Human sperm binding is mediated by the sialyl-Lewis(x) oligosaccharide on the zona pellucida |
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Authors: | Pang Poh-Choo Chiu Philip C N Lee Cheuk-Lun Chang Lan-Yi Panico Maria Morris Howard R Haslam Stuart M Khoo Kay-Hooi Clark Gary F Yeung William S B Dell Anne |
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Institution: | Division of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK. |
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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. |
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