Immunocytochemical studies on the zona pellucida of cow blastocysts

Labeling of the zona pellucida of cow blastocysts with zona-specific anti-serum shows that antigenicity is unaffected by abnormal cleavage, in vitro culture, or frozen storage. The uniform labeling in thin sections indicates that the zona pellucida is homogeneous antigenically. Heavier labeling of the inner and outer surfaces of the zona pellucida in thick sections appers to be due to greater porosity of these regions, in which the zona material becomes highly dispersed, or even partly solubilized, thereby permitting the formation of an antigen-antibody matrix.