Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a heterogeneous molecule that is the marker of choice for detecting pregnancy and indicating ectopic pregnancies and spontaneous abortions. This article describes the use of hCG in detecting pregnancy, and how pregnancy detection is complicated by the extreme variation in individual hCG results and by the varying structure of hCG. The problems of false-posi...

Background: The -subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is encoded by four genes, of which expression of the hCG -3, -5, and -8 genes could have prognostic value in breast cancer. Methods: Applying a new, modified Molecular Beacon reverse transcription-PCR assay, we investigated the prognostic value of the hCG -3, -5, and -8 gene transcripts in 129 sporadic unilateral breast cancer sampl...

Chloride permeability pathways and progesterone (P4) secretion elicited by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in human granulosa cells were studied by electrophysiological techniques and single-cell volume, membrane potential and Ca2+i measurements. Reduction in extracellular Cl(-) and equimolar substitution by the membrane-impermeant anions glutamate or gluconate significantly increased hCG-st...

The ability of human choriogonadotropin (hCG) to regulate its receptors and target cell responses has been studied in a clonal strain of cultured Leydig tumor cells (MA-10). Exposure of the MA-10 cells to hCG results in decrease in hCG binding activity which is dependent on time and the concentration of hCG. This decrease is due to a change in the number of receptors rather than in the affinity...

Objective: To examine the correlation between plasma hCG results obtained with the new i-STAT® hCG point of care test with those concomitantly obtained from the central hospital laboratory utilizing the same patient samples. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional laboratory test evaluation. We compared plasma hCG results obtained with the i-STAT® hCG test (Abbott Point of Care, Princeton, NJ, USA...

Plasma testosterone was estimated by radioimmunoassay in 60 children with disorders of sexual development before and after stimulation with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). In 21 children the testosterone levels after 3 and 5 daily injections of 1000 units HCG were compared and good correlation was found between the paired results (r =0-93), suggesting that the 5-day HCG test has no advanta...

The hypothesis that rat seminal vesicles may contain luteinizing hormone (LH)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) receptors was tested by means of a number of different techniques. Northern blotting demonstrated that rat seminal vesicles contained multiple LH/hCG-receptor transcripts. In situ hybridization revealed that these transcripts were present primarily in the principal epithelial cells l...

nancy by the developing embryo after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast to prevent disintegration of the corpus luteum of the ovary. hCG also plays a role in cellular differentiation/proliferation and may activate apoptosis (1). hCG is extensively used as a parenteral fertility medication in lieu of luteinizing hormone. hCG is composed of 244 amino acids with a molecular mass of 36...

RESULTS: Differences in calibration of current hCG assays are moderate. Mean recovery of the current International Standard (IS), hCG IS 75/589, was 107% (range 93% to 126%), whereas that of the IRR 99/688 for hCG was 139% (range 109%–164%). Betweenmethod variation for the latter (CV 12.3%) was also greater than for IS 75/589 (CV 8.8%). Recognition of hCG varied markedly (CV 37%). Most assays l...

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a polypeptide hormone studied as far as 1912, but researchers has no complete knowledge concerning its biological function. Since 1970' it is known that hCG can be found not only in the urine and serum of pregnant, but in choriocarcinoma and testicular cancer patients. Up-to-date one can distinguish four subtypes of hCG differing in secondary carbohydrate c...