Crystalloid formation in unfertilized mouse ova under influence of cytochalasin B

Reversal of postmortem degeneration of mouse oocytes during meiotic maturation in vitro

The developmental capacity of oocytes matured in vitro following isolation at the germinal vesicle stage from freshly killed mice (control) was compared with that of oocytes isolated from the carcasses of mice killed 3, 6, 9, and 12 hr earlier. The yield of intact, cumulus cell-enclosed oocytes decreased as the interval between death of the animal and removal of the ovary increased. After 15-16 hr of culture of medium containing follicle-stimulating hormone, the frequency of germinal vesicle breakdown, extrusion of a polar body, and cumulus expansion was equivalent in oocytes of all groups. The frequency of development of inseminated ova to 2-cell stage embryos in the control, 3, and 6 hr postmortem groups was the same but declined markedly in the 9 and 12 hr groups. There was also no difference in the frequency of blastocyst development from 2-cell stage embryos between the control, 3, 6, and 9 hr postmortem groups, but the 2-cell embryos in the 12 hr postmortem group did not develop to blastocysts. Thirty-six percent of the 2-cell stage embryos from the 6 hr postmortem group developed to live young after transfer to foster mothers. Follicles of 6 hr postmortem ovaries showed degeneration manifested as prominent crystalline inclusions within the oocytes and many pyknotic granulosa cells. The crystals disappeared within 1 hr of culture and the secondary oocytes appeared normal. The cultured oocyte-cumulus cell complexes, therefore, reversed degenerative changes induced by the death of the animal. This study demonstrates the feasibility of recovering developmentally competent oocytes from valuable recently deceased zoological, agricultural, and endangered mammals.

Electron microscopic staining of cytoplasmic crystalloid inclusions in preimplantation mouse embryos with Ag-NOR and glutaraldehyde-bismuth methods

Cytoplasmic crystalloid inclusions in mouse preimplantation embryos are stained with both Ag-NOR and glutaraldehyde-bismuth methods, suggesting that these inclusions may contain certain phosphorylated molecules. Since the inclusions are never found in the one-cell embryos, and their precursor-like cytoplasmic bodies appear in the two-cell embryos, they may be a product synthesized under the control of the embryonic genome.

Development of cortical polarity in mouse eggs: involvement of the meiotic apparatus

Experiments were carried out to determine the origin of cortical polarity in mouse eggs and its possible relation to the meiotic apparatus. Cortices of mature eggs overlying the meiotic apparatus (microvillus-free area) were distinguished by an absence of microvilli and a thickened layer of actin. In contrast, the surfaces of immature oocytes were covered entirely with a dense population of microvilli and were subtended by a uniform layer of actin. When induced to undergo maturation, meiotic spindles formed in the center of immature oocytes and then moved peripherally. Coincident with the cortical localization of the meiotic spindle was the formation of a microvillus-free area, i.e., a loss of microvilli and a thickening of the actin layer associated with this region of the egg cortex. If immature oocytes were incubated in cytochalasin B, meiotic spindles formed; however, they failed to move peripherally and microvillus-free areas did not develop. Oocytes incubated in colchicine did not form meiotic spindles, although the chromosomes condensed and became localized to cortices where microvillus-free areas developed. Cytochalasin B-treated mature eggs maintained intact meiotic spindles and exhibited a disappearance of microvillus-free areas and a reduction in cortical actin. The chromosomes of mature eggs treated with colchicine remained associated with microvillus-free areas despite the disappearance of meiotic spindles. Occasionally, colchicine-treated eggs possessed more than one cortically located mass of chromosomes, each of which was associated with a microvillus-free area. These observations indicate that mechanisms involving the movement of the meiotic spindle to the oocyte cortex and development and maintenance of cortical polarity are cytochalasin B sensitive. Commensurate with the localization of meiotic chromosomes to the egg cortex is the reorganization of cortical actin and the formation of a microvillus-free area.

Ultrastructural studies on oogenesis in the shrew (Crocidura russula): I. The preantral follicle

Ultrastructural analysis of the ovarian follicle prior to antrum formation in the shrew, Crocidura russula, shows gradual differentiation of mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complexes, vesicles, and multivescular bodies correlated with the growth of the oocyte from primordial to tertiary follicle and the development of the follicular wall. The growth rate of the follicle in relation to that of the oocyte was found to be biphasic.

Subcellular effect of cytochalasin B and dimethylsulfoxide on Paramecium aurelia

Paramecium aurelia syngen 4, stock 57 (sensitve) cultivated in Cerophyl infusion were exposed to cytochalasin B (CB) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), the solvent for CB, to distinquish between the effects of these agents on a cellular system. DMSO significantly inhibited survival, fission rate,, [3H]leucine incorporation, and cell size. CB-treated cells generally and slower division and poorer survival rates than cells exposed to the equivalent DMSO concentration, although the [3H]leucine incorporation was generally greater at the lower CB concentrations than for DMSO alone. As seen by electron microscopy and a new glycerination technic for observing polysomes, DMSO caused nuclear (nucleolar, chromatin) abnormalities as well as membrane degradation and polysomal breakdown: CB caused the formation of aberrant membrane structures and ribosomal tetramers, crystals, and tubes.