Invitrogen™ Chorionic Gonadotropin Monoclonal Antibody (FB12), eBioscience™, Invitrogen™

Mouse Monoclonal Antibody

This FB12 MAb reacts with human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG). This secreted glycoprotein is composed of an alpha subunit, which is common to other peptide hormones such as luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and a beta subunit which determines the specificity of the hormone. FB12 recognizes both the intact hCG (composed of the alpha and beta subunits) as well as the free beta subunit, highly expressed in both choriocarcinoma and the serum of pregnant women. hCG is normally expressed by trophoblastoid cells (syncytiotrophoblasts and extravillous cytotrophoblasts) that are responsible for maintenance of the corpus luteum during early gestation. hCG plays an important role in the regulation of angiogenesis through activation of the PI3K/mTOR pathway, resulting in upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Ectoptic expression of hCG has also been reported in multiple types of cancer (bladder, lung, breast, pancreas, renal).