HSPA2 is under-represented in human spermatozoa exhibiting a failure of sperm-ZP binding.

<p>(A) Spermatozoa from a patient exhibiting a failure of sperm-ZP interaction were extracted, subjected to SDS PAGE and immunoblotted with antibodies against either HSP70 or HSPA2. The blots were then stripped and reprobed with anti-α-tubulin antibodies to ensure equivalent protein loading in each lane. Similar protein extracts were also prepared from spermatozoa obtained from a fertile donor. These data reveal the selective depletion of HSPA2 from the patient’s spermatozoa. (B) Western blot analysis of spermatozoa from a third patient exhibiting a defect in sperm-egg interaction confirmed the absence of HSPA2 from these cells but not a separate fertile control donor.