xxxxx
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chemical contraceptives
there is a chemical which enables the sperm to locate the egg. i believe it is something like undecanal. however there is another chemical, this is
released when a sperm enters the egg which causes the egg to develop a hard exterior shell which does not allow any other sperm to enter the egg. i
was wondering if this chemical has been identified and if there was any research regarding using this as a method of contraception.
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Pyridinium
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I believe the adhesion of the two cell types is facilitated by one of the lectins, a class of cell adhesion proteins. Specifically I think it is
oligosaccharides that bind to the lectin and allow the binding-recognition. A lot of this sort of cell signaling / adhesion is dependent on these
protein-saccharide interactions.
I don't know offhand what the glycoprotein is that makes the egg cell surface change after binding of one sperm cell, but it's probably changed by a
neuraminidase or some other enzyme that removes or adds certain saccharides from the chains.
Sulfate groups can also play a role in binding.
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