唾液酸在精子成熟、获能及精卵结合中作用研究进展

Roles of sialic acids in sperm maturation and capacitation and sperm-egg recognition

唾液酸是位于多种糖结合物末端的酸性九碳单糖,与多种生物学功能相关。精子上的唾液酸与精子功能成熟、获能及精卵识别有紧密联系:精子表面的唾液酸可使精子带负电荷而免于聚积,可掩盖精子上的某些抗原决定簇,从而增加精子在女性生殖道的存活能力;唾液酸的丢失是介导精子获能的一个重要因素;而在精卵识别中,位于蛋白聚合物末端的唾液酸能起到信号识别的作用。本文就唾液酸对精子的成熟、获能及精卵结合的影响做一综述。

Sialic acids are a subset of nine-carbon alpha-keto aldonic acids involved in various biological functions. Sialic acid on the sperm surface is closely related to sperm maturation and capacitation and sperm-egg recognition, which makes sperm negatively charged to avoid accumulation and covers some antigenic determinants there to increase the survival rate of sperm in the female repro- duetive tract. The loss of sialic acids is an important factor mediating sperm capacitation. Moreover, the sialic acid at the extremity of the protein polymer is involved in signal identification in sperm-egg recognition. Here, we review the current understanding of sialic acids in sperm maturation and capacitation and sperm-egg recognition.