Kisspeptin

Kisspeptin in Canada is supplied by Horizon Peptides as a lyophilized powder in sealed research vials, stocked in 5 mg and 10 mg sizes with single-vial, 3-vial and 10-vial pack options. Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide studied in reproductive endocrine signalling research.

Kisspeptin is the product of the KISS1 gene, and its name has an odd origin: the gene was identified in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and named after the chocolate. It is one of the few peptides in research use whose naming has nothing to do with its structure or function.

Its described role sits upstream in the reproductive endocrine axis, acting on neurons that regulate gonadotropin-releasing hormone. That upstream position is what makes it of interest, since a signal at that level influences a cascade rather than a single output.

The gene was originally investigated in an entirely different context before its role in this axis was recognised, which is a common pattern in peptide research and a reminder that the name a sequence carries often reflects where it was found rather than what it does.

Studies using it concern neuroendocrine communication and the regulation of reproductive signalling pathways in animal and cell-culture models.