Modifications of the lectin binding pattern in the rat zona pellucida after in vivo fertilization

Essential role of ZP molecules in tubal transport of embryos in mice

“…Mouse ZP2 and ZP3 contain N-linked polylactsominyl glycans (Nagdas et al, 1994;Easton et al, 2000). Sugar chains included in the mammalian ZP have been widely studied, with an emphasis on their potential roles in sperm-egg interaction at fertilization (Florman et al, 1984;Macek and Shur, 1988;Miller et al, 1992;Aviles et al, 1994Aviles et al, , 1996Aviles et al, , 1997Aviles et al, , 1999Aviles et al, , 2000Hinsch et al, 1994aHinsch et al, ,b, 1997Hinsch et al, , 1998aMaymon et al, 1994;Skutelsky et al, 1994;Oehninger et al, 1996;Takasaki et al, 1999;Mori et al, 2000;Mwanza et al, 2000a,b). Skutelsky et al (1994) demonstrated that the distribution of ZP carbohydrates from oocytes of different mammals are different.…”

“…The ZP3 protein is responsible for species speci®c binding of spermatozoa to the ZP and for the induction of the acrosome reaction (Wassarman, 1990;Saling, 1991). Thus, important roles of ZP glycoproteins in the process of fertilization by mediating secondary sperm binding to mammalian oocytes have been well documented (Aviles et al, 1994(Aviles et al, , 1996(Aviles et al, , 1997(Aviles et al, , 1999(Aviles et al, , 2000Yanagimachi, 1994;Moreno et al, 1998Moreno et al, , 1999. Moreover, the roles of sugar components, such as hexose, sialic acid, and sulfate including ZP glycoproteins, in sperm-egg interaction have been investigated (Noguchi et al, 1994;Saxena et al, 1999;Chapman et al, 2000).…”

Sialylation: fate decision of mammalian sperm development, fertilization, and male fertility

“…Sialic acid–rich glycoconjugates are released around the oocyte after fertilization [202]. After enzyme treatment, the labeling of cortical granules with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) antibodies decreased, but the WGA labeling inside ZP increased [203]. These changes in WGA labeling may be a consequence of cortical reaction, leading to the release of corresponding lectin groups.…”