ArticleBiology of reproduction2016
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Has Anti-Inflammatory Effects at the Maternal-Fetal Interface and Prevents Endotoxin-Induced Preterm Birth, but Causes Dystocia and Fetal Compromise in Mice.
Article in Biology of reproduction, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Translational interdisciplinary research on human chorionic gonadotropin's enhancement of neuroendocrine crosstalk: a novel medical hypothesis for systemic adjunctive treatment of psychiatric disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Effector and Activated T Cells Induce Preterm Labor and Birth That Is Prevented by Treatment with Progesterone.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2019Trial
- The dual face of human chorionic gonadotropin in the CNS: neuroprotection, signaling, and possible pathological effects.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2026Review
- Human chorionic gonadotropin decreases cerebral cystic encephalomalacia and parvalbumin interneuron degeneration in a pro-inflammatory model of mouse neonatal hypoxia-ischemia.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Human Chorionic Gonadotropin vs. Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4) as a Tocolytic Agent: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Cureus · 2025Article
- The landscape of decidual immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface in parturition and preterm birth.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2025Review
- Of scents and cytokines: How olfactory and food aversions relate to nausea and immunomodulation in early pregnancy.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2025Article
- Decidual macrophage: a reversible role in immunotolerance between mother and fetus during pregnancy.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Review
- Endocrine-disrupting compounds and their impact on human placental function: evidence from placenta organ-on-chip studies.Lab on a chip · 2024Article
- Decidual macrophages and Hofbauer cells in fetal growth restriction.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Myc promotes polyploidy in murine trophoblast cells and suppresses senescence.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
- Macrophage plasticity and function in cancer and pregnancy.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- The Update Immune-Regulatory Role of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines in Recurrent Pregnancy Losses.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- The immunobiology of preterm labor and birth: intra-amniotic inflammation or breakdown of maternal-fetal homeostasis.Reproduction (Cambridge, England) · 2022Review
- IL-22 Plays a Dual Role in the Amniotic Cavity: Tissue Injury and Host Defense against Microbes in Preterm Labor.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2022Article
- Comparison of lncRNA Expression in the Uterus between Periods of Embryo Implantation and Labor in Mice.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines in the First Trimester-Comparison of Missed Miscarriage and Normal Pregnancy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Modulates the Transcriptome of the Myometrium and Cervix in Late Gestation.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2021Article
- Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Related Peptides: Candidate Anti-Inflammatory Therapy in Early Stages of Sepsis.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- A Protocol for Evaluating Vital Signs and Maternal-Fetal Parameters Using High-Resolution Ultrasound in Pregnant Mice.STAR protocols · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is implicated in the maintenance of uterine quiescence by down-regulating myometrial gap junctions during pregnancy, and it was considered as a strategy to prevent preterm birth after the occurrence of preterm labor. However, the effect of hCG on innate and adaptive immune cells implicated in parturition is poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the immune effects of hCG at the maternal-fetal interface during late gestation, and whether this hormone can safely prevent endotoxin-induced preterm birth. Using immunophenotyping, we demonstrated that hCG has immune effects at the maternal-fetal interface (decidual tissues) by: 1) increasing the proportion of regulatory T cells; 2) reducing the proportion of macrophages and neutrophils; 3) inducing an M1 → M2 macrophage polarization; and 4) increasing the proportion of T helper 17 cells. Next, ELISAs were used to determine whether the local immune changes were associated with systemic concentrations of progesterone, estradiol, and/or cytokines (IFNgamma, IL1beta, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL6, IL10, IL12p70, KC/GRO, and TNFalpha). Plasma concentrations of IL1beta, but not progesterone, estradiol, or any other cytokine, were increased following hCG administration. Pretreatment with hCG prevented endotoxin-induced preterm birth by 44%, proving the effectiveness of this hormone as an anti-inflammatory agent. However, hCG administration alone caused dystocia and fetal compromise, as proven by Doppler ultrasound. These results provide insight into the mechanisms whereby hCG induces an anti-inflammatory microenvironment at the maternal-fetal interface during late gestation, and demonstrate its effectiveness in preventing preterm labor/birth. However, the deleterious effects of this hormone on mothers and fetuses warrant caution.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.