Abstract
Gonadotropins are essential for reproduction control in humans as well as in animals. They are widely used all over the world for ovarian stimulation in women, spermatogenesis stimulation in men, and ovulation induction and superovulation in animals. Despite the availability of many different preparations, all are made of the native hormones. Having different ligands with a wide activity range for a given receptor helps better understand its molecular and cellular signaling mechanisms as well as its physiological functions, and thus helps the development of more specific and adapted medicines. One way to control the gonadotropins' activity could be the use of modulating antibodies. Antibodies are powerful tools that were largely used to decipher gonadotropins' actions and they have shown their utility as therapeutics in several other indications such as cancer. In this review, we summarize the inhibitory and potentiating antibodies to gonadotropins, and their potential therapeutic applications.
Highlights
Gonadotropins, namely follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and chorionic gonadotropin (CG) are heterodimeric glycoproteins, constituted by an alpha- and a beta- subunit
ECG originates from uterine endometrial cups and is extracted from pregnant mare serum [39, 40]. eLH and equine CG (eCG) beta-subunits are encoded by a single gene [41] but they differ in glycosylation
With a carbohydrate content higher than 40% [43] and N-glycan chains terminated by sialic acids, eCG is the most heavily glycosylated glycoprotein hormone and has a longer in vivo half-life than other gonadotropins (∼60 h) [44, 45]. eCG binds to LH receptors in equine, but exerts FSH and LH actions in non-equine species by stimulating FSH and LH receptors respectively [46,47,48,49,50,51]
Summary
Elodie Kara 1*, Laurence Dupuy 1, Céline Bouillon 1,2,3,4,5,6, Sophie Casteret 1 and Marie-Christine Maurel 1. Gonadotropins are essential for reproduction control in humans as well as in animals. They are widely used all over the world for ovarian stimulation in women, spermatogenesis stimulation in men, and ovulation induction and superovulation in animals. Having different ligands with a wide activity range for a given receptor helps better understand its molecular and cellular signaling mechanisms as well as its physiological functions, and helps the development of more specific and adapted medicines. One way to control the gonadotropins’ activity could be the use of modulating antibodies. Antibodies are powerful tools that were largely used to decipher gonadotropins’ actions and they have shown their utility as therapeutics in several other indications such as cancer. We summarize the inhibitory and potentiating antibodies to gonadotropins, and their potential therapeutic applications
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
