人类精子的结合是由Zona pellucida上的sialyl-Lewis (x) 寡糖介导的
Poh-Choo Pang1, Philip C N Chiu, Cheuk-Lun Lee
1Division of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
概括
利-易斯 (sialyl-Lewis) 碳水化合物序列是精子在人体透明区域 (ZP) 上的主要结合点. 这一发现阐明了人类受精和精子与卵子结合的关键步骤.
科学领域:
- 生殖生物学 生殖生物学
- 葡萄糖生物学 葡萄糖生物学
- 细胞粘附 细胞粘附
背景情况:
- 人类受精涉及精子与透明区域 (ZP) 结合,这是一个环绕卵细胞的细胞外基质.
- 众所周知,ZP上的碳水化合物序列在精子结合中起作用,但特定的连接体尚未确定.
研究的目的:
- 确定主要的碳水化合物连接体,负责精子结合到人体透明区域 (ZP).
主要方法:
- 超灵敏质谱法用于分析人类ZP的终端甘氨酸序列.
- 功能性测试涉及抑制精子-ZP结合,使用sialyl-Lewis(x) 终结型甘氨酸合物和特定抗体.
主要成果:
- 鉴定出sialyl-Lewis(x) 序列[NeuAcα2-3Galβ1-4(Fucα1-3) GlcNAc]是人类ZP N-和O-glycans中最丰富的终端甘氨酸.
- 精子-ZP结合被糖结合物和向利-易斯序列的抗体显著抑制.
结论:
- 利-易斯 (sialyl-Lewis) 序列是主要的碳水化合物连接体,介导人类精子-卵结合到透光区.
- 这一发现为人类受精的分子机制提供了关键的见解.
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