Dashnaiv Peptides
Compounds·growth factors & reproductive·KISS1 receptor agonist; GnRH release

Kisspeptin (KP-10, KP-54) peptide: what the human trials measured, the desensitisation problem, and what the testosterone and libido uses rest on

What 3,850 indexed publications and 44 randomized trials actually state about kisspeptin, sentence by sentence, each tied to its source and labeled by the kind of evidence it is.

Human clinical trial Reviewed 32 sources Updated

At a glance

Evidence availability
Human clinical evidence
Strongest tier in the indexed literature
Indexed publications
3,850
Europe PMC, title or abstract, 2026-09-14
Human studies in ledger
19
11 randomized; study count, not efficacy proof
Approval
not approved
ChEMBL phase 3
Routes reported
intramuscular, intranasal, intravenous, subcutaneous
from studies in this ledger
Studied in
Dogs, Humans, Mice, Zebrafish
25 primary studies in the evidence table
Reviewed by Adam Mirando, PharmD, on . What changed

What kisspeptin is, and what KP-10 and KP-54 mean

Kisspeptin is a peptide in the growth factors & reproductive class (KISS1 receptor agonist; GnRH release). Europe PMC indexes 3,850 publications naming it or a listed alias in a title or abstract, including 44 randomized controlled trials and 34 clinical trials of any design, as of . The strongest evidence tier in that literature is human clinical trials.

This page reports what those studies state, sentence by sentence, with each statement tied to its source and labeled by the kind of evidence it is. It does not recommend use, and it does not translate study doses into anything personal.

What the evidence level means

Publication counts show what is indexed, not how strong the evidence is. The ledger below separates human clinical records from preclinical, analytical, and in-vitro work.

Human clinical studies in this ledger1911 randomized · 8 other human clinical
Evidence strengthNot yet assessedSeparate from evidence availability
Efficacy signalNot yet assessedRead the study result, not the tier alone

Interpretation boundary: An indexed publication count is a discovery measure. It does not establish efficacy, safety, approval, or a personal treatment plan.

Kisspeptin in two minutes

What it is. The hormone that starts puberty: peptides from the KISS1 gene that act on GnRH neurons, one step above where most reproductive drugs act. Kisspeptin-54 is the circulating form; kisspeptin-10 is its active tail, and the one sold as a research chemical.

What the research actually shows. 3,850 indexed publications and a real trial programme, mostly at Imperial College London. Single infusions or injections raise LH within minutes and testosterone or oestradiol over hours; a single subcutaneous dose triggers egg maturation in IVF as well as hCG does, with less hyperstimulation; a 75-minute infusion changes sexual brain processing in people with low desire; 12 days of daily infusions kept testosterone raised in healthy men. Nothing has been given for longer.

The catch. Continuous high-dose kisspeptin desensitises the system. The trials are built around that fact; the community 'restart' protocols are built against it.

Status. Not approved. The approved drug on its pathway, fezolinetant, blocks a step upstream and treats hot flushes; the kisspeptin receptor agonist MVT-602 is in IVF trials.

Where the evidence is thinnest. Weeks of intermittent injection, fertility or libido as an outcome rather than a hormone or an image, and anyone with low testosterone: none has been studied.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

How kisspeptin works: the switch above GnRH

Written from general pharmacology and the development record, and marked as editorial synthesis; the measurements behind it are quoted in the biomarker section.

  • Kisspeptins are peptides cut from the 145-amino-acid product of the KISS1 gene, named for Hershey, Pennsylvania, where the gene was found as a metastasis suppressor in 1996. Kisspeptin-54 is the main circulating form; kisspeptin-14, -13 and -10 share its ten-amino-acid C-terminal tail, which is all the receptor needs. In 2003 two groups found that people with inactivating mutations in the receptor, KISS1R (then GPR54), never went through puberty, which made kisspeptin the switch above GnRH.Editorial synthesis
    Editorial synthesis from general knowledge
  • The action is one step up from where most hormone drugs act. Kisspeptin neurons in the hypothalamus release the peptide onto GnRH neurons, which release GnRH in pulses into the pituitary's portal blood; the pituitary answers with LH within minutes and FSH more slowly; the gonads answer LH with testosterone or oestradiol over hours. Because kisspeptin works through the body's own GnRH pulse generator, its effect depends on the state of that generator: women respond most in the late follicular phase when oestradiol is high, and the 2014 trial found each woman with hypothalamic amenorrhoea had her own best dose.Editorial synthesis
    Editorial synthesis from general knowledge
  • The limiting property is desensitisation. GnRH neurons exposed to continuous high kisspeptin stop responding, as they do to continuous GnRH; that is why the trials give pulses, low-rate infusions or single doses, and why a 2026 study testing 12 days of daily eight-hour infusions in men was news. The 'kisspeptin/neurokinin B/dynorphin' (KNDy) neurons that generate the pulses are also the target of fezolinetant, the approved hot-flush drug, which blocks neurokinin B one step upstream.Editorial synthesis
    Editorial synthesis from general knowledge

Trial by trial: what kisspeptin did in people

Every human study in the ledger, with what was given and for how long. Rows marked 'measured only' gave no kisspeptin; they are in the ledger because they measured it or tested a related drug.

Human studies of kisspeptin in the ledger, by what was administered.
StudyParticipantsIsoform, dose, routeDurationResult
Yeung 202615 healthy men (7, 4, 7) plus 12 controlsKP-10 subcutaneous: 1.25 to 10 nmol/kg/h acute; 180 nmol/h continuous; 150 nmol/h daily 8 h8 hours; 5 days; 12 daysLH, FSH and testosterone rose dose-dependently and stayed raised through 12 days
Mills 2025 (anxiety)95 volunteers, 63 menKP-54 IV 1 nmol/kg/h75 minutes, crossoverLH robustly up; no effect on anxiety by any measure
Mills 2025 (intranasal)Healthy men and women; patients with a reproductive disorderKP-54 intranasal 12.8 nmol/kgSingleRapid, clinically significant gonadotropin release
Mills 202337 men with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, 32 completedKP-54 IV 1 nmol/kg/h75 minutes, crossoverSexual-processing brain activity modulated; penile tumescence and rated desire up during the session
Thurston 202240 women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, 32 completedKP-54 IV 1 nmol/kg/h75 minutes, crossoverSexual and facial-attraction brain processing modulated
Abbara 201762 women at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation in IVFKP-54 subcutaneous 9.6 nmol/kg, one or two doses 10 h apartSingle or double doseSecond dose improved oocyte yield
Jayasena 2014 (IVF)53 women in IVFKP-54 subcutaneous, single, dose-rangingSingleEgg maturation at every dose, rising with dose; live births followed
Jayasena 2014 (amenorrhoea)5 women with hypothalamic amenorrhoeaKP-54 IV 0.01 to 1.0 nmol/kg/h8-hour infusionsLH pulses tripled; each woman's best dose differed; background: chronic high dose desensitises
Narayanaswamy 2016Healthy womenKP-54 subcutaneous infusion 0.3 and 1.0 nmol/kg/hInfusionLH and FSH up; response tracked baseline oestradiol
Abbara 2024; Abbara 2020Healthy premenopausal women, with and without ovarian stimulationMVT-602 (receptor agonist) 0.01 and 0.03 nmol/kg vs KP-54 9.6 nmol/kgSingleSafe and well tolerated; half-life 1.3 to 2.2 h; LH rose dose-dependently
Galbiati 2025; Galbiati 202612 healthy adultsKP 112-121 analogue IV bolus 0.24 nmol/kgSingle, 60 minutesOxytocin rose, more in one sex; vasopressin unchanged
Romero-Ruiz 2019Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (n = 20 in the human part) and rat modelsKisspeptin, regimen in full textCourseGonadotropin responses and ovulation in a subset
Skorupskaite 20208 women with polycystic ovary syndromeKP-10 4 mcg/kg after 7 days of an NK3 receptor antagonistSingle test doseLH response to kisspeptin preserved while the antagonist lowered LH
Fraser 2021; Nielsen 2026Women with polycystic ovary syndrome; healthy volunteersFezolinetant, an NK3 antagonist, not kisspeptin12 weeks; single and multiple dosesTestosterone lowered in PCOS; QT modelling. Measured only for kisspeptin
Rodanaki 2025; Katirci 2024Girls with suspected precocious puberty; pregnant women with placenta previaNo kisspeptin given—Kisspeptin levels measured. Measured only

Two often-cited studies were added to the ledger on 25 September 2026: Dhillo 2005, the first kisspeptin-54 infusion in men, which raised LH and testosterone, and Jayasena 2009, which found that twice-daily subcutaneous kisspeptin-54 for two weeks in women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea lost its effect, the desensitisation the later trials work around.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

What the evidence shows

One row per primary study in this record's ledger. Fields are read from each paper's indexing and abstract. "Analytical method" marks papers about detecting or measuring the compound rather than about its effects.

25 primary studies in this record's ledger, strongest evidence first. A dash means the abstract did not state the value.
StudyDesignnSpeciesDoseRouteDurationReported outcomeTier
Yeung 2026 Randomized controlled trial 7 Humans—subcutaneous5 days; 12 days Results (1) Acute subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 infusions dose-dependently increased LH, FSH, and testosterone vs vehicle (P Conclusions We demonstrate that chronic subcutaneous kisspeptin administration sustains… Human clinical trial
Galbiati 2026 Phase 1 clinical trial — Humans——— AVP levels were higher in males at all time points (p = .028) and did not change in response to KP. Human clinical trial
Nielsen 2026 Phase 1 clinical trial — Humans——— — Human clinical trial
Mills 2025 Randomized controlled trial 63 Humans—intravenous— Kisspeptin administration robustly increased serum luteinizing hormone to similar levels previously described using this administration protocol, confirming that the dose was biologically active (P Conclusion This is… Human clinical trial
Mills 2025 Randomized controlled trial — Humans—intranasal, intravenous, subcutaneous— Specifically, intranasal kisspeptin (at 12.8 nmol/kg) induced clinically-significant mean maximal increases above baseline in serum luteinising hormone in all study groups: 4.4 ± 0.6 IU/L (mean difference = 3.1 IU/L… Human clinical trial
Galbiati 2025 Phase 1 clinical trial — Humans——— Males and females did not differ significantly in age, BMI, or baseline OXT levels. Human clinical trial
Rodanaki 2025 Randomized controlled trial — Humans——— Neither area under the curve for kisspeptin levels nor peaks were significantly lower after the GnRH injection compared to placebo. Human clinical trial
Katirci 2024 Randomized controlled trial — Humans——— The evaluation of KISS1 concentration in serum revealed a significant decrease in the placenta previa group compared to the control group (P Conclusions Results from biochemical, immunohistochemical, and genetic… Human clinical trial
Abbara 2024 Randomized controlled trial 24 Humans——9 days; 4 days In the phase-2a trial, LH concentrations increased dose dependently; mean maximum change from baseline of 82.4 IU/L at 24.8 hours was observed after administration of 3 μg MVT-602 and remained >15 IU/L for 33 hours. Human clinical trial
Mills 2023 Randomized controlled trial 37 Humans—intravenous7 days On viewing sexual videos, kisspeptin significantly modulated brain activity in key structures of the sexual-processing network on whole-brain analysis compared with placebo (mean absolute change [Cohen d] = 0.81 [95%… Human clinical trial
Thurston 2022 Randomized controlled trial 40 Humans—intravenous— — Human clinical trial
Fraser 2021 Randomized controlled trial 64 Humans——— Fezolinetant had a sustained effect to suppress hyperandrogenism and reduce the LH-to-FSH ratio in women with PCOS. Human clinical trial
Abbara 2020 Clinical trial 9 Humans——— Further, we investigated their effects on KISS1R-mediated inositol monophosphate (IP1) and Ca2+ signaling in cell lines and on action potential firing of GnRH neurons in brain slices.RESULTSIn healthy women, the… Human clinical trial
Skorupskaite 2020 Randomized controlled trial 8 Humans4 µg/kgintravenous7 days Main results and the role of chance NK3Ra reduced LH secretion (4.0 ± 0.4 vs 6.5 ± 0.8 IU/l, P Limitations, reasons for caution The study did not explore the dose relationship of the effect of NK3R antagonism. Human clinical trial
Romero-Ruiz 2019 Clinical trial 20 Humans——11 days; 21 days However, while anovulatory NeNA rats displayed significant LH and FSH responses to KP-54 (P Limitations, reasons for caution While three different preclinical PCOS models were used in order to capture the heterogeneity… Human clinical trial
Abbara 2017 Randomized controlled trial 62 Humans—subcutaneous— A higher proportion of patients achieved an oocyte yield ≥60% following a second dose of kisspeptin-54 (Single: 14/31, 45%, Double: 21/31, 71%; absolute difference +26%, CI 2-50%, P = 0.042). Human clinical trial
Narayanaswamy 2016 Clinical trial 4 Humans—subcutaneous— SC infusion of kisspeptin-54 increased LH and FSH. Human clinical trial
Jayasena 2014 Clinical trial 2 Humans—subcutaneous— Egg maturation was observed in response to each tested dose of kisspeptin-54, and the mean number of mature eggs per patient generally increased in a dose-dependent manner. Human clinical trial
Jayasena 2014 Controlled clinical trial — Humans—intravenous— Kisspeptin increased LH pulsatility in all patients with HA, with peak responses observed at different doses in each patient. Human clinical trial
Uyanık 2026 Animal study 12 ——intramuscular, subcutaneous7 days Regardless of dose, TAK-683 treatment induced the formation of accessory corpora lutea (aCL) and significantly increased original CL (oCL) diameter, luteal area (LA), and Doppler area (DA) compared with controls (P… Animal, preclinical
Bozkurt 2026 Animal study 4 Dogs——— Only G3 exhibited a P4 increase above 2 ng/mL on day 15, suggesting possible luteinization. Animal, preclinical
Yang 2024 Animal study — Mice, Zebrafish——— Musk ambrette was identified as a KISS1R agonist, and treatment with musk ambrette led to increased expression of Gnrh1 in murine and human hypothalamic cells and expansion of GnRH neuronal area in developing zebrafish… Animal, preclinical
Terse 2021 Animal study — Dogs——14 days LH concentrations on Day 1 were generally greater than on day 14. Animal, preclinical
Chiang 2021 Animal study — Mice——— However, the expression of the LH receptor-encoding gene increased 1 week earlier than did Kiss1 expression. Animal, preclinical
Veschi 2023 In vitro study — Humans——— Increasing radioiodine uptake, KISS1R and TIMP1 targeting may represent a therapeutic adjuvant option for undifferentiated TCs. Mechanistic, in vitro

Doses reported in studies

Each entry is a sentence quoted from the study's abstract, with the study's design, sample size and year in front of it. Comparator doses in the same sentence are not attributed to kisspeptin.

  • Healthy men received acute eight-hour subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 infusions at 1.25 to 10 nmol/kg/h, then continuous infusion at 180 nmol/h for five days, then daily eight-hour infusions at 150 nmol/h for 12 days.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-42549827
  • Women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea received continuous intravenous kisspeptin-54 at 0.01 to 1.00 nmol/kg/h.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-24517142
  • Women at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation received a single subcutaneous injection of kisspeptin-54 at 9.6 nmol/kg 36 hours before egg retrieval, half of them a second dose 10 hours later.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-28854728
  • Healthy women received subcutaneous infusions of kisspeptin-54 at 0.3 and 1.0 nmol/kg/h.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-26572695
  • Women and men with hypoactive sexual desire disorder received a 75-minute intravenous infusion of kisspeptin-54 at 1 nmol/kg/h.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-36287566
  • Ninety-five volunteers received the same 75-minute infusion at 1 nmol/kg/h in the anxiety study.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-40036336
  • Intranasal kisspeptin-54 at 12.8 nmol/kg produced clinically significant gonadotropin release.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-40215751
  • The receptor agonist MVT-602 was given at 0.01 and 0.03 nmol/kg against kisspeptin-54 at 9.6 nmol/kg.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-33196464
  • A kisspeptin 112-121 analogue was given as a 0.24 nmol/kg intravenous bolus to 12 healthy adults.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-39965102
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 8 2020 Human clinical trial
    Doses stated in the abstract: 4 µg/kg
    On the last day of NK3Ra administration or the equivalent day in those not treated, women were randomized to 7-h kisspeptin-10 (4 µg/kg/h i.v.) or vehicle infusion.
    Source pmid-32510130 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added

Every kisspeptin dose in the trials, in one table

Every figure here was given in a trial, by body weight in nanomoles. The microgram figures that circulate were not derived from them.

Doses of kisspeptin and analogues administered in human studies.
IsoformRouteDoseSchedulePopulation
Kisspeptin-54Intravenous infusion0.01 to 1.0 nmol/kg/h8-hour infusions; 75-minute infusionsHypothalamic amenorrhoea; sexual-desire disorder; healthy volunteers
Kisspeptin-54Subcutaneous injection9.6 nmol/kg (about 56 mcg/kg by arithmetic on a molecular weight near 5,900)Single, or two doses 10 h apartIVF trigger
Kisspeptin-54Subcutaneous infusion0.3 and 1.0 nmol/kg/hInfusionHealthy women
Kisspeptin-54Intranasal12.8 nmol/kgSingleHealthy men and women; reproductive-disorder patients
Kisspeptin-10Subcutaneous infusion1.25 to 10 nmol/kg/h acute; 180 nmol/h continuous; 150 nmol/h for 8 h daily8 h; 5 days; 12 daysHealthy men
Kisspeptin-10Intravenous4 mcg/kg test doseSingleWomen with polycystic ovary syndrome
MVT-602 (receptor agonist)Subcutaneous0.01 and 0.03 nmol/kgSingleHealthy premenopausal women
Kisspeptin 112-121 analogueIntravenous bolus0.24 nmol/kgSingleHealthy adults
Kisspeptin-10Intravenous, dogsNot stated in the abstractDaily for 14 daysSafety study

Figures for kisspeptin that circulate on forums and vendor pages were not derived from these trials, which dosed by body weight in nanomoles, mostly as infusions. They are not reproduced here; the table holds every dose a study actually administered. Two things stand out in it: the isoforms differ in potency and duration and are not interchangeable, and the exposures are hours, with 12 days the longest anyone has been dosed.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

Side effects: what the trials recorded, and the desensitisation problem

From placebo-controlled trials in healthy volunteers and patients. The one effect that matters is not a side effect but a loss of effect: high-dose continuous kisspeptin desensitises the system it stimulates. Events and their frequency as each study reported them, with the denominator where the abstract gives one.

  • The problem the trials design around is desensitisation: high-dose kisspeptin-54 stimulates LH acutely, but chronic administration switches the response off.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-24517142
  • A biologically active dose in 95 men and women did not change behavioural, biochemical or physiological measures of anxiety.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-40036336
  • The receptor agonist MVT-602 was safe and well tolerated across its dose range in two trials.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-37925096
  • A kisspeptin analogue bolus did not change circulating vasopressin in healthy adults.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-41273106
  • No trial in the ledger reports a serious adverse event attributed to kisspeptin, and the IVF programme adopted it precisely because it triggers egg maturation without the ovarian hyperstimulation that hCG can cause. What no trial has measured is what happens after weeks or months of intermittent injection outside a laboratory, which is the community exposure; the physiology predicts a fading response and nothing predicts harm, but nothing has looked.Editorial synthesis
    Editorial synthesis from general knowledge

Who kisspeptin is discussed for, and the cautions that recur

Studied: healthy men and women; women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea, polycystic ovary syndrome, or undergoing IVF at high risk of hyperstimulation; men and women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Never studied: men with low testosterone or after anabolic steroids, anyone dosed for more than 12 days, adolescents, or anyone taking it with testosterone. Community: men on 'post-cycle' or on testosterone replacement, and people seeking libido.

The trials screened participants but their abstracts state no exclusion criteria. These cautions come from the physiology and the record:

  • Desensitisation. Continuous high-dose exposure switches the response off. Daily injection for weeks is closer to continuous than to pulsatile, and its effect over months is unmeasured.
  • Hormone-sensitive conditions. Kisspeptin raises oestradiol and testosterone; anyone with a hormone-driven cancer, endometriosis or a prostate condition is in territory the trials excluded by design.
  • Men on testosterone. Exogenous testosterone suppresses GnRH at the same neurons kisspeptin stimulates; the combination has not been studied.
  • Pregnancy. Kisspeptin is made by the placenta at high levels; giving more has not been studied, and the IVF use ends at egg retrieval.
  • Puberty. The hormone that starts puberty should not be near anyone who has not finished it; no study has looked, for good reason.
  • Tested athletes. Not named on the WADA list (see the compound directory for how each record states sport status), but an unapproved testosterone-raising agent falls under S0 and arguably S2.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

Biomarkers measured in studies

Laboratory and clinical measures the studies report tracking, including which hormones did and did not change.

  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 7 2026 Human clinical trial
    We evaluated the effects of acute and chronic subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 administration on reproductive hormones in healthy men to (1) characterize the acute dose--response relationship to subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 infusion, (2) assess the effects of continuous kisspeptin-10 infusion over 5 days, and (3) daily intermittent administration (8 h on, 16 h off) for 12 days.
    Source pmid-42549827 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 63 2025 Human clinical trial
    Behavioral, biochemical, and physiological measures of anxiety were compared between kisspeptin and placebo visits, using a state-anxiety psychometric questionnaire before and at the end of the infusions, and blood sampling (for reproductive hormones and cortisol) and heart rate measurements at 15-minute intervals.
    Source pmid-40036336 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans 2025 Human clinical trial
    Reproductive hormone profiles were measured after intranasal kisspeptin administration in healthy volunteers and patients with reproductive disorders as part of a randomised, double-blinded, crossover, placebo-controlled clinical study.
    Source pmid-40215751 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Phase 1 clinical trial humans 2025 Human clinical trial
    Kisspeptin-112-121 (KP analog, 0.24 nmol/kg bolus) was administered to 12 healthy adults (50% female).
    Source pmid-39965102 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans 2025 Human clinical trial
    The levels of kisspeptin, acylated ghrelin, ultrasensitive oestradiol, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), insulin and glucose were analysed.
    Source pmid-39847034 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 37 2023 Human clinical trial
    Participants attended 2 study visits at least 7 days apart, in balanced random order, for intravenous infusion of kisspeptin-54 (1 nmol/kg/h) for 75 minutes or for administration of a rate-matched placebo.
    Source pmid-36735255 · quoted verbatim from the abstract

Reported interactions

Sentences in which the compound is studied alongside another agent. Read the quotation: the word interaction can also be statistical.

  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 8 2020 Human clinical trial
    Study question What is the role of the hypothalamic neuropeptide neurokinin B (NKB) and its interaction with kisspeptin on GnRH/LH secretion in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?
    Source pmid-32510130 · quoted verbatim from the abstract

Reported timelines

Onset, peak and duration figures as each study reported them.

  • A single subcutaneous dose of kisspeptin-54 produces an LH surge lasting about 12 to 14 hours, the basis of its use as an IVF trigger.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-28854728
  • The receptor agonist MVT-602 was absorbed and eliminated rapidly, with a half-life of 1.3 to 2.2 hours.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-37925096
  • Chronic subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 kept gonadotropins and testosterone raised for 12 days in healthy men.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-42549827
  • Intranasal kisspeptin-54 stimulated gonadotropin release rapidly.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-40215751

What is measured over time, and what is not

The hormone timeline is precise. Minutes: LH rises during an infusion or after a nasal dose. Hours: testosterone and oestradiol follow; a single subcutaneous dose of kisspeptin-54 produces an LH surge of about 12 to 14 hours, and the receptor agonist MVT-602 clears with a half-life of 1.3 to 2.2 hours. Days: in one 2026 study, daily eight-hour infusions kept testosterone raised through 12 days. Weeks: in the 2009 study, twice-daily injections for two weeks lost their effect. Nothing has been measured beyond that. 'How long does it take to kick in' has an answer in minutes; 'how long does it keep working' has an answer that stops at 12 days, and the older data say the answer after that is 'less'.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

Study durations

Treatment and follow-up periods as stated in each abstract.

  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 7 2026 Human clinical trial
    Durations stated: 5 days; 12 days
    We evaluated the effects of acute and chronic subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 administration on reproductive hormones in healthy men to (1) characterize the acute dose--response relationship to subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 infusion, (2) assess the effects of continuous kisspeptin-10 infusion over 5 days, and (3) daily intermittent administration (8 h on, 16 h off) for 12 days.
    Source pmid-42549827 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 24 2024 Human clinical trial
    Durations stated: 9 days; 4 days; 5 days
    Time to ovulation after drug administration was 3.3-3.9 days (MVT-602), 3.4 days (triptorelin), and 5.5 days (placebo).
    Source pmid-37925096 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 37 2023 Human clinical trial
    Durations stated: 7 days
    Participants attended 2 study visits at least 7 days apart, in balanced random order, for intravenous infusion of kisspeptin-54 (1 nmol/kg/h) for 75 minutes or for administration of a rate-matched placebo.
    Source pmid-36735255 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 8 2020 Human clinical trial
    Durations stated: 7 days
    Summary answer Administration of neurokinin 3 receptor antagonist (NK3Ra) for 7 days reduced LH and FSH secretion and LH pulse frequency in women with PCOS, whilst the stimulatory LH response to kisspeptin-10 was maintained.
    Source pmid-32510130 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added
  • Clinical trial humans n = 20 2019 Human clinical trial
    Durations stated: 11 days; 21 days
    At adulthood (postnatal day 100), rats were subjected to daily treatments with a bolus of KP-54 (100 μg/kg, s.c.) or vehicle for 11 days (N = 10 per model and treatment).
    Source pmid-31820802 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added
  • Animal study n = 12 2026 Animal, preclinical
    Durations stated: 7 days
    Forty-five Aleppo goats were treated with intravaginal sponges containing medroxyprogesterone acetate for 7 days and were injected intramuscularly with 500 IU eCG and 75 µg d-cloprostenol on the day of sponge removal.
    Source pmid-41343946 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added

Routes: what the trials used

Intravenous infusion in most trials, single subcutaneous injection for IVF triggering, subcutaneous infusion by pump, and, since 2025, an intranasal spray. Daily subcutaneous injection for weeks, the community pattern, has been studied once, for 12 days. Routes of administration named in each study.

  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 7 2026 Human clinical trial
    administration by subcutaneous route reported
    We evaluated the effects of acute and chronic subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 administration on reproductive hormones in healthy men to (1) characterize the acute dose--response relationship to subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 infusion, (2) assess the effects of continuous kisspeptin-10 infusion over 5 days, and (3) daily intermittent administration (8 h on, 16 h off) for 12 days.
    Source pmid-42549827 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 63 2025 Human clinical trial
    administration by intravenous route reported
    Ninety-five participants (N = 63 male, N = 32 female) completed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover protocol (mean age ± SEM 30.9 ± 0.9 y, body mass index 24.0 ± 0.4), attending both for a 75-minute intravenous kisspeptin-54 infusion (1 nmol/kg/h) and rate-matched placebo (in random order).
    Source pmid-40036336 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans 2025 Human clinical trial
    administration by intranasal, intravenous, subcutaneous route reported
    Kisspeptin administration by intravenous or subcutaneous routes activates hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and is being developed to treat reproductive disorders.
    Source pmid-40215751 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 37 2023 Human clinical trial
    administration by intravenous route reported
    Participants attended 2 study visits at least 7 days apart, in balanced random order, for intravenous infusion of kisspeptin-54 (1 nmol/kg/h) for 75 minutes or for administration of a rate-matched placebo.
    Source pmid-36735255 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 40 2022 Human clinical trial
    administration by intravenous route reported
    A 75-minute intravenous infusion of kisspeptin-54 (1 nmol/kg/h) vs equivalent-rate placebo infusion.
    Source pmid-36287566 · quoted verbatim from the abstract
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 8 2020 Human clinical trial
    administration by intravenous route reported
    On the last day of NK3Ra administration or the equivalent day in those not treated, women were randomized to 7-h kisspeptin-10 (4 µg/kg/h i.v.) or vehicle infusion.
    Source pmid-32510130 · quoted verbatim from the abstract

Weight-normalized doses, as published

Per-kilogram figures exactly as each study published them, for the species it studied.

  • Kisspeptin-54: 0.01 to 1.0 nmol/kg/h by infusion; 9.6 nmol/kg as a single subcutaneous trigger; 12.8 nmol/kg intranasally.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-24517142
  • Kisspeptin-10: 1.25 to 10 nmol/kg/h by subcutaneous infusion in men.Human clinical trial
    Source pmid-42549827
  • Randomized controlled trial humans n = 8 2020 Human clinical trial
    Weight-normalized doses as published: 4 µg/kg
    On the last day of NK3Ra administration or the equivalent day in those not treated, women were randomized to 7-h kisspeptin-10 (4 µg/kg/h i.v.) or vehicle infusion.
    Source pmid-32510130 · quoted verbatim from the abstract, emphasis added

Weight-normalized figures above are reproduced exactly as each study published them, for the species it studied. Dose does not scale linearly with body mass between species: metabolic rate, clearance and receptor density differ, and regulatory guidance uses allometric, not proportional, conversion. A mg/kg figure from a rat study is a fact about that rat study and nothing else.

What people report outside the literature

Forum reports describe use to restart testosterone after steroids or to raise libido. Neither use has a trial behind it, and the desensitisation finding cuts against the first. What circulates in user communities and clinic marketing, reported so a reader knows the figures and their origin. None of it has been tested in a trial, and none of it is a suggestion.

  • Kisspeptin-10 circulates in two communities: men using it after anabolic steroids or alongside testosterone to restart or preserve their own production, and people of both sexes using it for libido, sometimes with PT-141. It is injected subcutaneously, usually at night, in daily or alternating patterns for weeks. Reports describe raised LH and testosterone on blood tests in the first days, then, often, a fading effect; libido reports are mixed. None of this comes from a controlled study of those uses. The trials dosed by body weight in nanomoles, mostly as infusions in a laboratory, and the community microgram figures were not derived from them; they are not reproduced here.Editorial synthesis
    Editorial synthesis from general knowledge
Method note · shared across compounds

Reconstitution mathematics

Lyophilised peptide is supplied as a mass in a vial and dissolved in a stated volume of diluent. Two figures follow from that and nothing else:

  • Concentration = mass in vial ÷ diluent volume. A 5 mg vial in 2 mL is 2.5 mg/mL, or 2,500 mcg/mL.
  • Volume for a given mass = that mass ÷ concentration. 250 mcg at 2,500 mcg/mL is 0.1 mL. On a U-100 insulin syringe, where 1 mL is 100 units, that is 10 units.

Study doses on this page are quoted as published, in the units the authors used. Converting between mcg, mg and IU, or between a mass and a syringe volume, is arithmetic; deciding a mass is not, and this page does not do it. The reconstitution calculator performs the conversion with the formula shown.

Method note · shared across compounds

Reading a certificate of analysis

A certificate of analysis is a laboratory report on one batch. Reading it means checking four things in order.

  1. Identity. Mass spectrometry should report an observed molecular mass matching the peptide's theoretical mass within the instrument's stated tolerance. A certificate with no mass spectrometry, or one that lists only the expected value, has not confirmed identity.
  2. Purity. HPLC purity is the area of the main peak as a share of all peaks, at a stated wavelength. It says nothing about what the other peaks are, and it is not a measure of quantity.
  3. Quantity. Net peptide content, by amino acid analysis or UV, is the fraction of the vial's mass that is peptide rather than counter-ions and water. A 5 mg vial at 80% net content holds 4 mg of peptide, and every concentration figure above changes accordingly.
  4. Provenance. The batch number on the certificate should match the vial, the laboratory should be named and independent of the seller, and the test date should be recent.

This page rates no supplier and links to none. It describes how to read the document.

Method note · shared across compounds

Equipment described in studies

Published human studies of injectable peptides report the same small set of materials: single-use insulin syringes with fixed needles, most often U-100 with 29 to 31 gauge needles; bacteriostatic water or sterile water for injection as diluent, with the choice stated in the methods; alcohol swabs; and refrigerated storage of reconstituted solution. Animal studies more often report intraperitoneal or intragastric administration and state the vehicle used. Where a study in this record's ledger names its materials or vehicle, that sentence appears under storage or routes above; where it does not, nothing is assumed here.

Storage and handling

The 2025 intranasal study included pharmaceutical stability testing of kisspeptin-54 for nasal delivery, the only handling data in the ledger, and it concerns a clinical formulation. Research-chemical vials follow vendor sheets for lyophilised peptides; nothing about their stability has been published.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

Common mistakes in how kisspeptin is discussed

  1. Treating kisspeptin-10 and kisspeptin-54 as the same product. Kisspeptin-54 is the isoform in almost every trial; kisspeptin-10 is shorter-acting and was dosed differently. Vials sold as 'kisspeptin' are usually the ten.
  2. Reading acute testosterone rises as a restart protocol. The trials show hours of stimulation, one shows 12 days; the 2009 study shows the effect fading with twice-daily injections. Nobody has studied men after steroids.
  3. Calling the libido trials treatment trials. They were single 75-minute infusions with brain imaging. Desire was rated during the session, not over weeks.
  4. Converting nmol/kg to a vial dose by guesswork. The trial doses depend on the isoform's molecular weight and on body weight, and were given as infusions; the arithmetic in the table above is labelled as arithmetic.
  5. Confusing kisspeptin with fezolinetant or MVT-602. Fezolinetant blocks neurokinin B upstream and treats hot flushes; MVT-602 is a receptor agonist in IVF trials. Neither is kisspeptin, and neither is sold as it; the site's comparison pages keep such pairs apart.
  6. Assuming safety data cover community use. The trials found nothing serious in hours to days under supervision. Months of home injection have never been observed.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

Kisspeptin vs hCG, clomiphene, GnRH, PT-141 and the kisspeptin-pathway drugs

Kisspeptin beside the agents it is compared with for fertility, testosterone and libido.
AgentWhere it actsHuman evidenceStatus
Kisspeptin (KP-54, KP-10)Hypothalamus, on GnRH neuronsControlled trials, hours to 12 days; IVF trigger phase 2Investigational; research chemical
hCGDirectly on the gonads, as an LH mimicDecades of use; approvedPrescription medicine; WADA S2 in men
ClomipheneHypothalamus and pituitary, blocking oestrogen feedbackApproved for ovulation induction; off-label in menPrescription medicine; WADA S4
GnRH / gonadorelinPituitaryPulsatile pumps for hypothalamic hypogonadism; approvedPrescription medicine
Bremelanotide (PT-141)Melanocortin receptors in the brain, not the reproductive axis; 127 indexed publications14 randomized trials; approved 2019 for premenopausal low desirePrescription medicine (Vyleesi)
Fezolinetant (Veozah)Neurokinin-3 receptor on the KNDy neurons upstream of kisspeptinPhase 3 trials; approved 2023Prescription medicine for hot flushes
MVT-602Kisspeptin receptor, as a longer-acting agonistPhase 1 and 2 in IVFInvestigational

For libido, the approved comparator is PT-141, which acts on a different system and has the treatment trials kisspeptin lacks. For testosterone, hCG and clomiphene have the clinical record; kisspeptin's advantage is physiological, acting through the body's own pulse generator, and its disadvantage is the same thing, since that generator desensitises. IGF-1 LR3 shares this site's growth-factor and reproductive class but has nothing to do with the axis.

Editorial synthesis Written from general pharmacology, the development record and what is commonly reported; not a cited finding. Cited findings on this page carry their own tier.

Other compounds in its class

Same class in the registry: IGF-1 LR3. Each row shows what that compound's own record states; nothing is inferred across rows.

2 compounds in the growth factors & reproductive class. Each row states what that compound's own record says; nothing is inferred across rows.
CompoundTierPublicationsRCTsRecord
Kisspeptin Human clinical trial 3,850 44 draft
IGF-1 LR3 Animal, preclinical 27 0 draft

Regulatory status: not approved; the approved drugs act on its pathway

Registry facts only. Jurisdiction-level status, compounding categories and sport prohibitions need their own cited documents before they appear here.

  • Kisspeptin itself is not an approved medicine anywhere; kisspeptin-54 and kisspeptin-10 are investigational peptides used in academic trials, and vials sold as research chemicals are unapproved products. Two drugs act on its pathway and are often confused with it: fezolinetant (Veozah), an oral neurokinin-3 receptor antagonist approved in the United States in 2023 and elsewhere for menopausal hot flushes, which works one step upstream of kisspeptin; and MVT-602, a kisspeptin receptor agonist in phase 2 development for IVF triggering. Kisspeptin-10's position on FDA's 503A compounding lists should be checked against the live lists. Kisspeptin is not named on the WADA Prohibited List, but as an unapproved substance that raises testosterone it falls under S0 and, arguably, S2; athletes should treat it as prohibited.Editorial synthesis
    Editorial synthesis from general knowledge · primary document to be added to the ledger

Open questions and limitations

What is genuinely unknown, stated plainly. A missing field is not evidence that the outcome is safe, effective, or established.

  • No study has dosed kisspeptin for longer than 12 days, measured fertility or libido as a treatment outcome over weeks, or included men with low testosterone.
  • George 2011 is cited from a summary and is not yet in the ledger. Dhillo 2005 and Jayasena 2009, the desensitisation study, were added to it on 25 September 2026.
  • Whether kisspeptin-10 appears on FDA's compounding lists is unverified.

Questions people ask

What is kisspeptin?

Kisspeptin is a family of peptides cut from the product of the KISS1 gene, first found as a tumour-suppressing factor (metastin) and then identified in 2003 as the switch that starts puberty: it acts on the KISS1 receptor on GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus, which release GnRH, which makes the pituitary release LH and FSH, which drive testosterone and oestrogen. Kisspeptin-54 is the main circulating form; kisspeptin-10 is its ten-amino-acid active tail. Both are made synthetically for research.

Does kisspeptin increase testosterone?

Acutely, yes, in men: subcutaneous kisspeptin-10 infusions raised LH, FSH and testosterone dose-dependently, and a 2026 study kept testosterone raised through 12 days of daily eight-hour infusions in healthy men. No study has measured testosterone after weeks of intermittent injection, and older work found that continuous high-dose kisspeptin desensitises the response. Nothing has been tested in men with low testosterone or after anabolic steroids.

What is the half-life of kisspeptin?

Short. The kisspeptin receptor agonist MVT-602 had a measured elimination half-life of 1.3 to 2.2 hours in women; native kisspeptin-54 is cleared faster still, which is why the trials infuse it for 75 minutes or longer, and why one subcutaneous dose produces an LH surge lasting about 12 to 14 hours rather than days. Kisspeptin-10 is shorter-lived than kisspeptin-54. No abstract in the ledger states a figure for the native peptides.

Does kisspeptin increase libido?

In two randomized crossover trials, a single 75-minute infusion of kisspeptin-54 changed activity in sexual-processing brain regions in women and men with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, and in men increased penile tumescence and self-rated desire during the session. These are mechanistic single-dose results, not a treatment trial; nobody has been given kisspeptin for low desire over weeks.

What do kisspeptin peptides do?

They make the hypothalamus release GnRH, which within minutes raises LH and then FSH, and over hours raises testosterone in men and oestradiol in women. In trials that has been used to trigger egg maturation in IVF, to restore LH pulses in women whose periods have stopped, and to probe sexual brain processing. Given continuously at high dose, the effect fades.

Can kisspeptin be taken every day?

Trials have given it daily for at most 12 days, as eight-hour subcutaneous infusions in healthy men, and gonadotropins stayed raised. The older finding that continuous high-dose kisspeptin-54 desensitises the response in women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea is why the field uses pulses and low doses. No study has tested daily injection for weeks or months, which is what the community does.

Has kisspeptin been tested in humans?

Yes, extensively for a research peptide: the ledger holds 20 human studies, most of them randomized and placebo-controlled, from Imperial College London and others, in healthy volunteers, women with amenorrhoea or polycystic ovaries, women in IVF and people with low sexual desire. Almost all gave a single infusion or injection; the longest exposure is 12 days.

What is the difference between kisspeptin-10 and kisspeptin-54?

Both come from the KISS1 gene product and both activate the same receptor through the same ten-amino-acid tail. Kisspeptin-54 is the main circulating form and the one in nearly every trial; kisspeptin-10 is the tail alone, shorter-lived, dosed at different rates, and the form usually sold as a research chemical.

Is there a kisspeptin dose?

For the trials, yes, by body weight: kisspeptin-54 at 0.01 to 1.0 nmol/kg/h by infusion, 9.6 nmol/kg as a single IVF trigger, 12.8 nmol/kg intranasally; kisspeptin-10 at 1.25 to 10 nmol/kg/h by subcutaneous infusion in men. No dose has been established for any use outside those settings, and the microgram figures that circulate were not derived from the trials.

Does kisspeptin increase testosterone?

Acutely, in men, yes: kisspeptin-10 infusions raised LH, FSH and testosterone dose-dependently, and daily eight-hour infusions kept them raised for 12 days in a 2026 study. Whether intermittent injections keep working for weeks is unstudied, and older work found twice-daily kisspeptin-54 lost its effect within two weeks in women. Nothing has been tested in men with low testosterone or after steroids.

What are the side effects of kisspeptin?

The placebo-controlled trials report no serious adverse event attributed to it, no effect on anxiety, and, for the receptor agonist MVT-602, good tolerability across doses. The clinically important effect is not a side effect but a loss of effect: continuous high-dose kisspeptin desensitises the GnRH neurons it stimulates.

Is kisspeptin FDA approved?

No. Kisspeptin-54 and kisspeptin-10 are investigational. Two approved or near-approved drugs act on its pathway and are often confused with it: fezolinetant, an NK3 receptor antagonist approved in 2023 for menopausal hot flushes, and MVT-602, a kisspeptin receptor agonist in IVF trials.

Does kisspeptin help with libido?

Two randomized crossover trials found that a single 75-minute infusion of kisspeptin-54 changed sexual-processing brain activity in women and men with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, and in men raised penile tumescence and rated desire during the session. Those are single-dose mechanistic results, not a treatment trial over weeks, which has not been done.

How does kisspeptin compare with hCG for fertility?

In IVF, a single subcutaneous dose of kisspeptin-54 triggers egg maturation like hCG does but produces a shorter LH surge, which is why it was tested in women at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation; a second dose 10 hours later improved oocyte yield. hCG acts directly on the ovary and is the approved, established trigger. Kisspeptin is not approved for this.

Can kisspeptin be taken as a nasal spray?

A 2025 randomized crossover study gave intranasal kisspeptin-54 at 12.8 nmol/kg to healthy men and women and to patients with a reproductive disorder and found rapid gonadotropin release, with stability testing of the nasal formulation. It is the first non-injected route with human data, and it is a clinical formulation, not a product.

Why do the trials worry about desensitisation?

Because GnRH neurons exposed to continuous high kisspeptin stop responding, as they do to continuous GnRH; the 2014 amenorrhoea paper states that chronic high-dose kisspeptin-54 causes desensitisation, and the 2009 study behind it saw the effect fade within two weeks of twice-daily injections. The whole trial programme uses pulses, low infusion rates or single doses for that reason.

Is kisspeptin banned in sport?

It is not named on the WADA Prohibited List. As an unapproved substance it falls under S0 at all times, and because it raises testosterone through the body's own axis it arguably falls under S2 as well; an athlete should treat it as prohibited.

Which species has kisspeptin been studied in?

Humans in 20 studies in the ledger; dogs, in a 14-day intravenous safety study and oestrus work; mice, for testicular development and puberty-triggering environmental compounds; zebrafish; and, for the analogue TAK-683, cattle. The human literature is unusually strong for a peptide sold as a research chemical.

Sources

Full citations. Every claim above links to one of these by its id.

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  18. 30
    Kisspeptin signaling in the brain.
    pmid-19770291 · · peer-reviewed
  19. 31
    Neuroendocrinology of reproduction in teleost fish.
    pmid-19393655 · · peer-reviewed
  20. 32

Reference card

Reference card · generated /compounds/kisspeptin
Compound
Kisspeptin, growth factors and reproductive
Evidence tier
Human clinical trial
Indexed publications
3,850 · 44 RCTs · 34 other clinical trials
Approval
not approved · max phase 3
Routes reported
intramuscular, intranasal, intravenous, subcutaneous
Reviewed
Adam Mirando, PharmD,

Study figures are as published in each source and are not recommendations. Print or save this card with its date.

Last reviewed and what changed

Newest first. These are the record's own revision dates, and the same dates feed the sitemap.

  1. · Reviewed by Adam Mirando, PharmD, on 2026-09-25.
  2. · Two trials the page cited while stating they were absent are now in the ledger: Dhillo 2005 (pmid-16174713), the first kisspeptin-54 infusion in men, and Jayasena 2009 (pmid-19820030), the subcutaneous study in hypothalamic amenorrhoea that found tachyphylaxis on chronic administration. The sentence declaring them missing is updated.
  3. · Written under the sequencing rule after research/intents/kisspeptin.json: guide (8 sections incl. a table of all 20 human studies with isoform, dose, route and duration), FAQ to 12 plus 8 from the map, hand-written dose, weight-normalized, timeline and adverse-event claims from the abstracts (the drafter had missed every nmol/kg figure), mechanism, reported-use and regulatory claims; intent-driven H1 and title. Triage: a misdrafted escalation claim removed (regex matched 'escalating clinical interest'); two directory links added.
  4. · Claims drafted extractively from 30 ledger sources by scripts/draft_claims.py: 25 claims, 25 evidence-table rows. Status researched -> draft.
  5. · Claims drafted extractively from 30 ledger sources by scripts/draft_claims.py: 32 claims, 25 evidence-table rows. Status researched -> draft.
  6. · Evidence fetched from Europe PMC and ChEMBL by scripts/fetch_evidence.py; claims not yet written.