A highly purified 15 kDa glycoprotein isolated from ejaculated spermatozoa was used to raise antisera in female rabbits. An indirect immunofluorescence technique was used to detect the antigen in the seminal vesicle tissue and on the acrosomes of ejaculated, native and capacitated, boar spermatozoa. No immunoreactivity was detected on cells of the seminiferous tubules (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, and spermatids), on spermatozoa in the ductus epididymis and in cells of the epididymal and testicular tissues. These observations support the view that the 15 kDa protein is produced in the seminal vesicle secretory epithelium, and is attached to the sperm plasma membrane during the exposure of spermatozoa to seminal vesicle compounds. The observations that the antigen remained on the acrosome of ejaculated spermatozoa after capacitation and blocked sperm-oocyte binding in vitro suggest that the antigen plays a role in sperm-egg interactions. The strong immunoreactivity exhibited by cumulus cells after incubation of antisera with the porcine egg surrounded by cumulus cells shows the possible importance of the 15 kDa glycoprotein for contact of spermatozoa with cells of the cumulus oophorus surrounding the egg.

Institute of Molecular Genetics Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Prague

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Ligands and Receptors Involved in the Sperm-Zona Pellucida Interactions in Mammals