Studies on the Composition and Properties of Immunochemical Grade Human Pituitary Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH): Comparison with Luteinizing Hormone (LH)1

Abstract

Purified preparations of human pituitary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prepared by different procedures, have been compared with each other and with human pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) with respect to carbohydrate content and amino acid composition. FSH is a glycoprotein containing about 78% protein. Its amino acid composition is not unusual. The carbohydrate component consists of hexose, hexos-amine and sialic acid. Compared to LH, FSH has a relatively high content of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, phenylalanine, lysine and histidine, and a lesser content of proline, valine and tyro-sine. FSH also contains 3.7 times more sialic acid and 2.9 times more hexosamine than does LH. On the basis of gel filtration and disc electrophoretic experiments, FSH appears to be a larger and more acidic protein than LH.