title: Simple enzyme immunoassay for the simultaneous measurement of whole choriogonadotropin molecules and free beta-subunits in sera of women with abnormal pregnancies or tumors of the reproductive system.
abstract: A multiple enzyme immunoassay (multi-EIA) was developed to quantify whole-molecule human choriogonadotropin (w-hCG) and free hCG beta-subunits (hCG-beta) simultaneously. A clone of a specific monoclonal antibody was coupled to solid phase; two other clones of different monoclonal antibodies were conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP; EC 1.11.1.7) and alkaline phosphatase (AP; EC 3.1.3.1), respectively. These two enzyme conjugates were mixed together to measure w-hCG or hCG-beta, depending on the selection of the enzyme substrate. To measure w-hCG and hCG-beta simultaneously, both enzyme substrates were used with the blended enzyme conjugates. The assay is simple and reproducible, and can be completed within 2 h with high specificity and sensitivity. We measured w-hCG and hCG-beta in the sera of women with abnormal pregnancies and in patients with tumors of the reproductive system, and observed different hCG-beta/w-hCG ratios in patients with various types of trophoblastic tumors.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Engineering Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood*; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood*; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic / Q000097:blood*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D010446:Peptide Fragments