Molecular interactions during pregnancy
Open Access
- 1 June 1996
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Molecular Human Reproduction
- Vol. 2 (6) , 463-465
- https://doi.org/10.1093/molehr/2.6.463
Abstract
The placental expression of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) I- and β-subunits was investigated in eight pregnancies presenting with trisomy 18 and in 30 normal pregnancies at 11–15 weeks gestation. In the control group, the median densitometric scores of placental β-HCG and I-HCG mRNA were 1.23 and 1.74 respectively. In the trisomy 18 group the median β-HCG mRNA was significantly lower (0.16, Z = 2.29, PZ = 1.75, P = 0.08) was not significantly different from normal. These findings suggest that in trisomy 18 the decrease in maternal serum concentration of HCG subunits results from an impairment in the transcription of the corresponding gene which affects the β subunit to a greater extent than the I subunit.Keywords
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