic pulses of gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Pulse timing determines whether pituitary gonadotropin release is sustained or suppressed.
Leuprolide: A synthetic GnRH agonist used to suppress sex-hormone production after continuous administration. Its sustained stimulation desensitizes pituitary GnRH receptors, unlike natural pulses.
Andrew V. Schally: An endocrinologist who shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on peptide hormone production in the brain. His group isolated and characterized the hypothalamic factor that releases pituitary gonadotropins.
Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone: A hypothalamic neuropeptide that can inhibit gonadotropin release and reproductive activity in vertebrates. It contrasts with GnRH's direct stimulation of pituitary gonadotropin secretion.
Kisspeptin: A peptide that activates gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons and helps regulate reproductive development and function. Kisspeptin neurons provide a major upstream control of GnRH secretion.
Cetrorelix: A GnRH receptor antagonist used to prevent premature luteinizing hormone surges during assisted reproduction. It blocks GnRH signaling while ovarian stimulation proceeds.
Roger Guillemin: An endocrinologist who shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning peptide hormone production in the brain. His research independently established the hypothalamic control of pituitary hormone secretion.
Continuous GnRH administration: Prolonged, nonpulsatile exposure to GnRH or an agonist that can desensitize pituitary GnRH receptors. Continuous exposure suppresses gonadotropins, whereas intermittent pulses stimulate their release.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor: A G protein-coupled receptor on pituitary gonadotroph cells that binds gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Binding this receptor initiates the pituitary response to each hormone pulse.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist: A drug that activates GnRH receptors, often suppressing gonadotropin release when exposure is continuous. Agonists exploit the difference between brief natural pulses and prolonged receptor activation.

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