Rate of Clearance of Immunoreactive hCG from the Serum of the Pregnant Bonnet Monkey (Macaca Radiata)

The rate of clearance of immunoreactive hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin) from serum in six pregnant and three non-pregnant monkeys was determined by radioimmunoassay, following the i.v. injection of 2 mg of highly purified hCG. The study revealed that the disappearance of hCG takes place in two phases in both groups, an initial fast (197.5 \pm 14.5 min for pregnant and 94 \pm 4.8 min for non-pregnant monkeys) phase, followed by a slow (1230 \pm 62 rain for pregnant and 966 \pm 43 rain for nonpregnant monkeys) phase. The rate of clearance appears to be faster in non-pregnant than in pregnant monkeys