(Press-News.org) Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have been able to describe the 3D structure of a complete egg receptor that binds sperm at the beginning of fertilization. The results, published in the journal Cell, will lead to better understanding of infertility and may enable entirely new types of contraceptives.
For centuries, the imagination of people has been grasped by the encounter of gametes – egg and sperm-, whose union gives rise to a new individual. At the beginning of conception, sperm binds to proteins in the extracellular coat of the egg, called zona pellucida (ZP). But the molecular details of this fundamental biological event have so far remained obscure.
Luca Jovine's research team at Karolinska Institutet has now managed to determine the three-dimensional structure of the receptor molecule that binds sperm, called ZP3 (see press photos). The detailed structural information, based on data collected at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), makes it possible to begin exploring at the molecular level how the egg interacts with sperm at fertilization.
The study suggests which parts of the receptor are likely to be directly contacted by sperm, and provides new insights into how the sperm receptor is assembled and secreted from the egg. The findings have important implications for human reproductive medicine, as they may explain how mutations in the sperm receptor gene could cause infertility. The research could also potentially lead to the design of non-hormonal contraceptives specifically targeting egg-sperm interaction.
"The results give a remarkable picture of the female side of fertilization", says Luca Jovine, who has led the study. "But this is, of course, only half of the story. The next step will be to tackle the corresponding molecules on sperm that allow it to bind to the egg."
INFORMATION:
The research was performed in collaboration with Prof. Tsukasa Matsuda at Nagoya University, Japan, and Dr. David Flot at the ESRF. It was funded by the Center for Biosciences; the Swedish Research Council; the EU Sixth Framework Programme; the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation; Grant-in-aids from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and MEXT; and an EMBO Young Investigator award to Luca Jovine.
Publication: "Insights into Egg Coat Assembly and Egg-Sperm Interaction from the X-Ray Structure of Full-Length ZP3", Ling Han, Magnus Monné, Hiroki Okumura, Thomas Schwend, Amy L. Cherry, David Flot, Tsukasa Matsuda & Luca Jovine, Cell, 21 October 2010.
Download images: http://ki.se/pressroom
For further information, please contact:
Dr Luca Jovine
Center for Biosciences
Department of Biosciences and Nutrition
Tel: +46 (0)8-608 33 01
Mobile: +46 (0)70-149 70 14
E-mail: luca.jovine@ki.se
Lab web page: Jovinelab.org
Press Officer Katarina Sternudd
Tel: +46 (0)8-524 838 95
E-mail: katarina.sternudd@ki.se
Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Its mission is to contribute to the improvement of human health through research and education. Karolinska Institutet accounts for over 40 per cent of the medical academic research conducted in Sweden, and offers the country's broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. Since 1901 the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has selected the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine. More information on http://ki.se.
Egg meets sperm: The female side of the story
2010-10-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
ER patients prefer ordering physicians discuss risks/benefits of CT with them before ordering exam
2010-10-22
The majority of emergency department patients consider having their condition correctly diagnosed with computed tomography (CT) more important than any associated radiation risk. However, two-thirds of patients prefer their ordering physician discuss the risks and benefits of CT with them before ordering the imaging test, according to a study in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).
"Because patients drive their care to some degree, it is important for physicians to understand patients' knowledge and attitudes about radiation ...
BUSM study shows patient navigations improve mammography rates in minority women
2010-10-22
(Boston) – A new research study conducted by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that patient navigation services significantly improve biennial mammography screening rates among inner city women. The results, published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, indicate the importance of patient navigation in reducing health disparities in vulnerable patient populations.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, with 40,170 deaths in the United States in 2009. Lower mammography screening rates among minority and low ...
Offshore wind a 'mixed bag': University of Maryland study
2010-10-22
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Offshore wind power offers a feasible way for Maryland to help meet its renewable energy goals, but presents some economic and political hurdles, concludes a new study by the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER).
The study, "Maryland Offshore Wind Development," is the most in-depth feasibility assessment to date of developing and operating wind farms in Maryland's Atlantic coastal waters, the researchers say.
Among the study's key findings, offshore wind development will have to address two serious hurdles to ...
Barrow scientists uncover clues on inflammation in central nervous system
2010-10-22
(PHOENIX, AZ) -- Scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute have recently made discoveries about a type of cell that may limit inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) – a finding that could have important implications in the treatment of brain disorders such as multiple sclerosis. The research, led by Barrow's Fu-Dong Shi, MD, PhD, was published in the August 2010 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, and simultaneously highlighted in Nature.
Dr. Shi directs the Neuroimmunology Laboratory and Flow Cytometry Core Facility at Barrow. One of his research ...
Malaria-transmitting mosquito evolving, NIH grantees find
2010-10-22
WHAT: Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that the major malaria-transmitting mosquito species, Anopheles gambiae, is evolving into two separate species with different traits, a development that could both complicate malaria control efforts and potentially require new disease prevention methods. Their findings were published in back-to-back articles in the October 22 issue of the journal Science.
A. gambiae is the most common vector of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where rates of the disease are highest. The researchers compared the ...
Plants play larger role than thought in cleaning up air pollution
2010-10-22
Vegetation plays an unexpectedly large role in cleansing the atmosphere, a new study finds.
The research, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., uses observations, gene expression studies, and computer modeling to show that deciduous plants absorb about a third more of a common class of air-polluting chemicals than previously thought.
The new study, results of which are being published this week in Science Express, was conducted with co-authors from the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Arizona. ...
Parent-only treatment may be equally effective for children who are obese
2010-10-22
A study led by a researcher at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine indicates that parent-only treatments for childhood obesity work equally as well as plans that include parents and child, while at the same time more cost effective and potentially easier for families.
The results were published today in the advanced online edition of the journal Obesity.
Kerri N. Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at UC San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, and colleagues set out to assess whether parent-only groups are ...
Scientists examine energy trends of communications equipment
2010-10-22
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 – A team of scientists at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs have examined the energy consumption trends of communications equipment in use today and determined that gains in energy efficiency are not keeping pace with traffic growth. One consequence is that energy is going to become an increasingly important problem for communication networks.
In one unabated, business-as-usual scenario, the scientists estimate that power consumed per user could increase by seven-fold over the next 10 years. Based on these findings, Bell Labs has developed several technology ...
Entire issue of scientific journal devoted to center headed by Scripps Research Scientists
2010-10-22
LA JOLLA, CA, October 21, 2010 — A multi-institutional consortium led by The Scripps Research Institute scientists, the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG), is the sole focus of a special issue of the journal Acta Crystallographica Section F. This is the first time in the history of the monthly journal, which publishes peer-reviewed crystallography and structural biology articles, that an entire issue is devoted to the works of a single scientific center.
The issue contains 35 articles grouped into sections that highlight different aspects of the JCSG high-throughput ...
Population report: More Jews live in the US than in Israel
2010-10-22
CORAL GABLES, FL (October 21, 2010)--Researchers from the University of Miami (UM) and the University of Connecticut (UConn) have published a 2010 report on the American Jewish population, as part of a new North American Jewish Data Bank Report series.
The new report called Jewish Population in the United States-2010 shows a greater number of Jews in the U.S. than in Israel. While the article puts the total number of Jews in the U.S. at around 6.5 million, the authors recognize there may be some double counting in the methodology and believe the number to be fewer than ...