Major Hormones Secreted
| Hormone | Other names | Symbol(s) | Structure | Secretory cells | Staining | Target | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenocorticotropic hormone | Corticotropin | ACTH | Polypeptide | Corticotrophs | Basophil | Adrenal gland | Secretion of glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid and sexcorticoids |
| Beta-endorphin | Polypeptide | Corticotrophs | Basophil | Opioid receptor | Inhibit perception of pain | ||
| Thyroid-stimulating hormone | Thyrotropin | TSH | Glycoprotein | Thyrotrophs | Basophil | Thyroid gland | Secretion of thyroid hormones |
| Follicle-stimulating hormone | - | FSH | Glycoprotein | Gonadotrophs | Basophil | Gonads | Growth of reproductive system |
| Luteinizing hormone | Lutropin | LH, ICSH | Glycoprotein | Gonadotrophs | Basophil | Gonads | Sex hormone production |
| Growth hormone | Somatotropin | GH, STH | Polypeptide | Somatotrophs | Acidophil | Liver, adipose tissue | Promotes growth; lipid and carbohydrate metabolism |
| Prolactin | Lactogenic hormone | PRL | Polypeptide | Lactotrophs and Mammotrophs | Acidophil | Ovaries, mammary glands | Secretion of estrogens/progesterone; milk production |
The acidophilic cells (GH and PRL) have extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum and produce single chain polypeptides without any glycosylation or phosphorylation. Basophilic staining results from lysosome action modifying the hormones (or prohormones in the case of corticotrophs) by glycosylation.
An easy mnemonic to remember the hormones produced and secreted by the anterior pituitary is "FLATPEG".
Read more about this topic: Anterior Pituitary
Famous quotes containing the words major, hormones and/or secreted:
“Self-centeredness is a natural outgrowth of one of the toddler’s major concerns: What is me and what is mine...? This is why most toddlers are incapable of sharing ... to a toddler, what’s his is what he can get his hands on.... When something is taken away from him, he feels as though a piece of him—an integral piece—is being torn from him.”
—Lawrence Balter (20th century)
“Teenage boys, goaded by their surging hormones ... run in packs like the primal horde. They have only a brief season of exhilarating liberty between control by their mothers and control by their wives.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“Not in Utopia,—subterranean Fields,—
Or some secreted Island, Heaven knows where!
But in the very world, which is the world
Of all of us,—the place where in the end
We find our happiness, or not at all!”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)