FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone; GnRH: gonadotropin-releasing hormone; KNDy: kisspeptin-neurokinin B-dynorphin; LH: luteinizing hormone; MKRN3: makorin RING-finger protein 3; NKB: neurokinin B.
* The site of action of MKRN3 within the hypothalamus is unknown. One possibility is that MKRN3 may work within KNDy neurons to inhibit puberty initiation by suppressing transcription of the genes that encode kisspeptin and NKB[2].
¶ It is uncertain whether NKB acts on the KNDy neurons, GnRH neurons, or both and whether these are the primary sites of action. NKB appears to be important for pubertal timing but does not appear to be an obligate part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, as there can be reproductive endocrine activity in the absence of NKB[3].