Isolation of anArbacia sperm fertilization antigen

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Abstract
Antisperm antibody fragments (IFab) block sea urchin fertilization by inhibiting the acrosome reaction and consequently sperm‐egg attachment. We describe here a 68,000 dalton MW glycoprotein which neutralizes the fertilization‐inhibiting action of IFab. This glycoprotein is a minor component in SDS‐polyacrylamide gels of sperm membranes, but is greatly enriched in lithium diio‐dosalicylate extracts of the membranes. Final purification of the antigen was accomplished by elution from preparative SDS‐polyacrylamide gels. This glycoprotein is evidently the sea urchin sperm receptor which interacts with the egg jelly coat and acts as a “trigger” for the acrosome reaction.