Vjugina Ulyana, Evans Janice P
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Reproductive Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Front Biosci. 2008 Jan 1;13:462-76. doi: 10.2741/2693.
Fertilization is the process by which two terminally differentiated cells, the sperm and the egg, merge to form a totipotent cell, the zygote. This review addresses one of the culminating steps in getting sperm and egg together: the cell-cell interactions that allow the two gametes to fuse and create the zygote. Based on cell biological and genetic studies, major players include CD9 on the egg and Izumo on the sperm, although other molecules are part of an ever-evolving discussion of models for the molecular mechanisms leading to sperm-egg fusion, since few molecules have been shown to be completely essential for sperm-egg union. This sets the stage for consideration of how genetic approaches impact the field--of how knockout mouse reproductive phenotypes translate to humans and other animals and also of how interactions between redundant, nonessential genes could affect reproductive processes such as gamete interaction ("synthetic infertility," analogous to synthetic lethality). We will address these issues, examine the molecular basis of sperm-egg union and how this field has evolved with modern approaches combined with classical studies, and also discuss basic research in gamete biology in light of its possible application to reproductive health.
受精是一个过程，在此过程中，两个终末分化细胞，即精子和卵子，融合形成一个全能细胞，即受精卵。本综述探讨了使精子和卵子结合的最终步骤之一：使两个配子融合并形成受精卵的细胞间相互作用。基于细胞生物学和遗传学研究，主要参与者包括卵子上的CD9和精子上的Izumo，尽管在关于导致精卵融合分子机制模型的不断发展的讨论中，其他分子也有涉及，因为很少有分子被证明对精卵结合是完全必不可少的。这为思考遗传方法如何影响该领域奠定了基础——思考基因敲除小鼠的生殖表型如何转化为人类和其他动物的表型，以及冗余、非必需基因之间的相互作用如何影响配子相互作用等生殖过程（“合成不育”，类似于合成致死性）。我们将探讨这些问题，研究精卵结合的分子基础以及该领域如何通过现代方法与经典研究相结合而发展，还将根据配子生物学基础研究在生殖健康方面的可能应用进行讨论。
