3d4c
ZP-N domain of mammalian sperm receptor ZP3 (crystal form I)
Structural highlights
FunctionMALE_ECOLI Involved in the high-affinity maltose membrane transport system MalEFGK. Initial receptor for the active transport of and chemotaxis toward maltooligosaccharides.ZP3_MOUSE Component of the zona pellucida, an extracellular matrix surrounding oocytes which mediates sperm binding, induction of the acrosome reaction and prevents post-fertilization polyspermy. The zona pellucida is composed of 3 to 4 glycoproteins, ZP1, ZP2, ZP3, and ZP4. ZP3 is essential for sperm binding and zona matrix formation. Publication Abstract from PubMedSpecies-specific recognition between the egg extracellular matrix (zona pellucida) and sperm is the first, crucial step of mammalian fertilization. Zona pellucida filament components ZP3 and ZP2 act as sperm receptors, and mice lacking either of the corresponding genes produce oocytes without a zona pellucida and are completely infertile. Like their counterparts in the vitelline envelope of non-mammalian eggs and many other secreted eukaryotic proteins, zona pellucida subunits polymerize using a 'zona pellucida (ZP) domain' module, whose conserved amino-terminal part (ZP-N) was suggested to constitute a domain of its own. No atomic structure has been reported for ZP domain proteins, and there is no structural information on any conserved vertebrate protein that is essential for fertilization and directly involved in egg-sperm binding. Here we describe the 2.3 angstrom (A) resolution structure of the ZP-N fragment of mouse primary sperm receptor ZP3. The ZP-N fold defines a new immunoglobulin superfamily subtype with a beta-sheet extension characterized by an E' strand and an invariant tyrosine residue implicated in polymerization. The structure strongly supports the presence of ZP-N repeats within the N-terminal region of ZP2 and other vertebrate zona pellucida/vitelline envelope proteins, with implications for overall egg coat architecture, the post-fertilization block to polyspermy and speciation. Moreover, it provides an important framework for understanding human diseases caused by mutations in ZP domain proteins and developing new methods of non-hormonal contraception. Crystal structure of the ZP-N domain of ZP3 reveals the core fold of animal egg coats.,Monne M, Han L, Schwend T, Burendahl S, Jovine L Nature. 2008 Dec 4;456(7222):653-7. PMID:19052627[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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