title: The possible luteotrophic effect of guinea-pig chorionic gonadotrophin.
abstract: Studies into human pregnancy have many practical applications such as in fertility regulation. Such studies cannot be done in women for ethical reasons and a suitable animal model has to be identified. Though guinea-pig is known to secrete a CG-like protein, the precise function of this material during early pregnancy has not been elucidated. We assessed the effect of guinea-pig chorionic gonadotrophin (gpCG) on luteal tissue kept in-vitro. This involved short-term culture of the luteal tissue cells and the subsequent measurement of progesterone following challenge with gpCG. Guinea-pig CG stimulated progesterone production by cultured luteal tissue and this suggests that this hormone, as in primates, has a luteotrophic role during pregnancy. We conclude that the guinea-pig provides a useful homologous model for studying early pregnancy events in humans.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mwenda
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Bambra
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Tarara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000187:drug effects*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D011374:Progesterone