Is the zona pellucida an intrinsic source of signals activating maternal recognition of the developing mammalian embryo?

Mammalian mothers undergoing embryo implantation must specifically recognize the developing embryo in a species-restricted manner. We previously observed that immune cells derived from early pregnant mice could promote endometrial differentiation and embryo implantation in blastocyst-transferred pseudopregnant mice. Although the precise mechanism remains unknown, it is suggested that the maternal immune system undergoes functional changes after recognizing developing embryos from the very early stages of pregnancy. Since it is physically impossible for immune cells to directly interact with the developing embryo while it is surrounded by the zona pellucida (ZP), it is speculated that the embryo produces certain embryo- and species-specific soluble factor(s) in the oviduct before hatching. As a candidate for this factor, we have paid attention to the ZP that is normally protected from immunological attack during oogenesis in the ovarian follicle. ZP-specific glycoproteins are known to play important roles in the species- and oocyte-specific binding of sperm, and the ZP can also be considered an abundant store of oocyte- and species-specific glycoproteins. In contrast to unfertilized oocytes, developing embryos may degrade the ZP starting just after fertilization and proceeding until hatching using enzymes that are released from cortical granules or produced by the developing embryo. Accordingly, the developing embryo might provide ZP-degradation products including oligosaccharide chains to the immune system from the very early stages. Taken together, we propose here a novel hypothesis that these ZP-derivatives can act as an intrinsic signal from the developing embryo for maternal recognition by the immune system.