9804595 Hall Recent work in Dr. Hall's laboratory has provided evidence which suggests that the recognition and binding of mammalian sperm to the cellular coating of an egg called the zona pollucida (ZP) is mediated by specific sugar molecules on the surface of the egg's cellular coating and that an enzyme, N-acetyl-B-D-hexosaminadase B, is involved in this stage of the fertilization process. He postulates that the binding of the sperm enzyme to the egg's sugar molecules forms an enzyme-sugar complex that may mediate the "tight" binding between the sperm and the egg. Since no X-ray crystallographic structure of the sperm enzyme is available, the proposed study would further our understanding of this stage of the fertilization process, namely, sperm-egg recognition and binding. The information acquired from this study would allow the design and synthesis of specific sugar analogs that could be potent inhibitors of the fertilization process and lead to the development of a sperm-directed male contraceptive.
