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Protein / target

Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor

Encoded byFSHRP23945Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
7
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Structure with Ligand

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor

Strongest disease association

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

Via encoding gene FSHR · Genetic evidence · score 0.90

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

G protein-coupled receptor for follitropin, the follicle-stimulating hormone.

View complete UniProt function annotation

G protein-coupled receptor for follitropin, the follicle-stimulating hormone (PubMed:11847099, PubMed:24058690, PubMed:24692546). Through cAMP production activates the downstream PI3K-AKT and ERK1/ERK2 signaling pathways (PubMed:24058690)

Subcellular location

Cell membrane
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (22)

Domains & features

LRRNT

Gene Ontology

  • Ccell surface
  • Cendosome
  • Cmembrane
  • Cplasma membrane
  • Creceptor complex
  • Ffollicle-stimulating hormone receptor activity
  • FG protein-coupled peptide receptor activity
  • Fpeptide hormone binding
  • Padenylate cyclase-activating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway
  • Pcellular response to follicle-stimulating hormone stimulus
  • Pfemale gamete generation
  • Pfemale gonad development

695 aa · 78 kDa · 4 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

G protein-coupled signallingUniProt · GO
View supporting evidence

G protein-coupled signalling

  • ·G protein-coupled receptor for follitropin, the follicle-stimulating hormone (PubMed:118…
  • ·G protein-coupled peptide receptor activity
  • ·adenylate cyclase-activating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway
  • ·G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway
View underlying pathways (2)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

FSHBCGATSHBGNASBMP15POMCADCYAP1GCGGDF9NPPAFSHR

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 3 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Hypogonadism1 medicine
Infertility, Male1 medicine
Primary Ovarian Insufficiency1 medicine

7 medicines meet Open Targets' target-level approved-medicine definition; the 1 shown here are those on this page with a canonical approved disease indication in the graph. Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

2

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Narrow target profileAgonist

Follicle stimulating hormone receptor agonist

Indicated for Hypogonadism, Infertility, Male, Primary Ovarian Insufficiency

Direct interaction with this protein · Only this protein recorded as a target

corifollitropin alfa
Narrow target profileApprovedAgonist

Follicle stimulating hormone receptor agonist

Direct interaction with this protein · Only this protein recorded as a target

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene FSHR

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene FSHRthat encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
0.95Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.75

46,XX gonadal dysgenesis
0.92Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.77

Genetic non-acquired premature ovarian failure
0.84Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.50

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency
0.77Well supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.55

Hypogonadism
0.75Well supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.56

View evidence synthesis (5)
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndromeWell supported
0.95
agreement 0.861.00
Genetic60%Clinical27%Animal model10%Literature3%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.75 · 4 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

46,XX gonadal dysgenesisWell supported
0.92
agreement 0.801.00
Genetic75%Animal model24%Literature1%Genetic literaturedup

Open Targets aggregate 0.77 · 3 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

Genetic non-acquired premature ovarian failureWell supported
0.84
agreement 0.720.96
Genetic78%Animal model22%

Open Targets aggregate 0.50 · 2 independent evidence families

Primary Ovarian InsufficiencyWell supported
0.77
agreement 0.640.89
Clinical65%Animal model30%Literature5%

Open Targets aggregate 0.55 · 3 independent evidence families

HypogonadismWell supported
0.75
agreement 0.620.88
Clinical74%Animal model25%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.56 · 3 independent evidence families

This ranking differs from Open Targets' own: re-weighting moves genetically-evidenced diseases above more heavily co-mentioned ones. The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
46,XX gonadal dysgenesis0.77
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome0.75
Hypogonadism0.56
Anovulation0.55
Primary Ovarian Insufficiency0.55
Infertility, Female0.55
Infertility0.53
Genetic non-acquired premature ovarian failure0.50

Drug development

7 compounds recorded · 7 approved

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 2 drugs that target this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (7)
UROFOLLITROPINApproval
MENOTROPINSApproval
FOLLITROPIN ALFAApproval
FOLLITROPIN BETAApproval
FOLLITROPINApproval
CORIFOLLITROPIN ALFAApproval
FOLLITROPIN DELTAApproval

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (structure with ligand and high-quality ligand) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf and go cc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (small molecule binder) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Other modalitiesStrong

Approved Drug support this modality.

View underlying tractability evidence (8)
SM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · Druggable FamilyAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMPR · Small Molecule BinderOC · Approved Drug

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (26)

UNKNOWN · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone · NCT04430621

COMPLETED · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone · NCT01044862

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

12

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for 2 drugs that target this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. New publication2025-01-16
    Muscle-derived myostatin is a major endocrine driver of follicle-stimulating hormone synthesis.

    Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2025 · 27 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  2. New publication2024-12-24
    The satiety hormone cholecystokinin gates reproduction in fish by controlling gonadotropin secretion.

    eLife · 2024 · 10 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  3. New publication2024-11-01
    Clustering Identifies Subtypes With Different Phenotypic Characteristics in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

    The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2024 · 15 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  4. New publication2024-07-01
    Follicle stimulating hormone controls granulosa cell glutamine synthesis to regulate ovulation.

    Protein & cell · 2024 · 23 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  5. New publication2024-05-26
    Hormone Regulation in Testicular Development and Function.

    International journal of molecular sciences · 2024 · 58 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  6. New publication2024-03-15
    Disturbed sex hormone milieu in males and females with major depressive disorder and low-grade inflammation.

    Journal of affective disorders · 2024 · 14 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  7. New publication2023-12-01
    Metabolic characteristics of obese patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome: a meta-analysis.

    Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2023 · 7 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  8. New publication2023-11-04
    Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor (GnRHR) and Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism.

    International journal of molecular sciences · 2023 · 18 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  9. New publication2023-11-01
    Follicle-stimulating hormone orchestrates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion of pancreatic islets.

    Nature communications · 2023 · 36 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  10. New publication2023-06-29
    Influence of Vitamin D on the Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome and Hormonal Balance in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

    Nutrients · 2023 · 14 citations · Europe PMC · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  11. Regulatory approval2016-12-12

    Approval: Rekovelle (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via Follicle Stimulating Hormone

  12. Regulatory approval2010-01-25

    Approval: Elonva (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via corifollitropin alfa

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.