Zona Pellucida (ZP) domains have been found in a wide variety of extracellular proteins, in which they play essential role for polymerization. They are shared by the ZP proteins, which constitute the extracellular coat of animal eggs. Except from ZP3, constituting the primary sperm receptor, the ZP proteins possess, in addition to their C-terminal ZP domains, N-terminal extensions, which are th...

Zomepirac (ZP), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that was withdrawn from use, is metabolized to zomepirac-1-O-acyl-glucuronide (ZP-1-O-G), a chemically reactive conjugate that has been implicated in the toxicity of the drug. In the present studies, we investigated the ability of ZP to become bioactivated to reactive metabolites that transacylate glutathione (GSH) forming ZP-S-acyl-glutathi...

Objective: The general patient condition, oocyte and embryo condition and clinical outcomes were studied in patients with a morphologically abnormal zona pellucida (ZP). Methods: The general embryo condition was compared between patients with a morphologically abnormal ZP or a normal ZP. The general embryo conditions in the first and subsequent cycles were compared in patients with a morphologi...

BACKGROUND The ability of sperm to interact with the zona pellucida (ZP) plays a critical role during the process of human fertilization. The aim of this study is to determine frequency of defective sperm-ZP interaction in oligozoospermic infertile men. METHODS Sperm-ZP binding assays and the ZP-induced acrosome reaction (AR) were performed in 72 infertile men with a sperm concentration <20 x...

where C+F(R9 p) denotes the singular chains of F(R , p), and Zp{q) denotes the Ip-module Zp with 2P-action a • x = ( l) x for xeZp and a e Zp ( ( 1) S(<T) is the sign of a). Since the Enaction on F(R, p) is proper, we may identify H*(HomEp(C^F(« , p) ; Zp(2g))) with H*(B(R ,p); Zp) [5]. By abuse of notation we denote H*(Hom2 ( Q F ^ p ) ; Zp(g))) by H*(B(R\p);Zp(q)). The interest in H*(B(R, p) ...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between human sperm hyperactivation (HA), sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) binding and the ZP-induced acrosome reaction (AR) of ZP-bound sperm in vitro. METHODS Sperm samples from 129 infertile men were studied. Motile sperm (2 x 10(6)) selected by Pure sperm were incubated with four oocytes in 1 ml human tubal fluid supplemented wit...

In porcine oocytes, the function of the zona pellucida (ZP) with regard to sperm penetration or prevention of polyspermy is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the ZP on sperm penetration during in vitro fertilization (IVF). We collected in vitro-matured oocytes with a first polar body (ZP+ oocytes). Some of them were freed from the ZP (ZP- oocytes) by two ...

The oocyte maturation includes nuclear maturation and cytoplasmic maturation before fertilization. Moreover, the oocyte nucleus, the cytoplasm and other cell organelles occur changes, zona pellucida (ZP) synchronously undergoes biochemical and structural modifications in the final maturation phase of oocyte prior to fertilization (ZP maturation). It is reported that ZP modifications, such as gl...

This paper proves that, for any generator x ∈ Ext A (Zp, Zp), if (1L ∧ i)∗φ∗(x) ∈ Ext A (H ∗L ∧ M,Zp) is a permanent cycle in the Adams spectral sequence (ASS), then h0x ∈ Ext A (Zp, Zp) also is a permenent cycle in the ASS. As an application, the paper obtains that h0hnhm ∈ Ext3,pnq+pmq+q A (Zp, Zp) is a permanent cycle in the ASS and it converges to elements of order p in the stable homotopy ...

BACKGROUND The zona pellucida (ZP) is an extracellular glycoprotein matrix which surrounds all mammalian oocytes. Recent data have shown the presence of four human zona genes (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3 and ZPB). The aim of the study was to determine if all four ZP proteins are expressed and present in the human. METHODS cDNA derived from human oocytes were used to amplify by PCR the four ZP genes. In add...