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Immunochemical and Biological Characteristics of a Human Autoantibody to Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Luteinizing Hormone^*

Istituto di 2 Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica (A.P., I.C., G.S., R.D.G., L.C.) and Dipartimento di Biopatologia Umana (A.P., R.S.), Università di Roma "La Sapienza" Rome, Italy

Address requests for reprints to: Prof. Alessandro Pala, Istituto di 2 Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Università di Roma, "La Sapienza," Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy.

Anti-hCG/LH autoantibodies were found in the serum of an infertile woman a few days after an abortion which occurred after 46 days of amenorrhea. The antibody titer increased for approximately 4 more weeks, and then declined to low levels during a 14-month anovulatory period, after which regular menses resumed. Immunoglobulins isolated from a pool of serum obtained during the postabortion period neutralized the activity of both hCG and LH in an in vivo bioassay, and the binding affinity of the antibodies toward both hormones was high. When menses were resumed, there was a considerable reduction of the affinity toward LH. The variations in antibody titers and/or affinities can explain the sequence of fertilization, abortion, anovulatory period, and normalization of menses.

^* This work was partially supported by the "Progetto Finalizzato Medicina Preventive e Riabilitativa" of the Italian National Research Council.

Received December 28, 1987.

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