LivingEggs trap sperm with sugar
Living

Eggs trap sperm with sugar

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esperma-antiguo In a study published in the latest issue of the journal Science , an international team of researchers has revealed that a specific type of sugar from the outer covering of the "sticky" egg helps a sperm to adhere and start the fertilization process.

Scientists already knew that a sperm "recognizes" an egg when proteins in the sperm head meet a series of specific sugars on the outer covering of the egg. Once a successful union occurs, the outer surfaces of the sperm and egg adhere before fusing and the sperm emits its DNA into the interior, fertilizing the egg.

In this new research, the experts used ultra-sensitive imaging technology to identify which molecules are most important in the adhesion process. The team found that a chain of sugars known as the sialyl-lewis-x (SLeX) sequence is abundant on the surface of the human egg, and after experimenting with a number of synthetic sugars in the laboratory, they discovered that it is SLeX that adheres on time. the sperm to the egg. "The details we discovered here fill a huge gap in our fertility awareness and we hope they will eventually help many of those who are currently unable to conceive, " says Anne Dell, researcher at Imperial College London, UK and co-author of the job.

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