Analysis of terminal sugar moieties and species-specificities of acrosome reaction-inducing substance in Xenopus (ARISX)

作者：Ueda Yasushi^*; Imaizumi Chisato; Kubo Hideo; Sato Ken Ichi; Fukami Yasuo; Iwao Yasuhiro

来源：Development Growth and Differentiation, 2007, 49(7): 591-601.

DOI：10.1111/j.1440-169x.2007.00953.x

• acrosome reaction
• acrosome reaction-inducing substance
• fertilization envelope
• species-specificity
• Xenopus

The acrosome reaction of Xenopus sperm is triggered by the acrosome reaction-inducing substance in Xenopus (ARISX), an oviductal pars recta-derived, sugar-rich substance decorated on the entire surface of the vitelline envelope (VE) during ovulation. Here we addressed the functional importance of the sugar moiety in ARISX. Among various lectins examined, soybean agglutinin and Dolichos biflorus agglutinin were shown to abolish the acrosome reaction-inducing activity of ARISX present in pars recta extract or on the VE, indicating the importance of the terminal alpha-N-acetylgalactosamine residue for the function of ARISX. Consistently, the acrosome reaction-inducing activity was not affected by proteinase K digestion, in spite of the simultaneous shift of ARISX to a smaller molecular weight. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopic examinations showed that ARISX was distributed as two types of structures on VE; thick fiber-like materials and thin filamentous materials, and that a new structure appeared on the fertilization envelope instead of the thin filamentous materials. Sperm from several amphibian species were subjected to an in vitro assay during induction of the acrosome reaction with ARISX. The resulting limited population of sperm from a non-Xenopus species underwent acrosome reaction, implying a weak species-specificity of ARISX.

• 出版日期2007-9
• 单位河北医科大学