Abstract
THE pituitary gland produces a family of related peptide hormones (Fig. 1). Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), β-lipotropic hormone (β-LPH) and possibly γ-lipotropic hormone (γ-LPH) are produced by the pars distalis. α-Melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), β-melanocyte stimulating hormone (β-MSH) and corticotropin-like intermediate lobe peptide (CLIP)1, however, are thought to be formed in the pars intermedia2, their being found only in those species in which this structure can be distinguished. They have not been identified in man3. The human foetus, however, does develop a rudimentary pars intermedia which involutes shortly after birth4. We present, for the first time, evidence for the occurrence of peptides resembling α-MSH and CLIP in the human foetal pituitary in the second half of pregnancy, and we suggest that these peptides are the dominant hormones of foetal life, only replaced by ACTH before parturition.
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SILMAN, R., CHARD, T., LOWRY, P. et al. Human foetal pituitary peptides and parturition. Nature 260, 716–718 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/260716a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/260716a0
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