Loading…
For laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.
Loading…
Glycoprotein hormone
Also catalogued as Human chorionic gonadotropin, hCG, Chorionic gonadotrophin.
A heterodimeric glycoprotein of two non-covalently associated subunits, extensively glycosylated: it has no single molecular formula, and its mass varies with the glycan complement. Potency is therefore stated in international units rather than by mass.
Human chorionic gonadotropin is a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone made of two different subunits held together without a covalent bond. The alpha subunit is shared with luteinising hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and thyroid-stimulating hormone; the beta subunit is specific to hCG and gives the hormone its identity.
Its three-dimensional structure was solved by X-ray crystallography in 1994, showing that each subunit is folded around a cystine knot formed by three disulfide bonds. Because the molecule is glycosylated and heterogeneous, material is quantified by biological potency in international units rather than by mass.
Human chorionic gonadotropin is the active ingredient of prescription products approved by the U.S. FDA. The research material listed here is not those products and is not a drug.
Lapthorn AJ, Harris DC, Littlejohn A, et al. Crystal structure of human chorionic gonadotropin. Nature 1994;369(6480):455–461.
Citation titles are reproduced verbatim from the journal record. A citation documents the molecule's published identity and history; it is not a claim about the material sold here.