Gonadal steroid hormones

The testes and ovaries (gonads) synthesize hormones necessary for sexual differentiation and reproduction. A single hypothalamic- releasing factor,  gonadotropin-releasing hormone, stimulates the anterior pituitary to release the glycoproteins luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Like ACTH, LH and FSH bind to surface receptors and cause an increase in cAMP.

LH stimulates the testes to produce testosterone and the ovaries to produce estrogens and progesterone (Fig. 1).  FSH regulates the growth of ovarian follicles and stimulates testicular spermatogenesis.

Figure 1:  Actions of steroid hormones. Na+ = sodium; K+ = potassium.