BIOCHEMISTRY - KSRCAS

HCG and Hyperglycosylated hCG Carbohydrate Structure Corrected

The O-linked and N-linked oligosaccharide structures of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has been studied very thoroughly by multiple groups. It has been studied by glycosidase digestion methods, by gel filtration oligosaccharide separation, by Dionex oligosaccharide-specific HPLC, and by mass spectrometry methods. All oligosaccharide structures found on hCG and hyperglycosylated hCG by these investigators(NM, NNF and NNF biantennary N-linked structures, NNM, NNN, NNNF triantennary N-linked structures, Bi, Tetra1, Tri1 and Tri2 Type 1 O-linked oligosaccharides, and Tetra2, Hexa, Penta1 and Penta 2 Type 2 O-linked oligosaccharides).   The problem is that none of these reports show the separate carbohydrate structure of the hormone hCG. All reports show structure of a invariable mixture of the hormone hCG and a completely independent molecule, the autocrine hyperglycosylated hCG. Yes, it is only in recent years, after most of these carbohydrate structure projects were completed, that the presence of two separate molecules in pregnancy, a hormone and an autocrine, has been demonstrated.

Gout Diagnosis

To diagnose gout, the doctor will take a patient's medical history, examine the affected joint and do a blood test. He or she will also ask about:

Other symptoms

What medications the patient is taking The patient's diet How quickly and intensely the gout attack came on Details of the attack the doctor is looking for: severity of pain, length of attack and joints affected. The doctor will need to rule out other potential causes of joint pain and inflammation such as infection, injury or another type of arthritis. He will take a blood test to measure the level of uric acid in your blood. A high level of uric acid in your blood doesn’t necessarily mean you have gout, just as a normal level doesn’t mean you don’t have it. He may take an X-ray, ultrasound, CT or MRI to examine soft tissue and bone. The doctor might also remove fluid from the affected joint and examine it under a microscope for uric acid crystals. Finding uric acid crystals in the joint fluid is the surest way to make a gout diagnosis.

By

Chandrasekharan

III B.Sc.,

Department of Biochemistry