2023
This randomized clinical trial found that kisspeptin significantly increased brain activity in areas that process sexual cues and increased penile tumescence (erection firmness) by up to 56% in men with low sexual desire. Participants also reported feeling happier about sex. This suggests kisspeptin could become the first drug treatment for male HSDD (hypoactive sexual desire disorder, a lasting lack of sexual desire).
Mills EG, Ertl N, Wall MB, et al.
2022
Kisspeptin changed activity in brain regions that process sexual cues and faces in women with HSDD (hypoactive sexual desire disorder, a lasting lack of sexual desire). The effects matched less sexual aversion and better responses to attractive images. This lays groundwork for a possible treatment for women.
Thurston L, Hunjan T, Ertl N, et al.
2018
Compared with the usual hCG trigger shot, kisspeptin reduced ovarian volume by 3 times and nearly eliminated OHSS symptoms (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a painful overreaction of the ovaries to fertility drugs). The odds of developing OHSS were 33x lower with kisspeptin than with hCG, making it a much safer option for high-risk IVF patients.
Abbara A, Islam R, Clarke SA, et al.
2025
A placebo-controlled study of 95 participants confirmed that kisspeptin strongly triggers LH (luteinizing hormone) release, with no effect on anxiety, cortisol, blood pressure, or heart rate. This is reassuring: kisspeptin-based treatments should not cause these mental or body-stress side effects.
Mills EG, Thurston L, Yang L, et al.
2025
This study showed that kisspeptin given as a nasal spray (intranasal) triggers LH (luteinizing hormone) release in healthy men, healthy women, and patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea (periods stopping because of a brain-signaling problem), with no adverse events. This needle-free route could make kisspeptin a practical take-home treatment for reproductive disorders.
Mills EG, Silva MSB, Delli V, et al.
2011
An IV bolus (a single quick injection into a vein) of kisspeptin-10 across 0.01-3.0 mcg/kg produced an LH (luteinizing hormone) rise that grew with the dose. 1 mcg/kg gave the strongest effect (peak LH 12.4 IU/L at 30 min), while 3 mcg/kg produced a smaller response.
George JT, Veldhuis JD, Roseweir AK, Newton CL, Faccenda E, Millar RP, Anderson RA
2005
A 90-minute IV infusion (slow drip into a vein) of kisspeptin-54 in male volunteers significantly raised plasma (blood) LH (10.8 vs 4.2 U/L), FSH (3.9 vs 3.2 U/L) and testosterone (24.9 vs 21.7 nmol/L) compared with saline. The half-life of kisspeptin-54 in blood was 27.6 min.
Dhillo WS, Chaudhri OB, Patterson M, et al.
2003
Loss-of-function mutations (broken copies) in GPR54, the kisspeptin receptor, cause autosomal recessive idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in humans: a failure to go through puberty, with low sex hormones because the brain's signal is missing. Mice lacking Gpr54 show the same problem but still respond to injected GnRH (the hormone that signals the pituitary).
Seminara SB, Messager S, Chatzidaki EE, et al.
2001
Kisspeptins made from the KiSS-1 gene attach to GPR54 very tightly (low-nanomolar affinity) and set off a chain of signals inside the cell: PIP2 hydrolysis (breakdown of a membrane fat), calcium release, arachidonic acid release and activation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase (cell signaling enzymes). This is the Gq-coupled arm of the receptor's signaling (one of its two main signal routes).
Kotani M, Detheux M, Vandenbogaerde A, et al.