Researchers gave kisspeptin‑10 to monkey stem cells and saw the cells stop dividing, change shape, and become neuron‑like cells that produce GnRH, the hormone that controls reproduction. This shows kisspeptin can steer stem cells toward a reproductive‑brain cell type, but it’s all in a lab dish and far from a human treatment.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have enormous potential as novel cell-based therapies, but their effectiveness depends on stem cell differentiation and specific signaling regulators, which remain poorly understood. In this study, a kisspeptin peptide (KP-10) was used at different dosages to determine whether rhesus macaque-derived tau GFP-Lyon ES cells underwent kisspeptin-specific neuronal differentiation. It was found that KP-10 exhibited an anti-proliferative effect on the cells and led to morphological changes and cellular differentiation consistent with neuronal stem cell (NSC) development. The cells differentiated into Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) neuronal-like cell types in response to the KP-10 treatment. There has been a previously observed connection between kisspeptin signaling, GnRH neurons and their dysfunction found in congenital disorders like idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). Although therapeutics are a still a far-off goal, the formation and development of GnRH-positive neuronal-like cells following the application of KP-10 to Lyon NSC cells opens the door for future NSC-based therapies to treat specific reproductive disorders.