Acrosin is essential for sperm penetration through the zona pellucida in hamsters

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1917595117
• Publication Date: 2020-01-21T22:55:49Z
• Authors: Michiko Hirose; Arata Honda; Helena Fulka; Miwa Tamura-Nakano; Shogo Matoba; Toshiko Tomishima; Keiji Mochida; Ayumi Hasegawa; Kiyoshi Nagashima; Kimiko Inoue; Masato Ohtsuka; Tadashi Baba; Ryuzo Yanagimachi; Atsuo Ogura
• Keywords: Acrosin; Polyspermy; Gamete; Oviduct

Significance Mammalian oocytes are surrounded by the zona pellucida, a glycoprotein coat that protects oocyte and embryo from mechanical damage during their preimplantation development within oviduct. Fertilizing spermatozoa must penetrate zona, but we do not know exact mechanisms underlying this process. Sperm proteases were thought to work as lysins, gene-knockout studies in mice did support assumption. In study, generated hamsters without acrosin, major acrosomal protease, examine its role both vivo vitro fertilization. Surprisingly, mutant male completely infertile because unable zona. We thus demonstrated that, at least hamsters, acrosin is essential for sperm penetration through