Zona pellucida glycoproteins.
All mammalian eggs are surrounded by a relatively thick extracellular coat, the zona pellucida, that plays vital roles during oogenesis, fertilization, and preimplantation development. The mouse zona pellucida consists of three glycoproteins that are synthesized solely by growing oocytes and assemble into long fibrils that constitute a matrix. Zona pellucida glycoproteins are responsible for species-restricted binding of sperm to unfertilized eggs, inducing sperm to undergo acrosomal exocytosis, and preventing sperm from binding to fertilized eggs. Many features of mammalian and non-mammalian egg coat polypeptides have been conserved during several hundred million years of evolution.
Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029-6574, USA. paul.wassarman@mssm.edu
Paul M
PM
Wassarman
D000177:Acrosome / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D010064:Embryo Implantation / Q000502:physiology*; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000378:metabolism*
D006023:Glycoproteins