Kisspeptin-14

Where it comes from

Made in

Isolated from human placenta alongside the 54- and 13-residue forms; trimmed from the front of the longer peptide

Sent out by

With kisspeptin-54

Acts on

• GnRH neurons

What it does

• Binds KISS1R at low nanomolar affinity and releases GnRH, and so LH and FSH, like the full peptide ¹
• One of the three lengths actually pulled out of human tissue, with the 54 and the 13 ¹
• Carries the same amidated tail as the others: the extra residues at the front change how long it survives, not what it does

In medicine

• None of its own. Human studies are done with kisspeptin-54, or with the shorter kisspeptin-10 for brief infusions ²
• Kisspeptin assays read the shared tail, so a blood level is the sum of the lengths and cannot be assigned to this one

Beyond the body’s own use

• Several lengths exist because the 54-residue peptide is trimmed from its front end, each piece keeping the active tail; that is why the 14 is as potent as its parent ¹
• Nothing has been given to people as kisspeptin-14. A head-to-head infusion in healthy men used the 10 and the 54 and found similar LH and FSH output from both, with GnRH stronger than either ²
• Whether the shorter forms are made deliberately or are the peptide being taken apart is unsettled, and no assay in use can settle it