2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Evaluation of egg ability for fertilization by sugar chain molecular probes

Research Project

Project/Area Number	19791179
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Obstetrics and gynecology
Research Institution	National Research Institute for Child Health and Development
Principal Investigator	MIYAMOTO Kiyoko National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, 生殖・細胞医療研究部, 共同研究員 (20415590)
Project Period (FY)	2007 – 2009
Keywords	生殖医学 / 糖鎖 / レクチン / 卵子 / 受精
Research Abstract	Sugar-specific probes such as lectins and antibodies have been used as a molecular probe for labeling sugar chains and evaluating cell activities. In order to evaluate egg ability in fertilization, especially fusion with sperm, we studied each of CD9-and CD81-deficient eggs. Eventually, we found that CD9-and ganglioside GM3-containing vesicles are released from eggs before fertilization, and regulate sperm-fusing ability. We named the vesicles as egg exosomes. Our results suggest that GM3-containing exosomes regulate sperm-egg fusion in mammals.