Urine gonadotropins

Positive urine human chorionic gonadotropin followed by positive ultrasound, fetal heart sounds, and/or fetal movement. Pregnancy Dating and Gestational Age Calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period. 

Female rainbow trout, Oncorhynchusmykiss, also release in their urine 17,20jSP. As in goldfish, this pheromone increases the plasma levels of gonadotropin II and testosterone in spermiating males Scott etal, 1994). Levels of 17,20jSP rises within 1 hour of exposure and peak at 3-4 hours. Milt production also increases (Vermeirssenetfl /., 1997). 

Scott, A. P., Liley, N. R., and Vermeirssen, E. L. M. (1994). Urine of reproductively female rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbuam), contains a priming pheromone which enhances plasma levels of sex steroids and gonadotropin II in malts. Journal of Fish Biology 44,131-148. 

Stimulation of spermatogenesis in gonadotropin (FSH, LH) deficiency can be achieved by injection of HMG and HCG. HMG or human menopausal gonadotropin is obtained from the urine of postmenopausal women and is rich in FSH activity. HCG, human chorionic gonadotropin, from the urine of pregnant women, acts like LH. 

Other components of the urine are conjugates with sulfuric acid, glucuronic acid, glycine, and other polar compounds that are synthesized in the liver by biotransformation (see p. 316). In addition, metabolites of many hormones (catecholamines, steroids, serotonin) also appear in the urine and can provide information about hormone production. The proteohormone chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, mass ca. 36 kDa), which is formed at the onset of pregnancy, appears in the urine due to its relatively small size. Evidence of hCG in the urine provides the basis for an immunological pregnancy test. 

NA Guzman. Determination of immunoreactive gonadotropin-releasing hormone in serum and urine by on-line immunoaffinity capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B 749 197—213, 2000. 

Figure 10.1 Home pregnancy testing devices, like the one seen here, utilize biotechnology techniques. This test uses paired monoclonal antibodies and colored beads to indicate increased human gonadotropin in urine. The second round well is a control, indicating the device is working properly by trapping a common urine protein.

The menotropins, human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) and urofollitropin are prepared from the urine of postmenopausal women. HMG has approximately equal amounts of FSH an LH. Urofollitropin has only FSH activity. Follitropin alpha and follitropin beta are two FSH products which are made with recombinant DNA technology. Lutropin alpha is recombinant human LH. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is produced in the placenta and excreted in the urine. It has mainly LH activity. Choriogonadotropin alpha is the world s first recombinant chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG) for the treatment of anovulation, the most common cause of infertility in women. 

Therapeutically, gonadotropins are used to induce ovulation in infertile women. The antiestrogens clomiphene (5.37) and tamoxifen (5.38) are also used for this purpose since they counteract the ovulation-inhihitory effect of estrogens. Pregnancy tests depend on the presence of an increased hCG concentration in the urine after fertilization. 

Chorionic gonadotropin From urine of pregnant women. 

Human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) Urine of postmenopausal women Induction of ovulation... 

The first commercial gonadotropin product was extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women, which contains a substance with FSH-like properties (but with 4% of the potency of FSH) and an LH-like substance. This purified extract of FSH and LH is known as menotropins, or human menopausal gonadotropins (hMG). 

Urine-derived urofollitropin and recombinant FSH appear to be equally effective and well tolerated for induction of ovulation (34). However, it is unclear whether human menopausal gonadotropins have a higher risk of overstimulation and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome than urofollitropin in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. 

Goserelin acetate is available in the form of implantable cylinders, 1-1.5 mm in diameter, that are placed subcutaneously in the upper abdominal area. Goserelin is metabolized in the liver and excreted in the urine. Clearance is greater in women than in men. Stimulation of gonadotropins occurs in the first weeks of therapy, followed by suppression. 

FSH has been commercially available since the 1960s. It was first extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women, which contains a substance with FSH-like properties (but with 4% of the potency) and an LH-like substance. This purified extract of FSH and LH, derived from the urine of postmenopausal women, remains available and is known as menotropins, or human menopausal gonadotropins (hMG). A purified preparation of human FSH, also extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women, contains virtually no LH and is know as urofollitropin, or urinary FSH (uFSH). In 1996, a synthetic modified form of FSH became available, known as follitropin alpha, or recombinant FSH (rFSH). Preparations of rFSH have batch-to-batch consistency and are free from possible urinary contaminants. The cost of rFSH is about three times that of hMG. It is controversial whether in vitro fertilization protocols using rFSH are significantly more successful than protocols using uFSH or hMG. 

Human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by the human placenta and excreted into the urine, whence it can be extracted and purified. Human chorionic gonadotropin is a glycoprotein consisting of a 92-amino-acid alpha chain virtually identical to that of FSH, LH, and TSH and a beta chain of 145 amino acids that resembles that of LH except for the presence of a carboxyl terminal sequence of 30 amino acids not present in LH. 

Dl. Demir, A., Alfthan, H., Stenman, U. H., and Voutilainen, R., A clinically useful method for detecting gonadotropins in children Assessment of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone from urine as an alternative to serum by ultrasensitive time-resolved immunofluoro-metric assays. Pediatr. Res. 36, 221—226 (1994). 

Levels of Human Chorionic Gonadotropins (HCG) Equivalents IN Urine"... 

If, however, the oocyte is fertilized and begins to divide, the corpus luteum persists past its normal two-week lifespan. It is prevented from degenerating by the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced by the chorion of the embryo as early as eight to 12 days after fertilization. HCG acts like LH in stimulating the secretory activity of the corpus luteum and the presence of hCG in maternal blood or urine is an indicator of pregnancy. 

The first gonadotropins available for clinical use were extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women. Human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) is in limited supply and contains other proteins, which may be allergenic, as well as luteinizing hormone. Purified preparations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH urofoUitropin and highly purified urofoUitropin) are also extracted from... 

Induction of ovulation in mares may be stimulated by the administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This has physiological actions similar to LH but differs structurally in both protein and carbohydrate content. It is produced by the human placenta and is extracted commercially from the urine of pregnant women. hCG may be administered to mares in the transitional period to stimulate ovulation. A dose of 3300 lU administered to mares with a follicle of >40 mm in diameter and signs of estrus that have been present for more than 3 days hastens the first ovulation of the season by approximately 1 week compared with control mares (Ball 2000a). In some states of the USA, hCG is a controlled substance that requires a special license for purchase and use. 

FSH is a member of a superfamily of proteins, all structurally related. which includes luteinizing hormone (LH), chori->inlc gonadotropin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). It is u heterodimer, the a subunit contains 92 amino acids, and the subunit contains 111 amino acids. The protein IS rather heavily glycosylated and has a molecular mass of approximately 33 kDa. The traditional source for isolation t l FSH was postmenopausal urine, which provided a preparation that was less than 3% pure and wa.s signiricantly contaminated by LH. The recombinant human FSH (rhFSH) is produced in a mammalian cell line, the CHO. 

The type of urine specimen to be collected is dictated by the tests to be performed. Untimed or random specimens are suitable for only a few chemical tests usually, urine specimens must be collected over a predetermined interval of time, such as 1,4, or 24 hours. A clean, early morning, fasting specimen is usually the most concentrated specimen and thus is preferred for microscopic examinations and for the detection of abnormal amounts of constituents, such as proteins, or of unusual compounds, such as chorionic gonadotropin. The clean timed specimen is one obtained at specific times of the day or during certain phases of the act of micturition. Bacterial examination of the first 10 mL of urine voided is most appropriate to detect urethritis, whereas the midstream... 

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