Human menopausal gonadotropin, which is very powerful

The human body contains many hormones, one of which is called gonadotropin. This hormone is very important for regulating normal human physiological functions. If the hormone level fluctuates, health problems will occur. Let us introduce you to the powerful function of this hormone.

1. What is gonadotropin

Gonadotropins (Gn) are glycoprotein hormones that regulate the development of vertebrate gonads and promote the production and secretion of sex hormones. For example, the luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secreted by the anterior pituitary gland work synergistically to stimulate the development of germ cells in the ovaries or testicles and the production and secretion of sex hormones; the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) secreted by the human placenta can promote the secretion of progesterone by the corpus luteum of pregnancy. HCG can appear in the urine in the early stages of pregnancy and reaches its peak at two months of pregnancy. It is often used as an indicator of pregnancy in clinical practice.

2. Function

LH is also known as interstitial cell-stimulating hormone (ICSH) because it acts on the interstitial cells of the testicles to stimulate the production and secretion of androgens. The main effect of LH on the ovaries of female animals is to selectively induce the rapid growth of individual follicles before ovulation. When the secretion of LH reaches a climax, ovulation is triggered and the wall of the follicle after ovulation is transformed into a corpus luteum and secretes progesterone. The important role of FSH is to promote the growth and development of follicles in the ovaries, and in males it promotes the production of sperm in the seminiferous tubules of the testes.

3. Application

Gonadotropin extracted from animal ovaries has been widely used in animal husbandry and aquaculture, but is ineffective for humans. HCG can be prepared from the urine of pregnant women, or a mixed preparation of LH and FSH can be extracted from the urine of menopausal women, referred to as human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG), which can be used clinically to treat sexual dysfunction.

4. Secretion Mechanism

The production and release of pituitary gonadotropins are directly regulated by hypothalamic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). The target gland products of LH and FSH - sex hormones - can in turn affect the secretory function of the pituitary or hypothalamus. Therefore, the secretions of LH-RH, LH, FSH and sex hormones restrict each other, and their fluctuations are quite rhythmic. The recurrence of women's menstrual cycles is the result of the ups and downs and rhythmic changes in the secretion of these three levels of hormones.

5. Structure

Gonadotropins (LH, FSH, HCG) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) are composed of two peptide chains, α and β, combined by non-covalent bonds, and contain sugar groups, which are covalently bound to individual asparagine residues, serine residues or threonine residues on the peptide chains. The two peptide chains can be split and reassembled. The α-peptide chain structure of LH, FSH, HCG and TSH is the same, while the β-peptide chains have their own characteristics, which determine the functional specificity of each of the above hormones.