Molecular mechanisms of the regulation of oligosaccharides within egg-coating envelope during fertilization

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Fertilization comprises oligosaccharide-mediated sperm-egg interactions, beginning with sperm-recognition of egg-coating extracellular envelope. We identified a novel mediator of fertilization, dicalcin, in the egg envelope of Xenopus laevis. Inactivation of native dicalcin by specific antibody increased the fertilization rate, while addition of dicalcin inhibits fertilization as well as sperm-recognition. Dicalcin binds to a constitutive glycoprotein of the egg envelope, inducing its conformational change, and simultaneously affects the structure of the envelope. We also identified the mouse counterpart of Xenopus dicalcin, and found thatmouse dicalcin, present in the cumulus cells of cumulus-oocyte complex, also inhibits in vitro fertilization. Thus, dicalcin regulates sperm-egg interaction during fertilization both in frogs and mice