The pituitary glycoprotein hormone family includes follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, chorionic gonadotropin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone. All of these glycoproteins consist of an identical alpha subunit and a hormone-specific beta subunit. While the α subunit of FSH is involved in the binding of FSH to the receptor (follicle-stimulating hormone receptor, also known as FSHR), the β subunit stabilizes this interaction. This heterodimer regulates a variety of processes, including secretion, posttranslational modification and signal transduction.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) allows for progression of ovarian folliculogenesis, and enables Sertoli cell proliferation in the testis. In conjunction with luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone induces egg and sperm production. Anti-FSH reacts with FSH-producing cells, therefore FSH staining is useful for classifying pituitary cancers and understanding pituitary disease. It may be useful in the classification of pituitary tumors.