ISSN:
0148-7280
Keywords:
fertilization
;
polyspermy
;
sea urchin eggs
;
sperm peroxidase
;
anti-inflammatory drugs
;
cyclooxygenase
;
prostaglandins
;
arachidonic acid cascade
;
indomethacin
;
flufenamic acid
;
meclofenamate
;
aspirin
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Sea urchin eggs are known to release H2O2 during the cortical reaction at fertilization to help prevent polyspermy by inactivating excess sperm in the vicinity. This process resembles the peroxidatic killing of bacteria by phagocytic leukocytes during inflammation. Associated with these reactions in leukocytes, arachidonic acid is released from phospholipids and can be oxidized via the cyclooxygenase pathway to produce prostaglandins. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) that are cyclooxygenase inhibitors in somatic cells were used to determine whether Arbacia punctulata and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus eggs use these processes to help prevent polyspermy. The potent cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin causes a dose (10-100 μM) and sperm density dependent induction of polyspermy if added before the egg completes the cortical reaction. It does not retard elevation of the fertilization envelope and does not promote polyspermy by protecting sperm from peroxidatic inactivation by egg-derived H2O2. Other potent cyclooxygenase inhibitors, flufenamate and meclofenamate, also induce polyspermy at 10-60 μM. Aspirin, a weak cyclooxygenase inhibitor in somatic cells, does not cause polyspermy at 5 mM. These findings provide evidence that prostaglandins or other cyclooxygenase-derived metabolites may help assure monospermic fertilization in sea urchins.
Additional Material:
6 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.1120100103
