Reproductive senescence, the point in time when females cease to show estrous cyclicity, is associated with endocrine changes in the hypothalamus, pituitary, and gonads. However, the mechanisms triggering this transition are not well understood. To gain a better understanding of the top-down control of the transition from reproductive competence to a state of reproductive senescence, we investi...

Kisspeptin and RFamide-related peptide-3 (RFRP-3) are known to affect GnRH/luteinizing hormone (LH) in several species, including the rat. It has been hypothesized that GnRH/LH changes during the rat estrous cycle may result from changes in the expression of KiSS1 and RFRP-3 genes. Therefore, the present study investigates KiSS1 and RFRP-3 gene expression at the transcriptional level in the rat...