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Luca Jovine

@jovinelab.org
228 followers 195 following 63 posts

Professor of #StructuralBiology @karolinskainst.bsky.social studying #egg-#sperm interaction at #fertilization & #ZonaPellucida (ZP) module proteins Member of #EMBO & the #NobelAssembly at Karolinska Institutet More @ jovinelab.org

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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 03/08/2026
This research would have not been possible without support from @ki.se, @vetenskapsradet.bsky.social and @kawresearch.bsky.social. We also thank @diamondlightsource.bsky.social and @esrf.fr for precious beamtime. #Reproduction #Fertilization #GameteRecognition #ZonaPellucida #StructuralBiology
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 03/08/2026
Together, these studies provide atomic-resolution glimpses into the complexity of molecular recognition events regulating the beginning of a new life.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 03/08/2026
Today, we show how a highly sequence-divergent decoy, egg coat subunit VEZP14, competes for the pool of sperm "keys" available to the true egg "lock," using a distinct induced-fit mechanism.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 03/08/2026
Almost 10 years ago, we solved structures of abalone sperm lysin/egg VERL complexes to provide the first example of gamete protein recognition at the very beginning of fertilization — demonstrating a key/lock paradigm hypothesized by Frank Lillie in 1914 (doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...).
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 03/08/2026
New preprint: how does one sperm protein "key" recognize two different egg-coat receptors — the real "lock", and a decoy? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
How a single sperm protein recognizes highly divergent egg coat components
For successful fertilization, sperm must recognize and penetrate the egg coat, called vitelline envelope (VE) or, in mammals, zona pellucida (ZP). In abalone, sperm acrosomal protein lysin dissolves t...
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Reposted by Luca Jovine
CNRS @cnrs.fr · 23/07/2026
Hong Wang, a mathematician at the IHES Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies, has been awarded the prestigious Fields Medal for solving the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions, in collaboration with Joshua Zahl. 🏅📚
news.cnrs.fr
Fields day for Hong Wang
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 06/07/2026
Looking forward to talk about egg coat structure and egg-sperm interaction @eshre.bsky.social 2026! #ESHRE2026 #zp #egg #sperm #fertilization #zonapellucida
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/07/2026
Susan was a bright and kind light in our world, who will be missed and remembered fondly
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 21/04/2026
Fun to talk about how #AlphaFold and #ROCKET can help #crystallography and #cryoEM studies of #fertilization at this year's American Society of Andrology meeting in Phoenix! andrologysociety.org/annual-meeti... #ASA #reproductivebiology #andrology
American Society of Andrology 2026 (ASA 2026)
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Reposted by Luca Jovine
Flatiron Institute @flatironinstitute.org · 05/04/2026
#FlatironCCM researchers have developed a new tool called ROCKET that extends the capabilities of AlphaFold by directly learning from raw experimental data: bit.ly/4dUTZkG #science #math
simonsfoundation.org
Introducing ROCKET: An Upgrade to AlphaFold That Learns From Raw Experimental Data
Introducing ROCKET: An Upgrade to AlphaFold That Learns From Raw Experimental Data on Simons Foundation
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/04/2026
Together with Suresh Banjara and Hiroki Okumura, I'd like to again thank @alisiafadini.bsky.social, @moalquraishi.bsky.social and the whole #ROCKET team - as well as @vetenskapsradet.bsky.social and @kawresearch.bsky.social for supporting our part of the work!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/04/2026
This underscores the overall conservation of egg coat filament structure.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/04/2026
Despite containing an EGF domain and forming homopolymers like urinary ZP module protein #uromodulin (PDB 6TQK), the ZPD filament resembles more closely the ZP3/ZP1 heteropolymer, whose structure we recently determined by #crystallography (PDB 8RKI, 8BQU).
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/04/2026
Ultimately, this helped us determine the first cryo-EM structure of a native vertebrate egg coat filament (www.rcsb.org/structure/28YJ):
Cryo-EM structure of a native ZP filament
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/04/2026
Starting from an #AlphaFold-Multimer prediction, we used #ROCKET to build a model of ZPD, a homopolymeric zona pellucida (#ZP) protein, into an initial #cryo-EM map at only ~9 Å resolution. A subsequently obtained 4.6 Å map highlighted how superior the ROCKET model was over the initial prediction:
ROCKET enables model building of a ZPD filament from low-resolution cryo-EM
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 01/04/2026
Very happy to have had a chance to attack an initially very low-resolution #cryo-EM map with #ROCKET! Thank you again @alisiafadini.bsky.social and all other co-authors of this important work, which truly shows the power of combining experimental structural biology and #AI inference. rdcu.be/fa9YH
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 26/03/2026
As always, beautiful work Kelly!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 26/03/2026
❤️
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 25/03/2026
Super - congrats Andrew and colleagues!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 11/03/2026
Nice to see our work on #ZP2-targeted female nonhormonal #contraception featured in today's @lemonde.fr: www.lemonde.fr/sciences/art... Merci Juliette Baëza! Original @pnas.org paper → www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
lemonde.fr
La piste des anticorps comme moyen de contraception
Les recherches se multiplient pour utiliser ces protéines naturelles comme méthode contraceptive non hormonale. Mais leur mise sur le marché ne devrait pas intervenir avant dix ans ou quinze ans.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 06/03/2026
Having a blast at XI NAZIONALE SIERR 2026 meeting in #Rome, with @enricabianchi.bsky.social and many other excellent italian scientists! www.sierr.it/eventi/xi-co...
sierr.it
XI NAZIONALE SIERR 2026
La SIERR è una società scientifica, senza finalità di lucro, costituita da Biologi, Biotecnologi e Medici che operano in laboratori di procreazione assistita.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 16/02/2026
Delighted to deliver an invited lecture at this year's TI-FRIS/FRIS Symposium in Sendai! A highly interdisciplinary meeting bringing together diverse fields through excellent science: lnkd.in/d5XqH7ZV
TI-FRIS/FRIS Symposium 2026
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 24/01/2026
URL for the GRS, which will be co-chaired by Sara Pietroforte and Analia Novero: www.grc.org/fertilizatio...
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 24/01/2026
URL for the GRC, which I will have the honor to co-organize together with @jeanjuchung.bsky.social : www.grc.org/fertilizatio...
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 24/01/2026
Thrilled to announce that the GRC Fertilization and Activation of Development and associated GRS will come to Europe for the first time in 2027! Join us in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 31 July–6 August 2027. Mark your calendars and help us spread the word! #GRC #GRS #Fertilization #Development
GRC Fertilization and Activation of Development 2027 announcement
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 10/11/2025
Excited to attend this #SMART symposium on protein science in impressive Shenzhen!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 29/10/2025
Long-awaited OpenFold3 is out!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 05/09/2025
Beautiful work as always Max - congratulations!!!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/08/2025
Great to get another peek at this story, after hosting @jacob-hanna.bsky.social as keynote speaker of our recent #GRC on Fertilization and Activation of Development!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 29/07/2025
Lovely to have you here, and great talk!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 22/07/2025
Huge thanks to my partners in crime — Rafael Fissore, @virginiasavy.bsky.social and Shweta Bhagwat — it’s been a real pleasure to shape this program with you over the course of the past two years. Very much looking forward to reconnecting with old colleagues and meeting new ones!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 22/07/2025
It will be an honor to co-chair this #GRC, which has long been my favorite meeting and brings together a fantastic community of researchers working on gamete biology and early development.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 22/07/2025
Excited that the Gordon Research Conference on Fertilization and Activation of Development 2025 (and associated GRS) is just a few days away! www.grc.org/fertilizatio... www.grc.org/fertilizatio... #GRC #GRS #fertilization #development #egg #sperm
Gordon Research Conference on Fertilization and Activation of Development 2025
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 13/07/2025
👍🎾🇮🇹
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Reposted by Luca Jovine
Sergey Ovchinnikov @sokrypton.org · 12/07/2025
Molecular cat tweezers? 😺
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 11/07/2025
Beautiful work as always Kelly!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 20/05/2025
Congrats also here!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 19/05/2025
Yes a real homozygous deletion apparently!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 19/05/2025
Will tell mine and see whether she confirms 😺
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Reposted by Luca Jovine
Meera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Up on biorxiv! The tour de force protein tagging atlas for the #Celegans cuticle #aECM - from Jordan Ward @gotworms.bsky.social and Andrew Chisholm labs. So many beautiful images of cuticle collagen substructures !! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Multiscale patterning of a model apical extracellular matrix revealed by systematic endogenous protein tagging
Barrier epithelia are shielded from the external environment by their apical extracellular matrices (aECMs). The molecular complexity of aECMs has challenged understanding of their organization in viv...
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 11/05/2025
Thanks @svtnyheter.bsky.social for covering our #ZP2 non-hormonal #contraception story! www.svt.se/nyheter/inri... @ki.se @esrf.fr @pnas.org @vetenskapsradet.bsky.social @kawresearch.bsky.social
svt.se
Ny forskning kan leda till hormonfritt preventivmedel
Jakten på ett hormonfritt preventivmedel har pågått i många år. Nu har forskare på KI upptäckt ett sätt att stoppa befruktning med hjälp av antikroppar. – Det hade gett kvinnor möjligheten att själva ...
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 30/04/2025
As an old tRNA aficionado, can't help loving this beautiful tour-de-force cryo-EM work on one of nature's coolest molecules! Congrats @sebastianglatt.bsky.social and colleagues!!!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 23/04/2025
Changed handle to @jovinelab.org !
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 23/04/2025
www.forskning.se/2025/04/17/i...
forskning.se
Preventivmedel utan hormoner – med hjälp av antikroppar - forskning.se
Med hjälp av antikroppar kan man blockera befruktning på äggets yta. Nu har forskare tagit ett steg närmare ett hormonfritt preventivmedel.
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/04/2025
Thank you Neha! 😊
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/04/2025
Thanks Björn!
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/04/2025
Thanks again @esrf.fr ! www.esrf.fr/sites/www/ho...
esrf.fr
Non-hormonal contraception visualised with X-rays
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/04/2025
New step taken towards non-hormonal contraception news.ki.se/new-step-tak...
news.ki.se
New step taken towards non-hormonal contraception
A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows how a small antibody fragment can block fertilisation by targeting a key protein on the surface of the egg. This discovery brings a non-hormonal contracept...
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/04/2025
Together with the first structural information on a monoclonal antibody bound to a key female #fertilization protein, this paves the way to the development of targeted non-hormonal #contraceptives #StructuralBiology #ReproductiveBiology #AntibodyEngineering #NonHormonalContraception
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Luca Jovine @jovinelab.org · 14/04/2025
Here we show that a ScFV fragment of IE-3 is sufficient to block #fertilization in vitro, avoiding potential Fc-associated side effects
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