Human follicle-stimulating hormone glycoform abundance during the normal menstrual cycle in women

Abstract

Human FSH exists as two major glycoforms, tetra-glycosylated and di-glycosylated hFSH. Tetra-glycosylated FSH possesses both α and β subunit carbohydrates while di-glycosylated hFSH possesses only α subunit carbohydrates. Western blotting differentiated the glycosylated, 24 kDa hFSHβ band from the non-glycosylated 21kDa FSHβ band. As part of the laboratory-wide effort to define glycoform abundance in individual humans, FSH was isolated from pituitaries. The findings from this assay were combined with previous data from individual human pituitaries showing the highest abundance of di-glycosylated hFSH in the youngest individuals, intermediate variation in perimenopausal individuals, and low abundance in post menopausal women.