Human Reproduction, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 281-285, 1992
© 1992 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
other |
Production of normal mice from oocytes fertilized and developed without zonae pellucidae
1Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, Japan 2Department of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology, University of Hawaii Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Correspondence: 3To whom correspondence should be addressed
Mouse oocytes, freed from zonae pellucidae, were inseminated and cultured in vitro. When inseminated with a modest concentration of spermatozoa (
5/µl), 79% of 151 oocytes were fertilized normally, of which the majority developed into blastocysts. When 177 blastocysts were transferred to 12 pseudopregnant foster mothers, 10 (83%) of the mothers became pregnant and 37 live pups were obtained. Although the overall rate of development of zona-free embryos was slightly inferior to that of zona-intact (control) embryos, these results nevertheless indicate that the oocyte and embryo are potentially capable of normal fertilization and development in the total absence of the native zona pellucida. Since the acrosome reaction is essential for successful sperm—oocyte fusion, zona-free oocytes must have been fertilized by spermatozoa which had undergone the reaction either in the medium or on the surface of the oocyte plasma membrane. Such acrosome reactions, which are not mediated by the native zona pellucida, can be called "unphysiological" or "spurious" but the spermatozoa with such reactions were certainly functional, as they produced healthy offspring.
Key words: embryo/fertilization/oocyte/egg/zona-free
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  Z. Q. Fan, Y. P. Wang, C. L. Yan, L. Suo, and S. E. Zhu Positive effect of partial zona pellucida digestion on in vitro fertilization of mouse oocytes with cryopreserved spermatozoa Lab Anim, January 1, 2009; 43(1): 72 - 77. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. M Johnson, L. E Clift, P. Andrlikova, M. Jursova, B. F Flanagan, J. A Cummerson, P. Stopka, and K. Dvorakova-Hortova Rapid sperm acrosome reaction in the absence of acrosomal CD46 expression in promiscuous field mice (Apodemus) Reproduction, December 1, 2007; 134(6): 739 - 747. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. A. Nolan, D. F. Babcock, G. Wennemuth, W. Brown, K. A. Burton, and G. S. McKnight Sperm-specific protein kinase A catalytic subunit C{alpha}2 orchestrates cAMP signaling for male fertility PNAS, September 14, 2004; 101(37): 13483 - 13488. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Rankin, M O'Brien, E Lee, K Wigglesworth, J Eppig, and J Dean Defective zonae pellucidae in Zp2-null mice disrupt folliculogenesis, fertility and development Development, January 4, 2001; 128(7): 1119 - 1126. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Gardner Specification of embryonic axes begins before cleavage in normal mouse development Development, January 3, 2001; 128(6): 839 - 847. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J.M. Bedford Mammalian Fertilization Misread? Sperm Penetration of the Eutherian Zona Pellucida Is Unlikely to be a Lytic Event Biol Reprod, December 1, 1998; 59(6): 1275 - 1287. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T Rankin, M Familari, E Lee, A Ginsberg, N Dwyer, J Blanchette-Mackie, J Drago, H Westphal, and J Dean Mice homozygous for an insertional mutation in the Zp3 gene lack a zona pellucida and are infertile Development, January 9, 1996; 122(9): 2903 - 2910. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Lois, E. J. Hong, S. Pease, E. J. Brown, and D. Baltimore Germline Transmission and Tissue-Specific Expression of Transgenes Delivered by Lentiviral Vectors Science, February 1, 2002; 295(5556): 868 - 872. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|