In:
Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 333, No. 6050 ( 2011-09-23), p. 1761-1764
Abstract:
Human fertilization begins when spermatozoa bind to the extracellular matrix coating of the oocyte, known as the zona pellucida (ZP). One spermatozoan then penetrates this matrix and fuses with the egg cell, generating a zygote. Although carbohydrate sequences on the ZP have been implicated in sperm binding, the nature of the ligand was unknown. Here, ultrasensitive mass spectrometric analyses revealed that the sialyl-Lewis x sequence [NeuAcα2-3Galβ1-4(Fucα1-3)GlcNAc], a well-known selectin ligand, is the most abundant terminal sequence on the N- and O-glycans of human ZP. Sperm-ZP binding was largely inhibited by glycoconjugates terminated with sialyl-Lewis x sequences or by antibodies directed against this sequence. Thus, the sialyl-Lewis x sequence represents the major carbohydrate ligand for human sperm-egg binding.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0036-8075
,
1095-9203
DOI:
10.1126/science.1207438
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
2011
detail.hit.zdb_id:
128410-1
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2066996-3
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2060783-0
SSG:
11