Alphafold shows intimate details of fertilization of egg and sperm

Alphafold shows intimate details of fertilization of egg and sperm

An artificial intelligence tool that was awarded the Nobel Prize this year , has intimate details about the molecular encounter between Spermia and Eizellen 1 unveiled.

The alphafold program, predicts the protein structures , identified a trio of proteins that act as an intermediary between the gamets. Without these proteins, The sexual reproduction in a variety of animals, from zebrafischen to mammals.

The knowledge published on October 17th in Cell is destroying the earlier assumption that only two proteins - one on the egg cell and one on the sperm - would be sufficient to ensure fertilization, says Enrica Bianchi, a reproductive biologist at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", which was not involved in the study. "It is no longer the old concept to have a key and a lock to open the door," she says. "It has become more complicated."

a mysterious association

Despite its decisive role in reproduction, the fusion of egg and sperm cells in vertebrates is a molecular puzzle that has proven to be difficult to decrypt. The connection of the two cells includes proteins that are in greasy membranes and are difficult to examine with common biochemical methods. The interactions between these proteins are often weak and fleeting, and it is difficult to collect enough egg cells and sperm of some of the preferred laboratory animals, including mice, for extensive experiments.

to overcome the supply problem, Andrea Pauli, a molecular biologist at the research institute for Molecular Pathology in Vienna, and her colleagues, her work to Zebrafischen , a vertebrate type that also releases its eggs and sperm into the surrounding water. In order to avoid the difficulties in working with membrane proteins in the laboratory, the team Alphafold to predict the interactions between proteins. Two of Alphafold's developers received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on October 9th

not two, but three

Alphafold predicted that three sperm proteins worked together to form a complex. Two of these proteins were previously known as important for fertility. Pauli and her colleagues then confirmed that the third is also crucial for fertility both in both zebrafischen and mice and that the three proteins interact with each other.

The team also found that the group of three creates a place in Zebrafischen, to which an egg protein can bind, which offers a mechanism through which the two cells can recognize each other. "It is a way to say: 'Spermium, you found an egg' and 'egg, you found a sperm'," says Andreas Blaha, a biochemist at the research institute for molecular pathology and co -author of the study.

The results could one day offer a way to screen people with infertility to find out whether problems with this complex could be the cause, says Wright.

The results also emphasize the role of Alphafold when examining fertilization, he adds. "We are limited in relation to experiments," he says. "It could be that these fashion results play an important role in the future."

1. Deneke, V.E., et al. Cell https://www.cell.com/cell/s0092-8674 (24) 01093-6 (2024).

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