The goal of Dr. Blithe's research is to elucidate the structure and function of the carbohydrate moieties associated with pregnancy-related hormones. For one aspect of her research she is studying the oligosaccharide structures on human chorionic gonadotropic (hCG) and free alpha-subunits in order to determine the contribution of specific oligosaccharides to the functions of these molecules. These efforts are also expected to generate information about the regulation of glycosylation during pregnancy as well as to provide ways to distinguish aberrant structures in diseases of pregnancy. It is already known that the N-glycans of glycoprotein hormones contain a variety of terminal residues which are involved in targeting and clearance of the hormones. Modifications of the oligosaccharides have the potential of affecting all aspects of hormone action, including receptor binding and signal transduction. But, the underlying regulatory mechanisms of these hormones is not yet known. Analyses already completed in collaboration with Dr. Reinhold have implicated unique functions for specific glycans and have suggested that certain modifications influence the formation of the heterodimeric hormone. Differences related to gestational age have also been detected. Future studies will involve continued characterization of these glycans along with peptide and glycopeptide mapping as part of Dr. Blithe's efforts to determine which glycoprocessing enzymes are under developmental regulation.
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