Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptors and Signaling

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a hypothalamic decapeptide that is secreted in pulses and acts via G-protein coupled receptors on pituitary gonadotropes to drive the synthesis and secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These gonadotropin hormones are packaged into secretory vesicles for release. GnRH receptors (GnRHR) are primarily Gq-coupled and mediate a rapid (within seconds-minutes) increase in vesicle fusion with the plasma membrane, whereas in longer time frames GnRH stimulates gonadotropin synthesis and thereby influences the hormone content of these vesicles. Together, these effects underpin the central control of reproduction by GnRH. Here, we review GnRHR and their mechanism of action, focusing on atypical structural and functional characteristics, and also on the combination of wet-lab and computational approaches to explore pulse frequency decoding and information transfer via GnRHR.