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. 1994 May 10;91(10):4195–4198. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.10.4195

Identification of a binding site in the disintegrin domain of fertilin required for sperm-egg fusion.

D G Myles 1, L H Kimmel 1, C P Blobel 1, J M White 1, P Primakoff 1
PMCID: PMC43751  PMID: 8183890

Abstract

Fertilization and certain later stages in mammalian embryonic development require fusion between membranes of individual cells. The mechanism of eukaryotic cell-cell fusion is unknown, and no surface molecules required for this process have been unequivocally identified. The role of the sperm surface protein fertilin in sperm-egg fusion was tested by using peptide analogues of a potential integrin binding site in the fertilin beta subunit. Peptide analogues that include a TDE sequence from the disintegrin region of fertilin beta are able to bind to the egg plasma membrane and strongly inhibit sperm-egg fusion. These results show that the disintegrin domain of fertilin beta binds to the egg plasma membrane and that this binding is required for membrane fusion.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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