Publication Date:
2014-04-18
Description:
Fertilization occurs when sperm and egg recognize each other and fuse to form a new, genetically distinct organism. The molecular basis of sperm-egg recognition is unknown, but is likely to require interactions between receptor proteins displayed on their surface. Izumo1 is an essential sperm cell-surface protein, but its receptor on the egg has not been described. Here we identify folate receptor 4 (Folr4) as the receptor for Izumo1 on the mouse egg, and propose to rename it Juno. We show that the Izumo1-Juno interaction is conserved within several mammalian species, including humans. Female mice lacking Juno are infertile and Juno-deficient eggs do not fuse with normal sperm. Rapid shedding of Juno from the oolemma after fertilization suggests a mechanism for the membrane block to polyspermy, ensuring eggs normally fuse with just a single sperm. Our discovery of an essential receptor pair at the nexus of conception provides opportunities for the rational development of new fertility treatments and contraceptives.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3998876/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉 〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3998876/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bianchi, Enrica -- Doe, Brendan -- Goulding, David -- Wright, Gavin J -- 098051/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- England -- Nature. 2014 Apr 24;508(7497):483-7. doi: 10.1038/nature13203. Epub 2014 Apr 16.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK. ; Mouse Production Team, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK. ; Electron and Advanced Light Microscopy Suite, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24739963" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
Conserved Sequence
;
Evolution, Molecular
;
Female
;
Fertility/genetics
;
Fertilization/genetics/*physiology
;
Genes, Essential
;
Glycosylphosphatidylinositols/metabolism
;
Humans
;
Immunoglobulins/*metabolism
;
Infertility, Female/genetics
;
Male
;
Mammals
;
Membrane Proteins/*metabolism
;
Mice
;
Oocytes/cytology/metabolism
;
Ovum/cytology/*metabolism
;
Parthenogenesis
;
Receptors, Cell Surface/deficiency/genetics/*metabolism
;
Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic
;
Spermatozoa/*metabolism
;
Time Factors
Print ISSN:
0028-0836
Electronic ISSN:
1476-4687
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
