Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 5, No. 5, 433-440,
May 1999
© 1999 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Evidence that a functional fertilin-like ADAM plays a role in human sperm–oolemmal interactions
1 Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, Department of Ob/Gyn, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA, and 2 Centro di Fisiopatologia della Riproduzione, Department of Ob/Gyn, Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano, Italy
Fertilin is a protein initially identified in guinea pig spermatozoa; it is the prototype of a larger family of conserved proteins designated as a disintegrin and a metalloproteinase (ADAM). These heterodimers which consist of 
and ß subunits, containing metalloproteinase-like and disintegrin-like domains, appear to play a role in mammalian fertilization. Peptides derived from the disintegrin domains of two ADAMs, fertilin and cyritestin, interfere with gamete adhesion and sperm–egg membrane fusion in non-human species. It has been suggested that fertilin-ß binds to an oolemmal integrin, and it is proposed that the tripeptide FEE (Phe-Glu-Glu) is the integrin recognition sequence in human fertilin-ß. We evaluated whether fertilin ß plays a role in human fertilization by studying the effects of a linear octapeptide containing the FEE sequence, SFEECDLP, and a scrambled octapeptide with the same amino acids, SFPCEDEL, on the incorporation of human spermatozoa by human zona-free eggs. The effects of G4120, a potent RGD-containing (Arg-Gly-Asp) thioether-bridged cyclic peptide which blocks both fibronectin and vitronectin receptors, and the relationship between FEE- and RGD-receptor interactions on sperm–egg interactions were also studied. The FEE-containing peptide, but not the scrampled peptide, inhibited sperm adhesion to oocytes and their penetration, over the range 1–5 µM. The inhibition induced by SFEECDLP was reversible and occurred only in the presence of peptide itself. The G4120 peptide exhibited 10-fold less inhibitory effects on sperm adhesion and penetration than did SFEECDLP. When combined, SFEECDLP and G4120 exhibited strong inhibition of both adhesion and penetration at concentrations that individually had been ineffective, suggesting co-operation between the two receptor–ligand interactions during fertilization. We propose that a fertilin-like molecule is functionally active on human spermatozoa and that its interaction with an oolemmal integrin receptor plays a role in fertilization in humans.
ADAM/fertilin/fertilization/integrins/RGD
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Health Sciences Center, SUNY, Stony Brook, New York 11794–8091, USA
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