BACKGROUND Home pregnancy testing devices claim >99% diagnostic accuracy for pregnancy and utility on the first day of the missed menses or earlier. We investigated the forms of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in early pregnancy urines, the diagnostic accuracy claim, and the abilities of 15 devices to detect the different forms of hCG. METHODS We measured the concentrations of regular hCG ...

BACKGROUND hCG is a wonder. Firstly, because hCG is such an extreme molecule. hCG is the most acidic glycoprotein containing the highest proportion of sugars. Secondly, hCG exists in 5 common forms. Finally, it has so many functions ranging from control of human pregnancy to human cancer. This review examines these molecules in detail. CONTENT These 5 molecules, hCG, sulfated hCG, hyperglycos...

Testosterone is produced in male rats by the action of luteinizing hormone (LH), an anterior pituitary hormone which interacts with receptors on Leydig cells (testes) to activate adenylate cyclase. A most frequently used agonist for LH is human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone synthesized by the placenta during the early stages of pregnancy. Like LH, it is a heterodimer consisting of two...

OBJECTIVE To compare serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) titers using 2 commercially available hCG immunoassays in patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). STUDY DESIGN A total of 213 serum samples from 39 patients with uneventful moles and 697 serum samples from 17 patients with low-risk and high-risk GTN were obtained and subsequently measured with both the hCG C-termin...

OBJECTIVE To analyze serial human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels in women presenting to the emergency department who were ultimately confirmed to have ectopic pregnancies. METHODS Human chorionic gonadotropin levels were obtained over time until definitive diagnosis. To be included, women had to have at least 2 hCG measurements. Human chorionic gonadotropin curves were characterized and ...

OBJECTIVE To detect hCG in spent embryo culture media at day 2 after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and to assess the relationship of hCG to embryo development. DESIGN Experimental study. SETTING Fertility center and clinical diagnostic laboratory. SAMPLE(S) A total of 102 spent culture media from day 2 human embryos and corresponding unexposed media for blank control. INTERVENTION(S)...

Aim. To analyse the levels of serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) in pregnant women without fetal chromosomal abnormalities with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) or 18 (Edwards syndrome). Materials Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis biochemical parameters 1214 who had previously undergone karyotyping as part prenatal postnatal...

Human luteinizing hormone (hLH) and chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) act on the same receptor (LHCGR) but it is not known whether they elicit the same cellular and molecular response. This study compares for the first time the activation of cell-signalling pathways and gene expression in response to hLH and hCG. Using recombinant hLH and recombinant hCG we evaluated the kinetics of cAMP production ...

A multiple enzyme immunoassay (multi-EIA) was developed to quantify whole-molecule human choriogonadotropin (w-hCG) and free hCG beta-subunits (hCG-beta) simultaneously. A clone of a specific monoclonal antibody was coupled to solid phase; two other clones of different monoclonal antibodies were conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP; EC 1.11.1.7) and alkaline phosphatase (AP; EC 3.1.3.1), r...

It is now evident that human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is not a single molecular entity but consists of a number of different biologically active components [l-4]. By means of gel isoelectric focusing 6 hCG forms recently could be isolated and characterized [2-41. Furthermore it is well established that hCG is composed of 2 subunits: hCG-a (common to other proteohormones) and hCH-fl (hormone...