Visfatin and Its Role in the Regulation of the Reproductive System

Visfatin, also called the pre-B cell colony enhancing factor, is produced mainly by the visceral fat and in the target cells activates the 3-phosphoinositide pathway, the cascade of mitogen-activated protein kinases and a number of the other effector systems. In the recent years, evidence has been obtained that visfatin regulates the functional activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis. Visfatin controls the synthesis and secretion of both gonadoliberin by the hypothalamic neurons and gonadotropins by the pituitary gonadotrophs, and also affects the steroidogenesis and folliculogenesis, acting on the reproductive tissues. One of the mechanisms of the steroidogenic action of visfatin is the potentiation of the stimulating effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 on the synthesis of sex steroid hormones. Since the production of visfatin and the activity of its signaling system vary significantly in the conditions of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, this directly affects its regulation of the reproductive functions in these metabolic disorders. Visfatin plays an important role in maintaining the functional activity of the ovaries and the normal quality of oocytes during aging. The review is devoted to the problem of the structural and functional organization of visfatin and its signaling system, the role of visfatin in the regulation of the female and male reproductive systems, and the mechanisms of visfatin action on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis.

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