The immunoglobulin superfamily protein Izumo is required for sperm to fuse with eggs

Naokazu Inoue, Masahito Ikawa, Ayako Isotani and Masaru Okabe ()
Additional contact information
Naokazu Inoue: Genome Information Research Center
Masahito Ikawa: Research Institute for Microbial Diseases
Ayako Isotani: Genome Information Research Center
Masaru Okabe: Genome Information Research Center

Nature, 2005, vol. 434, issue 7030, 234-238

Abstract: Fertilization: joint effort The molecular events that enable the mammalian sperm and egg to recognize each other and then form an embryo are gradually being revealed. A molecule on the egg membrane, integrin-associated protein CD9, was recently found to be essential for fusion and now the first sperm-related fusion factor has been identified in mice. The molecule is an immunoglobulin, and was found on the NCBI database. Named Izumo (a reference to Izumo Taisha, a Japanese marriage shrine), the protein is also present in human sperm, where anti-Izumo antibodies prevent sperm–egg fusion. As more of the molecules involved in fusion become known, new forms of contraception and treatments for infertility may become possible.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03362

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