ZP3 Antibody

Background:

The zona pellucida is an extracellular matrix thatsurrounds the oocyte and early embryo. It is composed primarily ofthree or four glycoproteins with various functions duringfertilization and preimplantation development. The protein encodedby this gene is a structural component of the zona pellucida andfunctions in primary binding and induction of the sperm acrosomereaction. The nascent protein contains a N-terminal signal peptidesequence, a conserved ZP domain, a C-terminal consensus furincleavage site, and a transmembrane domain. It is hypothesized thatfurin cleavage results in release of the mature protein from theplasma membrane for subsequent incorporation into the zonapellucida matrix. However, the requirement for furin cleavage inthis process remains controversial based on mouse studies. Avariation in the last exon of this gene has previously served asthe basis for an additional ZP3 locus; however, sequence andliterature review reveals that there is only one full-length ZP3locus in the human genome. Another locus encoding a bipartitetranscript designated POMZP3 contains a duplication of the lastfour exons of ZP3, including the above described variation, andmaps closely to this gene.