Regulation of Luteinizing Hormone / Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Receptor Expression: A Perspective *

The luteinizing hormone / human chorionic gonadotropin receptor (LH/hCG receptor), a member of the G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family mediates the cellular actions of LH in the ovary. A considerable amount of information regarding its structure, mechanism of activation and regulation of expression has emerged in recent years. Here we provide a brief overview of the current information on the structural organization of the receptor and the mechanism of receptor mediated signaling, as well as an in-depth discussion on recent developments pertaining to the regulation of receptor expression. Specifically, we describe studies from our laboratory showing that the post-transcriptional regulation of the receptor involves a LH/hCG receptor mRNA binding protein. We also propose a model to explain the loss of steady state LH/hCG receptor mRNA levels during receptor down-regulation.