N-Glycosylation Site in the Middle Region Is Involved in the Sperm-Binding Activity of Bovine Zona Pellucida Glycoproteins ZP3 and ZP4
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Dilimulati K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10669178 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The zona pellucida (ZP) is a transparent envelope that surrounds the mammalian oocyte and mediates species-selective sperm-oocyte interactions. The bovine ZP consists of the glycoproteins ZP2, ZP3, and ZP4. Sperm-binding mechanisms of the bovine ZP are not yet fully elucidated. In a previous report, we established the expression system of bovine ZP glycoproteins using Sf9 insect cells and found that the ZP3/ZP4 heterocomplex inhibits the binding of sperm to the ZP in a competitive inhibition assay, while ZP2, ZP3, ZP4, the ZP2/ZP3 complex, and the ZP2/ZP4 complex do not exhibit this activity. Here, we show that bovine sperm binds to plastic plates coated with ZP4 in the absence of ZP3. We made a series of ZP4 deletion mutants to study the sperm-binding sites. The N-terminal region, Lys-25 to Asp-136, and the middle region, Ser-290 to Lys-340, of ZP4 exhibit sperm-binding activity. These results suggest that among the three components of bovine ZP glycoproteins, ZP4 contains the major potential sperm-binding sites, and the formation of a multivalent complex is necessary for the sperm-binding activity of ZP4.
| S-EPMC8270413 | biostudies-literature
Project description: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.
| S-EPMC2528931 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mammalian oocytes are enveloped by the zona pellucida (ZP), an extracellular matrix of glycoproteins. In sperm, stimulation with ZP proteins evokes a rapid Ca2+ influx via the sperm-specific, pH-sensitive Ca2+ channel CatSper. However, the physiological role and molecular mechanisms underlying ZP-dependent activation of CatSper are unknown. Here, we delineate the sequence of ZP-signaling events in mouse sperm. We show that ZP proteins evoke a rapid intracellular pH i increase that rests predominantly on Na+/H+ exchange by NHA1 and requires cAMP synthesis by the soluble adenylyl cyclase sAC as well as a sufficiently negative membrane potential set by the spem-specific K+ channel Slo3. The alkaline-activated CatSper channel translates the ZP-induced pH i increase into a Ca2+ response. Our findings reveal the molecular components underlying ZP action on mouse sperm, opening up new avenues for understanding the basic principles of sperm function and, thereby, mammalian fertilization.
| S-EPMC7487327 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Zona pellucida (ZP), the extracellular matrix sheltering mammalian oocytes and embryos, is composed by 3 to 4 proteins. The roles of the three proteins present in mice have been elucidated by KO models, but the function of the fourth component (ZP4), present in all other eutherian mammals studied so far, has remained elusive. Herein, we report that ZP4 ablation impairs fertility in female rabbits. Ovulation, fertilization and in vitro development to blastocyst were not affected by ZP4 ablation. However, in vivo development is severely impaired in embryos covered by a ZP4-devoided zona, suggesting a defective ZP protective capacity in the absence of ZP4. ZP4-null ZP was significantly thinner, more permeable, and exhibited a more disorganized and fenestrated structure. The evolutionary conservation of ZP4 in other mammals, including humans, suggests that the structural properties conferred by this protein are required to ensure proper embryo sheltering during in vivo preimplantation development.
| S-EPMC6805156 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeTo identify disease-causing genes involved in female infertility.MethodsWhole-exome sequencing and Sanger DNA sequencing were used to identify the mutations in disease-causing genes. We performed subcellular protein localization, western immunoblotting analysis, and co-immunoprecipitation analysis to evaluate the effects of the mutation.ResultsWe investigated 17 families with female infertility. Whole-exome and Sanger DNA sequencing were used to characterize the disease gene in the patients, and we identified a novel heterozygous mutation (p.Ser173Cys, c.518C > G) in the ZP3 gene in a patient with empty follicle syndrome. When we performed co-immunoprecipitation analysis, we found that the S173C mutation affected interactions between ZP3 and ZP2.ConclusionsWe identified a novel mutation in the ZP3 gene in a Chinese family with female infertility. Our findings thus expand the mutational and phenotypical spectrum of the ZP3 gene, and they will be helpful in precisely diagnosing this aspect of female infertility.
| S-EPMC7822995 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The zona pellucida contains three proteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3), the precursors of which possess signal peptides, 'zona' domains and short (9-15 residue) cytoplasmic tails downstream of a transmembrane domain. The ectodomains of ZP2 and ZP3 are sufficient to form the insoluble zona matrix and yet each protein traffics through oocytes without oligomerization. ZP2 and ZP3 were fluorescently tagged and molecular interactions were assayed by fluorescent complementation in CHO cells and growing oocytes. ZP2 and ZP3 traffic independently, but colocalize at the plasma membrane. However, protein-protein interactions were observed only after release and incorporation of ZP2 and ZP3 into the extracellular matrix surrounding mouse oocytes. In the absence of their hydrophilic cytoplasmic tails, ZP2 and ZP3 interacted within the cell and did not participate in the zona pellucida. A heterologous GPI-anchored 'zona' domain protein fused with the cytoplasmic tails was integrated into the zona matrix. We conclude that the cytoplasmic tails are sufficient and necessary to prevent intracellular oligomerization while ensuring incorporation of processed ZP2 and ZP3 into the zona pellucida.
| S-EPMC3048891 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mammalian eggs are surrounded by an extracellular matrix called the zona pellucida (ZP). This envelope participates in processes such as acrosome reaction induction, sperm binding, protection of the oviductal embryo, and may be involved in speciation. In eutherian mammals, this coat is formed of three or four glycoproteins (ZP1-ZP4). While Mus musculus has been used as a model to study the ZP for more than 35 years, surprisingly, it is the only eutherian species in which the ZP is formed of three glycoproteins Zp1, Zp2, and Zp3, Zp4 being a pseudogene. Zp4 was lost in the Mus lineage after it diverged from Rattus, although it is not known when precisely this loss occurred. In this work, the status of Zp4 in several murine rodents was tested by phylogenetic, molecular, and proteomic analyses. Additionally, assays of cross in vitro fertilization between three and four ZP rodents were performed to test the effect of the presence of Zp4 in murine ZP and its possible involvement in reproductive isolation. Our results showed that Zp4 pseudogenization is restricted to the subgenus Mus, which diverged around 6 MYA. Heterologous in vitro fertilization assays demonstrate that a ZP formed of four glycoproteins is not a barrier for the spermatozoa of species with a ZP formed of three glycoproteins. This study identifies the existence of several mouse species with four ZPs that can be considered suitable for use as an experimental animal model to understand the structural and functional roles of the four ZP proteins in other species, including human.
| S-EPMC7848090 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite decades of research, the mechanism by which the fertilizing spermatozoon penetrates the mammalian vitelline membrane, the zona pellucida (ZP) remains one of the unexplained fundamental events of human/mammalian development. Evidence has been accumulating in support of the 26S proteasome as a candidate for echinoderm, ascidian and mammalian egg coat lysin. Monitoring ZP protein degradation by sperm during fertilization is nearly impossible because those few spermatozoa that penetrate the ZP leave behind a virtually untraceable residue of degraded proteins. We have overcome this hurdle by designing an experimentally consistent in vitro system in which live boar spermatozoa are co-incubated with ZP-proteins (ZPP) solubilized from porcine oocytes. Using this assay, mimicking sperm-egg interactions, we demonstrate that the sperm-borne proteasomes can degrade the sperm receptor protein ZPC. Upon coincubation with motile spermatozoa, the solubilized ZPP, which appear to be ubiquitinated, adhered to sperm acrosomal caps and induced acrosomal exocytosis/formation of the acrosomal shroud. The degradation of the sperm receptor protein ZPC was assessed by Western blotting band-densitometry and proteomics. A nearly identical pattern of sperm receptor degradation, evident already within the first 5 min of coincubation, was observed when the spermatozoa were replaced with the isolated, enzymatically active, sperm-derived proteasomes. ZPC degradation was blocked by proteasomal inhibitors and accelerated by ubiquitin-aldehyde(UBAL), a modified ubiquitin protein that stimulates proteasomal proteolysis. Such a degradation pattern of ZPC is consistent with in vitro fertilization studies, in which proteasomal inhibitors completely blocked fertilization, and UBAL increased fertilization and polyspermy rates. Preincubation of intact zona-enclosed ova with isolated active sperm proteasomes caused digestion, abrasions and loosening of the exposed zonae, and significantly reduced the fertilization/polyspermy rates after IVF, accompanied by en-mass detachment of zona bound sperm. Thus, the sperm borne 26S proteasome is a candidate zona lysin in mammals. This new paradigm has implications for contraception and assisted reproductive technologies in humans, as well as animals.
| S-EPMC3044170 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mutation studies always defined the functions of the zona pellucida (ZP) as extracellular, namely: to encase the oocytes in ovarian follicles, to ensure species-specific sperm binding, and to dampen shear stress on the embryo surface. Therefore, mutations in the three ZP mouse genes ZP1, ZP2 or ZP3 cause primary infertility due to empty follicles, polyspermic fertilization or harmful contact between embryos and oviductal epithelium. However, the concepti of ZP2-null and ZP3-null oocytes were still unviable also when the defects were obviated by monospermic fertilization in vitro and blastocyst transfer to uterus (PMID 11245577). This suggests that the tasks of ZPs don’t end in the extracellular space as previously assumed, but there may be also intracellular functions yet to be discovered. The present study tested if experimentally induced degradation of intracellular ZP3 impacted on the development and transcriptome of mouse embryos. To this end we degraded ZP3 using its antibody in conjunction with the ubiquitin-protein ligase TRIM21. This method is known as 'Trim-away' (PMID 29153837). Briefly, in this method a cell (e.g. oocyte) expressing TRIM21 is supplied e.g. injected with a specific antibody to a protein of interest, in this case ZP3. As a result, the ternary complex (target protein-antibody-TRIM21) is destroyed in the proteasome. TRIM21 is here always to be understood as translation product of microinjected mCherry-Trim21 mRNA. We compared two experimental groups, as follows. Pronuclear-stage oocytes (B6C3F1 x CD1) were microinjected with approx. 100 picoliters of mix comprised of mCherry-Trim21 mRNA 0.2 mg/mL + buffer of ZP3 antibody + dextran beads 0.02 mg/mL as tracer, forming a group named 'Trim21 overexpression', in quadruplicate. As a reference, pronuclear-stage oocytes were microinjected with mCherry-Trim21 mRNA 0.2 mg/mL + anti-ZP3 antibody (Proteintech 21279-1-AP) 1 mg/mL + dextran beads, forming a group named 'Trim-away ZP3' group, in triplicate. To identify differently expressed genes we compared group 'Trim-away ZP3' with group 'Trim21 overexpression'. In addition, a single 'non-manipulated' sample was also incuded merely to confirm that Trim21 was detectable in the two experimental groups, but not in the non-microinjected embryos. On the day after microinjection, embryos were collected and lysed for transcriptome analysis. Those of group 'Trim21 overexpression' were at the 2-cell stage so as the non-manipulated embryos, whereas those of group 'Trim-away ZP3' were arrested at the 1-cell stage. Transcriptome analysis revealed that embryos of group 'Trim-away ZP3' and 'group 'Trim21 overexpression' differed in the expression of 197 of 11137 genes (t test, FDR<0.05). The data support a conclusion that ZP3 found inside the embryo was not merely a remnant from oogenesis, but served an intracellular, post-fertilization role during mouse preimplantation development.
2023-10-12 | GSE203626 | GEO
Project description:Mutation studies always defined the functions of the zona pellucida (ZP) as extracellular, namely: to encase the oocytes in ovarian follicles, to ensure species-specific sperm binding, and to dampen shear stress on the embryo surface. Therefore, mutations in the three ZP mouse genes ZP1, ZP2 or ZP3 cause primary infertility due to empty follicles, polyspermic fertilization or harmful contact between embryos and oviductal epithelium. However, the concepti of ZP2-null and ZP3-null oocytes were still unviable also when the defects were obviated by monospermic fertilization in vitro and blastocyst transfer to uterus (PMID 11245577). This suggests that the tasks of ZPs don’t end in the extracellular space as previously assumed, but there may be also intracellular functions yet to be discovered. The present study tested if experimentally induced degradation of intracellular ZP3 impacted on the development and transcriptome of mouse embryos. To this end we degraded ZP3 using its antibody in conjunction with the ubiquitin-protein ligase TRIM21. This method is known as 'Trim-away' (PMID 29153837). Briefly, in this method a cell (e.g. oocyte) expressing TRIM21 is supplied e.g. injected with a specific antibody to a protein of interest, in this case ZP3. As a result, the ternary complex (target protein-antibody-TRIM21) is destroyed in the proteasome. TRIM21 is here always to be understood as translation product of microinjected mCherry-Trim21 mRNA. We compared two experimental groups, as follows. Pronuclear-stage oocytes (B6C3F1 x CD1) were microinjected with approx. 100 picoliters of mix comprised of mCherry-Trim21 mRNA 0.2 mg/mL + anti-ZP3 antibody (Proteintech 21279-1-AP) 1 mg/mL + dextran beads 0.02 mg/mL, forming a group named 'Trim-away ZP3' group, in triplicate. As a reference, pronuclear-stage oocytes were microinjected with the same mixture as above, except that the antibody buffer was used in lieu of the antibody itself, in triplicate, forming a group named ‚no Trim'. To identify differently expressed genes we compared group 'Trim-away ZP3' with group ‘no Trim’. Ten hours after microinjection, embryos were collected and lysed for transcriptome analysis. Transcriptome analysis revealed that embryos of group 'Trim-away ZP3' and group ‘no Trim' differed in gene expression and were resolved in principal component analysis. The data support a conclusion that ZP3 found inside the embryo was not merely a remnant from oogenesis, but served an intracellular, post-fertilization role during mouse preimplantation development.
2023-10-12 | GSE232142 | GEO