Research Projects

Kisspeptin, a decapeptide and potent secretagogue of GnRH has been emerged as a master player in the regulation of reproduction in animals. Results of our previous projects revealed that exogenous kisspeptin-10 [KP-10: the shortest form of the kisspeptin] can induce puberty earlier at least by two months in prepubertal cattle and mithun heifers, estrus in anestrus cows, ovulation in anovulatory estrus, enhance follicular growth and development in dairy cows, and increase libido and quality of semen in bulls and bucks. We have also developed KP-10 based ovulation synchronization protocol that was found to be superior in terms of successful ovulation and conception rates over the popular ovulation synchronization protocol viz. OvSynch. These evidences clearly showed that the kisspeptin system have therapeutic potential for augmentation of reproduction in livestock species in general and ruminants in particular. However, the use of the natural peptides like KP-10 has clear limits. It has short half-life in vivo due to enzymatic breakdown and early clearance and also unstable at room temperature, which limits its field application. Therefore, development of KP-10 analogues having a longer lasting effect & enhanced activity and good stability is the need of the hour. No effort has yet been made to design bovine specific KP-10 analogues and test their efficacies towards reproduction augmentation in livestock species. Keeping in view the above facts in mind, the present project is proposed with the following three specific objectives: 1) to design and synthesize Kisspeptin-10 analogues, and test their efficacy in ruminants, 2) to study the effect of Kisspeptin-10 analogue on steroidogenesis and differential gene expression profiling in granulosa cell model and 3) to investigate the therapeutic application of Kisspeptin-10 analogue for augmentation of reproduction in ruminants. The best kisspeptin-10 analogue with longer lasting effect & enhanced activity and good stability that will be developed and validated in the proposed project can be of great use for reproduction augmentation in farm animals.

KP-10 analog, Infertility, GC gene expression, Steroidogenesis, Reproduction, livestock