Reduction of testicular human chorionic gonadotropin receptors by human chorionic gonadotropin in vivo and in vitro

Changes in rat and human testicular human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) binding sites induced by hCG were estimated in vivo and in vitro. After a single administration of hCG, the specific 125I-hCG bindings were significantly reduced for 7 and 5 days in rat and human testes, respectively. Thereafter, 125I-hCG bindings had recovered to pretreatment values by the 14th day after the administration. Occupied hCG bindings accounted for about half of the reduced bindings on the day after administration of hCG. After this time, however, the occupancy did not contribute so much to the reduction of the bindings. In experiments in vitro using the organ culture technique, an exposure to hCG for 24 h induced a dose-related significant loss of the specific 125I-hCG bindings for 7 and 5 days in rat and human testes, respectively. Thereafter, the loss was gradually recovered. These patterns of changes in 125I-hCG bindings in vitro were similar to those in vivo. These findings suggest that the reduction in hCG binding sites by hCG is due to not only occupancy but also downregulation of the binding sites and that the testicular organ culture method used in the present study is useful to study hormonal regulation of testicular function, especially in human testes.     

Treatment of an undescended testis with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)

Seventy one patients with ectopic testis of age between 2 and 11.5 years were treated with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) at doses recommended by the International Health Foundation. The descent of testis to the scrotum was achieved in almost half of the treated boys (49.3%). The descent was successful mainly in cases of lower inguinal position of the undescended testicle, and only rarely when the testicle was situated higher. The descent was never successful in cases when the scrotum was small and underdeveloped.     

The structure and function of glycoprotein hormone receptors: ganglioside interactions with human chorionic gonadotropin.

Gangliosides inhibit the binding of ¹²⁵I-labeled human chorionic gonadotropin to rat testes membranes. The inhibition is the result of an interaction between the hormone and the ganglioside rather than the membrane and ganglioside, and the interaction with the ganglioside can be detected by fluorescence spectroscopy. In both the binding inhibition and fluorescence studies, human chorionic gonadotropin recognizes an oligosaccharide sequence on the ganglioside molecule distinct from the sequence recognized by thyrotropin.     

The reaction of tetranitromethane with human chorionic gonadotropin.

The reaction of tetranitromethane with human chorionic gonadotropin and its subunits has been investigated. The hormone consists of two subunits, α and β, containing four and three tyrosyl residues, respectively. Introduction of 1 nitrated tyrosine residue into the native hormone was accompanied by a 20% loss in immunological reactivity and a 50% loss in biological activity. This initial reaction occurred at α Tyr-88 and/or α Tyr-89. Exhaustive nitration of the hormone modified α tyrosines 65, 88, and 89 and resulted in 75% inactivation biologically and 50% immunologically. Either nitrated α subunit obtained by dissociation of the nitrated hormone recombined with the native β subunit to give a hormone whose activity was in reasonable agreement with that of the corresponding nitrated monomer. These results indicate involvement of α Tyr-88 and/or α Tyr 89 in binding of the hormone to its receptor. These residues are not required for binding to the β subunit, however. Tyr-65 of the α subunit is probably not involved in binding to either the β subunit or the hormone receptor. The β subunit obtained from the exhaustively nitrated hormone was unmodified and recombined with native α to give fully active hormone. About 25% of the protein was recovered as polymeric material following nitration; lesser amounts of crosslinked monomer were formed. Both were biologically inactive. The polymer products retained about 30% of the native immunological competence.Nitration of the isolated α subunit fully converted the remaining tyrosine (Tyr-37) to 3-nitrotyrosine in a two-step reaction. The fully nitrated α subunit did not recombine well with the native β subunit and the recombinant hormone has 10% or less of the native activity. Involvement of α Tyr-37 in binding to the β subunit is suggested by these data. However, exposure of this residue by a conformational change in the α subunit after dissociation of the native hormone, while it seems unlikely in view of the high disulfide content, is also consistent with the data. Reaction of the free β subunit with tetranitromethane resulted in complete nitration of Tyr-37, 85% nitration of Tyr-59, and 25% nitration of Tyr-82. The nitrated β subunit did not recombine well with native α but the isolated recombinant had two-thirds of the native activity. From these data we conclude that β Tyr-37 and/or β Tyr-59 are possibly involved in binding to the α subunit but do not have a role in the biological activity. Tyr-82 of β is apparently not involved in either subunit interactions or hormone-receptor binding.     

Autoradiographic analysis of follicle-stimulating hormone and human chorionic gonadotropin receptors in the ovary of immature rats treated with equine chorionic gonadotropin.

The gonadotropin-primed immature rat has become the most common model for the study of follicular development and ovulation. In this study, prepubertal female rats, 23 and 24 days old, were injected s. c. with 5 IU eCG, and ovaries were collected for topical autoradiography of FSH and hCG receptors at 48 or 24 h post-eCG, respectively (i.e., Day 25). In a baseline group, on Day 25 (before eCG), even the smallest preantral follicles with 1 layer of granulosa cells (GCs; primary follicles) possessed FSH receptors, but hCG receptors were found only on the theca of follicles with 2 or more layers of GCs. Human CG receptors were especially prominent in the interstitium that intimately surrounds preantral follicles without any distinction between theca and interstitial cells. There was a discrete theca surrounding antral follicles. Occasionally antral follicles had hCG receptors in the interstitium, but the adjacent theca was negative, suggesting that these follicles might be destined for atresia. By 24 h post-eCG, a now-discrete theca layer with hCG receptors surrounded all preantral follicles except for the primary follicles, which never responded to eCG. The interstitium was hypertrophied and epithelioid, as was the theca surrounding nonatretic preantral and antral follicles. Increased mitotic activity characterized the growing preantral follicle, and for the first time, FSH binding in GCs of antral follicles was greater than in the preantral population. By 48 h post-eCG, the primary follicles were still unresponsive to eCG. FSH receptors were even more pronounced in the GCs of large antral follicles, although hCG receptors were present in the GCs of only one third of the antral follicles, reflecting the small dose of eCG administered. By 48 h post-eCG, receptors in the interstitium were barely detectable. Using this model, the following study considers the functional in vitro changes in steroidogenesis in follicles from the smallest preantral follicles to the largest antral follicles.     

Role of carbohydrate of human chorionic gonadotropin in the mechanism of hormone action.

The role of the carbohydrate part of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was investigated by measuring the ability of hCG derivatives lacking various sugar residues to bind to rat Leydig cells and stimulate them to synthesize testosterone and cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP). Whereas sequential removal of the sialic acid, galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, and mannose residues led to a progressive increase in the effective dose of the hormone required to stimulate steroidogenesis, it resulted in a marked loss in the ability of the hormone to stimulate cyclic AMP accumulation. Low doses of the glycosidase-treated hormone derivatives were additive with hCG when their ability to stimulate testosterone synthesis was analyzed. Nevertheless, the glycosidase-treated derivatives were potent inhibitors of hCG-induced cyclic AMP accumulation, suggesting that removal of the sugars did not influence binding of the hormone to the cell as much as it reduced the ability of the bound hormone to activate adenyl cyclase. This hypothesis was further supported by our finding that the hCG derivatives were highly effective inhibitors of 125I-hGC binding to the intact cells. Removal of sialic acid and galactose enhanced the inhibition, whereas removal of all the sugar residues only decreased the inhibition slightly. The degree of these effects was comparatively small. The possibility that steroidogenesis and cyclic AMP accumulation are altered independently by hCG stimulation is discussed.     

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone effects on placental hormones during gestation: I. Alpha-human chorionic gonadotropin, human chorionic gonadotropin and human chorionic somatomammotropin

The release of alpha-human chorionic gonadotropin (alpha hCG), gonadotropin human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and human chorionic somatomammotropin (hCS) in vitro from placentas of different gestational ages was studied. In addition, the effect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) on these hormonal releases, as related to the gestational age of the placenta cultured and the dose of GnRH, was determined. The basal release of alpha hCG and hCG was greatest at 9-13 wk of gestation (1000-1500 ng/mg and 250-350 ng/mg, respectively). Lowest release rates were at term (28 ng/mg and 20 ng/mg, respectively). Hormonal release declined with extended culture, except from the cultures of 13- and 15-wk placentas, in which the initially high release continued throughout the 8 days of culture. The initial release of hCS was low at 6 wk, increased to maximum rates by 15 wk, and was similar to the initial rate of release at term. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulated the release of alpha hCG and hCG most dramatically in cultures of 16-wk and 17-wk placentas, where as much as a 400- and 250-fold increase, respectively, on Day 6 of culture was observed (p less than 0.0001). In term placenta cultures after 6 days in vitro, a 20-fold stimulation of alpha hCG and a 10-fold increase of hCG was effected by GnRH (p less than 0.001). The largest responses of alpha hCG and hCG to GnRH were observed when estrogen levels were low. Dose-related responses were observed in some placentas, yet in some instances, maximal effects were attained with all doses utilized in these studies (0.2 to 50 micrograms/ml). These data demonstrate that human placentas of different gestational ages have varying hormonogenic capabilities in vitro. The data also establish that synthetic GnRH is capable of stimulating alpha hCG and hCG production, but the degree and pattern of response to GnRH stimulation are related to the gestational age of the placental tissue and its time in culture. The most responsive period to exogenous GnRH stimulation of alpha hCG and hCG release was on Days 5 and 6 of culture, when basal estrogen release was very low. These data support the hypothesis that hCG release might be controlled by a chorionic GnRH stimulation and suggest that local steroid levels may modulate the hCG response to GnRH stimulation.     

Gonadal receptors. I. Evidence for irreversibility in the binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone.

The binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone to particulate receptors of rat testes has generally been assumed to follow an equilibrium model similar to that proposed for many enzyme systems. Our work shows that equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) and number of hormone binding sites (Bmax) are highly sensitive to changes in hormone and/or receptor concentration and to treatment received by tissue or receptor preparation prior to the assay. The results of binding assays obtained using receptor preparation pretreated with hormone (labeled as well as unlabeled) indicated that the binding reaction between hormone and receptor was irreversible and that pretreatment of the tissue with hormone greatly alters the number of high affinity gonadotropin binding sites in the testicular homogenate. Data from studies involving increasing receptor concentrations revealed that increasing the mass of particulate receptors in the binding assays leads to higher Kd as well as Bmax values. These findings are incompatible with a binding model based upon occupancy of receptor sites and the state of equilibrium implied. The incompatibilities are analyzed and an alternate model advanced (Bhalla, V.K., Trowbridge, C.G., Chen, C.J.H., Lindeman, J.G. and Rojas, F.J. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 584, 436--453).     

Gonadal receptors I. Evidence for irreversibility in the binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone

The binding of human chorionic gonadotropin and human luteinizing hormone to particulate receptors of rat testes has generally been assumed to follow an equilibrium model similar to that proposed for many enzyme systems. Our work shows that equilibrium dissociation constant (K_d) and number of hormone binding sites (B_max) are highly sensitive to changes in hormone and/ or receptor concentration and to treatment received by tissue or receptor preparation prior to the assay. The results of binding assays obtained using receptor preparation pretreated with hormone (labeled as well as unlabeled) indicated that the binding reaction between hormone and receptor was irreversible and that pretreatment of the tissue with hormone greatly alters the number of high affinity gonadotropin binding sites in the testicular homogenate. Data from studies involving increasing receptor concentrations revealed that increasing the mass of particulate receptors in the binding assays leads to higher K_d as well as B_max values. These findings are incompatible with a binding model based upon occupancy of receptor sites and the state of equilibrium implied. The incompatibilities are analyzed and an alternate model advanced (Bhalla, V.K., Trowbridge, C.G., Chen, C.J.H., Lindeman, J.G. and Rojas, F.J. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 584, 436–453).     

Effects of hyper- and hypoprolactinemia on gonadotropin secretion, rat testicular luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin receptors and testosterone production by isolated Leydig cells

The effect of prolactin (Prl) on gonadotropin secretion, testicular luteinizing hormone (LH)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) receptors, and testosterone (T) production by isolated Leydig cells has been studied in 60-day-old rats treated for 4 days, 4 and 8 weeks with sulpiride (SLP), a dopaminergic antagonist, or for 4 days and 4 weeks with bromocriptine (CB), a dopaminergic agonist. Plasma Prl concentrations were significantly greater in the SLP groups (204 +/- 6 ng/ml) and lower in the CB groups (3.0 +/- 0.2 ng/ml) than those measured in the control groups (54 +/- 6 ng/ml). The plasma concentrations of gonadotropin were not affected by a 4-day treatment with SLP or CB, nor were they after a 4-week treatment with CB. However, the hyperprolactinemia induced by an 8-week treatment with SLP was associated with a reduced secretion of gonadotropin (LH, 16 +/- 4 vs. 35 +/- 6 ng/ml; FSH, 166 +/- 12 vs. 307 +/- 14 ng/ml). In SLP-induced hyperprolactinemia, a 30% increase in the density of the LH/hCG testicular binding sites was observed (178 +/- 12 fmol/mg protein), whereas a 60% decrease was measured in hypoprolactinemia (55 +/- 5 vs. control 133 +/- 5 fmol/mg protein). Plasma T levels were increased in 4-day and 4-week hyperprolactinemic animals (4.3 +/- 0.4 and 3.9 +/- 0.4 ng/ml, respectively), but returned to normal levels in the 8-week group (3.0 +/- 0.5 vs. C: 2.3 +/- 0.2 ng/ml). No T modifications were observed in hypoprolactinemic animals. Two distinct populations of Leydig cells (I and II) were obtained by centrifugation of dispersed testicular cells on a 0-45% continuous Metrizamide gradient. Both possess LH/hCG binding sites. However, the T production from Leydig cells of population II increased in the presence of hCG, whereas that of cell population I which also contain immature germinal cells did not respond. The basal and stimulated T secretions from cell populations I and II obtained from CB-treated animals were similar to controls, whereas from 4 days to 8 weeks of hyperprolactinemia, basal and hCG induced T productions from cell population II decreased progressively. These data show that hyperprolactinemia causes, in a time-dependent manner, a trophic effect on the density of LH/hCG testicular receptors; reduces basal and hCG-stimulated T production from isolated Leydig cells type II; and results in an elevated plasma T concentration which decreases with time. The latter suggests a slower T catabolism and/or an impaired peripheral conversion of T into 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Although hypoprolactinemia is associated with a marked reduction in testicular LH receptors, it does not affect T production.     

Role of carbohydrate in human chorionic gonadotropin: Deglycosylation uncouples hormone-receptor complex and adenylate cyclase system

Previous work has shown that deglycosylation of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) does not affect its receptor binding characteristics, but its ability to stimulate intracellular cyclic AMP accumulation and steroidogenesis in ovarian cells is abolished. To identify the site at which carbohydrate of hCG is involved in the mechanism of action of the hormone, we have studied adenylate cyclase activity in ovarian membrane preparations in response to deglycosylated and native hCG. The deglycosylated hCG does not stimulate adenylate cyclase of ovarian membrane preparation and also it acts as an inhibitor of hCG action. Data are presented to show that both hCG- and catecholamine receptors are coupled to the same adenylate cyclase complex. Since adenylate cyclase activity in the presence of deglycosylated hCG remains still responsive maximally to catecholamines, it indicates that the adenylate cyclase complex is functional and is unaffected by the interaction of deglycosylated hCG to its receptor. This is further supported by the fact that the deglycosylated hCG does not impair the maximal stimulation of adenylate cyclase by guanine nucleotides. Thus, the site of action of the carbohydrate of hCG is prior to the coupling of the hormone-receptor complex and the adenylate cyclase system.     

Undescended testis: comparison of two protocols of treatment with human chorionic gonadotropin. Effect on testicular descent and hormonal response

A randomized study of two protocols of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) treatment was performed in 183 prepubertal boys between 7 months and 12 years of age: protocol I, in which the boys were given 7 injections of 1,500 IU every other day, and protocol II consisting of 4 injections of 100 IU/kg at 4- to 5-day intervals. In both protocols, by the end of the test, testosterone had risen significantly to values within the normal adult male range. However, the amplitude of the rise was slightly but significantly lower using protocol II (4.08 +/- 2.07 ng/ml) than protocol I (5.16 +/- 2.73 ng/ml). It would thus appear that repetition of the hCG injection at intervals of less than 4 days is unnecessary, and that a total stimulation period of 2-3 weeks is sufficient. Although not correlated with testosterone levels, the success rates for treatment were similar in both protocols and comparable to rates reported in the literature.