A single IV injection of kisspeptin-10 produced a rapid, dose-dependent rise in serum LH in healthy men (at peak, from 4.1 to 12.4 IU/L at 30 minutes).
healthy adult men, n=6 per dose group
Kisspeptin-10
Not available
Vitality
Kisspeptin-10
An unapproved fragment of the hormone kisspeptin
Not FDA-approved · not available for sale or prescriptionOverview.
Kisspeptin-10 is not FDA-approved, and its human data come from small, short academic studies. It is the shortest bioactive fragment of the KISS1 gene product (also called metastin), a key upstream regulator of the reproductive hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. It raises luteinizing hormone in humans and has been studied for fertility and hypothalamic amenorrhea, but its extremely short plasma half-life has limited its own drug development, favoring longer-acting kisspeptin-receptor agonists instead.
Also known as KP-10
The molecule, decoded.
- Sequence
-
Y-N-W-N-S-F-G-L-R-F-NH2
- Length
- 10 residues
- Molecular weight
- 1,302.4 g/mol
- Formula
- C63H83N17O14
- CAS number
- 374675-21-5
- Half-life
- ~3-4 minutes (plasma, IV)
- Routes studied
- intravenous bolus/infusion (academic human studies), subcutaneous injection (emerging trials)
- Modifications
- C-terminal amidation (shared Arg-Phe-NH2 motif common to all kisspeptin fragments, required for KISS1R binding)
How it works.
Kisspeptin-10 binds and activates KISS1R (formerly GPR54), a Gq-coupled receptor on GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus, triggering pulsatile GnRH release. This in turn stimulates the anterior pituitary to secrete luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), making kisspeptin a master upstream regulator of puberty onset and reproductive hormone pulsatility.
Evidence · Early or small human studies
What the research shows
A 9-hour continuous IV infusion of kisspeptin-10 raised mean LH from 5.2 to 14.1 IU/L and LH pulse frequency from 0.7 to 1.0 pulses per hour (n=4); a higher-rate 22.5-hour infusion raised LH (5.4 to 20.8 IU/L) and testosterone (16.6 to 24.0 nmol/L) but obscured the pulses.
healthy adult men
Kisspeptin-10 has an in vivo plasma half-life of about 4 minutes (vs about 28 minutes for kisspeptin-54), which limited early research to IV infusion; kisspeptin-54, unlike kisspeptin-10, could be given by subcutaneous injection.
healthy men (IV kisspeptin-10 vs kisspeptin-54 vs GnRH, n=5 per dose group)
A phase 1 trial (KASPR, NCT05633966; Dec 2022 - Aug 2025, completed) gave kisspeptin 112-121 (kisspeptin-10) by continuous subcutaneous pump for 2 weeks to people with hypothalamic amenorrhea or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
hypothalamic amenorrhea / hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, phase 1
Kisspeptin-10 inhibited endothelial-cell migration, invasion and tube formation, reduced angiogenesis in chick and mouse assays, and slowed growth of human prostate-cancer xenografts in mice by suppressing Sp1-mediated VEGF expression and FAK/Rho GTPase signaling.
HUVECs; chick CAM; mouse corneal and PC-3 xenograft models
What to know first.
Based on: small, short-term human studies and animal research.
Reported side effects
- Not well characterized: human studies have been small and short-term
Cautions
- human safety data limited to small, short-duration academic studies (single-dose or short infusion); no long-term human safety data
- no FDA-approved label or established safe human dose exists outside research protocols
Checked 2026-09
Where it stands.
Not FDA-approved · not available for sale or prescription. Kisspeptin-10 is not FDA-approved and is not available for sale or prescription. We profile it because people ask about it.
- FDA
- not approved; investigational only, used in research/experimental-medicine human studies (IV/SC, academic protocols) rather than as a marketed drug
- Compounding
- On FDA's 503A Category 2 list (bulk drug substances that raise significant safety risks) since Sep 29, 2023, and still listed (FDA Category 2 page current as of Apr 22, 2026; 503A categories list updated May 14, 2026): FDA cites immunogenicity risk, peptide-impurity and API-characterization complexity, and little or no safety information. FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted 0-11 against adding it to the 503A Bulks List on Oct 29, 2024. It is not a component of any FDA-approved drug, so it has no lawful 503A/503B compounding pathway; US supply is unapproved research-chemical material.
- Sport (WADA)
- Prohibited at all times (in and out of competition) for male athletes: WADA 2026 Prohibited List S2.2.1 (testosterone-stimulating peptides in males) names 'kisspeptin and its agonist analogues'; non-Specified Substance. Unchanged in the 2027 List.