Abstract
THE cumulus oophorus of rabbit eggs can be dispersed in vitro by suspensions of rabbit spermatozoa1,2 or by hyaluronidase3, but the corona radiata remains intact4. Both the corona and the zona pellucida can be dissolved by proteolytic enzymes such as ficin, papain, ‘Pronase’ (a bacterial proteinase) and trypsin2,5, but the mechanism by which dissolution is brought about in vivo remains obscure6. However, it is known that when spermatozoa penetrate the layers of cumulus and corona cells of rabbit eggs the acrosomes become detached6, and it has been suggested that this leads to liberation of a ‘zona lysin’, a hypothetical enzyme which is localized between the sperm head and the acrosome7.
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SRIVASTAVA, P., ADAMS, C. & HARTREE, E. Enzymatic Action of Lipoglycoprotein Preparations from Sperm-acrosomes on Rabbit Ova. Nature 205, 498 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/205498a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/205498a0
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