Waters M J, Kaye P L
School of Biomedical Sciences and Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, 4072, St Lucia, Australia.
Growth Horm IGF Res. 2002 Jun;12(3):137-46. doi: 10.1016/s1096-6374(02)00018-7.
Studies across several species, particularly the mouse, show that growth hormone (GH, somatotrophin) is an important determinant of litter size, and to a lesser extent, of birth length. GH acts at all stages of development, from ovulation through preimplantation development to the late fetus, with actions on both embryo/fetus and mother contributing to successful fetal development. The fact that these are not more obvious in vivo is likely a result of redundancy of cytokine hormone action, particularly in relation to prolactin, which shares common actions and receptor locations with GH.
