The hormones of vertebrates

Growth hormone (somatotropin)

Growth hormone is a protein, the primary structure of which has been fully established for the human and bovine forms of the hormone. It is probably universally distributed in gnathostomes (vertebrates with jaws), in which it is essential for the maintenance of growth, but its presence in agnathans (jawless vertebrates) has not yet been established with certainty. The physical and chemical properties of growth hormone, which differ from species to species, are associated with marked differences in biological activity. Only part of the molecule, however, is actually responsible for its biological activity, for up to 25 percent of it can be lost without causing any decline in potency.

Humans respond to growth hormones obtained from other primates, but the rat responds to those from a wide range of species. Even more striking, growth of teleost (bony) fishes, which stops if the pituitary gland is removed, can be restarted by treatment with mammalian growth hormone; on the other hand, preparations of pituitary glands from these fishes have no effect on the growth of mammals. The growth hormones of lungfishes, which are closely related to the terrestrial vertebrates, and of sturgeons, which are primitive members of the evolutionary line that led to bony fishes, affect mammalian growth, perhaps because these hormones have a more generalized molecular structure.

Growth is such a complex process that definition of the growth hormone’s mode of action is difficult. One of its known effects is an increase in the rate of protein synthesis, which is to be expected, since growth involves the deposition of new protein material. In addition, growth hormone affects the metabolism of certain ions (including sodium, potassium, and calcium), promotes the release of fats from fat stores, and influences carbohydrate metabolism in ways that tend to cause an increase in the level of glucose in the bloodstream. The last action creates a demand for an increased output of insulin (a hormone secreted by the pancreas), which acts to return the blood glucose level to normal. Prolonged treatment of dogs with growth hormone can overstrain the pancreatic tissue in which insulin is synthesized and bring about a diabetic condition, with insulin being formed in inadequate quantities. It is unlikely, however, that this is a factor in establishing diabetes mellitus in humans. Excess secretion of growth hormone does, however, have damaging effects in humans, for it produces overgrowth of the skeleton. If this occurs in youth, before the closure of the epiphyses (ends) of the long bones, it results in gigantism. If it occurs afterward, it causes acromegaly, in which the disturbance is more serious, with enlargement of the bones and soft tissues and consequent distortion of the skull.

Prolactin

Prolactin is a protein hormone that in female mammals initiates and maintains the secretion of milk, the mammary glands having been previously prepared for this function by the action of other hormones. In the female rat, prolactin also maintains the secretion of the hormone progesterone, which is formed by the corpus luteum, an endocrine gland of the ovary. Thus, prolactin is a gonadotropin, its target being an endocrine gland. Moreover, the molecular structures of prolactin and growth hormone are similar, which may explain why they show some overlap in biological properties. In particular, administration of prolactin promotes some growth in many terrestrial vertebrates. Human growth hormone has prolactin-like luteotropic properties.

Prolactin itself shows remarkable variety in biological action from one vertebrate group to another. It promotes the production of so-called crop-milk with which pigeons feed their young, and the associated changes in structure and arrangement of the wall of the crop provide a convenient means to assay the hormone. In certain newts (Triturus species) prolactin induces the change of behaviour that drives young animals into the water (water-drive action). In bony fishes, prolactin is concerned with the regulation of the level of sodium in blood plasma. It therefore is essential in some teleost species for the maintenance of life in fresh water. Although other teleosts (e.g., eels) can survive in fresh water after hypophysectomy, this means only that prolactin is but one factor in a complex regulatory mechanism involving several factors. Mammalian prolactin can regulate sodium metabolism when given to eels. Yet, although other convincing evidence suggests that the hormone must be present in the pituitaries of certain teleosts, preparations of their glands tested on pigeons do not have a typical crop-stimulating action. This evidence is best accounted for by supposing that the prolactin molecule has undergone evolutionary changes in its molecular structure and biological properties with respect to particular species and has also established specific adaptive relationships with target organs such as the crop and mammary glands.

Adrenocorticotropic hormone

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH; also called corticotropin) is present in all jawed vertebrates but has not yet been decisively demonstrated in agnathans. It regulates the activity of part of the outer region (cortex) of the adrenal glands. In mammals its action on the adrenal cortex is limited to areas called the zona reticularis and zona fasciculata, in which important steroid hormones (e.g., glucocorticoids, such as cortisol and corticosterone) are formed; ACTH does not affect the synthesis of the mineralocorticoid hormone aldosterone, which takes place chiefly in the outer cortical region (zona glomerulosa). Evidence strongly suggests that the action of ACTH is mediated by a substance known as CAMP (cyclic 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate), the rate of synthesis of which increases in adrenal tissue in the presence of ACTH; CAMP in turn promotes synthesis of enzymes necessary for the formation of cortisol and corticosterone. The relationship between ACTH and the adrenal cortex is an example of the negative feedback characteristic of endocrine systems; i.e., a decrease in the level of glucocorticoids circulating in the bloodstream evokes an increase in the secretion of ACTH, which, by stimulating the secretory activity of its target gland (the adrenal cortex), tends to restore to normal the level of glucocorticoids in the bloodstream. The release of ACTH can also be influenced by the level of circulating epinephrine (adrenaline), which is not surprising in view of the close functional relationship between the hormones of the adrenal cortex and medulla.

The ACTH of mammals is a polypeptide molecule consisting of 39 amino acids, only the first 20 of which are required for full activity. This region, often referred to as the active centre, is constant in composition in all mammals studied thus far; the remainder of the molecule varies slightly in amino acid composition among different species. Since, however, the mammalian hormone is active in all vertebrates, ACTH structure probably varies little from one class to another. The concept that biological activity is localized in an active centre of a complex molecule is applicable to other polypeptide and protein hormones, including growth hormone, the structure of which, as noted previously, can be partly lost without causing loss of activity. The concept of an active centre, however, raises the question of the function of the rest of the molecule. It may serve as the site of antigenic properties or of structural features important in establishing relations with specialized receptors in target cells.

Thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone)

Thyrotropin (also called thyroid-stimulating hormone, or TSH) regulates the thyroid gland through a feedback relationship similar to that for ACTH; thyrotropin increases the secretion of the hormones from the thyroid gland and, if its action is prolonged, evokes increases in cell number (hyperplasia) and in size of the gland. One consequence of an overactive thyroid in humans is a bulging of the eyes (exophthalmos). The cause of this is obscure, although it has been thought to result from the action of a distinct exophthalmos-producing substance that, while closely associated with thyrotropin, can be chemically separated from it. Thyrotropin, which is probably absent from agnathans, is a glycoprotein—i.e., a protein combined with carbohydrate. Its molecular weight is estimated to be about 26,000 to 30,000 in mammals. Some variability occurs in the degree of response obtained when a hormonal preparation from one species is tested on other species. This suggests, as with prolactin, that it has undergone molecular evolution.

Follicle-stimulating hormone

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a type of gonadotropin; it is concerned with the regulation of the activity of the gonads, or sex organs, which are endocrine glands as well as the sources of eggs and sperm. FSH stimulates development of the graafian follicle, a small vesicle containing an egg, in the ovary of the female mammal. In the male it promotes the development of the tubules of the testes and the differentiation of sperm. FSH, like thyrotropin, is a glycoprotein, with an estimated molecular weight (in humans) of 41,000 to 43,000. The effects of FSH are discussed further in the section Hormones of the reproductive system, below.