Researchers have revealed how precisely a human egg captures an arriving sperm to start the process of fertilization. They believe that this invention could help the couples who suffering infertility. They found that a precise type of sugar molecule makes the outer coat of the egg sultry which help egg and sperm bind together.
It is already know to them that sperm is familiar an egg when protein present on the head of the sperm match and go together with a sequence of precise sugars in the outer coating on egg. When, successful match has been made, the outer surface of egg and sperm bind together prior to their amalgamation.
Then the sperm delivers its DNA to the inside that fertilizes the egg. In the latest study researchers by using ultra-sensitive mass-spectrometric imaging technology, evaluate which molecules were most likable key in the process of binding. About fifteen percent of couples of reproductive age globally, are affected by infertility.
Almost one in every seven couples has problems of conceiving due to various reasons, according to estimates by The World Health Organization. The latest study showed that a sugar chain called as the sialyl-lewis-x sequence (SLeX) is plentiful on the surface of an egg and after testing with a range of synthesized sugars in the lab.
Researchers found that it is SLeX that distinctively binds sperm to an egg. To ensure they then tested their findings with the help of the outer coats of unfertilized non-living human eggs. According to researcher Anne Dell from Imperial College London, the details they have discovered here fill in a huge gap in their knowledge of fertility.
Researcher Anne Dell worked in collaboration with researchers from Universities of Missouri and Hong Kong, and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. The study was extremely difficult because human eggs are very tiny; about the size of a full stop therefore they did not have much matter to work with. The study reported in the journal Science.