Clinical Implications
Defects in the GNRHR are a cause of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH).
Normal puberty begins between ages 8 and 14 in girls and between 9 and 14 in boys. Puberty, however, for some children can come much sooner or much later or in many cases never occurs and thereby contributes to the estimated 35-70 million infertile couples worldwide. Among children, the abnormally early or late onset of puberty exerts intense emotional and social stress that too often goes untreated.
The timely onset of puberty is regulated by many factors and one factor that is often referred to as the master regulator of puberty and reproduction is the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH is produced in the hypothalamus but gets secreted and acts upon receptors (GnRH-R) on the anterior pituitary to exert its effects on reproductive maturation.
Understanding how GnRH-R functions has been key to developing clinical strategies to treat reproductive-related disorders.
Read more about this topic: Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone Receptor
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