Activation of Xenopus eggs by proteases: possible involvement of a sperm protease in fertilization

Egg activation in cross-fertilization between Xenopus eggs and Cynops sperm may be caused by a protease activity against Boc-Gly-Arg-Arg-MCA in the sperm acrosome. To determine the role of the sperm protease in fertilization, the protease was purified from Cynops sperm using several chromatographic techniques. We found that purified sperm protease readily hydrolyzes Boc-Gly-Arg-Arg-MCA and Z-Arg-Arg-MCA, that protease activity was inhibited by the trypsin inhibitors aprotinin and leupeptin, and that not only the purified protease, but also cathepsin B, induces activation in Xenopus eggs. We inseminated unfertilized Xenopus eggs with homologous sperm in the presence of various peptidyl MCA substrates or protease inhibitors and demonstrated that trypsin inhibitors or MCA substrates containing Arg-Arg-MCA reversibly inhibited fertilization of both fully jellied and denuded eggs. Sperm motility was not affected by the reagents. An extract obtained from Xenopus sperm showed hydrolytic activity against Boc-Gly-Arg-Arg-MCA, Z-Arg-Arg-MCA, and Arg-MCA. These results suggest that the tryptic protease in Xenopus sperm is involved in fertilization, most likely by participating in egg activation.     

Participation of sperm proteasome in fertilization of the phlebobranch ascidian Ciona intestinalis

Sperm proteasomes are thought to be involved in sperm binding to and in sperm penetration through the vitelline coat of the eggs of the stolidobranch ascidian Halocynthia roretzi. However, it is not known whether they are involved in the fertilization of eggs of other ascidians. Therefore, we investigated whether sperm proteasomes are also involved in the fertilization of the eggs of the primitive phlebobranch ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Fertilization of the eggs of C. intestinalis was potently inhibited by the proteasome inhibitors MG115 and MG132 but not by the cysteine protease inhibitor E-64-d. On the other hand, neither fertilization of the vitelline coat-free eggs nor sperm binding to the vitelline coat was inhibited by the two proteasome inhibitors at a concentration sufficient to inhibit fertilization of intact eggs. These results indicate that the proteasome plays an essential role in sperm penetration through the vitelline coat rather than in sperm binding to the coat or in sperm-egg membrane fusion. The proteasome activity, which was detected in the sperm extract using Suc-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-MCA as a substrate, was strongly inhibited by both MG115 and MG132, and was weakly inhibited by chymostatin, whereas neither leupeptin nor E-64-d inhibited the activity. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 600-kDa by Superose 12 gel filtration, and the activity in sperm extract was immunoprecipitated with an anti-proteasome antibody. These results indicate that the proteasome present in sperm of C. intestinalis is involved in fertilization, especially in the process of sperm penetration through the vitelline coat, probably functioning as a lysin. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 50:493–498, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sperm Penetration of the Vitelline Envelope of Sicyonia ingentis Eggs is Mediated by a Trypsin-like Lysin of Acrosomal Vesicle Origin

The sperm of the decapod crustacean Sicyonia ingentis are nonmotile, unistellate cells. At spawning, mated females release both stored sperm and eggs. The sperm bind, via the tip of their anterior appendage, to the egg's vitelline envelope (VE), rapidly undergo acrosomal exocytosis, and penetrate the VE. In the present study we used protease inhibitors to show that sperm penetration of the VE is due to the activity of a sperm trypsin-like protease(s). Sperm extracts contained several proteases when examined using gelatin-substrate SDS-PAGE, with two major bands of relative molecular weight 46 kD and 30 kD. Using fluorescent peptidyl-MCA substrates, sperm extract showed trypsin-like and aminopeptidase-like activities, but no chymotrypsin-like activity. Sperm extracts were found to degrade isolated VEs. Using soybean trypsin inhibitor and anti-inhibitor antibodies, protease was localized at the light and electron microscope levels to the acrosome remnants of reacted sperm.     

Sperm proteasomes are responsible for the acrosome reaction and sperm penetration of the vitelline envelope during fertilization of the sea urchin Pseudocentrotus depressus

The roles of sperm proteasomes in fertilization were investigated in the sea urchin Pseudocentrotus depressus. Two proteasome inhibitors, MG-132 and MG-115, inhibited fertilization at 100 microM, whereas chymostatin and leupeptin showed no inhibition. Among three proteasome substrates, Z-Leu-Leu-Glu-MCA showed the strongest inhibition toward fertilization. MG-132 inhibited the egg-jelly-induced, but not ionomycin-induced, acrosome reaction. In addition, MG-132, but not E-64-d, inhibited fertilization of dejellied eggs by acrosome-reacted sperm. MG-132 showed no significant inhibition toward the binding of reacted sperm to the vitelline layer. Proteasomes were detected by Western blotting in the acrosomal contents, which are partially released upon exocytosis. We also found that the inhibition pattern of the caspase-like activity of the proteasome in the acrosomal contents by chymostatin and proteasome inhibitors coincided well with their inhibitory abilities toward fertilization. Furthermore, the vitelline layer of unfertilized eggs appears to be ubiquitinated as revealed by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting. Extracellular ATP, required for the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins by the proteasome, was also necessary for fertilization. These results indicate that the sperm proteasome plays a key role not only in the acrosome reaction but also in sperm penetration through the vitelline envelope, most probably as a lysin, during sea urchin fertilization.     

Behaviour of the vitelline envelope in Bufo arenarum oocytes matured in vitro in blockade to polyspermy

During activation of amphibian eggs, cortical granule exocytosis causes elaborate ultrastructural changes in the vitelline envelope. These changes involve modifications in the structure of the vitelline envelope and formation of a fertilization envelope (FE) that can no longer be penetrated by sperm. In Bufo arenarum, as the egg traverses the oviduct, the vitelline envelope is altered by a trypsin-like protease secreted by the oviduct, which induces an increased susceptibility of the vitelline envelope to sperm lysins. Full-grown oocytes of B. arenarum, matured in vitro by progesterone, are polyspermic, although cortical granule exocytosis seems to occur within a normal chronological sequence. These oocytes can be fertilized with or without trypsin treatment, suggesting that the vitelline envelope is totally sperm-permeable. Vitelline envelopes without trypsin treatment cannot retain either gp90 or gp96. This suggests that these glycoproteins are involved in the block to polyspermy and that trypsin treatment of matured in vitro oocytes before insemination is necessary to enable vitelline envelopes to block polyspermy. The loss of the binding capacity in vitelline envelopes isolated from B. arenarum oocytes matured in vitro with trypsin treatment and activated by electric shock suggests that previous trypsin treatment is a necessary step for sperm block to occur. When in vitro matured oocytes were incubated with the product of cortical granules obtained from in vitro matured oocytes (vCGP), vitelline envelopes with trypsin treatment were able to block sperm entry. These oocytes exhibited the characteristic signs of activation. These results support the idea that B. arenarum oocytes can be activated by external stimuli and suggest the presence of unknown oocyte surface receptors linked to the activation machinery in response to fertilization. Electrophoretic profiles obtained by SDS-PAGE of solubilized vitelline envelopes from oocytes matured in vitro revealed the conversion of gp40 (in vitro matured oocytes, without trypsin treatment) to gp38 (ascribable to trypsin activity or cortical granule product activity, CGP) and the conversion of gp70 to gp68 (ascribable to trypsin activity plus CGP activity). Taking into account that only the vitelline envelopes of in vitro matured oocytes with trypsin treatment and activated can block sperm entry, we may suggest that the conversion of gp70 to gp68 is related to the changes associated with sperm binding.     

Characterization and partial purification of the digestive proteases of the black field cricket,Teleogryllus commodus (Walker): Elastase is a major component

The major proteases of the black field cricket, Telleogryllus commodus, digestive system have been identified, partially purified and characterized. Classification of proteases into different classes of endo- and exopeptidases was made on the ability to hydrolyse specific synthetic substrates, pH optima and their interaction with a range of specific chemical and proteinaceous inhibitors. The major activities detected were trypsin, elastase, an uncharacterized proteinase (proteinase Tc), leucine aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidases A and B. Chymotrypsin activity was very low and neither cysteine endopeptidase nor metalloendopepitidase activities were found. Elastase is a newly discovered protease activity for insects.Trypsin, elastase and proteinase Tc have molecular weights of 24,300, 19,500 and 23,600, respectively; show alkaline pH optima and chemical inhibition indicative of serine endopeptidases; and interact most strongly with their characteristic class of proteinaceous inhibitors. Elastase and proteinase Tc are inhibited by a very similar spectrum of specific inhibitors, but the latter lacks activity against all specific synthetic substrates tested. Leucine aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase A have molecular weights of 94,000 and 39,700, respectively, and show optimum activity at pH 8 and pH 9, respectively.The equilibrium dissociation constants for trypsin, elastase and proteinase Tc with 25 serine proteinase inhibitors were measured. Values spanning a 1000-fold range were obtained in each case.     

Classification,inhibition, and specificity studies of the vitelline coat lysin from toad sperm

The sonicated supernatant of the sperm of the toad, Bufo japonicus, can digest easily the vitelline coat (VC) of uterine eggs, and to a lesser extent the VC of coelomic eggs, but not that of activated eggs. The VC lysis and fertilization were competitively inhibited in the presence of t-butyloxycarbonyl-L-Gln-L-Arg-L-Arg-4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide (Boc-Gln-Arg-Arg-MCA), suggesting the involvement of proteases in the fertilization process. Starting from a sonicated supernatant, a potent VC lysin, possessing hydrolytic activity on Boc-Gln-Arg-Arg-MCA, was obtained by anion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The activity of the partially purified lysin was inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) and by such trypsin inhibitors as soybean trypsin inhibitor, leupeptin, and (p-amidinophenyl) methanesulfonyl fluoride hydrochloride, but not by chymostatin, E-64, and ethylene glycol bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid. The molecular weight of the lysin was estimated to be 32K, based on the fluorographic image of ³H-DFP binding to the lysin on sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The VC lysin was most active at pH 7.0–7.6 and under low ionic strength equivalent to fresh water. The release of the VC lysin was induced upon incubation of sperm with the contents of oviducal pars recta granules (PRG), which are known to induce the acrosome reaction. We conclude that the protease studied here represents the VC lysin of toad sperm that is involved in fertilization by digesting the VC of uterine eggs, probably released as a result of the acrosome reaction induced by PRG.     

Immunological evidence that a 305-kilodalton vitelline envelope polypeptide isolated from sea urchin eggs is a sperm receptor

Direct isolation of the sea urchin egg vitelline envelope with intact sperm receptors is difficult because the envelope is firmly attached to the egg plasma membrane. We now report a method for producing an inseminated egg preparation in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (using soybean trypsin inhibitor [STI] and Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺-free seawater) that contains an elevated vitelline envelope (VE*-STI). The VE*-STI is devoid of cortical granule material, and supernumerary sperm do not detach postinsemination, suggesting that the VE*-STI contains active sperm receptors. VE*-STIs contain a 305-kD polypeptide and additional components that range from 225 to 31 kD, whereas the 305-kD polypeptide was considerably reduced in VE*s. Electrophoresis of sperm receptor hydrolase digests of VE*-STIs showed that the 305-kD polypeptide and several other envelope polypeptides are protease substrates. Univalent Fab fragments against VE*s, VE*-STIs, and 305 and 225-kD polypeptides blocked sperm binding and fertilization in an Fab concentration-dependent manner. The 305 and 225-kD polypeptides were localized in the VE*-STI using indirect immunofluorescence. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays showed that the 305 and 225-kD polypeptides share determinants, suggesting that the 225-kD polypeptide may be derived from the 305-kD polypeptide by the proteolysis that occurs at the cell surface during fertilization. Fab fragments against S purpuratus VE*-STI antigens neither bound to nor blocked homologous sperm binding and fertilization of Lytechinus variegatus eggs. Cross fertilizability occurred to the extent of 5% or less between L variegatus and S purpuratus, therefore, we conclude that the 305 kD-polypeptide isolated from S purpuratus is a species-specific vitelline envelope sperm receptor.     

Independent and hetero-oligomeric-dependent sperm binding to egg envelope glycoprotein ZPC in Xenopus laevis

Vitelline envelopes are composed of glycoproteins that participate in sperm-egg interactions during the initial stages of fertilization. In Xenopus laevis, the vitelline envelope is composed of at least 4 glycoproteins (ZPA, ZPB, ZPC, and ZPX). A sperm binding assay involving the covalent coupling of envelope glycoproteins to silanized glass slides was developed. In our assay, sperm bound to the egg envelopes derived from oviposited eggs but not activated eggs. The majority of the egg envelope ligand activity for sperm binding was derived from the complex N-linked oligosaccharides of ZPC. This sperm binding involved N-acetylglucosamine and fucose residues, as binding was abolished after treatment with cortical granule beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase and commercial beta-N-acetylglucosaminidases and was reduced by 44% after treatment with alpha-fucosidase. Although both the envelope glycoproteins ZPA and ZPC possessed independent ligand activity, ZPC was the major ligand for sperm binding (75%). Mixing of isolated ZPA, ZPB, and ZPC in a ratio of 1:4:4 (equal to that in the egg envelope) resulted in sperm binding that was greater than that of the sum of the separate components. The egg glycoproteins acted in synergy to increase sperm binding. Thus, ZPC possessed both independent and hetero-oligomeric-dependent ligand activities for sperm binding.     

Characterization of the mouse sperm plasma membrane zona-binding site sensitive to trypsin inhibitors

The first contact of mammalian gametes is the binding of the spermatozoon to the zona pellucida of the egg. Previous work has shown that binding of the spermatozoon to the zona in the mouse occurs prior to the acrosome reaction and that trypsin inhibitors block this initial binding. This suggests that the sperm surface contains a trypsinlike binding site that functions by an active site mechanism to effect initial zona binding. When suspensions of twice-washed spermatozoa were incubated with the serine protease active site titrant, 4-methylumbelliferyl p-guanidinobenzoate (MUGB), the titrant was hydrolyzed at a rate of 8 pmoles/min-10(6) cells. MUGB was found to inhibit the binding of spermatozoa to the zona pellucida. The degree of inhibition and the rate of hydrolysis of MUGB by washed spermatozoa depend on the concentration of titrant, with half maximal effects at 13 microM and a linear correlation with r = 0.99. The analogous lysyl and arginyl trypsin substrates containing 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin as the fluorogenic leaving group were not hydrolyzed under the same conditions and did not inhibit zona binding. Both binding of sperm to zona-intact eggs and the hydrolysis of MUGB by sperm are inhibited by p-nitrophenyl guanidinobenzoate, soybean trypsin inhibitor, and acid-solubilized zonae. The linear correlation coefficients of the inhibition of sperm binding and MUGB hydrolysis by these three substances are greater than 0.92. This "trypsinlike" sperm site is essential for sperm binding to the zona: its stereospecificity is unique in that it reacts with trypsin inhibitors but not with trypsin substrates.     

Acrosome reaction in sperm of the toad,bufo bufo japonicus

The acrosome in the sperm of the toad, Bufo bufo japonicus, consists of a membrane-limited acrosomal cap and a fibrous perforatorium. When sperm are incubated with the oviducal pars recta extract (PRE) for 30–60 min, the outer acrosomal membrane fuses with the overlying plasma membrane at several points with concomitant loss of the contents of the acrosomal cap. The inner acrosomal membrane thus exposed fuses with the plasma membrane at the caudal end of the acrosomal region. This PRE-induced acrosome reaction is completely inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor. Sperm found in the innermost jelly layer of inseminated eggs possess an intact acrosome, but those either passing through the vitelline coat or localizing in the perivitelline space are acrosome-reacted in the same manner as when treated with PRE. These observations, combined with recent evidence showing involvement of the pars recta substance in fertilization, indicate that the acrosome reaction occurring in a fertilizing sperm at or near the surface of the vitelline coat is a response to a substance that is derived from the pars recta and deposited in the vitelline coat.     

Sperm surface proteases in ascidian fertilization.

Ascidian eggs are surrounded by a noncellular layer and two cellular layers, which are penetrated by sperm. Three sperm surface proteases are essential for fertilization of eggs from the stolidobranch ascidian Halocynthia: spermosin, acrosin, and the proteasome. In the phlebobranch Ciona, a chymotrypsin-like protease and the proteasome are essential in fertilization. Sperm from the phlebobranch ascidians Phallusia mammillata, Ascidia (=Phallusia) nigra, and Ascidia columbiana, all express spermosin, acrosin, and the proteasomal chymotrypsin activities on their surfaces. Chymostatin blocks cleavage in phlebobranchs, but inhibitors of spermosin and acrosin only delay it by several minutes. Protease inhibitors have little effect upon sperm binding in Phallusia but strongly affect the rate of sperm passage through the vitelline coat. Peptide substrates and inhibitors to spermosin and acrosin cause a significant decline in the number of eggs undergoing pre-meiotic contractions at 3 min after fertilization. Thus while chymotrypsin activity is essential for penetration of the vitelline coat, spermosin and acrosin both function to increase the rate of fertilization. A crucial step in the divergence of the phlebobranchs and stolidobranchs may have been the conversion of spermosin and acrosin to essential proteases in the stolidobranchs, or, perhaps, their essential function was lost in the evolution of phlebobranchs. Aplousobranch ascidians are all colonial with very small zooids. Sperm from Aplidium californicum, Aplidium solidum (Polyclinidae), and Distaplia occidentalis (Holozoidae) have acrosin and chymotrypsin activities but lack spermosin activity. This enzyme is also missing from sperm of colonial phlebobranch and stolidobranch ascidians, suggesting that spermosin is not necessary for small zooids with internal fertilization.     

Ascidian sperm lysin system

Fertilization is a precisely controlled process involving many gamete molecules in sperm binding to and penetration through the extracellular matrix of the egg. After sperm bind to the extracellular matrix (vitelline coat), they undergo the acrosome reaction which exposes and partially releases a lytic agent called "lysin" to digest the vitelline coat for the sperm penetration. The vitelline coat sperm lysin is generally a protease in deuterostomes. The molecular mechanism of the actual degradation of the vitelline coat, however, remains poorly understood. In order to understand the lysin system, we have been studying the fertilization mechanism in ascidians (Urochordata) because we can obtain large quantities of gametes which are readily fertilized in the laboratory. Whereas ascidians are hermaphrodites, which release sperm and eggs simultaneously, many ascidians, including Halocynthia roretzi, are strictly self-sterile. Therefore, after sperm recognize the vitelline coat as nonself, the sperm lysin system is thought to be activated. We revealed that two sperm trypsin-like proteases, acrosin and spermosin, the latter of which is a novel sperm protease with thrombin-like substrate specificity, are essential for fertilization in H. roretzi. These molecules contain motifs involved in binding to the vitelline coat. We found that the proteasome rather than trypsin-like proteases has a direct lytic activity toward the vitelline coat. The target for the ascidian lysin was found to be a 70-kDa vitelline coat component called HrVC70, which is made up of 12 EGF-like repeats. In addition to the proteasome system, the ubiquitination system toward the HrVC70 was found to be necessary for ascidian fertilization. In this review, I describe recent progress on the structures and roles in fertilization of the two trypsin-like proteases, acrosin and spermosin, and also on the novel extracellular ubiquitin-proteasome system, which plays an essential role in the degradation of the ascidian vitelline coat.     

Polyspermic fertilization of sea urchin eggs treated with protease inhibitors: Localization of sperm receptor sites at the egg surface

The normal elevation of the fertilization membrane and the establishment of the block to polyspermy are retarded in Arbacia punctulata eggs by specific protease inhibitors, soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), leupeptin, and antipain. Ultrastructural observations show that the vitelline layer remains attached to the plasma membrane of fertilized SBTI treated eggs at numerous sites (cortical projections). Quantitive morphometric analysis indicates that the vitelline layer elevates from about 65% of the surface of SBTI treated eggs during the first 3 min post insemination. However, the vulnerability of SBTI treated eggs to refertilization (polyspermy) only declined during the subsequent gradual detachment of the vitelline layer from the cortical projections over the next 15 min. Antipain and leupeptin (10^?5 to 10^?3M) also promoted polyspermy in Arbacia eggs by a process of refertilization extending for a 10- to 15-min period after the initial monospermic insemination. Normal cleavage and development was obtained when eggs were placed in leupeptin and antipain (10^?3M) after the fertilization membrane had elevated. The data indicate that the normal secretory function (or functions) of the cortical granule protease in establishing the block to polyspermy is retarded by these protease inhibitors, and that the vitelline layer is transformed into a mechanical barrier to prevent penetration by supernumerary sperm during its detachment from the plasma membrane of the egg. Furthermore, the vitelline layer in unfertilized eggs appears to be a mosaic structure, with sperm receptor sites localized in regions of the egg's surface, which give rise to cortical projections in the presence of SBTI.     

Hydrolysis of the hen egg vitelline membrane by cock sperm acrosin and other enzymes.

A technique utilizing Pregnant Mare's Serum Gonadotropin and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin treatment of hens (Gallus domesticus), followed by manual ovulation of the excised follicles, was developed to obtain a large number of mature ova. The intact ova were used to test whether acrosin, partially purified from the spermatozoa of the cock (Gallus domesticus), partially purified rabbit testicular acrosin and commercial preparations of several hydrolytic enzymes could dissolve the inner vitelline membrane. Enzymes were applied to pieces of filter paper placed on the ovum. Cock acrosin and endopeptidases such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, collagenase and elastase hydrolyzed the membrane whereas exopeptidases such as leucine aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase A did not. Phospholipase A, sulfatase, hyaluronidase, beta-glucuronidase and rabbit testicular acrosin also failed to hydrolyze the membrane. Cock acrosin hydrolysis of the ovum surface was inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor. The surface of the ovum over the germinal disc region was hydrolyzed more quickly by cock acrosin than the surface over other regions of the ovum. Acrosin from cock sperm caused the release of trichloroacetic acid soluble material absorbing at 280 nm from sonicated preparations of inner vitelline membranes. Hydrolysis was greatest at pH 8.0 and was inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor.     

The Chaetopterus vitelline envelope is not necessary for the gamete interactions that lead to fertilization

It has been recently shown that, in several genera of annelids, including Chaetopterus, fertilizing sperm attach to and fuse with egg microvilli which penetrate the vitelline envelope. This suggests that the annelid vitelline envelope may have no direct or obligatory role in normal fertilization. The present study was undertaken to investigate the involvement of the vitelline envelope in fertilization in Chaetopterus experimentally, by examining the fertilization of vitelline envelope-free eggs quantitatively and qualitatively. Brief exposure of the eggs to isotonic sucrose-EDTA removed the vitelline envelope as determined by both phase-contrast and electron microscopy, rendered the eggs more sensitive to polyspermy and substantially reduced the binding of supernumerary sperm to eggs but did not decrease fertilizability as determined by sperm dilution assay and did not make the eggs more sensitive to cross-fertilization. The events of fertilization were examined by electron microscopy and found to be very similar in vitelline envelope-free eggs to those in intact eggs. We conclude that the vitelline envelope in Chaetopterus has binding sites for sperm but that it has no obligatory role in fertilization and is primarily involved in the prevention of polyspermy.     

Enzymatic alteration of the ability of mouse egg plasma membrane to interact with sperm

The effect of a variety of proteolytic, glycosidic and lipid hydrolyzing enzymes on the ability of mouse egg plasma membrane to interact with sperm was evaluated in this study. Zona-free mouse eggs were exposed to enzymes at various concentrations, washed, and inseminated; the number of sperm attached to or having penetrated the egg plasma membrane was determined at 20 and 180 min post-insemination, respectively. The proteases trypsin and chymotrypsin caused concentration-dependent reductions in both sperm attachment and sperm penetration levels when eggs were incubated at enzyme concentrations ranging from 1- to 1000 micrograms/ml for 30 min prior to insemination. Time-course studies revealed significant inhibition of both sperm attachment and sperm penetration levels after treating zona-free eggs for 5 min at 1000 micrograms/ml of either trypsin or chymotrypsin. Several of the phospholipases tested, including phospholipases C, D, and A2, had no inhibitory effect on sperm penetration levels, with phospholipase C and A2 (100 micrograms/ml) causing inhibition of sperm attachment. Of the glycosidic enzymes evaluated, glucuronidase (1000 micrograms/ml) caused significant inhibition of sperm binding but not sperm penetration, and glucosidase, galactosidase, and neuraminidase had no effect on either sperm attachment or sperm penetration. These findings indicate that the ability of the mouse egg plasma membrane to fuse with sperm can be preferentially altered by treatment with proteases.     

Identification of a secondary sperm receptor in the mouse egg zona pellucida: role in maintenance of binding of acrosome-reacted sperm to eggs

During fertilization in mice, acrosome-intact sperm bind via plasma membrane overlying their head to a glycoprotein, called ZP3, present in the egg extracellular coat or zona pellucida. Bound sperm then undergo the acrosome reaction, which results in exposure of inner acrosomal membrane, penetrate through the zona pellucida, and fuse with egg plasma membrane. Thus, in the normal course of events, acrosome-reacted sperm must remain bound to eggs, despite loss of plasma membrane from the anterior region of the head and exposure of inner acrosomal membrane. Here, we examined maintenance of binding of sperm to the zona pellucida following the acrosome reaction. We found that polyclonal antisera and monoclonal antibodies directed against ZP2, another zona pellucida glycoprotein, did not affect initial binding of sperm to eggs, but inhibited maintenance of binding of sperm that had undergone the acrosome reaction on the zona pellucida. On the other hand, polyclonal antisera and monoclonal antibodies directed against ZP3 did not affect either initial binding of acrosome-intact sperm to eggs or maintenance of binding following the acrosome reaction. We also found that soybean trypsin inhibitor, a protein reported to prevent binding of mouse sperm to eggs, did not affect initial binding of sperm to eggs, but, like antibodies directed against ZP2, inhibited maintenance of binding of sperm that had undergone the acrosome reaction on the zona pellucida. These and other observations suggest that ZP2 serves as a secondary receptor for sperm during the fertilization process in mice and that maintenance of binding of acrosome-reacted sperm to eggs may involve a sperm, trypsin-like proteinase.     

Evidence that hatching enzyme of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is a chymotrypsin-like protease

The sea urchin blastula secretes a hatching enzyme (HE) that dissolves the fertilization envelope. HE was collected from the supernatant seawater of cultures of hatched Strongylocentrotus purpuratus blastulae, and concentrated 20 times by ultrafiltration. The proteolytic activity of HE using casein as substrate was inhibited by the chymotrypsin inhibitors, chymostatin and N-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone. The activity was not inhibited by inhibitors (antipain, elastatinal, pepstatin, phosphoramidon, soybean trypsin inhibitor, and N alpha-p-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone) of other types of proteases. HE did not hydrolyze the synthetic trypsin substrate, alpha-N-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester, but did hydrolyze the synthetic substrate of chymotrypsin, N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester (BTEE). The BTEEase activity of HE was completely inhibited by the chymotrypsin inhibitors chymostatin and 2-nitro-4-carboxyphenyl N,N-diphenylcarbamate (NCDC). Chymostatin inhibited the natural hatching of sea urchin blastulae. Application of HE to freshly fertilized sea urchin eggs, 2 h after insemination, caused premature dispersal of the hardened fertilization envelope. Chymostatin and NCDC inhibited HE-induced lysis of the fertilization envelope, while inhibitors of other types of proteases were ineffective. These data suggest that sea urchin HE is a chymotrypsin-like protease we call "chymotrypsin."     

A species-specific sperm factor dispersing the jelly coat of the egg of the sea urchin,Anthocidaris crassispina

A species-specific factor capable of disersing the jelly coat surrounding eggs has been purified from sperm of the sea urchin, Anthocidaris crassisina. It does not exert its effect on the vitelline layer. The purification has been accomlished by a four-step procedure involving ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration on Sepharose CL-4B, ion-exchange column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and affinity column chromatograhy on heparin-Seharose CL-6B. The isolated factor is homogenous in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrohoresis in the presence or absence of β-mercatoethanol, estimated molecular weight being about 140,000. The jelly dispersion by the present factor is activated by CaCl₂, and inhibited by KCl, MnCl₂, EDTA, and EGTA, and by sulfated saccharides such as chondroitin sulfate A and C, heparin, and glucose-6-sulfate, Inorganic sulfated such as (NH₄)₂SO₄ and Na₂SO₄ have no effect on jelly dispersion. This factor is heat-labile, its activity in 30 min at 50°C. The present factor is found also in the seminal Plasma, and released from sperm themselves by treatment with Triton X-100 .These results suggest that this factor is loosely bound to the serm surface. Although glycosidase and arylsulfatase activities are detectable in the seminal plasma, these enzyme activities are not detectable in the purified jelly disersing factor. Only trypsin and α chymotrysin among commercial enzymes tested dispersing activity is inhibited neither by trypsin inhibitors such as N-α-p-tosyl-L-lysine-chloromethyl ketone, soybean trypsin inhibitor, ovomucoid trypsin inhibitor, nor by chymotrypsin inhibitors such as L-1-tosylamide-2 pheny-ethylcholoromethyl ketone and chymostatin Participation of trysin-like and chymotrypsin-like enzymes in jelly dispersion seems unlikely.