IMMUNO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPE ANALYSIS OF THE SURFACE LAYERS OF THE UNFERTILISED SEA URCHIN EGG. II. LOCALISATION OF SURFACE ANTIGENS

IMMUNO-ELECTRON MICROSCOPE ANALYSIS OF THE SURFACE LAYERS OF THE UNFERTILISED SEA URCHIN EGG. I. EFFECTS OF THE ANTISERA ON THE CELL ULTRASTRUCTURE

The response of unfertilised Paracentrotus lividus eggs to γ-globulin fractions of antisera against isolated homologous jelly coat substance or homologous homogenates of jellyless eggs has been studied at the ultrastructural level. The antijelly γ-globulin caused precipitation of the jelly layer, the density of precipitation varying between different eggs and being proportional to the γ-globulin concentration. Agglutination of the jelly substance of adjacent eggs, which is species specific, occurred frequently with higher γ-globulin concentrations. Antiegg γ-globulins (from antiserum against total homogenates of jelly-free eggs or the heat-stable fraction thereof) did not produce these effects. Instead, these γ-globulins caused various structural alterations mostly representing stages in parthenogenetic activation. This species-specific activation was induced by the reaction of antibodies with some heat-stable egg antigens different from those involved in jelly precipitation. Surface alterations included the formation of small papillae, membrane blisters, hyaline layer, and activation membrane, the release of material from the cell surface, and the breakdown of cortical granules. These alterations were dependent on both γ-globulin concentration and the variable reactivity among different females. Aster formation, found intracellularly, verified that the surface responses represented real parthenogenetic activation and were not the result of immune lysis. No such alterations appeared in the controls.

Identification of the sea urchin egg receptor for sperm using an antiserum raised against a fragment of its extracellular domain

Sea urchin egg fertilization requires the species-specific interaction of molecules on the sperm and egg surfaces. Previously, we isolated an extracellular, 70-kD glycosylated fragment of the S. purpuratus egg receptor for sperm by treating the eggs with lysylendoproteinase C (Foltz, K. R., and W. J. Lennarz. 1990. J. Cell Biol. 111:2951-2959). To characterize the receptor further, we have generated a polyclonal antiserum (anti-70KL) against the purified 70-kD fragment. Anti-70KL was found to react with a single polypeptide of approximately 350 kD on Western blots, presumed to be the intact receptor, in an egg cell surface preparation. This polypeptide appeared to be tightly associated with the plasma membrane/vitelline layer complex, as it was released from these preparations only by detergent treatment. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that the receptor was distributed evenly over the egg surface. The anti-70KL was species specific both in its ability to recognize the egg surface protein and to inhibit sperm binding. Fab fragments generated from affinity-purified anti-70KL also bound to the egg surface and inhibited sperm binding in a concentration-dependent manner. Interestingly, treatment with Fabs caused a small percentage of eggs to undergo cortical granule exocytosis, even in the absence of external Ca2+. These results confirm earlier findings indicating that the receptor is a cell surface glycoprotein of high molecular weight that species specifically binds sperm. This antiserum provides a powerful tool for further investigation of gamete interactions and the structure of the sperm receptor.

Monoclonal antibodies to the sea urchin egg vitelline layer inhibit fertilization by blocking sperm adhesion

Thirty-one mouse hybridomas were produced against the vitelline layer (VL) of the egg of the sea urchin S. purpuratus. Ascites fluids of eight of the 31 bound to the VL surface in the high ionic strength conditions of sea water. Binding was specific to the VL, since immunofluorescence showed that the antibodies elevated from the egg surface with the fertilization envelope after activation with ionophore A23187. Antibody binding was strictly species-specific, the eggs of L. pictus showing no reaction. An immunoperoxidase surface-binding assay showed a wide range in the amount of each monoclonal antibody binding to the VL surface at saturation. All eight monoclonals inhibit fertilization by inhibiting the binding of sperm to the VL. None of the eight ascites fluids reacted with egg jelly. The inhibition of fertilization correlates positively with amount of antibody binding the egg surface. In contrast to the effects of polyclonal rabbit antisera raised against whole eggs or egg cortices, these eight monoclonal antibodies to the VL do not induce the wrinkling of the egg, the cortical granule reaction, the centering of pronuclei, or any other visual indication of metabolic activation.

Immunochemical studies of 22S protein from isolated mitotic apparatus

Evidence is presented that the "22S protein" of mitotic apparatus isolated from sea urchin eggs is not microtubule protein. An antibody preparation active against 22S protein is described, and immunochemical studies of the distribution of 22S protein in various cellular fractions and among morphological features of mitotic apparatus are reported. The protein is ubiquitous in the metaphase egg fractions that were tested but is not found in sperm flagella. It is immunologically distinct from proposed microtubule protein isolated from mitotic apparatus by the method of Sakai, and from proposed microtubule protein obtained after extraction with mild acid. It exists in nontubule material of isolated mitotic apparatus but is not detectable in microtubules.