Endocrine Abstracts

There is a plethora of information about the extragonadal expression of gonadotrophin receptors (R), i.e. for LH/hCG and FSH, many of the studies published in high-profile journals. LHCGR has been found to be expressed in almost all organs of the body, and FSHR is expressed in fat and bone tissues, as well as in multiple malignant tumours. On the basis of these findings it has been proposed that direct gonadotrophin action participates in the regulation of extragonadal reproductive organs, bone and fat tissue metabolism in postmenopausal women and in malignant tumour growth. Most of the findings come from single research groups and have not been confirmed by independent investigators. Another problem has been the paucity of good-quality antibodies for gonadotrophin receptors and the reluctance of the investigators to share their reagents with others. Furthermore, methodological problems of many of the reports are a concern. I will present in this talk some of our own findings on the topic, as well as a critical evaluation of the current stage of the saga of extragonadal gonadotrophin action.