Corticotropin

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Corticotropin

An anterior pituitary hormone that stimulates the secretion of CORTICOSTEROIDS and induces growth of the ADRENAL CORTEX. It is a single-chain polypeptide of about 39 amino acids, the first 24 of which are identical in all species. This 24-amino acid segment is said to be responsible for the biological activity of the peptide while the remaining 15-amino acid segment is said to be necessary for any immunological specificity. (From Merck Index, 11th ed)