title: Membrane and cortical abnormalities in post-ovulatory aged eggs: analysis of fertilizability and establishment of the membrane block to polyspermy.
abstract: Fertilization at increased times after ovulation is associated with poor reproductive outcomes. This study examines the effects of post-ovulatory ageing on egg membrane function through analyses of mouse eggs collected at 13 and 22 h post-HCG ('young' and 'aged' eggs, respectively). Experiments in which fertilized zona pellucida-free young and aged eggs are challenged with additional sperm reveal that aged eggs are less able to establish a membrane block to prevent polyspermy, since sperm penetrate 24% of fertilized aged eggs but are unable to penetrate fertilized young eggs. This is not due to a failure of aged eggs to respond to fertilization, as the extent of sperm-induced cortical granule exocytosis is similar in aged and young eggs. Post-ovulatory ageing also affects egg membrane receptivity to sperm as a subset of zona pellucida-free aged eggs are slow to fertilize or resistant to fertilization. Sperm binding to young and aged eggs is similar, but aged eggs develop cytoskeletal abnormalities that may affect membrane/cortical function, such as the ability of the egg membrane to support sperm-egg fusion. These data demonstrate that the poor reproductive outcomes associated with post-ovulatory ageing could be a result of reduced fertilization, due to reduced egg membrane receptivity to sperm, or a result of increased incidence of polyspermy, due to the reduced ability to establish a membrane block to polyspermy. This analysis of egg membrane function deficiencies provides insights into post-ovulatory ageing and has implications for assisted reproductive technologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Reproductive Biology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Genevieve B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Wortzman
authors.forename: Janice P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism; D005089:Exocytosis; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010060:Ovulation; D010063:Ovum / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000378:metabolism*