title: Recent aspects of mammalian fertilization research.
abstract: Mammalian fertilization has been the subject of intensified research in recent times. Application of recombinant DNA, transgenic and gene targeting technology, in particular, to issues in mammalian fertilization has revolutionized the field. Here, we present some of the latest results coming from application of these and other technologies to four aspects of mammalian fertilization: 1. formation of the egg zona pellucida (ZP) during oocyte growth; 2. species-specific binding of sperm to the egg zona pellucida; 3. induction of the sperm acrosome reaction (AR) by the egg zona pellucida 4. binding of sperm to and fusion with egg plasma membrane. In virtually every instance, new information and new insights have come from relatively recent investigations.
authors.affiliation: Brookdale Department of Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Annenberg 25-22, Box 1020, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA. paul.wassarman@mssm.edu
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Wassarman
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jovine
authors.forename: Huayu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Zev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Costel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Darie
authors.forename: Eveline S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Litscher
mesh_terms: D020101:Acrosome Reaction / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008322:Mammals; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000502:physiology*