PeptideHormone

Follicle-stimulating hormoneFSH

Drives follicular development and spermatogenesis.

EndogenousEstablished

Identity

Class
Glycoprotein hormone (α/β heterodimer)
Source
Anterior pituitary gonadotrophs
Receptor
FSH receptor (FSHR)

Key properties

Molecular weight
≈ 35,500 Da
Half-life (native)
~3–4 h
Model dosing

Approximate values for the native hormone. Engineered analogs are often deliberately larger and far longer-acting.

Mechanism

FSH promotes ovarian follicle maturation in females and supports spermatogenesis via Sertoli cells in males. With LH it forms the two-gonadotropin output of the pituitary under pulsatile GnRH control.

Reference notes

  • FSH and LH are co-secreted but act on different gonadal targets.
  • GnRH pulse frequency biases the relative output of FSH vs LH.
  • It shares the common glycoprotein alpha subunit with LH, hCG, and TSH.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

  1. 1.Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Glycobiology · Endocrinology, 2019 · PMID 31127275
  2. 2.The Roles of Luteinizing Hormone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone and Testosterone in Spermatogenesis and Folliculogenesis Revisited · International journal of molecular sciences, 2021 · PMID 34884539