What is β-HCG?

The β-subunit of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin(β-HCG) is the "pregnancy test" hormone familiar to and most frequently used by obstetricians and gynaecologists. It consists of α- and β-dimeric glycoproteins, but the α-subunit is common to anterior pituitary hormones and the β-subunit is specific to HCG, which is produced in its entirety by the syncytiotrophoblast layer of the placental chorionic villi. Its main function is to stimulate the corpus luteum, favouring the sustained secretion of oestrogen and progesterone in order to promote the formation of the uterine metamorphosis and the growth and maturation of the placenta.

β-HCG is usually produced during pregnancy. β-HCG is produced by placental cells, whose primary function is to maintain the function of the corpus luteum, thereby inducing it to produce enough progesterone (e.g., progesterone) to sustain a pregnancy. In addition, β-HCG can be used as a biomarker to detect pregnancy.

Clinical application of β-HCG

Clinically, β-HCG can generally be detected in blood or urine 7 to 8 days after fertilisation.In normal early pregnancy, blood β-HCG grows rapidly, with a doubling time of 1.7 to 2 days, and urine and blood levels of HCG are close to each other with mild diurnal fluctuations, which are generally measured using the first urine or blood specimen of the morning.

Specific clinical applications of β-HCG are shown below:

① β-HCG is a biomarker of early pregnancy: it usually begins to rise within a few days of the fertilised egg's implantation and continues to rise during pregnancy. For this reason, β-HCG testing is commonly used to confirm pregnancy and to assess the persistence of a pregnancy.

② The rising curve of β-HCG levels can be used to assess the persistence of a pregnancy. Typically, in a normal pregnancy, beta-hCG levels double every two days. If β-HCG levels do not increase or increase slowly, this may suggest a pregnancy complication, such as an ectopic pregnancy.

③ β-HCG levels can be used to estimate the duration of a pregnancy and are often combined with information such as β-HCG levels and ultrasound to more accurately determine the week of gestation.

④ In addition to pregnancy, β-HCG levels may also be elevated or lowered in association with other diseases and conditions, such as synovial choroidal sarcoma or testicular cancer.

⑤ The level of β-HCG and the absence of ultrasound signs of intrauterine pregnancy predict pregnancy of unknown location (PUO), especially tubal pregnancy.

⑥ β-HCG levels determine abnormal pregnancies, placental function, and for diagnostic and therapeutic monitoring of trophoblastic tumours.

Factors affecting β-HCG

Specific clinical applications of β-HCG are shown below:

Normal physiological response

Gestational trophoblastic disease

Ovarian germ cell tumour

Paraneoplastic syndromes in certain tumours

Pituitary HCG

(Lack of sex steroid-induced hypothalamic feedback and elevated LH levels in postmenopausal women lead to gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which causes the pituitary gland to produce large amounts of β-HCG)

False positive pregnancy due to heterophilic antibodies

Early pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy

Summary

β-HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy and is commonly used to confirm pregnancy and assess the persistence of pregnancy as well as being important for early pregnancy diagnosis and valuable in the diagnosis, differentiation and observation of the course of pregnancy-related diseases, trophoblastic tumours and other diseases.

The ReLIA β-HCG Immunoassay is CE-marked cleared. For more details on ReLIA β-HCG Immunoassay products and prices please contact us at  marketing@ReLIAchina.com

References

[1] XU Xiao-You, LU Shi-Ming. Existence of human chorionic gonadotropin in the body and its clinical application [J]. Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine ,2005,26(11):815-818.

[2] Wang Xuping, et al. Progress of clinical application of human chorionic gonadotropin[J]. Pharmacy Service and Research,2010,10(3):185-187.

[3] Nong JH. Progress of human chorionic gonadotropin detection and clinical application. Journal of Qiqihar Medical College,2010,31(23):3789,3791.

[4] Liang Jirong, et al. Clinical diagnostic significance of serum progesterone and HCG testing in preeclampsia[J]. Chinese Journal of Eugenics and Genetics, 2007, 15(1):65-67.

[5] Stenman U H , Alfthan H , H otakainen K .Human chorionic gonadotropin in cancer[J] .C lin Bioch em , 2004, 37(7): 549-561.

[6] Varela-Cives R, Bau tis ta-C asasn ovas A , Gude F , et a l. The predictive value of inguinal herniog raphy for th e diagnosis and treatmen t of cry pto rchidism[J] .J U rol , 2000, 163 ( 3) : 964-967.

[7] PENG Shi-Wei, TAN Bu-Zhen. Progress of human chorionic gonadotropin in the diagnosis of pregnancy-related diseases [J]. Modern Obstetrics and Gynaecology,2007,16(12):934-935.

[8] Xia Junxia . Correlation of maternal serum β-HCG and uE3 with hypertensive syndrome of pregnancy[J]. Guangdong Medicine, 2005, 26( 8):1083-1085.