Project description:In this study, the participation of fetal factors in maintaining the immune balance during gestation was investigated by assessing the effects of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on murine Treg cells and Th17 cells.
Project description:We previously showed that recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG) induces mammary gland differentiation and inhibits mammary tumorigenesis in rats. The present study investigates the impact of r-hCG on the stemness of mammary epithelial cells by using a rat model. We performed microarray analysis of RNA isolated from mammospheres formed by normal mammary epithelial cells extracted from rats treated for 21 days either with r-hCG or vehicle (control).
Project description:We investigate the role of Snf2l in ovaries by characterizing a mouse bearing an inactivating deletion on the ATPase domain of Snf2l (Ex6DEL). Snf2l mutant mice produce significantly fewer eggs than control mice when superovulated. Thus, gonadotropin stimulation leads to a significant deficit in secondary follicles and an increase in abnormal antral follicles. We profiled the expression of granulosa cells from Snf2l WT and Ex6DEL mice treated with pregnant mares' serum gonadotropin followed by human chorionic gonadotropin Granulosa cells from either Snf2l WT or Ex6DEL mice treated with PMSG followed by hCG were collected at 0h and 4h post-hCG. Each array includes granulosa cells pooled from 5 mice.
Project description:Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone whose urinary (u-hCG) and recombinant (r-hCG) forms differ in glycosylation and stability. To test whether this reflects a structural reorganization of the α/β subunit interface, the two forms were compared by chemical crosslinking mass spectrometry (XL-MS). Crosslinking was performed on the intact, natively glycosylated heterodimers using two complementary chemistries: the lysine-reactive reagent DSS and the zero-length coupling reagent DMTMM (targeting Lys-Asp/Glu pairs, each in biological triplicate for both forms. Identified inter-subunit crosslinks were mapped onto the hCG structure to evaluate whether the assembled core interface is conserved between u-hCG and r-hCG. The dataset comprises the raw LC-MS/MS files and the corresponding crosslink identifications for all conditions and replicates, and accompanies a broader native-MS, ion-mobility and collision-induced-unfolding study of the two hCG forms.
Project description:Assisted reproductive technology (ART) addresses infertility through supraphysiological procedures, yet the effects of trigger-day pharmacotherapy on epigenetic stability and offspring neurodevelopment remain unclear. We demonstrate that ART-conceived offspring exhibit relatively lower global methylation compared to naturally conceived (NC) peers. For the first time, we identify that human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) exposure on trigger day might exacerbate oocyte DNA methylation loss, further increasing risk of suboptimal neurodevelopment performance at age three in ART-conceived offspring. In a controlled mouse model, transient hCG-triggered exposure downregulates Ehmt1 and perturbs oocyte DNA methylation, potentially reducing neurogenesis and neurodevelopmental alterations in the offspring. Our findings reveal previously unrecognized epigenetic risks associated with higher dose hCG exposure in ART protocols, highlighting the need for optimized trigger protocols that balance treatment efficacy with long-term offspring health.
Project description:A mouse leydig tumour cell line (mLTC-1) was grown in culture and stimulated with either human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, 10 ng/ml) alone or hCG & bisphenol A (BPA, an endrocrine disrupting chemical, 10 uM) for three hours. Cells from triplicate plates were harvested, RNA extracted, labelled and hybridised to Affymetrix Mouse genome 430 2.0 arrays. Preliminary work by RT-PCR had shown that stimulation of the cell line by BPA resulted in changes in gene expression in the spermatogenesis pathway at this time point.
Project description:In assisted reproductive technology (ART), controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COS) plays an important role in guiding treatment progress and determining success. Many ovulation-inducing agents are used in this process, including human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG), recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (r-FSH), recombinant luteinizing hormone (r-hLH), urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (u-hCG), and recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG). HMG, which comes from the urine of postmenopausal women, mainly contains FSH, LH, and hCG. While bioactivity-based potency units and immunoassay-based ELISA methods remain the gold standard for quantifying protein therapeutics, LC-MS/MS is emerging as a game-changing technology. Its unique strengths—exceptional specificity, absolute quantification capabilities, independence from specialized reagents, powerful multiplexing potential, and ability to provide structural insights—are establishing it as an essential tool for both orthogonal verification and cutting-edge research in the field. This study used reverse-phase liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (RP-LC-MS/MS) and a label-free quantitative proteomics method to analyze imported r-hFSH, r-hLH, r-hCG (Gonal-F, Luveris, Ovidrel), three domestic HMG products (Le Baode, Man Fuxin, Xin Yunle), and u-hCG (Li Zhu). The results showed that the purity of the main component in imported gonadotropin drugs was higher than 98.55%. On the other hand, the main element of domestic u-HMG is FSH, with small amounts of hCG and very little LH. These results reveal significant differences in the composition of imported and domestic gonadotropin products, underscoring the need to further evaluate their biological activity and clinical effectiveness. This study provides important insights into drug selection for ART, with practical value for improving the quality of HMG drugs and making better use of them in clinical settings.
Project description:Intrauterine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) therapy for recurrent implantation failure (RIF) has been reported to improve embryo implantation by acting on the endometrium. However, the exact mode of action of PBMC on the endometrium and the differences in the therapeutic effects of PBMC therapy with and without human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are unknown. In this study, we investigated the changes in the endometrium during the implantation phase induced by PBMC administration and the differences in the efficacy of this therapy with and without hCG using a mouse model of implantation failure (IF).
Project description:To understand the role of prostaglandin (PG) receptor EP2 (Ptger2) signaling in ovulation and fertilization, we investigated time-dependent expression profiles in wild-type (WT) and Ptger2-/- cumuli before and after ovulation by using microarrays. We used Affymetrix U74A ver2 microarrays to investigate gonadotropin-induced gene expression profiles in WT and EP2KO cumulus cells before and after ovulation. Immature mice were primed with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) as an FSH-like stimulation. The cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were isolated from mice 48 h after PMSG injection (H0) and from PMSG-primed mice exposed to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) as an LH-like stimulation for 3, 9 or 14 h (H3, H9 or H14, respectively).