Relationship between imbalanced synthesis of human chorionic gonadotropin alpha and beta subunits and pregnancy-induced hypertension / 浙江大学学报·医学版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between imbalanced synthesis of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) alpha and beta subunits and the pathology of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Total hCG, free alphahCG and betahCG were measured in serum samples collected from 60 cases of PIH and 30 normal gravid women by radioimmunoassay. The ratio of total hCG/betahCG, betahCG/FalphahCG, (FalphahCG+betahCG)/betahCG were calculated. Immunohistochemical staining was performed in 13 placenta from each group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In PIH group the levels of FalphahCG, total hCG and betahCG were significantly higher than those of normal group (FalphahCG: 528 +/-421 IU/L compared with 222 +/-129 IU/L; betahCG: 39396 +/-6412 IU/L compared with 24265 +/-5575 IU/L; total hCG: 66597 +/-9294 IU/L compared with 36078 +/-4767 IU/L, all P<0.001). The betahCG/FalphahCG ratio in PIH was lower than that of normal group (91.23 +/-53.38 Compared with 119.4 +/-80.1, P<0.05); (FalphahCG+betahCG)/betahCG ratio and total hCG/betahCG ratio in two groups were (1.022 +/-0.026 compared with 1.015 +/-0.011; 1.802 +/-0.339 compared with 1.807 +/-0.258, respectively P>0.05). The immunohistochemical intensity of betahCG and FalphahCG in syncytiotrophoblast was significantly increased in 13 PIH compared with the control.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These data suggested that the imbalanced synthesis of hCG alpha and beta subunits may cause hypertension.</p>

Free alpha hCG--a serum marker for pregnancy-induced hypertension / 浙江大学学报·医学版

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the free alpha subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (FalphahCG) as a marker for pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). METHODS: The study group consisted of 74 pregnant women with hypertension. PIH admitted at 21-43 weeks of gestation. The control group was 37 non-PIH women. Serum FalphahCG was measured by radioimmunoassay with monoclonal technology. Using Youden's index of the receiver operator characteristic curve(ROC), a threshold value was determined. RESULTS: FalphahCG levels in PIH women were significantly higher than in the control group women [(556+/-428)IU/L compared with (232+/-131)IU/L,P<0.001].Using 260 IU/L of FalphahCG as the threshold value yields a sensitivity of 81.1% and specificity of 75.7% with a Youden's index of 0.57 for predicting PIH. CONCLUSION: Serum FalphahCG may serve as a useful marker to predict PIH.