Regulation of meiotic maturation in the mammalian oocyte: Inteplay between exogenous cues and the microtubule cytoskeleton

✍ Scribed by David F. Albertini

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 846 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0265-9247
• DOI: 10.1002/bies.950140205

✦ Synopsis

Mammalian oocytes exhibit a series of cell cycle transitions that coordinate the penultimate events of meiosis with the onset of embryogenesis at fertilization. The execution of these cell cycle transitions, at G& of meiosis-I and metaphase/anaphase of meiosis I and 11, involve both biosynthetic and post-translational modifications that directly modulate centrosome and rnicrotubule behavior. Specifically, somatic cells alter the signal transduction pathways in the oocyte and influence the expression of maturation promoting factor (MPF) and cytostatic factor (CSF) activity through a microtubule-dependent mechanism. The regulation of the oocytes' cell cycle machinery by hormone-mediated somatic cell signals, involving both positive and negative stimuli, ensures that meiotic cell cycle progression is synchronized with the earliest pivotal events of mammalian reproduction.