CDB15:0000960 KISS1 — KISS1R

ABSTRACT: Natural peptides displaying agonist activity on the orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR54 were isolated from human placenta. These 54-, 14,- and 13-amino acid peptides, with a common RF-amide C terminus, derive from the product of KiSS-1, a metastasis suppressor gene for melanoma cells, and were therefore designated kisspeptins. They bound with low nanomolar affinities to rat and human GPR54 expressed in Chinese hamster ovary K1 cells and stimulated PIP(2) hydrolysis, Ca(2+) mobilization, arachidonic acid release, ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation, and stress fiber formation but inhibited cell proliferation. Human GPR54 was highly expressed in placenta, pituitary, pancreas, and spinal cord, suggesting a role in the regulation of endocrine function. Stimulation of oxytocin secretion after kisspeptin administration to rats confirmed this hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: A human placenta cDNA library was screened by the expression cloning method for gene products that interact with matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and we isolated a cDNA whose product formed a stable complex with pro-MMP-2 and pro-MMP-9. The cDNA encoded the metastasis suppressor gene KiSS-1. KiSS-1 protein was shown to form a complex with pro-MMP. KiSS-1 protein is known to be processed to peptide ligand of a G-protein-coupled receptor (hOT7T175) named metastin, and suppresses metastasis of tumors expressing the receptor. Active MMP-2, MMP-9, MT1-MMP, MT3-MMP and MT5-MMP cleaved the Gly118-Leu119 peptide bond of not only full-length KiSS-1 protein but also metastin decapeptide. Metastin decapeptide induced formation of focal adhesion and actin stress fibers in cells expressing the receptor, and digestion of metastin decapeptide by MMP abolished its ligand activity. Migration of HT1080 cells expressing hOT7T175 that harbor a high-level MMP activity was only slightly suppressed by either metastin decapeptide or MMP inhibitor BB-94 alone, but the combination of metastin decapeptide and BB-94 showed a synergistic effect in blocking cell migration. We propose that metastin could be used as an antimetastatic agent in combination with MMP inhibitor, or MMP-resistant forms of metastin could be developed and may also be efficacious.

ABSTRACT: We have recently described a molecular gatekeeper of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis with the observation that G protein-coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) is required in mice and men for the pubertal onset of pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion to occur. In the present study, we investigate the possible central mode of action of GPR54 and kisspeptin ligand. First, we show that GPR54 transcripts are colocalized with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons in the mouse hypothalamus, suggesting that kisspeptin, the GPR54 ligand, may act directly on these neurons. Next, we show that GnRH neurons seem anatomically normal in gpr54-/- mice, and that they show projections to the median eminence, which demonstrates that the hypogonadism in gpr54-/- mice is not due to an abnormal migration of GnRH neurons (as occurs with KAL1 mutations), but that it is more likely due to a lack of GnRH release or absence of GnRH neuron stimulation. We also show that levels of kisspeptin injected i.p., which stimulate robust LH and FSH release in wild-type mice, have no effect in gpr54-/- mice, and therefore that kisspeptin acts directly and uniquely by means of GPR54 signaling for this function. Finally, we demonstrate by direct measurement, that the central administration of kisspeptin intracerebroventricularly in sheep produces a dramatic release of GnRH into the cerebrospinal fluid, with a parallel rise in serum LH, demonstrating that a key action of kisspeptin on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis occurs directly at the level of GnRH release. The localization and GnRH release effects of kisspeptin thus define GPR54 as a major control point in the reproductive axis and suggest kisspeptin to be a neurohormonal effector.

ABSTRACT: Kisspeptin is a member of the RFamide neuropeptide family that is implicated in gonadotropin secretion. Because kisspeptin-GPR54 signaling is implicated in the neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction, GPR54 ligands represent promising therapeutic agents against endocrine secretion disorders. In the present study, the selectivity profiles of GPR54 agonist peptides were investigated for several GPCRs, including RFamide receptors. Kisspeptin-10 exhibited potent binding and activation of neuropeptide FF receptors (NPFFR1 and NPFFR2). In contrast, short peptide agonists bound with much lower affinity to NPFFRs while showing relatively high selectivity toward GPR54. The possible localization of secondary kisspeptin targets was also demonstrated by variation in the levels of GnRH release from the median eminence and the type of GPR54 agonists used. Negligible affinity of the reported NPFFR ligands to GPR54 was observed and indicates the unidirectional cross-reactivity between both ligands.