Madersbacher S, Klieber R, Mann K, Marth C, Tabarelli M, Wick G, Berger P
Institute for Biomedical Aging Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck.
Clin Chem. 1992 Mar;38(3):370-6.
To determine the serum concentrations of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), its free beta-subunit (hCG beta), and the free alpha-subunit (free alpha) common to all human glycoprotein hormones under physiological and pathological conditions, we developed monoclonal antibody-based immunoenzymometric assays. Free alpha-subunit was detected in the sera of all healthy individuals of both sexes; hCG was measurable in sera of 54% of the men, and 46% were positive for free hCG beta; in nonpregnant women, 69.5% were positive for hCG, 68.4% for the free beta-subunit. Pathological conditions, i.e., hCG-producing tumors, were studied in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, the concentrations of hCG, free hCG beta, and free alpha in tissue-culture supernates of a choriocarcinoma cell-line ("JAR") showed a parallel pattern during time-course analysis. In vivo, in long-term follow-up studies of 13 patients with testicular cancer, serum concentrations of the three analytes paralleled each other, whether the disease was in remission or not. Because of a selective increase of free hCG beta and free alpha in 27% of seminomatous tumor patients and in 13% of the nonseminomatous patients, the percentage of tumor-marker-positive sera was increased from 15% to 42% and 57% to 70%, respectively, by the additional measurement of free hCG beta and free alpha. Thus hCG, free hCG beta, and free alpha are physiologically present in a high percentage of the sera from healthy men, and the determination of free hCG beta and free alpha, although not of prognostic value, improves the diagnostic possibilities in patients with testicular cancer.
为了测定在生理和病理条件下人类绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）、其游离β亚基（hCGβ）以及所有人类糖蛋白激素共有的游离α亚基（游离α）的血清浓度，我们开发了基于单克隆抗体的免疫酶测定法。在所有健康男女的血清中均检测到游离α亚基；54%的男性血清中可检测到hCG，46%的男性游离hCGβ呈阳性；在未怀孕女性中，69.5%的人hCG呈阳性，68.4%的人游离β亚基呈阳性。对产生hCG的肿瘤等病理状况进行了体外和体内研究。在体外，在绒毛膜癌细胞系（“JAR”）的组织培养上清液中，hCG、游离hCGβ和游离α的浓度在时间进程分析中呈现平行模式。在体内，对13例睾丸癌患者进行长期随访研究，无论疾病是否缓解，三种分析物的血清浓度均相互平行。由于27%的精原细胞瘤患者和13%的非精原细胞瘤患者中游离hCGβ和游离α选择性升高，通过额外检测游离hCGβ和游离α，肿瘤标志物阳性血清的百分比分别从15%增加到42%和从57%增加到70%。因此，hCG、游离hCGβ和游离α在健康男性血清中的生理存在比例很高，游离hCGβ和游离α的测定虽然没有预后价值，但提高了睾丸癌患者的诊断可能性。
