Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a gonadotropin, a glycoprotein polypeptide hormone. FSH is synthesized and secreted by the gonadotropic cells of the anterior pituitary gland, and regulates the development, growth, pubertal maturation, and reproductive processes of the body. FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH) work together in the reproductive system. In both males and females, FSH stimulates the maturation of germ cells. In males, FSH induces Sertoli cells to secrete androgen-binding proteins (ABPs), regulated by inhibin’s negative feedback mechanism on the anterior pituitary. In females, FSH initiates follicular growth, specifically affecting granulosa cells. With the concomitant rise in inhibin B, FSH levels then decline in the late follicular phase.
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