Kisspeptin-10
KP-10 · Metastin 45-54 · KISS1-derived peptide
Kisspeptin sits one level above everything else in the reproductive hormone cascade. Neurons in the hypothalamus release it to trigger GnRH, which triggers LH and FSH from the pituitary, which drives testosterone or oestrogen from the gonads. Without functioning kisspeptin signalling, puberty does not happen. That was discovered by studying families with an inherited failure to enter puberty, and it is how the peptide's importance was established.
That gives it a distinctive position among the compounds sold in this space. It is not a synthetic analogue of something, or a fragment with a speculative rationale. It is the physiological trigger for the axis, and academic groups have studied it extensively in humans, principally at Imperial College London, across reproductive medicine, fertility treatment, and the neuroscience of sexual and emotional processing.
What that research does not include is anyone using it to raise testosterone in healthy men over time. The human work is short-duration, mechanistic and diagnostic. And there is a mechanistic reason not to assume it would work that way: continuous exposure to kisspeptin desensitises the system. That is the same reason continuous GnRH suppresses the axis rather than stimulating it. Pulsatile signalling is how this pathway functions, and a daily injection is not pulsatile.
How it works
Kisspeptin-10 binds the KISS1R receptor on GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus, causing them to release GnRH. That drives LH and FSH from the pituitary, and those drive gonadal steroid production. It is the top of the cascade, not a step within it.
The system is fundamentally pulsatile. Kisspeptin neurons fire in bursts, and the resulting pulses of GnRH are what the pituitary responds to. Sustained exposure to any agonist in this pathway causes receptor downregulation. That is the well-established basis for using continuous GnRH agonists to suppress testosterone in prostate cancer treatment. Whether repeated kisspeptin dosing does the same thing is not established, and the mechanism gives a clear reason to expect it might.
It has effects beyond the hormonal cascade. Imaging studies have found kisspeptin modulates brain activity in regions handling sexual and emotional processing, independently of the hormone changes it produces. That is a genuinely interesting finding and it is what much of the recent academic work has pursued.
Kisspeptin-10 is the shortest active fragment of the longer kisspeptin-54. It is cleared within minutes, which suits it to the acute, single-dose protocols the human studies have used.
Regulatory status — United States
Not approved for any indication in any jurisdiction. Studied extensively in academic human research, principally in reproductive medicine and neuroscience. Material sold as a research chemical is not a clinical product.
Last reviewed 16 Aug 2026. Regulatory positions in this category change frequently; we date this line so you can see how current it is.
What it is studied for
Each entry states the evidence behind it. We do not rank indications by effectiveness — for most compounds here, that would be a claim nobody can support.
Triggering egg maturation in IVF
Clinical trialThe most developed clinical application.
EvidenceStudied in IVF as an alternative trigger, with the aim of reducing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Trials have been conducted; it is not approved for the purpose.
Assessing reproductive axis function
Clinical trialA research and diagnostic use.
EvidenceWell characterised in human studies as a reliable provocative test of GnRH neuron function.
Sexual and emotional brain processing
Clinical trialAn active academic research thread.
EvidenceRandomised crossover studies with functional MRI found changes in limbic activity independent of hormone levels. Real findings, in short single-dose protocols.
Raising testosterone over time
Community practiceWhy it is bought as a research chemical.
EvidenceNo trial has studied repeated kisspeptin dosing to raise testosterone in healthy men. Desensitisation of the pathway is a specific mechanistic reason to doubt it would work.
Identity and clearance
Molecule
- Class
- KISS1R agonist, decapeptide
- Molecular weight
- 1302.5 Da
- Length
- 10 amino acids
Sequence
Tyr-Asn-Trp-Asn-Ser-Phe-Gly-Leu-Arg-Phe-NH2
The C-terminal fragment of kisspeptin-54, and the shortest form that retains full receptor activity.
Pharmacokinetics
Clinical trialA plasma half-life of around four minutes. The LH response follows within roughly half an hour and is over within hours, which is why the human studies use infusions or single injections rather than daily dosing.
Dose protocols reported in sources
Displayed for reference only. Every row says where it came from, and a trial protocol and a community convention are not the same kind of information. None of this is fed into the calculator, and none of it is a recommendation.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route | Units, 5 mg vial | Source | Start this protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provocative test of the reproductive axis, as studied | 100 mcg – 1 mg | A single dose or a short infusion | SubcutaneousHuman studies have used single boluses and short intravenous infusions, with LH sampled over the following hours. These are acute protocols measuring a response, not treatment courses. | 10–100 u | Clinical trial | Start this |
| Commonly described community protocol | 100 mcg – 500 mcg | Daily or several times weekly | SubcutaneousNo trial has studied repeated dosing of any kind. Daily administration of a pathway that operates in pulses runs against how the system is known to work, and receptor desensitisation is the expected result, not an unlikely one. | 10–50 u | Community practice | Start this |
Start this copies a row into a protocol of your own, which you can then edit. Where a source gave a dose range or an ambiguous frequency, those fields arrive empty — we will not pick a number on your behalf.
CheckRows marked community practice describe what people commonly do, drawn from public discussion. They are not derived from any trial and are not evidence that a dose is safe or effective.
Calculator
Work out what to draw
Pre-filled with a 5 mg vial as a worked example. These are not recommended values — change them to match the vial in front of you.
Draw to 8 units on a 1 mL U-100 syringe. That is 0.08 mL, containing 200 mcg of Kisspeptin-10.
8 units sits exactly on a printed line.
Bioalmanac performs arithmetic on values you enter. It does not recommend doses, schedules or compounds, and nothing here is medical advice. Confirm every calculation against your vial and syringe before drawing, and speak with a licensed healthcare provider.
Open this calculation in the full calculator
Units, concentration, bacteriostatic water — the glossary defines the vocabulary, and a unit is not a fixed volume.
Safety
Reported effects
- Generally well tolerated in acute human studiesClinical trial
Consistent across the research programme
Single doses and short infusions have a good tolerability record. That record covers acute exposure only.
- Flushing and nauseaClinical trial
Occasionally reported in studies
- Desensitisation of the reproductive axis with repeated dosingPublished review
Mechanistically expected, not measured
Continuous stimulation of this pathway downregulates it. That is the principle behind using continuous GnRH agonists to suppress testosterone. Whether daily kisspeptin does the same has not been studied, and the mechanism points that way.
- Effects of repeated dosing generallyCommunity practice
Unknown
The entire human research programme is built on acute protocols. Nothing establishes what regular use does.
When to stop
- Any allergic response: rash, hives, facial swelling or difficulty breathing. Seek urgent care.
- A fall in libido, testicular size or morning erections. All three suggest the axis is being suppressed rather than stimulated.
- Changes to menstrual cycle.
- Persistent flushing, headache or nausea.
Interactions and situations that need care
- Hormone-sensitive cancer, including prostate and breastAvoid
Kisspeptin drives production of testosterone and oestrogen, which are the growth signals those cancers depend on. Continuous GnRH agonists are used to suppress exactly this axis in prostate cancer treatment.
- Pregnancy, or actively trying to conceive without supervisionAvoid
Kisspeptin is being studied as an ovulation trigger in fertility treatment, under close monitoring. Manipulating ovulation timing without that monitoring is not a neutral act.
- Existing fertility treatment or hormone therapyAvoid
Adding an unmonitored stimulus at the top of the reproductive cascade to a carefully titrated hormone protocol undermines the protocol, and the consequences would show up as a failed cycle rather than as an obvious side effect.
- Expecting it to raise testosterone with regular useUse caution
No study supports this, and the pathway's pulsatile nature gives a specific reason to expect desensitisation instead. Buying it for that purpose is acting on an extrapolation the underlying biology argues against.
What to expect
HonestlyThere is no human efficacy data for this compound, so there is no evidence-based timeline to give. Any site publishing a week-by-week schedule of expected effects has invented it.
- The human research is real, extensive and academic. All of it is also short-duration. Single doses and infusions, with blood sampling.
- Nobody has studied taking it regularly to raise testosterone, and the pulsatile nature of the pathway is a reason to expect desensitisation rather than sustained elevation.
- It reliably produces an LH rise acutely. That is well established, and it is a response to a single dose.
- The brain imaging work on sexual and emotional processing is genuinely interesting and is not a dosing protocol.
- It is cleared in about four minutes. This is why every study that uses it does so acutely.
Storage and handling
- Freeze-dried powder
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C, protected from light.
- After mixing
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C. Do not freeze once mixed.
- Long-term, frozen
- Unopened powder is stable at −20 °C or colder.
With other peptides
- HCGcaution
Both stimulate the same axis, this one from further upstream. Combining them stacks a signal that is already being deliberately manipulated.
Checking your vial
Research chemicals carry no manufacturing standard, so what the vial looks like is often the only quality signal available before you use it. More on assessing quality and COAs.
White cake, clear solution
Standard for a short peptide.
Collapsed cake or cloudy solution
Heat damage or degradation. Do not use it.
Questions
- Will it raise my testosterone?
- A single dose reliably produces an LH rise, and testosterone follows. Whether repeated dosing sustains that has never been studied, and the pathway works in pulses. Continuous stimulation of this axis is how prostate cancer treatment suppresses testosterone. That is a specific reason for doubt.
- How is it different from hCG or a GnRH analogue?
- It acts one level higher. hCG mimics LH at the testis; a GnRH analogue acts at the pituitary; kisspeptin acts on the GnRH neurons themselves, which is the top of the cascade. Whether acting higher up is an advantage in practice has not been shown.
- What is the brain imaging research about?
- Randomised crossover studies using functional MRI found kisspeptin changes activity in limbic regions handling sexual and emotional processing, independently of the hormonal changes. It is a real finding from single-dose protocols and it is not a reason to take it regularly.
References
Kisspeptin-10 stimulates gonadotrophin release in healthy adults: human pharmacology studies
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2011 · Human pharmacology studies with acute administration
Healthy adult men and women · Single boluses and short intravenous infusions · Acute, with sampling over hours
Reliably increased LH and FSH within about 30 minutes. Established kisspeptin-10 as a provocative test of GnRH neuron function. Well tolerated in acute administration.
Kisspeptin as a trigger for oocyte maturation in IVF: clinical studies
Journal of Clinical Investigation and related fertility literature, 2014 · Clinical trials in assisted reproduction
Women undergoing IVF
Produced effective oocyte maturation with a lower rate of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome than conventional triggers. Studied under close clinical monitoring; not approved for the indication.
Kisspeptin modulates limbic brain activity in sexual and emotional processing
Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2017 · Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover with fMRI
Healthy men
Altered activity in limbic brain regions during sexual and emotional stimuli, independently of changes in circulating hormones. A single-dose crossover protocol.
Pulsatility and desensitisation in the kisspeptin–GnRH axis
Reproductive endocrinology review literature, 2018 · Review
Humans and animals
Describes the pulsatile nature of kisspeptin and GnRH signalling and the receptor downregulation that follows continuous exposure, the established basis for using continuous GnRH agonists to suppress the axis.
Commonly reported community protocols
Bioalmanac editorial summary of public community sources, 2026 · Not a study
Records repeated-dose patterns described in public discussion. No trial has studied repeated dosing, and these carry no evidential weight about safety or effect.
Related compounds
HCG
An approved fertility medicine that mimics LH. Widely used to keep the testes working during testosterone therapy. Also sold, separately, for a weight-loss diet the FDA has said outright does not work.
Ipamorelin
A selective growth hormone secretagogue that prompts a short pulse of GH release. Widely used, and supported almost entirely by early pharmacology rather than outcome trials.
CJC-1295
A GHRH analogue that raises growth hormone by amplifying the body's own release signal. Sold in two forms whose durations differ by two orders of magnitude.
Tesamorelin
A GHRH analogue approved by the FDA for reducing excess visceral fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy. The only compound in this category with completed phase 3 trials.
Next
What to do with Kisspeptin-10
- Keep a record of itTurn a dose and a schedule into a protocol, then log what you actually take. Kisspeptin-10 is filled in for you.
- See what it costsPer-milligram prices read from vendor sites and confirmed by a person, so vial sizes compare.
- Check a combinationWhat our profiles record about Kisspeptin-10 alongside each other compound — including the pairs where nothing is recorded.
Keep this page honest
If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing a source, tell us and we will fix it and say that we did.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on Bioalmanac is medical advice. No clinician reviews these pages.
Page last updated 16 Aug 2026