Therapeutic Neuroendocrine Agonist and Antagonist Analogs of Hypothalamic Neuropeptides as Modulators of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis.

Abstract

Reproductive hormones play a role at all stages of life and affect most tissues of the body. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) synthesized in the hypothalamus stimulates the secretion of gonadotropins which in turn stimulate gonadal sex hormone production and gamete formation. This hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis has, therefore, been the target for the development of numerous drugs which regulate it at various points. These include sex steroid agonists and antagonists, inhibitors of sex steroid biosynthesis, and GnRH agonists and antagonists, which have found extensive applications in treating numerous conditions such as precocious puberty, delayed puberty, prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, endometriosis, uterine fibroids and also in in vitro fertilization protocols. The novel neuroendocrine peptides, kisspeptin (KP) and neurokinin B (NKB), were recently discovered as upstream regulators of GnRH, and inactivating mutations of KP and NKB ligands or receptors result in a failure to progress through puberty. Agonists and antagonists of KP and NKB are being developed as more subtle modulators of the HPG axis. These new drugs offer additional and alternative therapeutic options in pediatric and adult hormone-dependent diseases.