PROTEIN CHEMICAL STUDIES OF THE FORMS OF HCG

该项目的目标是应用蛋白质化学来增强我们的 了解hCG结晶形式的性质，以产生 用于三维研究的适当折叠的hCG受体片段， 并测定血清和尿液中hCG代谢产物的结构 用于生殖疾病的诊断。激素代谢 产品已被证明在病理状态不同，我们打算 确定这些代谢物的结构，以改进其测量 以及对他们与正常和异常的关系的理解 physiology. 这个项目结合了我们的化学能力， 用我们的能力分析微量蛋白质的结构 开发和应用测定这些蛋白质的方法。 该计划的一个主要主题是与 项目II和III致力于生产正确折叠的细胞外 CG受体用于研究受体结构 接口.第二个主要主题是确定hCG的结构， hLH代谢物作为正常妊娠、妊娠疾病和 绝经第三个是开发一个非人类灵长类动物的早期模型， 妊娠丢失，EPL（化学检测妊娠丢失，无任何 妊娠的临床证据）。后一个问题，导致 人类生育率下降是一个主要的社会问题，因为它可能导致 暴露在环境毒素中我们的具体目标是：（1） 进行与三维结构相关的蛋白质化学研究 促性腺激素及其受体的结构（2）分离和鉴定 测定正常孕妇hCG和hLH的形态结构 女性、宫外孕女性、排卵期女性 诱导和绝经后妇女;和（3）开发和雇用灵长类动物 用于生殖毒理学研究的模型。

The goals of this project are to apply protein chemistry to enhance our understanding of the nature of the crystallized form of hCG, to produce a properly folded hCG receptor fragment for three dimensional studies, and to determine the structures in serum and urine of hCG metabolites useful for diagnosis of diseases of reproduction. Hormone metabolic products have been shown to vary in pathological states and we intend to define the structures of such metabolites to improve their measurement and the understanding of their relationship to normal and abnormal physiology. This project combines our chemical capabilities to purify and structurally analyze minute quantities of proteins with our ability to develop and apply assays for measurement of these proteins. One major theme of this program is the collaborative studies with Projects II and III in an effort to produce properly-folded extracellular CG receptors for studies of the structure of the hormone-receptor interface. A second major theme is to determine the structures of hCG and hLH metabolites as markers of normal pregnancy, diseases of pregnancy and menopause. A third is to develop a nonhuman primate model of early pregnancy loss, EPL (loss of a chemically-detected pregnancy without any clinical evidence of pregnancy). The latter problem, resulting in a decline in human fertility, is a major social concern since it can result from exposure to environmental toxins. Our specific aims are to: (1) Perform Protein Chemical Studies Related to the Three-Dimensional Structures of the Gonadotropins and Their Receptors; (2) Isolate and determine the structures of forms of hCG and hLH from normal pregnant women, women with ectopic pregnancies, women undergoing ovulation induction and postmenopausal women; and (3) Develop and employ a primate model for the study of reproductive toxicology.