Generation of antisera against mouse and human synthetic ZP3 peptides

The ZP3 protein is a zona pellucida glycoprotein which plays a major role in sperm binding and induction of the acrosome reaction. ZP3 proteins occur in various mammalian zonae pellucidae; their primary structures are highly conserved as revealed by cDNA cloning. We generated antisera against synthetic peptides that are specific either for mouse ZP3 (AS ZP3-9) or for human ZP3 (AS ZP3-14). The antisera specifically recognized their respective peptide employed as immunogen and did not cross-react with control peptides. AS ZP3-9 detected ZP3 protein in isolated mouse zona pellucida and oocytes, whereas AS ZP3-14 did not react with proteins in murine egg cells or zona pellucida. Our results indicate that antisera against synthetic ZP3 peptides can be used as specific markers for the identification of individual ZP3 proteins in mouse and human oocytes. The antisera might be useful tools for the evaluation of ZP3 location and function.