哺乳动物精卵相互作用的分子机制的研究进展

哺乳动物受精是由一系列有序步骤组成的复杂细胞相互作用过程组成,最终导致精卵质膜融合形成受精卵。近来运用基因组学和蛋白质组学技术在哺乳动物精子和卵子表面鉴定出若干可能参与精卵质膜粘附与融合过程的蛋白分子,并对其结构和生物学功能进行了研究,但精卵识别与融合的分子机理仍然不清楚。综述了与精卵识别和融合有关的蛋白的最新研究进展,为进一步研究精卵相互作用的分子机制提供参考。     

ADAMs参与哺乳动物精-卵结合与融合

ADAMs家族是含多结构域的跨膜蛋白。睾丸特异的ADAMs,在精子发生与附睾精子转运过程中,经过蛋白水解成为成熟精子的分子形式,与精．卵质膜结合和融合有关。对于精-卵质膜相互作用,ADAMs去整合素域具有关键氨基酸残基和特殊模体。模拟ADAM2和ADAM3去整合素域的短肽能用于鉴别特异性卵子识别蛋白。精子ADAMs去整合素域与卵子膜蛋白整合素β1、α4／α9、α6和CD9相互作用,介导了精卵质膜的结合与融合。     

受精素和整合素在哺乳动物精卵质膜融合过程中是必需的吗?

精子膜蛋白受精素(fertilin)和卵子膜蛋白整合素(integrin)是精卵质膜融合侯选蛋白中最受关注之一,认为它们之间的相互作用介导了精卵质膜的融合。最近的基因剔除研究结果显示,受精素被剔除的精子和整合素α6β1被剔除的卵子仍具有一定的受精能力,因此,受精素和卵子整合素在精卵质膜融合中的重要作用值得进一步研究。     

哺乳动物精子与卵子质膜粘附和融合的分子基础

精子与卵子质膜粘附并发生融合是哺乳动物完成受精过程所必需的步骤。近年来,学者们以现代分子生物学理论为基础,对参与精卵质膜粘附、融合过程的分子进行了研究,特别是精子表面的去整合素金属蛋白酶基因家族(ADAM)和卵子表面的整合素蛋白。本文通过对精子表面的受精素仅、受精素β、cyritestin,卵子表面的α6β1、CD9等蛋白分子的研究,揭示了这些分子对粘附、融合的重要作用,为提高受精率提供了重要的依据。     

天然雌核发育银鲫卵子控制异源精核发育的受精学机制

作者对两性融合生殖鱼和雌核发育银鲫脱膜卵受精的精核发育进行了观察,并采用鱼类卵子无细胞系对以上两类卵质提取物体外诱导经Ｔｒｉｔｏｎ—Ｘ１００处理的精子及其发育进行了初步研究,结果表明在两性融合生殖型脱膜鱼卵中精核通过解凝最终形成原核,而在雌核发育的银鲫脱膜卵子中部分精核体积虽有一定程度的增加,但始终没有观察到原核的发育;在体外诱导实验中,经Ｔｒｉｔｏｎ—Ｘ１００处理的精子在两类卵质提取物中充分发育,都出现了类似体内原核的状态。该现象提示在银鲫卵质中存在有促使精核形成原核的因子,但在正常受精状态下,由于银鲫卵质促使精核核膜解体的功能的异常,使覆盖精子头部的核膜不能象在两性融合生殖受精卵子中进行崩解,精核进一步的原核发育受到抑制。另外,建立体外诱导系统的重要意义,在于它为研究雌核发育调控的分子学机制提供了一条有效途径。     

细胞生物学杂志2006年第28卷总目录

接头蛋白CIN85的结构与功能黄芳卞敏娟1Hsp90伴侣复合体装配及对类固醇受体调节王丹金莉莉王秋雨5eIF4E抑制性蛋白翻译调控机制徐德立11缝隙连接及其与人类疾病的关系陆宏霍正浩15转线粒体细胞模型李继霞刘一农王钜20肺泡II型上皮细胞转分化卢红艳常立文25果蝇原生殖细胞特化的分子机制郭忠海康现江穆淑梅29精卵质膜融合过程中卵膜上的候选分子许媛媛吴艳红李秋艳李云龙33精原干细胞的生物学特性张学明李德雪于家傲岳占碰37母型-合子型过渡的研究进展陈静王玉凤赵浩斌42比较基因组学在哺乳动物进化研究中的应用李培青刘焕民朱必才47植物…     

雌核发育和两性融合发育鱼卵调控精核受精发育的生化特性研究

两性融合生殖的鱼卵受精后,精核能疏松、解凝,形成雄性原核：雌核发育银鲫卵子受精后,精核发育受到抑制,无法形成原核。采用显微注射去膜精核以及细胞学和电镜观察的方法,本文对两类鱼卵受精后精核早期发育的生化性质进行了初步探讨,并着重研究了雌核发育银鲫卵子控制精核发育的生化特征。实验结果显示,两性融合生殖鱼类卵质中,一定量的Ｃａ２＋的存在,二硫键的还原作用对于精核的发育显然是必要的;而在雌核发育银鲫卵中,Ｃａ２＋的功能和二硫键的还原作用与精核发育受到抑制之间并无直接联系。银鲫卵质中似乎显示出异常的磷酸酶脂解活性,导致磷酸化过程无法进行,使精核解凝受到阻碍。另外,两性融合生殖的鱼卵重质层中具有大量诱导精核原核化的有关因子,而银鲫卵质中则缺少该因子（或活性极低）。银鲫卵质中还可能缺乏某些与雄性原核的核膜重组装有关的大分子物质。     

PDIA3的结构与功能及其在精卵融合过程中的作用

二硫键异构酶家族的一员PDIA3(protein disulfide-isomerase A3)最初确定其位于内质网腔内,作为钙联接蛋白和钙网质蛋白的分子伴侣复合物的组成成分之一,促进新合成的糖蛋白在内质网中的正确折叠。PDIA3在内质网中的功能依赖其蛋白二硫键氧化还原异构酶活性。目前研究发现位于精子表面的PDIA3的蛋白二硫键氧化还原酶活性在精卵融合中也发挥着重要的作用。就目前关于PDIA3的结构和功能及在精卵质膜融合中的作用研究进展做一概述。     

囊膜病毒膜融合分子机制研究进展

囊膜病毒通过病毒与宿主细胞膜融合的方式感染宿主,病毒囊膜蛋白介导了膜融合过程。根据这些囊膜蛋白在病毒囊膜表面的排列、蛋白结构及其在融合肽中的位置不同,可将囊膜病毒分为三类,其利用这些囊膜特殊的蛋白分子与受体相互作用完成膜融合。在分子水平上研究这一过程有助于认识病毒侵染的本质和发现关键环节,达到预防与治疗病毒病的目的。     

鲍配子识别蛋白的研究

配子相互作用的生化机制对于进一步阐明生殖过程具有重要作用,它是深入了解细胞内识别的理想体系。精卵细胞相互作用包括一系列的步骤,开始于精子与卵细胞外被的接触,终止于两性细胞的融合及精子核进入卵细胞质中,而精卵细胞的识别具有建立于各自性细胞表面成分基础上的种的特异性,鲍则是研究精卵识别的好材料。鲍精子在发生顶体反应时释放出两种蛋白质——细胞溶素(1ysin)和18ku糖蛋白(spl8),其中的细胞溶素与其卵黄膜上的受体紧密结合,并利用非酶反应在卵黄膜上穿一个小孔,整个精子则从此孔穿过卵黄膜与卵细胞融合;spl8释放后则覆盖到精子细胞膜表面,起到溶解卵细胞脂质体的作用,即spl8介导精、卵细胞膜的融合。鲍卵细胞膜上存在细胞溶素受体,它是大的不分支的糖蛋白分子,占据了卵黄膜30％的组分,可以专一性地与细胞溶素相结合。这些配子识别蛋白共同进化且速度很快,其中细胞溶素和18ku糖蛋白通过正向选择进化,而细胞溶素受体进行协同进化。     

The vitelline envelope to fertilization envelope conversion in eggs of Xenopus laevis

Fertilization of the Xenopus laevis egg causes the conversion of the vitelline envelope to the fertilization envelope, a change reflected in the loss of sperm penetrability of the egg and the appearance of an electron-dense layer on the outer aspect of the fertilization envelope. As seen by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis, two components with molecular weights of 69,000 and 64,000 in the vitelline envelope were converted to 66,000 and 61,000 in the fertilization envelope. By two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, the components in the 69,000 and 64,000 molecular weight regions of the vitelline envelope were seen to shift to more basic isoelectric points upon conversion to the fertilization envelope. Peptide mapping by limited proteolysis suggested that the 69,000 and 64,000 molecular weight components shared the same polypeptide chains but the smaller glycoprotein lacked a carbohydrate side chain found on the larger species. Similar sites on each glycoprotein were affected when the vitelline envelope was converted to the fertilization envelope. No N-terminal amino acids could be identified on the envelope components, indicating that these glycoproteins have blocked N-termini. Ionophore A23187-activation of jellied eggs (but not dejellied eggs) caused the molecular weight changes in the absence of sperm. Thus, factors from the jelly and the cortical granules but not from sperm apparently are involved in the processing of the 69,000 and 64,000 molecular weight components.     

Imaging fertilization in flowering plants, not so abominable after all

Although the discovery of double fertilization in flowering plants took place at the end of the nineteenth century little progress had been made in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved until the end of the twentieth century. After attempts to study fertilization with isolated male and female gametes, researchers turned to Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for genetic analysis and in vivo imaging. The development of confocal imaging and fluorescent proteins, coupled with new molecular insights into cell fate specification of plant gametes, allowed the development of robust markers for cells participating in double fertilization. These markers enabled the imaging of double fertilization in vivo in Arabidopsis. These studies have been coupled with the identification and molecular characterization of genes controlling fertilization in Arabidopsis. Live imaging has already provided new insights on sperm cell delivery, the equivalence of the fate of the sperm cells, gamete fusion, and re-initiation of the zygotic life. This review covers these topics and outlines many important aspects of double fertilization that remain unknown.     

Identification and partial characterization of sperm receptor associated with the newly formed fertilization envelope from sea urchin eggs

Prior studies from this laboratory have identified a proteoglycan-like component of high molecular weight from the surface of the egg of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus that serves as a receptor for sperm. In the present study, a glycoconjugate has been isolated from uncrosslinked fertilization envelopes prepared from eggs activated by treatment with ionophore. Based on its high molecular weight (greater than 5 X 10(6)) and its ability to inhibit fertilization by acrosome-reacted sperm, this glycoconjugate has the properties of the previously described sperm receptor. Components of the fertilization envelope of lower molecular weight (less than 10(6)) showed little or no ability to inhibit fertilization.     

Double fertilization - caught in the act

In flowering plants, fertilization is unique because it involves two pairs of male and female gametes, a process known as double fertilization. Here, we provide an overview of the field and a detailed review of the outstanding recent advances, including in vivo imaging of double fertilization and the identification of a signaling pathway controlling the release of the male gametes and of a protein involved in gamete membrane fusion. These recent results are stepping stones for further research; our knowledge of double fertilization is expanding as newly discovered molecular pathways are explored and new mutants are characterized. Controlling plant fertilization is essential for seed production, and molecular understanding of double fertilization will provide the tools to improve crops and breeding programs.     

The Diversity of Self-Incompatibility Systems in Flowering Plants

Abstract: Flowering plants are the most successful group of land plants and dominate the earth's vegetation with around 300 000 species. This success is, in part, the consequence of a set of unique reproductive innovations that evolved with the flower. Most notable of these innovations were the closed carpel and double fertilization. Closed carpels permitted the evolution of effective mechanisms for pollen selection and discrimination, while double fertilization leading to endosperm formation allowed for more efficient utilization of resources because reserves are only allocated to the seed after fertilization. This review will focus on the most important and best understood mechanism of pollen discrimination, self-incompatibility (SI), a genetically determined pollen recognition system that prevents self-fertilization and fertilization by other individuals with the same incompatibility phenotype. In recent years much progress has been made towards elucidating the molecular mechanisms of SI operating in three distinct SI systems found in the Brassicaceae, Solanaceae and Papaveraceae, respectively. More recent molecular data obtained from the Poaceae, Convolvulaceae and Asteraceae, however, suggest that other molecular mechanisms of SI exist. A survey of classical genetic studies of SI predicts yet further potential molecular mechanisms of SI. We discuss the evolutionary implications of this apparent diversity in molecular pathways leading to SI and stress the need for more molecular studies of different SI systems.     

Limited proteolysis of some egg surface components is an early event following fertilization of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

The surface proteins of eggs from Stronglocentrotus purpuratus were labeled with ¹²⁵I by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination. The eggs were examined after solubilization and disaggregation in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) by electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide slab-gels. Seventy-five percent of the label was found in material with a molecular weight greater than 130,000. About 5% of the radioactivity was excluded from the gels. Upon fertilization, embryos show a redistribution of the radioactively labeled species. There is a decrease in the amount of very high molecular weight material but an increase (35–40%) in material excluded from the gel. In addition, new radioactive bands of lower molecular weight are found. This change of distribution in the radioactive bands is blocked by inclusion of soybean trypsin inhibitor either before or immediately after fertilization, which completely inhibits the cortical granule protease. The disappearance of high molecular weight components is prevented by treatment of the eggs with procaine during fertilization, although the appearance of low molecular weight bands (approximately 20,000 and 30,000) is not completely blocked by procaine treatment. Parthenogenic activation of eggs by butyric acid or partial metabolic activation by ammonia each leads to changes in the egg surface proteins which are similar but not identical to those seen after fertilization. The data suggest that the labeling occurs on the vitelline membrane, plasma membrane and jelly layer. The possible significance of limited proteolysis in fertilization is discussed.     

哺乳动物精子磷酸化蛋白质组学研究进展

蛋白质的表达、修饰及相互作用的研究已成为后基因组学时代蛋白质组学中的重要内容。蛋白质磷酸化和去磷酸化作为最普遍的翻译后修饰之一,是精子细胞信号转导和酶调控、表达的主要分子机制,亦是精子、卵细胞信号识别及完成受精作用的关键环节。对精子磷酸化蛋白功能的研究有助于深入理解精子的获能、超激活运动的维持、发生顶体反应及精卵结合等受精过程的分子调控机理。对哺乳动物精子磷酸化蛋白质组学的研究进展,包括动物精子磷酸化蛋白质组学研究的技术方法、磷酸化蛋白质种类的鉴定、定量及其功能分析进行了综述,为进一步发掘与受精相关的重要生物标志物,揭示精子发育、繁殖潜能变化及受精分子机理奠定基础。     

An update of the regulatory factors of sperm migration from the uterus into the oviduct by genetically manipulated mice

Mammalian reproductive processes involve spermatogenesis, which occurs in the testis, and fertilization, which takes place in the female genital tract. Fertilization is a successive, multistep, and extremely complicated event that usually includes sperm survival in the uterus, sperm migration through the uterotubal junction (UTJ) and the oviduct, sperm penetration through the cumulus cell layer and the zona pellucida, and sperm–egg fusion. There may be a complex molecular mechanism to ensure that the above processes run smoothly. Previous studies have discovered essential factors for these fertilization steps through in vitro fertilization experiments. However, recent gene disruption approaches in mice have revealed that many of the factors previously described as important for fertilization are largely dispensable in gene‐knockout animals, and some previously unknown factors are emerging. As a result, the molecular mechanisms of fertilization, especially sperm migration from the uterus into the oviduct, have recently been revised by the emergence of genetically modified animals. In this review, we only focus on and update the essential genes for sperm migration through the UTJ and describe recent advances in our knowledge of the basis of mammalian sperm migration.     

Mouse sperm antigens that participate in fertilization. II. Inhibition of sperm penetration through the zona pellucida using monoclonal antibodies

To dissect the process of mammalian sperm interaction with the egg at a molecular level, we have generated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to mature mouse sperm using syngeneic mouse testis as the immunogen. In this paper, we report upon three members of a mAb family, all of which displayed identical immunofluorescence patterns on cauda epididymal mouse sperm. Each of these mAbs, termed M42, M5, and M41, localized to a restricted region of plasma membrane overlying the acrosome. When tested for an effect on the fertilization process in vitro, two of the mAbs, M42 and M5, demonstrated significant inhibition. The inhibitory capacity was dependent upon the presence of the zona pellucida; neither M42 nor M5 was capable of blocking fertilization when zona pellucida-free mouse eggs were used. Identification of the antigens recognized by this group of mAbs was achieved by immunologic detection of sodium dodecyl sulfate-extracted sperm components separated via electrophoresis on 12% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels followed by transfer to nitrocellulose. M42, which blocked fertilization, recognized a high molecular weight cluster of bands with Mr of approximately 220,000 to 240,000. M5, which also prevented fertilization, specifically recognized a sperm component with subunit molecular weight of approximately 54,000. M41, which did not interfere with fertilization, did not interact with any high molecular weight components, but recognized components with Mr of approximately 60,000, 35,000, and 21,000. Taken together with the work presented in a companion paper (Saling, Irons, and Waibel, this issue), we have demonstrated that it is possible to describe particular cellular regions of mammalian sperm with respect not only to location and function, but also to the molecules that are candidates for a role in that function.