Glycan epitopes of cellular glycoconjugates act as versatile biochemical signals, and this sugar coding plays an important role in cell-to-cell recognition processes. In the present study, our aims were to determine the distribution of sperm receptors with activity for fucosyl- and galactosyl glycans and to address whether mono sugar neoglycoproteins functionally mimic the binding between zona pellucida (ZP) glycoproteins and sperm. In mouse epididymal spermatozoa with intact acrosomes, fucopyranosyl bovine serum albumin (BSA-Fuc) bound to the segment of the acrosome, the equatorial segment, and the postacrosome region of the sperm head. Galactosyl BSA (BSA-Gal) binding activity was similar to that of BSA-Fuc, but was weaker. In acrosome-reacted spermatozoa treated with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187, BSA-Fuc binding was lost in the apical segment of the acrosome but remained in the equatorial segment and postacrosome regions. BSA-Gal binding to the equatorial region was increased. In the presence of 2.5 μg/ml BSA-Fuc, in vitro sperm - ZP binding was significantly decreased, indicating that fucosyl-BSA functionally mimics ZP glycoproteins during sperm-egg ZP interactions. At the same concentration, BSA-Gal was not effective. Fucosyl BSA which efficiently inhibited the sperm-ZP binding can mimic the ZP glycoconjugate and has potential for use as a sperm fertility control agent in mouse.

생쥐의 부정소에서 진행되는 정자 성숙과정 동안의 첨체반응 능력의 변화를 조사하였다. 자발적 첨체반응 및 난포액, 프로게스테론, 또는 A23187에 의해 유발되는 첨체반응은 모두 정자의 성숙에 의존저긍로 일어났다. 두부 부정소의 매우 적은 정자만이 난포액 및 프로게스테론에 반응하여 첨체반응을 일으켰으며 체부 및 미부 부정소간에 첨체반응율에 차이가 없었다. 반면 A23187 처리시 상당수의 두부 부정소 정자가 첨체반응을 진행하였다. 이러한 결과에서 두부 부