Cysteine analogs with a free thiol group promote fertilization by reducing disulfide bonds in the zona pellucida of mice.

ABSTRACT: Archives of cryopreserved sperm harvested from genetically engineered mice, in mouse resource centers, are a readily accessible genetic resource for the scientific community. We previously reported that exposure of oocytes to reduced glutathione (GSH) greatly improves the fertilization rate of frozen-thawed mouse sperm. Application of GSH to in vitro fertilization techniques is widely accepted as a standard protocol to produce sufficient numbers of mice from cryopreserved sperm. However, the detailed mechanism of the enhancement of fertilization mediated by GSH in vitro is not fully understood. Here we focused on the chemical by determining the effects of its amino acid constituents and cysteine analogs on the fertilization of oocytes by frozen-thawed sperm. Furthermore, we determined the

SUBMITTER: Takeo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6366478 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature