Abstract
The significant fluorescence enhancement of 1-anilino-naphthyl-8-sulfonate when bound to an intact hCG, but not to its individual subunits provides a sensitive and effective method to monitor the dissociation-association of the hCG subunits. In an attempt to study the role of carbohydrate in the association of the subunits, deglycosylated hCG subunits were prepared by treatment with anhydrous HF-anisole then by incubation of hCG with 6M guanidine-HCl and separation by a gel permeation HPLC in 0.1 M NH4OAc-HOAc, pH 4.0. The subunits of deglycosylated hCG reassociated tenfold faster than those of unmodified subunits. Studies on the reassociation of modified and unmodified subunits revealed that the deglycosylated α-subunit reassociated with either intact or deglycosylated β-subunit at a rate significantly faster than the intact α-subunit with intact or deglycosylated β-subunit. These results have demonstrated that carbohydrate moieties in the α-subunit dominate the reassociation behavior of hCG. Since hCG is implicated in precocious puberty, the elucidation of the functional properties of the two subunits of hCG and a potent antagonist like its deglycosylated derivative may offer promising alternatives in the treatment of this disorder.
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Chang, C., Yang, D., Brown, J. et al. THE ROLE OF CARBOHYDRATE IN THE ASSOCIATION OF HCG SUBUNITS. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 245 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00469
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00469