Scientists have found key proteins that control sperm egg cell binding

Tencent science news (traveler / compiler) according to foreign media reports, scientists at Sanger Research Institute in the UK found the key protein to control fertilization on the surface of egg cells for the first time This discovery is likely to have a significant impact on the treatment of female infertility, and may bring new birth control pills Scientists at the Sanger Institute in the UK named the egg protein after the Roman goddess of fertility and marriage, Juno, who claimed that the discovery opened the door to the earliest stages of pregnancy, a stage we know little about until now Dr Gavin Wright, senior author of Sanger Institute, said: "we have solved a long-standing secret of biology Without this basic interaction of proteins, fertilization would not occur It is possible to use this discovery to improve the treatment of infertility and to develop new contraceptives " Japanese scientists identified key proteins on sperm surfaces in 2005, which attach them to the membranes of larger eggs They named it izumo1, a marriage shrine However, it is very difficult to find the corresponding surface proteins on the oocytes, which may be due to the weak interaction between sperm cells and oocytes, so it is difficult to measure Scientists at Sanger Institute found Juno protein bound to izumo1 protein on the surface of mouse spermatids By genetically engineering mice, scientists have shown that when female mice lack the Juno gene and protein, they become infertile, and when male mice lack the izumo1 gene and protein, they also become infertile "This pair of proteins is the first known essential element of sperm egg recognition interaction," said Enrica Bianchi of the Sanger Institute, the lead author of the study The weak binding of the two proteins may explain why this process has been a mystery to us until now " Scientists found that once Juno protein was recognized by izumo1 protein, it would quickly disappear from the surface of the egg cell during fertilization The researchers think this may be to prevent the egg cells from being fertilized by multiple sperm Dr Wright claims that binding contraceptive vaccines to Juno and izumo1 proteins may also be particularly effective in controlling the reproduction of livestock and wildlife.