In order to study the three-dimensional topographic arrangement of the oocyte and zona pellucida, follicular cells and follicle microvasculature, this study applied alkali maceration methods for tissue exposure, the ruthenium red-detergent method for the extracellular matrix visualization, and the vascular corrosion cast technique to rabbits, guinea-pigs and mice ovaries at different stages of ...

Fertilization requires taxon-specific gamete recognition, and human sperm do not bind to zonae pellucidae (ZP1-3) surrounding mouse eggs. Using transgenesis to replace endogenous mouse proteins with human homologues, gain-of-function sperm-binding assays were established to evaluate human gamete recognition. Human sperm bound only to zonae pellucidae containing human ZP2, either alone or coexpr...

Gamete recognition in the mouse is mediated by galactosyltransferase (GalTase) on the sperm surface, which binds to its appropriate glycoside substrate in the egg zona pellucida (Lopez, L. C., E. M. Bayna, D. Litoff, N. L. Shaper, J. H. Shaper, and B. D. Shur, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 101:1501-1510). GalTase has been localized by indirect immunofluorescence to the dorsal surface of the anterior spe...

This work was designed to investigate the fine structures of the rat and the rabbit blastocysts with both transmission and scanning electron micro scopes. The cells of the trophoblast form a single layer beneath the intact zona pellucida and the inner cell mass and blastocystic cavity are formed. In the blastocyst on day 5 to 6 of pregnancy, the trophoblast cells were differentiated from the in...

In mammals, immature oocytes are surrounded by a layer of flattened cells. At this early stage of development, these "follicle cells" and the plasma membrane of the oocyte are in close proximity. As the oocyte matures, the follicle cells multiply and become cuboidal or radially elongated, and a jelly-like substance containing polysaccharides (1) appears between the oocyte cortex and the follicl...

BACKGROUND Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a component of infertility treatment often employed when conventional in vitro fertilization is unlikely to be successful. Despite good clinical results with ICSI, the procedure is typically associated with degeneration of a significant percentage (approximately 10%) of the treated oocytes. The cause of this degeneration remains unclear. Spe...

The cDNA and derived amino acid sequences for the two major non-collagenous proteins of the mouse tectorial membrane, alpha- and beta-tectorin, are presented. The cDNA for alpha-tectorin predicts a protein of 239,034 Da with 33 potential N-glycosylation sites, and that of beta-tectorin a smaller protein of 36,074 Da with 4 consensus N-glycosylation sites. Southern and Northern blot analysis ind...

Abortions and the economic losses they bring about is an important issue in sheep and goat husbandary. Despite many studies conducted on sheep and goats, the underlying reasons behind abortions could not be identified. In the present study, the role of immunologic factors in abortions seen among sheep and goats has been evaluated. The frequencies of anti-sperm antibodies (ASA), anti-zona pelluc...

Sulpholipid immobilizing protein 1 (SLIP1) is an evolutionarily conserved 68 kDa plasma membrane protein, present selectively in germ cells. We have previously shown that mouse sperm SLIP1 is involved in sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) binding. In this report, we extended our study to the human system. Immunoblotting demonstrated that anti-SLIP1-reactive proteins (mol. wt 68 and 48 kDa) could be extr...

Lifestyle factors, such as weight and nutritional status may affect male fertility, including sperm fertilization ability. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and sperm-zona pellucida binding ability assessed according to the zona binding (ZB) test, which has been described to be a relevant diagnostic tool for the prediction of...