Carbohydrate-mediated binding and induction of acrosomal exocytosis in a boar sperm-somatic cell adhesion model.

The molecular basis underlying the binding of spermatozoa to their homologous eggs and the subsequent induction of acrosomal exocytosis remain a major unresolved issue in mammalian fertilization. Novel cell adhesion systems are now being explored to advance this research. Triantennary and tetraantennary N-glycans have previously been implicated as the major carbohydrate sequences that mediate the initial binding of spermatozoa to the specialized egg coat (zona pellucida) in the murine and porcine models.