Kisspeptin: the fertility signal behind new IVF research

What kisspeptin does

Kisspeptin is a hormone made in the hypothalamus that acts on the nerve cells releasing GnRH, the master signal of the reproductive system. GnRH in turn tells the pituitary to release LH and FSH, the hormones that drive the ovaries and testes. A 2022 review by the main clinical research group describes kisspeptin as a key regulator of this axis and as required for the natural LH surge that triggers ovulation (review) ¹. It comes in several lengths; the research uses mainly kisspeptin-54 and the shorter kisspeptin-10, which our encyclopedia covers separately ².

Given to people, kisspeptin raises LH quickly. An intravenous dose of kisspeptin-10 in healthy men raised LH within 30 minutes, and a day-long infusion increased the number of LH pulses (human study) ³. Women respond differently across the menstrual cycle: in one study, kisspeptin-10 raised LH and FSH in men at low doses but did not change them in women in the follicular phase even at the highest doses tested (human study) ⁴.

The IVF problem kisspeptin is meant to solve

IVF uses high doses of hormones to grow many follicles, then a 'trigger' injection to mature the eggs before collection. The review notes that this supra-physiological stimulation brings risks, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and multiple pregnancy, and that the choice of trigger affects both hormone dynamics after collection and the risk of OHSS ¹. OHSS is a potentially life-threatening complication, as the investigators of the first large kisspeptin trial put it ⁵.

The idea behind a kisspeptin trigger is that it works through the body's own GnRH, producing a shorter, more natural LH surge than the standard triggers, which might mature eggs while lowering the push that leads to OHSS.

What the IVF trials found

The key trial enrolled 60 women at high risk of OHSS at an IVF unit in London. After standard stimulation, each received a single kisspeptin-54 injection at one of four doses, and eggs were collected 36 hours later. Eggs matured in 95% of women; across doses 53% had a clinical pregnancy and 45% a live birth per embryo transfer, and no woman developed moderate, severe or critical OHSS (phase 2 randomised dose trial, open label, no comparison trigger) ⁵. An earlier study in women undergoing IVF found mature eggs at every dose tested, more at higher doses (phase 2 study) ⁶.

A follow-up trial tested a second dose 10 hours after the first in 62 women at high OHSS risk. More women reached a good egg yield with two doses than with one (71% against 45%), and moderate OHSS did not increase (one case with a single dose, none with two). The second dose helped most in women whose LH rose least after the first (phase 2 randomised trial) ⁷. In the laboratory, cells from the follicles of women triggered with kisspeptin-54 expressed more of the genes behind ovarian hormone production than cells from women triggered with standard drugs (laboratory study of human cells) ⁸.

These are encouraging, carefully reported results. They are also small, phase 2, and mostly without a head-to-head comparison against the triggers used today. They come from one research group, and the 2022 review's authors disclosed consulting work for Myovant Sciences, a company developing a kisspeptin-receptor agonist ¹. Large comparative trials are what would change practice.

Missing periods from the hypothalamus

Hypothalamic amenorrhoea, where periods stop because the brain's reproductive signal is suppressed, often by low energy availability, stress or heavy exercise, is a natural target. In a 2010 study, twice-daily kisspeptin-54 injections quickly lost their effect, with the FSH response nearly abolished by the second day, while twice-weekly injections caused only partial desensitisation; women given twice-weekly injections for eight weeks had higher reproductive hormone levels than with saline, without adverse effects (human study) ⁹. In women with chronic amenorrhoea from high prolactin, kisspeptin-10 reactivated the axis in an exploratory study (human study) ¹⁰.

That desensitisation is the central puzzle: a signal that works as a single pulse loses power when given too often. It is one reason researchers are exploring different schedules, routes and longer-acting analogues.

Sexual desire and brain imaging

Kisspeptin also acts in brain areas linked to sexual and emotional processing. In a 2022 randomised crossover trial, 32 premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder had brain scans after kisspeptin and after placebo. Kisspeptin changed activity in regions involved in sexual and facial attraction processing, and the changes correlated with baseline sexual distress and reduced sexual aversion; it was well tolerated (randomised crossover trial with brain imaging) ¹¹. The trial measured brain responses, not whether desire or sexual behaviour improved in daily life, which would need a different trial.

Nasal sprays, analogues and diagnosis

Kisspeptin is usually given by injection. In 2025, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study found that a kisspeptin-54 nasal spray raised LH in healthy men and women and in women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea, with no side effects reported (randomised crossover trial) ¹². Longer-acting receptor agonists are also being developed: MVT-602 produced an LH rise similar in size to kisspeptin-54 but longer lasting (human and laboratory studies) ¹³, and dose-finding trials described its hormone profile in healthy women with and without ovarian stimulation (randomised trials) ¹⁴.

Kisspeptin may also become a diagnostic test. In 21 men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and 21 healthy men, the LH response to kisspeptin-54 separated the two groups better than the response to GnRH (diagnostic study) ¹⁵.

What it would take to reach the clinic

For kisspeptin to become an ordinary IVF option, the trials would need to grow in three ways. They would need to be larger, with hundreds of women rather than dozens, so that rare outcomes such as severe OHSS can be counted reliably. They would need a direct comparison with the triggers clinics already use for women at high risk, so that egg yield, pregnancy rates and safety can be weighed side by side rather than against expectations. And they would need to come from more than one research centre, to show the results hold beyond the group that developed the approach. The variable LH response seen in the second-dose trial, where some women responded far less to the first injection than others, also suggests that dosing may need to be tailored ⁷. Longer-acting analogues such as MVT-602 could simplify that, if their own trials succeed ¹⁴.

Status, as of October 3, 2026

Kisspeptin is not approved by FDA or any other regulator we know of; Drugs@FDA holds no application for it, and its uses are in clinical trials ². It is not available as a prescription fertility treatment. For athletes, WADA's 2026 Prohibited List names kisspeptin and its agonist analogues under S2.2.1, testosterone-stimulating peptides in males, prohibited at all times ².

Kisspeptin is also sold online as a research peptide, sometimes promoted for libido or testosterone. Nothing in the trials supports self-injection: they used carefully dosed, pharmaceutical-grade peptide under monitoring, often in IVF clinics with ultrasound and blood tests at every step.

Questions to ask a fertility clinic

• Which trigger do you use, and how do you reduce the risk of OHSS for someone with my ovarian response?
• Is kisspeptin available here through a clinical trial, and what would participating involve?
• If my periods have stopped, what is the likely cause, and what treatment is established for it?
• How does the evidence for kisspeptin compare with the trigger options I can have now?

Where kisspeptin fits

The approved drugs that act on this axis today work at the next step down. GnRH agonists such as triptorelin are used both to suppress the axis and, in some IVF protocols, as a trigger. Kisspeptin acts one step higher, on the GnRH neurons themselves, which is what makes its surge more natural and its effects more dependent on the body's own state. Our entries on kisspeptin-54 and kisspeptin-10 list the studies in more detail.

The bottom line

Kisspeptin is one of the more promising peptides in reproductive medicine, with careful human studies showing it can mature eggs for IVF without serious OHSS in women at high risk. The evidence is phase 2, small and concentrated in one research group, and kisspeptin is not approved anywhere. For now it belongs in clinical trials and fertility clinics, not in a vial bought online.

Frequently asked questions

What is kisspeptin?

A hormone made in the hypothalamus that switches on the reproductive axis by stimulating GnRH release, which in turn releases LH and FSH.

Is kisspeptin used in IVF?

Only in trials. In 60 women at high risk of OHSS, a kisspeptin-54 trigger matured eggs in 95% with a 45% live birth rate per transfer and no moderate or severe OHSS. It is not approved.

Can kisspeptin help with missing periods?

In small studies of hypothalamic amenorrhoea it raised reproductive hormones, but frequent dosing lost effect. It is not an approved treatment.

Does kisspeptin increase libido?

In 32 women with low sexual desire, kisspeptin changed brain responses to sexual cues. Whether it improves desire in daily life has not been shown.

Is kisspeptin legal?

It is not approved anywhere and is available only in clinical trials. WADA prohibits it under S2.2.1.

Related on Grey Peptides

• Kisspeptin-54
• Kisspeptin-10
• PCOS and peptides

Sources

1. Sharma, B., et al. (2022). Use of kisspeptin to trigger oocyte maturation during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 13, 972137. PMID: 36147569
2. Grey Peptides encyclopedia entries for kisspeptin-10 and kisspeptin-54: status (not approved anywhere; no Drugs@FDA application, read September 30, 2026), WADA status (S2.2.1, named in the 2026 and 2027 Lists as testosterone-stimulating peptides in males: kisspeptin and its agonist analogues), study cards. Read October 3, 2026.
3. George, J. T., et al. (2011). Kisspeptin-10 is a potent stimulator of LH and increases pulse frequency in men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 96(8), E1228-36. PMID: 21632807
4. Jayasena, C. N., et al. (2011). The effects of kisspeptin-10 on reproductive hormone release show sexual dimorphism in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 96(12), E1963-72. PMID: 21976724
5. Abbara, A., et al. (2015). Efficacy of Kisspeptin-54 to Trigger Oocyte Maturation in Women at High Risk of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) During In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 100(9), 3322-31. PMID: 26192876
6. Jayasena, C. N., et al. (2014). Kisspeptin-54 triggers egg maturation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. J Clin Invest, 124(8), 3667-77. PMID: 25036713
7. Abbara, A., et al. (2017). A second dose of kisspeptin-54 improves oocyte maturation in women at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: a Phase 2 randomized controlled trial. Hum Reprod, 32(9), 1915-1924. PMID: 28854728
8. Owens, L. A., et al. (2018). The direct and indirect effects of kisspeptin-54 on granulosa lutein cell function. Hum Reprod, 33(2), 292-302. PMID: 29206944
9. Jayasena, C. N., et al. (2010). Twice-weekly administration of kisspeptin-54 for 8 weeks stimulates release of reproductive hormones in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea. Clin Pharmacol Ther, 88(6), 840-7. PMID: 20980998
10. Millar, R. P., et al. (2017). Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian Axis Reactivation by Kisspeptin-10 in Hyperprolactinemic Women With Chronic Amenorrhea. J Endocr Soc, 1(11), 1362-1371. PMID: 29264460
11. Thurston, L., et al. (2022). Effects of Kisspeptin Administration in Women With Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open, 5(10), e2236131. PMID: 36287566
12. Mills, E. G., et al. (2025). Intranasal kisspeptin administration rapidly stimulates gonadotropin release in humans. EBioMedicine, 115, 105689. PMID: 40215751
13. Abbara, A., et al. (2020). Kisspeptin receptor agonist has therapeutic potential for female reproductive disorders. J Clin Invest, 130(12), 6739-6753. PMID: 33196464
14. Abbara, A., et al. (2024). Endocrine profile of the kisspeptin receptor agonist MVT-602 in healthy premenopausal women with and without ovarian stimulation: results from 2 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical tricals. Fertil Steril, 121(1), 95-106. PMID: 37925096
15. Abbara, A., et al. (2021). Kisspeptin-54 Accurately Identifies Hypothalamic Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neuronal Dysfunction in Men with Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism. Neuroendocrinology, 111(12), 1176-1186. PMID: 33227799

Educational information, not medical advice. Each dose in this guide names its source, an approved label or a published study. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose.