Abdallah M A, Lei Z M, Li X, Greenwold N, Nakajima S T, Jauniaux E, Rao Ch V
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women's Health, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Feb;89(2):952-6. doi: 10.1210/jc.2003-030917.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone produced in abundance by placental syncytiotrophoblasts, is preferentially secreted into maternal circulation. Fetal circulation also contains low levels of hCG that are probably derived from fetal kidney, liver, anterior pituitary gland, etc. In addition, the fetus has access to hCG present in exocoelomic and amniotic fluids. hCG has been found in a number of fetal tissues known to stimulate fetal adrenal and testicular steroidogenesis and is also thought to play a role in growth and differentiation of fetal tissues. This led us to test the hypothesis that fetal nongonadal tissues, as in the adult, may also contain hCG/LH receptors. This hypothesis was tested by immunocytochemistry, Western blotting, in situ hybridization, and RT-PCR. The results demonstrate that kidney, liver, pancreas, lung, small and large intestines, and adrenals contained hCG/LH receptors. Although the role of fetal nongonadal hCG/LH receptors is not known, they may mediate the pleiotropic actions of hCG in the growing human fetus.
人绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）是一种由胎盘合体滋养层大量产生的异二聚体糖蛋白激素，优先分泌到母体循环中。胎儿循环中也含有低水平的hCG，可能来源于胎儿的肾脏、肝脏、垂体前叶等。此外，胎儿可以接触到存在于胚外体腔液和羊水中的hCG。已在一些已知能刺激胎儿肾上腺和睾丸类固醇生成的胎儿组织中发现hCG，并且还认为它在胎儿组织的生长和分化中起作用。这促使我们检验这样一个假设，即与成年人一样，胎儿的非性腺组织也可能含有hCG/LH受体。通过免疫细胞化学、蛋白质印迹、原位杂交和逆转录聚合酶链反应对这一假设进行了检验。结果表明，肾脏、肝脏、胰腺、肺、小肠和大肠以及肾上腺含有hCG/LH受体。虽然胎儿非性腺hCG/LH受体的作用尚不清楚，但它们可能介导hCG在发育中的人类胎儿中的多效性作用。
