STUDIES ON THE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF VARIOUS GONADOTROPHIN PREPARATIONS

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Several gonadotrophin preparations from different sources have been investigated for biological activity using a number of assay methods including highly specific tests for both follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). In the great majority of assays the results obtained were expressed in terms of the International Reference Preparation (I.R.P.). The FSH activity of NIH-FSH was seventy times higher and its LH activity thirty times higher than that of the I.R.P. The specific activity of NIH-LH was high, the material being approx. 2000 times more potent than the I.R.P. Material prepared from human pituitary tissue contained the highest FSH activity of any preparation tested. Its LH activity was considerably lower than that of NIH-LH. Pergonal had ten times more FSH and five times more LH activity than the I.R.P. Pregnant mares' serum gonadotrophin contained, in addition to its FSH activity, a considerable amount of LH activity, the ratio FSH/LH being 2.10. The international standard for human chorionic gonadotrophin was shown to be a relatively weak LH preparation, being only slightly more active than the I.R.P. Results obtained by the mouse uterus test did not appear to bear any constant relationship to results obtained by specific methods for either FSH or LH.