Bioscientifica Proceedings

Growth hormone (GH) is a pituitary hormone that affects animal growth, metabolism, lactation, and reproduction. Many of the effects of GH are mediated by insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) which is synthesized in liver and ovary in response to GH. Insulin-like growth factor I synergizes with gonadotrophins (LH and FSH) to stimulate growth and differentiation of ovarian cells. There are species differences in the effects of GH in reproductive biology. In most species, ovarian...