Marcin Skowronek, Dorota Bartusik-Aebisher and David Aebisher
Medical College of The University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland

Part of the book: The Biochemical Guide to Hormones

Abstract

Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) is the first hormone to be included in the group of pregnancy hormones as early as 1928. Many recent studies on human chorionic gonadotropin hCG prove that this hormone plays an essential role in the correct implantation of the fetus and the further development of pregnancy. It is presumed that, as it is during pregnancy, hCG acts as a regulator of cell formation and apoptosis, contributing to the development of immune tolerance of the mother’s organism to the fetus and tumor antigens. During tumor development, hCG may show various counter-positive effects. A thorough understanding of the function of the chorionic gonadotropin can lead to many modern medical applications of this hormone. Understanding the hCG-mediated pathways should result in the future designation of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for both pregnancy and neoplastic disease.

Keywords: human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Hormones Lutropin (LH), protein kinase C (PKC)

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