Comparison of carbohydrate structure between human chorionic gonadotropin present in urine of patients with trophoblastic diseases and healthy individuals.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) highly purified from the urine of patients with trophoblastic diseases (choriocarcinoma and hydatidiform mole) and from healthy pregnant women contains four asparagine-linked sugar chains in one molecule. Comparative studies of the sugar chains released by hydrazinolysis revealed that the structures of the sugar chains of choriocarcinoma hCGs are quite different from those of mole and normal hCGs. The carbohydrate structures of mole hCGs are the same as those of normal hCG, while all choriocarcinoma hCGs examined contain two triantennary, two unusual biantennary, and one monoantennary complex-type sugar chains which are not found in normal hCGs. The triantennary and unusual biantennary sugar chains contain the +/- NeuAc alpha 2----Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1----4Man alpha 1----3 group in common. The total amounts of fucosylated sugar chains in choriocarcinoma hCGs are twice those found in the hCGs of other groups. Therefore, the appearance of the N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase responsible for the formation of the GlcNAc beta 1----4Man alpha 1----3 group and the increase of the fucosyl transferase responsible for the formation of the Fuc alpha 1----6 GlcNAc----Asn group appear to be specific characteristics of malignant transformation of the trophoblast, and the structural changes of sugar chains could serve as useful markers for the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma.