Silen M L, Firpo A, Francus T, Klein R F, Lowry S F
Department of Surgery, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York 10021.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989 Oct 16;164(1):284-9. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(89)91715-4.
The regulation of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) secretion by placental trophoblasts is incompletely understood. A recent study reports that Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) stimulates hCG production in vitro by human, first trimester, placental trophoblasts, but not by a human choriocarcinoma cell line. Human decidua has been shown to produce IL-1 alpha and beta, and Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF alpha). The precise role(s) of these proteins in pregnancy is unknown. In the present study, hCG production by human choriocarcinoma cells (JAR) was evaluated in the presence of recombinant human IL-1 alpha (rHIL-1 alpha) and rHTNF alpha. hCG production was increased by rHIL-1 alpha in a dose-dependent manner, and heat-inactivation of this cytokine abolished the effect. Equimolar quantities of rHTNF alpha failed to influence hCG production or cell viability. IL-1 may be important in the regulation of hCG production by human trophoblasts, and therefore may play a physiologic role in pregnancy. Furthermore, TNF does not appear to participate in the regulation of the production of this hormone by human choriocarcinoma cells. This is the first demonstration of a divergence of activity of these two cytokines in the reproductive process.
胎盘滋养层细胞对人绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）分泌的调节机制尚未完全明确。最近一项研究报告称，白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）可在体外刺激人妊娠早期胎盘滋养层细胞产生hCG，但对人绒毛膜癌细胞系无此作用。已证实人蜕膜可产生IL-1α和β以及肿瘤坏死因子α（TNFα）。这些蛋白质在妊娠中的具体作用尚不清楚。在本研究中，评估了重组人IL-1α（rHIL-1α）和重组人TNFα（rHTNFα）存在时人绒毛膜癌细胞（JAR）的hCG产生情况。rHIL-1α以剂量依赖方式增加hCG产生，且该细胞因子的热失活消除了这种作用。等摩尔量的rHTNFα未能影响hCG产生或细胞活力。IL-1可能在人滋养层细胞hCG产生的调节中起重要作用，因此可能在妊娠中发挥生理作用。此外，TNF似乎不参与人绒毛膜癌细胞对该激素产生的调节。这是首次证明这两种细胞因子在生殖过程中的活性存在差异。
