Luteinising hormone is a gonadotropin released by the anterior pituitary under hypothalamic control. It acts on the gonads: in testes it stimulates steroid production by Leydig cells, while in an ovarian cycle its surge helps trigger ovulation and the transition to a corpus luteum.[ref]
Biology 2e by Mary Ann Clark and others. Section 43.4, hormonal control of the reproductive systems
The signal is dynamic. A sustained low concentration and a brief surge need not have the same physiological meaning, and a sparse sampling schedule can miss a peak. The same hormone also acts in different cellular contexts, illustrating that a hormone's identity alone does not determine one universal response. Receptor expression, developmental state and the other gonadal signals contribute to the outcome.
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