The presence of glycosylated, biologically active chorionic gonadotropin in human liver

Whole extracts of normal human liver contain hCG-like material as determined by radioimmunoassay using antibodies to the beta subunit of the hormone. However, the extracts are biologically inactive, when analyzed by the in vitro rat Leydig cell assay for steroidogenesis. When subjected to Concanavalin-A-Sepharose chromatography, the radioimmunoassayable material was entirely lectin-bound. After elution with methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, the lectin-bound fractions now displayed biological activity.