The N-linked oligosaccharides, released by hydrazinolysis from the major 55-kDa family, PZP3, of porcine zona pellucida glycoproteins, were separated into neutral (28%) and acidic (72%) carbohydrate chains by anion-exchange HPLC. By competition assay, it was shown that the mixture of neutral chains has the sperm-receptor activity, while that of the acidic chains has no activity. Their carbohydrate structures were analyzed after the reducing ends were modified with 2-aminopyridine. The neutral chains were fractionated into several components by reverse-phase and normal-phase HPLC. By sequential glycosidase digestion and 500-MHz 'H-NMR spectroscopy, the structures of three major components were determined. The structures of some of the minor components were analyzed only by sequential glycosidase digestion. By these analyses, it was found that a diantennary complex-type structure with a fucose residue was predominant in the neutral chains. Furthermore, the analyses of the endo-P-galactosidase digests of the acidic chains revealed that the partially sulfated and sialylated N-acetyllactosamines are linked to the non-reducing ends of diantennary, triantennary, and tetra-antennary complex-type neutral chains, forming heterogeneous acidic chains.Zona pellucida (ZP), the acellular transparent envelope surrounding the mammalian oocyte, is composed of acidic glycoproteins retaining N-linked and 0-linked carbohydrate chains [l]. Three glycoprotein components (ZP1-3) are present in the mouse zona and their respective functions are indicated 12, 31. ZP2 (120 kDa) is responsible for the block to polyspcrmy, ZP3 (83 kDa) possesses the sperm-receptor activity and acrosome-reaction-inducing activity and ZP1 (200 kDa) connects the structural units composed of ZP2 and ZP3. Although the sperm-receptor site is indicated to be localized to 0-linked carbohydrate chain of ZP3, its monosaccharide composition has not been presented, The porcine ZP, which has cross-reactive antigenicity with the human ZP [4-61, can be obtained from ovaries of slaughtered gilts in higher amounts than the ZP of other mammals. We have separated the porcine zona glycoproteins into three families (PZP1, 160 kDa; PZP2, 99 kDa; PZP3, 55 kDa) [7]. Each family contains very heterogeneous glycoproteins, due mainly to differences in the length and/or amount of sulfated N-acetyllactosamine sequences [8]. The major 55-kDa family, PZP3, accounting for about 78% by mass of porcine zona proteins [7] of two protein skeletons having heterogeneous carbohydrate moieties, but separation of these a-glycoproteins and p-glycoproteins in their native state has not been achieved. When PZP3 is digested with endo-P-galactosidase, the digests are separated into two fractions, endo-P-gdlactosidase-digested aglycoprotein (EBGDa) and endo-P-galactosidase-digested Pglycoprotein (EBGDP), by reverse-phase HPLC [lo]. Composition analysis suggests that three or four N-linked carbohydrate chains are present in both glycoproteins and that three and six 0-linked chains are present in a-glyco...