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Cell Adhesion and Fertilization: Steps in Oocyte Transport, Sperm-Zona Pellucida Interactions, and Sperm-Egg Fusion¹

^a Department of Neuroscience, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California 92521 ^b Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 ^c Section of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, California 95616

Fertilization in mammals requires the successful completion of many steps, starting with the transport of gametes in the reproductive tract and ending with sperm-egg membrane fusion. In this minireview, we focus on three adhesion steps in this multistep process. The first is oocyte "pick-up," in which the degree of adhesion between the extracellular matrix of the cumulus cells and oviductal epithelial cells controls the successful pick-up of the oocyte-cumulus complex and its subsequent transfer into the oviduct. The second part of this review is concerned with the interaction between the sperm and the zona pellucida of the egg. Evidence is discussed that a plasma membrane form of galactosyltransferase on the surface of mouse sperm binds to ZP3 in the zona pellucida and initiates an acrosome reaction. Additional evidence raises the possibility that initial sperm binding to the zona pellucida is independent of ZP3. Last, we address the relationship between sperm adhesion to the egg plasma membrane and membrane fusion, especially the role of ADAM family proteins on the sperm surface and egg integrins.

¹ Supported by grants from the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program of California (P.T.) and from the National Institutes of Health HD 23479 (B.D.S.) and HD 16580, U54 HD 29125 (D.G.M.). This minireview is derived from talks delivered as part of the BioPore Minisymposium: Sperm-Egg Interactions Leading to Fertilization at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction, July 15–18, 2000, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. The symposium was organized by D.G.M. and included the following presentations: "The Role of the Cumulus Matrix in Oocyte Pick-up" by P.T., "Molecular Aspects of Gamete Recognition in the Mouse" by B.D.S., and "Sperm-Egg Plasma Membrane Binding and Fusion" by D.G.M. Because this article reflects the contents of the symposium talks, it is not meant to be a comprehensive review of the topics discussed but is primarily focused on work from the laboratories of the respective investigators.

² Correspondence: Diana G. Myles, University of California, Section of Molecular and Cell Biology, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616. FAX: 530 752 3085; dgmyles{at}ucdavis.edu