Novel role for anti-Müllerian hormone in the regulation of GnRH neuron excitability and hormone secretion

Irène Cimino (1) , Filippo Casoni (1) , Xinhuai Liu (2) , Andrea Messina (1) , Jyoti Parkash (1) , Soazik P. Jamin (3) , Sophie Catteau-Jonard (4, 1) , Francis Collier (5, 6) , Marc Baroncini (1) , Didier Dewailly (1, 5) , Pascal Pigny (4, 6) , Mel Prescott (2) , Rebecca Campbell (2) , Allan E. Herbison (2) , Vincent Prévot (1) , Paolo Giacobini (1)

1 JPArc - Centre de Recherche Jean-Pierre AUBERT Neurosciences et Cancer - U837
2 University of Otago [Dunedin, Nouvelle-Zélande]
3 Irset - Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail
4 CHRU Lille - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [CHU Lille]
5 Hôpital Jeanne de Flandre [Lille]
6 Université de Lille

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) plays crucial roles in sexual differentiation and gonadal functions. However, the possible extragonadal effects of AMH on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis remain unexplored. Here we demonstrate that a significant subset of GnRH neurons both in mice and humans express the AMH receptor, and that AMH potently activates the GnRH neuron firing in mice. Combining in vivo and in vitro experiments, we show that AMH increases GnRH-dependent LH pulsatility and secretion, supporting a central action of AMH on GnRH neurons. Increased LH pulsatility is an important pathophysiological feature in many cases of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common cause of female infertility, in which circulating AMH levels are also often elevated. However, the origin of this dysregulation remains unknown. Our findings raise the intriguing hypothesis that AMH-dependent regulation of GnRH release could be involved in the pathophysiology of fertility and could hold therapeutic potential for treating PCOS

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Irène Cimino, Filippo Casoni, Xinhuai Liu, Andrea Messina, Jyoti Parkash, et al.. Novel role for anti-Müllerian hormone in the regulation of GnRH neuron excitability and hormone secretion. Nature Communications, 2016, 7 (1), pp.10055. ⟨10.1038/ncomms10055⟩. ⟨hal-01259206⟩