Reproductive alterations have been reported in patients with demyelinating diseases, these can lead to infertility. In the hypothalamus there are two neuronal types that regulate reproductive function; kisspeptin and GnRH neurons. At the present moment, the relation between demyelination and reproductive alterations is unknown; in order to elucidate this relation, this study used the taiep rat, which presents demyelination of the central nervous system along with reproductive issues. This study characterized the immunofluorescent expression of kisspeptin and GnRH in the hypothalamus of the male and female taiep rats using Sprague-Dawley rats as control. Brains of females during oestrous and adult males were cut at 10mm. Using immunofluorescence, the intensity of kisspeptin and GnRH in the hypothalamus was determined and analysed using the software ImageJ1.50i. Fluorescence is concentrated in fibre-like structures with neuron shape. An increment in the intensity of the fluorescence of kisspeptin was observed in male taiep rats compared with SD (0.37±0.02 vs 0.28±0.01, p<0.001). Female taiep rats during oestrus showed a decrease in the intensity of the fluorescence of kisspeptin structures compared with SD (0.44±0.02 vs 0.57±0.03, p<0.001). There were not any significant changes in the expression of GnRH fibres in the hypothalamus of the taiep rat compared with SD. Demyelination in the taiep rat affects kisspeptin expression at hypothalamic level, but this does not affect the expression of GnRH in either males or females, this effect is probably related with the availability of receptors in the GnRH neuron, this will be evaluated in the future. The decrease in kisspeptin expression in the female taiep rat could be caused by previously reported low concentrations of oestrogen, given that it is capable of stimulating kisspeptin expression.
Partially supported by VIEP grant 100274222-VIEP2019, DGAPA-PAPIIT grant IN216519. LPMT received a fellowship from CONACyT No. 736730.