ArticleScientific reports2016
The zinc spark is an inorganic signature of human egg activation.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers.
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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
65 citing papers in PubMed, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- Extracellular zinc acts as a dynamic extracellular regulator of fertilization in Xenopus laevis†.Biology of reproduction · 2026Article
- Molecular interplay between sperm and oocyte: a narrative review.Human reproduction update · 2026Review
- Serum trace and heavy metal exposure and IVF/ICSI outcomes: modifying effects of maternal diet in a prospective cohort.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2026Article
- A comprehensive review about sperm-oocyte interactions and key activation factors of fertilization in mammals.The Canadian journal of urology · 2026Review
- Zinc excess promotes lysosome remodeling by activating HLH-30/TFEB through the action of the high zinc sensor HIZR-1.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- What we could not have known: ovarian cycles, follicle development, and the signature of life.Molecular human reproduction · 2026Review
- The oocyte zinc transportereLife · 2025Article
- DTPA disrupts development of preantral ovarian follicles in vitro.Reproduction & fertility · 2025Article
- Crossing the barrier or how regulation of ovastacin controls fertilization and translates into clinical phenotypes.iScience · 2025Review
- Article
- Metal Ion Signaling in Biomedicine.Chemical reviews · 2025Review
- Septins as key players in spermatogenesis, fertilisation and pre-implantation embryogenic cytoplasmic dynamics.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Review
- Follicle-intrinsic and spatially distinct molecular programs drive follicle rupture and luteinization during ex vivo mammalian ovulation.Communications biology · 2024Article
- On the genesis and unique functions of zinc neuromodulation.Journal of neurophysiology · 2024Review
- Zinc transporter ZnT3/Slc30a3 has a potential role in zinc ion influx in mouse oocytes.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2024Article
- Review
- Molecular Mechanism of Oocyte Activation in Mammals: Past, Present, and Future Directions.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- An Overview of Reactive Oxygen Species Damage Occurring during In Vitro Bovine Oocyte and Embryo Development and the Efficacy of Antioxidant Use to Limit These Adverse Effects.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- How Can Selected Dietary Ingredients Influence the Development and Progression of Endometriosis?Nutrients · 2024Review
- Calcium signaling in oocyte quality and functionality and its application.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Egg activation refers to events required for transition of a gamete into an embryo, including establishment of the polyspermy block, completion of meiosis, entry into mitosis, selective recruitment and degradation of maternal mRNA, and pronuclear development. Here we show that zinc fluxes accompany human egg activation. We monitored calcium and zinc dynamics in individual human eggs using selective fluorophores following activation with calcium-ionomycin, ionomycin, or hPLCζ cRNA microinjection. These egg activation methods, as expected, induced rises in intracellular calcium levels and also triggered the coordinated release of zinc into the extracellular space in a prominent "zinc spark." The ability of the gamete to mount a zinc spark response was meiotic-stage dependent. Moreover, chelation of intracellular zinc alone was sufficient to induce cell cycle resumption and transition of a meiotic cell into a mitotic one. Together, these results demonstrate critical functions for zinc dynamics and establish the zinc spark as an extracellular marker of early human 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.