ArticleThe Journal of cell biology2012
Ovastacin, a cortical granule protease, cleaves ZP2 in the zona pellucida to prevent polyspermy.
Article in The Journal of cell biology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 142 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
142 citing papers in PubMed, 309 citations in OpenAlex.
- N6-Methyladenosine and 5-Methylcytosine Epitranscriptomic Regulation of Male Reproduction and Fertility.Biology · 2026Review
- Molecular understanding of plant pollination, fertilization, seed development and protoplast regeneration.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- Meprin β is specifically inhibited by its cognate synthetic propeptide.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Article
- Molecular interplay between sperm and oocyte: a narrative review.Human reproduction update · 2026Review
- Uridine restores oocyte quality and mitigates female reproductive aging by inhibition of ferroptosis in mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Transcription Factor TCF12-Mediated Maternal Gene Expressions in Mouse Oocyte Are Prerequisites of Successful Fertilisation and Zygotic Genome Activation.Cell proliferation · 2026Article
- Roles of the zona pellucida in gamete fusion and of the perivitelline space in blocking polyspermy in mice.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- Expression, transport, and storage of fetuin-B in human granulosa cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The oocyte zinc transportereLife · 2025Article
- Furin-Mediated Cleavage of Zona Pellucida Proteins Is Essential for Oocyte Development.MedComm · 2025Article
- Rules of life at the interface of calcium signaling and mechanobiology.APL bioengineering · 2025Review
- Dynamic Remodeling of the Zona Pellucida: Implications for Oocyte Competence and Assisted Reproduction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Mutational disruption of transcription factors binding and regulatory networks in a case of unexplained total fertilization failure.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Novel homozygous variants in ASTL and WEE2 responsible for female infertility characterized by abnormal fertilization.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Article
- Cross-species insemination reveals mouse sperm ability to enter and cross the fish micropyle.eLife · 2025Article
- Crossing the barrier or how regulation of ovastacin controls fertilization and translates into clinical phenotypes.iScience · 2025Review
- Article
- Role of ZBED3 in PALD1/PIP2- dependent calcium homeostasis during oocyte maturation.Cell & bioscience · 2025Article
- The TRPV3 channel is a mediator of zinc influx and homeostasis in murine oocytes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- CIROZ is dispensable in ancestral vertebrates but essential for left-right patterning in humans.American journal of human genetics · 2025Article
82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The mouse zona pellucida is composed of three glycoproteins (ZP1, ZP2, and ZP3), of which ZP2 is proteolytically cleaved after gamete fusion to prevent polyspermy. This cleavage is associated with exocytosis of cortical granules that are peripherally located subcellular organelles unique to ovulated eggs. Based on the cleavage site of ZP2, ovastacin was selected as a candidate protease. Encoded by the single-copy Astl gene, ovastacin is an oocyte-specific member of the astacin family of metalloendoproteases. Using specific antiserum, ovastacin was detected in cortical granules before, but not after, fertilization. Recombinant ovastacin cleaved ZP2 in native zonae pellucidae, documenting that ZP2 was a direct substrate of this metalloendoprotease. Female mice lacking ovastacin did not cleave ZP2 after fertilization, and mouse sperm bound as well to Astl-null two-cell embryos as they did to normal eggs. Ovastacin is a pioneer component of mouse cortical granules and plays a definitive role in the postfertilization block to sperm binding that ensures monospermic fertilization and successful development.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.