Reorganization of the Egg Surface at Fertilization

doi:10.1016/S0074-7696(08)60850-5

International Review of Cytology

Volume 113, 1988, Pages 233-269

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0074-7696(08)60850-5 Get rights and content

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This chapter describes the structural, chemical, and functional changes of the egg plasma membrane as the results of gamete fusion and cortical granule dehiscence. There is a discussion on the investigations examining the fate of the sperm plasma and cortical granule membranes following their fusion with the egg plasmalemma. The fundamental mechanisms related to metabolic changes of the activated ovum are also reviewed. The processes related to aspects including dynamic changes of the egg cortex and secretory functions of cortical granules during fertilization are focused. The interactions and fusion of the sperm and egg, changes are initiated that affect virtually all components of the egg cortex. The egg plasmalemma becomes a mosaic composed of membranes derived from the egg and sperm, as well as from dehisced cortical granules. Membrane changes reflecting an integration of sperm and egg plasma membranes along the fertilization cone are demonstrated using tracers at the ultrastructural level of observation. The shunting of membrane from the egg surface in the form of endocytotic vesicles, to the Golgi complex, and lysosomes are demonstrated by tracer studies.

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Cited by (18)

The timing of cortical granule fusion, content dispersal, and endocytosis during fertilization of the hamster egg: An electrophysiological and histochemical study
1994, Developmental Biology
To determine the temporal relationship between cortical granule exocytosis and the repetitive calcium transients, which are characteristic of mammalian fertilization, we monitored membrane addition from exocytosis during fertilization of hamster eggs. Continuous measurement of membrane capacitance by applying a 3.1-nA alternating current at 375 Hz showed addition of cortical granule membrane. Simultaneous measurement of membrane potential revealed each calcium transient by the appearance of transient hyperpolarizing responses due to calcium-activated potassium channels in the egg. The initial membrane capacitance of the eggs averaged 736 ± 44 pF (mean ± SD; n = 7) and an increase in capacitance of 61 ± 19 pF occurred within 4 sec of the start of the first hyperpolarizing response (HR) after fertilization. Immediately after the first increase in capacitance there was a gradual decline in membrane capacitance in all eggs and in five/seven eggs the capacitance returned to the unfertilized level in 7.8 ± 4.4 min. The gradual decline in capacitance after the first increase indicated endocytosis, which was confirmed by the internalization of fluorescently labeled dextran. Superimposed on the gradual decline in membrane capacitance were smaller increases in capacitance that occurred with the second and later HRs. The total increase in capacitance from the first three events averaged 72 ± 19 pF, representing an average increase in capacitance of about 10% of the capacitance of the unfertilized egg. By labeling eggs before and after permeabilization with two different fluorochromes attached to Lens culinaris agglutinin, we demonstrate that the dispersal of the cortical granules contents does not occur immediately after exocytosis. Our results demonstrate that cortical granule exocytosis in hamster eggs is closely coupled to the periodic increases in calcium, that the contents of the cortical granules are slow to disperse, and that after exocytosis, the surface area of the egg returns to the unfertilized level because of a period of endocytosis.
Current Concepts in Gamete Receptors for Fertilization in Mammals
1991, International Review of Cytology
This chapter discusses the current information available on gamete receptors involved in interactions, as well as immunobiology of gamete interaction during fertilization in mammals. The progress in biochemical analysis of sperm receptors on Zona Pellucida (ZP) is more rapid than in egg receptors on sperm. This is because of the fact that improved methods are now available to obtain large amounts of homogenous preparations of ZP. The binding and fusion of male and female gametes during fertilization in most cases are species specific and are important to establish the diploid complement required for development of an organism. Fertilization in mammals follows a series of defined events that occur in succession before fusion of gametes occurs. With the advancements in technology for study of reproduction such as hybridoma, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), complimentary DNA (cDNA), immunoflourescence, autoradiography, and other refined biochemical techniques, a recurring theme has emerged in gamete interaction in different mammalian species in which carbohydrate binding proteins of the sperm surface have been involved in gamete recognition by binding with high affinity and specificity to complex glycoconjugates of the egg coat.
Fertilization in Teleost Fishes: Mechanisms of Sperm-Egg Interactions
1990, International Review of Cytology
This chapter describes some of the principal morphological and cellular features of fertilization in fishes, from the initial encounter between sperm and egg to their fusion to form the zygote. The pathway leading to the fusion between a single sperm and a previously quiescent egg and the subsequent union of male and female pronuclei consists of a predictable, highly ordered sequence of events. The chapter describes the events and changes that take place during the sperm–egg interaction and their temporal relationships to each other. The eggs of fishes, particularly those of teleosts, appear to be particularly useful and advantageous for investigations of fertilization. Teleost eggs are generally large and possess the built-in advantage of having the location of sperm entry topographically restricted to a predetermined, identifiable site in the animal pole. The direct interaction of sperm and egg is mediated by complementary receptors located on their plasma membranes. Such receptors may function in sperm–egg recognition, binding, fusion, and even the activation of the egg in some species. An important functional component of these receptors is carbohydrate based on studies of the mouse sperm receptor (ZP3) and the sea urchin egg-binding protein (bindin).
Incorporation and dispersal of sperm surface antigens in plasma membranes of inseminated sea urchin (Arbacia punctulata) eggs and oocytes
1989, Developmental Biology
Monoclonal antibodies have been generated to determine the fate of sperm-specific surface components of the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata, subsequent to gamete fusion. Monoclonal antibody-7 (MAB-7) reacted with two polypeptide bands having apparent molecular masses of 33 and 35 kDa derived from the sperm plasma membrane; similar reactivity was not detected in egg preparations. Eggs and oocytes were prepared for electron microscopy at periodic intervals following insemination and reacted with MAB-7 followed by antimouse antibodies conjugated to colloidal gold. In samples prepared 30 to 60 sec postinsemination (PI) colloidal gold was confined to the surface of fused sperm with only a few gold particles associated with the egg plasma membrane. In later samples (2–10 min PI) label was present on increasingly greater areas of the egg/oocyte surface away from the site of gamete fusion so that by 20 min PI particles were located along one hemisphere of inseminated eggs and oocytes. These results demonstrate the incorporation of sperm plasma membrane polypeptides and their intermixing with egg plasmalemmal components subsequent to gamete membrane fusion. From measurements of labeled oocytes at different times PI, the diffusion coefficient for sperm surface polypeptides detected by MAB-7 was estimated to be 0.7 to 2.4 × 10⁻⁹ cm²/sec.
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2017, Journal of Cellular Biochemistry
Sperm chromatin-induced ectopic polar body extrusion in mouse eggs after ICSI and delayed egg activation
2009, PLoS ONE

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Reorganization of the Egg Surface at Fertilization

Publisher Summary

Exp. Cell Res.

Dev. Biol.

Cell

Methods Cell Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Exp. Cell Res.

Exp. Cell Res.

J. Ultrastruct. Res.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

J. Ultrastruct. Res.

Exp. Cell Res.

Dev. Biol.

Exp. Cell Res.

Biochim. Biophys. Acta

Biochim. Biophys. Acta

Exp. Cell Res.

Int. Rev. Cytol.

Dev. Biol.

Exp. Cell Res.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Biochim. Biophys. Acta

Cell

Fertil. Steril.

Biochim. Biophys. Acta

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Int. Rev. Cytol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Dev. Biol.

Exp. Cell Res.

Tissue Cell

Biol. Reprod.

Lab. Invest.

J. Cell Biol.

Gamete Res.

Am. J. Anat.

Cell Surf. Rev.

J. Cell Biol.

J. Cell Biol.