100 years of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin: Reviews and New Perspectives is a collection of articles written by some of the world’s leading experts on the pregnancy hormone and cancer marker hCG. In 2019 it is difficult to ignore the effect that our understanding of hCG has had on the lives of millions of people worldwide. The hCG immunoassay, in one form or another, is now one of the most common medical tests conducted and is often the first indication that a mother-to-be is pregnant. Not only a marker of pregnancy, hCG is utilized in the diagnosis and monitoring in oncology and presents a potential target for novel cancer therapeutics.
100 years ago, in 1919, Hirose was demonstrating gonadotropic functions which resulted from a chorionic factor. Over the last century this factor has become defined as hCG and more recently explored as not one molecule but a group of molecules with variable structure and variable functions in both pregnancy and cancer. hCG is a multi-faceted molecule that has clinical and therapeutic implications but can be a challenging topic for researchers and physicians alike. This text covers the different structures and functions of hCG exploring the genes and evolution of the molecule, the different protein and glycosylation structures which can exist and their effect on structure, detection and quantification.
100 Years of hCG is not an attempt to recount the history of every publication on hCG, but rather a collection of reviews and new perspectives by "hCG-ologists", the term used by Hussa to describe biochemists working on HCG in the first book written on the topic over 30 years ago. Some of the authors have been around a while, some not so long, but others are just beginning their journey with a most beguiling molecule.
1. Cover image - p. i 2. Title page - p. ii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iv 5. Contributors - p. xv 6. About the editors - p. xix 7. Foreword—100 Years of hCG - p. xxiii 8. Acknowledgments - p. xxv 9. Section 1. Genes and structure - p. xxv 10. Chapter 1.1. hCG anecdote 1 extracting C5 and creating the antibody B152—the birth of hyperglycosylated hCG - p. 3 11. Chapter 1.2. Evolutionary, structural, and physiological differences between hCG and LH - p. 5 12. Chapter 1.3. hCG and human evolution—The human master molecule - p. 19 13. Chapter 1.4. Human chorionic gonadotropin: Different origins, glycoforms, and functions during pregnancy - p. 31 14. Chapter 1.5. Molecular modeling of human chorionic gonadotropin glycosylation, nicking, and carboxyl terminal extension: Influence on molecular folding and potential epitope recognition by common hCG antibodies - p. 45 15. Chapter 1.6. Why hCG is glycosylated - p. 65 16. Section 2. Detection and quantitation - p. 70 17. Chapter 2.1. Detecting hCG that is not there—Anecdote - p. 73 18. Chapter 2.2. Detection and quantification of hCG and its isoforms with MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry - p. 75 19. Chapter 2.3. Pregnancy failures and false-positive hCG tests - p. 87 20. Chapter 2.4. The home pregnancy test - p. 107 21. Chapter 2.5. Human chorionic gonadotropin determination using mass spectrometry - p. 123 22. Chapter 2.6. hCGβcf as a quality control marker for urine mass spectrometry analysis - p. 139 23. Section 3. Pregnancy and fertility - p. 147 24. Chapter 3.1. How hCG was used as tool to study LH action - p. 151 25. Chapter 3.2. The role of hCG in endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation - p. 153 26. Chapter 3.3. Qualitative analysis of hCG variants and glycoforms in urine, using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: A potential companion diagnostic tool to immunoassays in pregnancy and cancer - p. 167 27. Chapter 3.4. Phenotypic characterization of transgenic mouse models overproducing hCG - p. 181 28. Chapter 3.5. Role of human chorionic gonadotropin in reproductive medicine - p. 193 29. Chapter 3.6. Pregnancy hCG - p. 199 30. Chapter 3.7. My journey with human chorionic gonadotropin: Development of a unique vaccine for control of fertility - p. 209 31. Chapter 3.8. Evaluation of delivery systems for active immunization with synthetic peptides of hCG as a fertility control method: A collection of study data and discussion by the World Health Organization task force on the Regulation of Human Reproduction 1999–2007 - p. 227 32. Section 4. Cancer and therapy - p. 250 33. Chapter 4.1. Negative control—how hCG, and a failed experiment, changed my life - p. 253 34. Chapter 4.2. Human chorionic gonadotropin in cancer—where are we? - p. 255 35. Chapter 4.3. LH/hCG receptor–independent activities of hCG and hCGβ - p. 261 36. Chapter 4.4. The role of the free β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin in human malignancy - p. 269 37. Chapter 4.5. hCG and gestational trophoblastic diseases: Hydatidiform mole and choriocarcinoma - p. 283 38. Chapter 4.6. Immunotherapy of advanced stage, invariably drug-resistant cancers expressing ectopically hCG - p. 293 39. Chapter 4.7. A potential cure for cancer - p. 301 40. Section 5. Conclusion - p. 311 41. Chapter 5.1. Where has hCG research been? What is hCG research doing? Which direction will it go in the future? - p. 315 42. Index - p. 323
100 years of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin: Reviews and New Perspectives is a collection of articles written by some of the world’s leading experts on the pregnancy hormone and cancer marker hCG. In 2019 it is difficult to ignore the effect that our understanding of hCG has had on the lives of millions of people worldwide. The hCG immunoassay, in one form or another, is now one of the most common medical tests conducted and is often the first indication that a mother-to-be is pregnant. Not only a marker of pregnancy, hCG is utilized in the diagnosis and monitoring in oncology and presents a potential target for novel cancer therapeutics.
100 years ago, in 1919, Hirose was demonstrating gonadotropic functions which resulted from a chorionic factor. Over the last century this factor has become defined as hCG and more recently explored as not one molecule but a group of molecules with variable structure and variable functions in both pregnancy and cancer. hCG is a multi-faceted molecule that has clinical and therapeutic implications but can be a challenging topic for researchers and physicians alike. This text covers the different structures and functions of hCG exploring the genes and evolution of the molecule, the different protein and glycosylation structures which can exist and their effect on structure, detection and quantification.
100 Years of hCG is not an attempt to recount the history of every publication on hCG, but rather a collection of reviews and new perspectives by "hCG-ologists", the term used by Hussa to describe biochemists working on HCG in the first book written on the topic over 30 years ago. Some of the authors have been around a while, some not so long, but others are just beginning their journey with a most beguiling molecule.
1. Cover image - p. i 2. Title page - p. ii 3. Table of Contents - p. iii 4. Copyright - p. iv 5. Contributors - p. xv 6. About the editors - p. xix 7. Foreword—100 Years of hCG - p. xxiii 8. Acknowledgments - p. xxv 9. Section 1. Genes and structure - p. xxv 10. Chapter 1.1. hCG anecdote 1 extracting C5 and creating the antibody B152—the birth of hyperglycosylated hCG - p. 3 11. Chapter 1.2. Evolutionary, structural, and physiological differences between hCG and LH - p. 5 12. Chapter 1.3. hCG and human evolution—The human master molecule - p. 19 13. Chapter 1.4. Human chorionic gonadotropin: Different origins, glycoforms, and functions during pregnancy - p. 31 14. Chapter 1.5. Molecular modeling of human chorionic gonadotropin glycosylation, nicking, and carboxyl terminal extension: Influence on molecular folding and potential epitope recognition by common hCG antibodies - p. 45 15. Chapter 1.6. Why hCG is glycosylated - p. 65 16. Section 2. Detection and quantitation - p. 70 17. Chapter 2.1. Detecting hCG that is not there—Anecdote - p. 73 18. Chapter 2.2. Detection and quantification of hCG and its isoforms with MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry - p. 75 19. Chapter 2.3. Pregnancy failures and false-positive hCG tests - p. 87 20. Chapter 2.4. The home pregnancy test - p. 107 21. Chapter 2.5. Human chorionic gonadotropin determination using mass spectrometry - p. 123 22. Chapter 2.6. hCGβcf as a quality control marker for urine mass spectrometry analysis - p. 139 23. Section 3. Pregnancy and fertility - p. 147 24. Chapter 3.1. How hCG was used as tool to study LH action - p. 151 25. Chapter 3.2. The role of hCG in endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation - p. 153 26. Chapter 3.3. Qualitative analysis of hCG variants and glycoforms in urine, using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: A potential companion diagnostic tool to immunoassays in pregnancy and cancer - p. 167 27. Chapter 3.4. Phenotypic characterization of transgenic mouse models overproducing hCG - p. 181 28. Chapter 3.5. Role of human chorionic gonadotropin in reproductive medicine - p. 193 29. Chapter 3.6. Pregnancy hCG - p. 199 30. Chapter 3.7. My journey with human chorionic gonadotropin: Development of a unique vaccine for control of fertility - p. 209 31. Chapter 3.8. Evaluation of delivery systems for active immunization with synthetic peptides of hCG as a fertility control method: A collection of study data and discussion by the World Health Organization task force on the Regulation of Human Reproduction 1999–2007 - p. 227 32. Section 4. Cancer and therapy - p. 250 33. Chapter 4.1. Negative control—how hCG, and a failed experiment, changed my life - p. 253 34. Chapter 4.2. Human chorionic gonadotropin in cancer—where are we? - p. 255 35. Chapter 4.3. LH/hCG receptor–independent activities of hCG and hCGβ - p. 261 36. Chapter 4.4. The role of the free β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin in human malignancy - p. 269 37. Chapter 4.5. hCG and gestational trophoblastic diseases: Hydatidiform mole and choriocarcinoma - p. 283 38. Chapter 4.6. Immunotherapy of advanced stage, invariably drug-resistant cancers expressing ectopically hCG - p. 293 39. Chapter 4.7. A potential cure for cancer - p. 301 40. Section 5. Conclusion - p. 311 41. Chapter 5.1. Where has hCG research been? What is hCG research doing? Which direction will it go in the future? - p. 315 42. Index - p. 323
