DRPSHP

Scientific Reference

HMG (Human Menopausal Gonadotropin)

Evidence profile: Controlled human evidence

After the menopause the ovaries stop answering the pituitary, feedback falls away, and the pituitary responds by secreting follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone at high levels. hMG is what you get by extracting those two hormones from the urine of women in that state. Both are heterodimers built on an alpha subunit shared with hCG and thyroid-stimulating hormone; the beta subunit is what differs between them and what decides which receptor each one reaches. Because this is an extract and not a defined molecule, the FSH-to-LH ratio, the glycoform mixture and the residual urinary protein content all differ from preparation to preparation, which is why no sequence, formula or molecular weight can be quoted for it. The published work sits in reproductive endocrinology, across cell, tissue and animal studies of gonadal function.

Mechanism of Action

Ovarian steroid production has been described for decades as a two-cell system, and hMG maps onto it because its two hormones reach two different cell types. LH binds the LH/choriogonadotropin receptor carried by theca cells and by Leydig cells in the testis, where its signalling has been linked to androgen synthesis. FSH binds the FSH receptor on ovarian granulosa cells and testicular Sertoli cells, and in granulosa cell studies has been reported to induce aromatase, the enzyme that converts those androgens to oestrogens. Both receptors are G protein-coupled and signal mainly through Gs and cyclic AMP. The division of labour between the two hormones, and between the two cell populations, is the model itself.

Molecular Information

  • Type: Glycoprotein hormone mixture

Published Research

  • Human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) combined different doses of letrozole for treating anovulatory infertility in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

    Li J et al. · Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025 · Clinical

    PMID 40193016 — View on PubMed

  • Subcutaneous human menopausal gonadotropin administration for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with intrauterine insemination cycles

    Kaplan PF et al. · American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2000 · Clinical

    PMID 10871458 — View on PubMed

  • Prospective randomized study of human menotropin versus a follicular and a luteal phase gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog-human menotropin stimulation protocols for in vitro fertilization

    Maroulis GB et al. · Fertility and sterility · 1991 · Clinical

    PMID 1903732 — View on PubMed

  • Equivalency of human menopausal gonadotropin and follicle-stimulating hormone stimulation after gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist suppression

    Edelstein MC et al. · Fertility and sterility · 1990 · Clinical

    PMID 2104806 — View on PubMed

  • Comparative Effectiveness of Recombinant Human Follicle-Stimulating Hormone:Recombinant Human Luteinizing Hormone in a 2:1 Ratio versus Highly Purified Human Menopausal Gonadotropin Alone in Ovarian Stimulation for Medically Assisted Reproduction Treatment Using in vitro Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    Dahan MH et al. · Gynecologic and obstetric investigation · 2026 · Review

    PMID 41729769 — View on PubMed

  • Human recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) compared to urinary human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) for ovarian stimulation in assisted reproduction: a literature review and cost evaluation

    Levi Setti PE et al. · Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2015 · Review

    PMID 25480425 — View on PubMed