Bio-assay of Antisera Against Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

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Abstract
A bio-assay for antiserum against human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) based upon the inhibition of the uterine response to HCG in the immature female rat has been developed. Duplicate assays show that results are reproducible; between 5 and 40 IU of HCG, there is a direct correlation between the amount of HCG administered and the amount of antiserum needed to inhibit it, indicating that the antibody and antigen are combining in definite proportions. At the effective dose level of antiserum an increment in dosage of 20% will depress the uterine weight from the HCG control level to the level of uninjected controls. We conclude that this assay is accurate and sufficiently sensitive to be practical. The rat unit of antiserum against HCG is denned as the reciprocal of the smallest amount of antiserum needed to produce a statistically significant decrease in the uterine weight response to 20 IU of HCG. (Endocrinology76: 20, 1965)