Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the hypothalamus and then transmitted by neurons to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, where it is stored. It is involved in fertilization, and during childbirth, it causes uterine muscle contractions and stimulates milk production in a breastfeeding mother. It also reduces severe stress and anxiety. Its secretion is stimulated by estrogen, while it is inhibited by progesterone. It is essential in the formation of social behavior. 1)
Bombykol is a pheromone secreted by the female mulberry silkworm when she is capable of fertilization. It provides a chemical signal that induces a change in the behavior of the opposite sex. The male can smell it even when the concentration of bombykol is one molecule per trillion air molecules. 2)
Epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol are hormones produced by the adrenal glands. Erythropoietin, on the other hand, is produced by the kidneys, whose main function is to stimulate the various stages of erythropoiesis, leading to increased erythrocyte production by the bone marrow. 3)
Parathormone (PTH) is a polypeptide hormone produced by the parathyroid glands. It is responsible for regulating calcium and phosphate metabolism in the body. The amount of parathormone is determined by the number of calcium ions in the blood serum. It is responsible for the release of calcium from the bones and its resorption from the kidney tubules. It also decreases the number of phosphate ions in the blood, improves the reabsorption of calcium ions by inhibiting phosphate absorption, and increases the amount of the active form of vitamin D (calcitriol) produced in the kidneys. 4)
Thyrotropin (TSH) is a glycoprotein made up of two sub-particles (alpha and beta). The antagonist of the alpha sub-particle is chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)— the higher the hCG, the lower the TSH. In humans, it increases thyroid mass, increases glucose transport, metabolism and blood flow through the organ and enhances the production and secretion of thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine. It is produced by thyrotropes, which are polyhedral and contain grains (140-200 nm in diameter) that store it. 5)