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Eckelbarger KJ, Hodgson AN. Invertebrate oogenesis – a review and synthesis: comparative ovarian morphology, accessory cell function and the origins of yolk precursors. INVERTEBR REPROD DEV 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/07924259.2021.1927861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J. Eckelbarger
- Darling Marine Center, School of Marine Sciences, The University of Maine, Walpole, Maine, U.S.A
| | - Alan N. Hodgson
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
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2
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Zhao ZH, Meng TG, Li A, Schatten H, Wang ZB, Sun QY. RNA-Seq transcriptome reveals different molecular responses during human and mouse oocyte maturation and fertilization. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:475. [PMID: 32650721 PMCID: PMC7350670 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06885-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Female infertility is a worldwide concern and the etiology of infertility has not been thoroughly demonstrated. Although the mouse is a good model system to perform functional studies, the differences between mouse and human also need to be considered. The objective of this study is to elucidate the different molecular mechanisms underlying oocyte maturation and fertilization between human and mouse. RESULTS A comparative transcriptome analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes and associated biological processes between human and mouse oocytes. In total, 8513 common genes, as well as 15,165 and 6126 uniquely expressed genes were detected in human and mouse MII oocytes, respectively. Additionally, the ratios of non-homologous genes in human and mouse MII oocytes were 37 and 8%, respectively. Functional categorization analysis of the human MII non-homologous genes revealed that cAMP-mediated signaling, sister chromatid cohesin, and cell recognition were the major enriched biological processes. Interestingly, we couldn't detect any GO categories in mouse non-homologous genes. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that human and mouse oocytes exhibit significant differences in gene expression profiles during oocyte maturation, which probably deciphers the differential molecular responses to oocyte maturation and fertilization. The significant differences between human and mouse oocytes limit the generalizations from mouse to human oocyte maturation. Knowledge about the limitations of animal models is crucial when exploring a complex process such as human oocyte maturation and fertilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng-Hui Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tie-Gang Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Fertility Preservation Lab, Reproductive Medicine Center, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, 510317, China
| | - Ang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Heide Schatten
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Zhen-Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. .,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Qing-Yuan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. .,Fertility Preservation Lab, Reproductive Medicine Center, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, 510317, China.
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Stein P, Savy V, Williams AM, Williams CJ. Modulators of calcium signalling at fertilization. Open Biol 2020; 10:200118. [PMID: 32673518 PMCID: PMC7574550 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Calcium (Ca2+) signals initiate egg activation across the animal kingdom and in at least some plants. These signals are crucial for the success of development and, in the case of mammals, health of the offspring. The mechanisms associated with fertilization that trigger these signals and the molecules that regulate their characteristic patterns vary widely. With few exceptions, a major contributor to fertilization-induced elevation in cytoplasmic Ca2+ is release from endoplasmic reticulum stores through the IP3 receptor. In some cases, Ca2+ influx from the extracellular space and/or release from alternative intracellular stores contribute to the rise in cytoplasmic Ca2+. Following the Ca2+ rise, the reuptake of Ca2+ into intracellular stores or efflux of Ca2+ out of the egg drive the return of cytoplasmic Ca2+ back to baseline levels. The molecular mediators of these Ca2+ fluxes in different organisms include Ca2+ release channels, uptake channels, exchangers and pumps. The functions of these mediators are regulated by their particular activating mechanisms but also by alterations in their expression and spatial organization. We discuss here the molecular basis for modulation of Ca2+ signalling at fertilization, highlighting differences across several animal phyla, and we mention key areas where questions remain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Stein
- Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Virginia Savy
- Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Audrey M. Williams
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Carmen J. Williams
- Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
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Stricker SA. Marine Nemertean Worms for Studies of Oocyte Maturation and Aging. Results Probl Cell Differ 2018; 65:3-14. [PMID: 30083912 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-92486-1_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Many marine invertebrates are capable of providing an abundant supply of oocytes that are fertilized external to the female body, thereby making these specimens well suited for studies of development. Along with intensively analyzed model systems belonging to such groups as echinoderms, tunicates, mollusks, and annelids, various lesser-studied taxa can undergo an external mode of fertilization. For example, nemertean worms constitute a relatively small phylum of marine protostome worms whose optically clear oocytes are easily collected and fertilized in the laboratory. Thus, to help promote the use of nemertean oocytes as a potential model in embryological analyses, this chapter begins by describing general methods for obtaining adults and for handling their gametes. After presenting such protocols, this chapter concludes with some representative results obtained with these specimens by summarizing the roles played by adenosine monophosphate-activated kinase (AMPK) during oocyte maturation and by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) during oocyte aging and death.
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The potential roles of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) during the maturation and aging of oocytes produced by a marine protostome worm. ZYGOTE 2017; 25:686-696. [PMID: 29032774 DOI: 10.1017/s0967199417000533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Previous investigations have indicated that c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) regulates the maturation and aging of oocytes produced by deuterostome animals. In order to assess the roles of this kinase in a protostome, oocytes of the marine nemertean worm Cerebratulus were stimulated to mature and subsequently aged before being probed with phospho-specific antibodies against active forms of JNK and maturation-promoting factor (MPF). Based on blots of maturing oocytes, a 40-kD putative JNK is normally activated during germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), which begins at 30 min post-stimulation with seawater, whereas treating immature oocytes with JNK inhibitors downregulates both the 40-kD JNK signal and GVBD, collectively suggesting a 40-kD JNK may facilitate oocyte maturation. Along with this JNK activity, mature oocytes also exhibit high levels of MPF at 2 h post-stimulation. However, by ~6-8 h post-GVBD, mature oocytes lose the 40-kD JNK signal, and at ~20-30 h of aging, an ~48-kD phospho-JNK band arises as oocytes deactivate MPF and begin to lyse during a necroptotic-like mode of death. Accordingly, JNK inhibitors reduce the aging-related 48-kD JNK phosphorylation while maintaining MPF activity and retarding oocyte degradation. Such findings suggest that a 48-kD JNK may help deactivate MPF and trigger death. Possible mechanisms by which JNK activation either together with, or independently of, protein neosynthesis might stimulate oocyte degradation are discussed.
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Hiebert TC, Maslakova S. Integrative Taxonomy of the Micrura alaskensis Coe, 1901 Species Complex (Nemertea: Heteronemertea), with Descriptions of a New Genus Maculaura gen. nov. and Four New Species from the NE Pacific. Zoolog Sci 2016; 32:615-37. [PMID: 26654045 DOI: 10.2108/zs150011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Micrura alaskensis Coe, 1901 is a common intertidal heteronemertean known from eastern and northwest Pacific (Alaska to Ensenada, Mexico and Akkeshi, Japan, respectively). It is an emerging model system in developmental biology research. We present evidence from morphology of the adults, gametes, and sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA genes that it is not one, but a complex of five, cryptic species. All five of these species co-occur at least in part of their geographic range (e.g. southern Oregon). Preliminary cross-hybridization experiments suggest that at least some of these species are reproductively isolated. The five species share characteristics of adult morphology (e.g. accessory buccal glands) and at least four are known to possess a unique larval morphotype--pilidium maculosum. We propose that these characters define a new genus, Maculaura gen. nov., which contains the following five species: Maculaura alaskensis comb. nov., Maculaura aquilonia sp. nov., Maculaura cerebrosa sp. nov., Maculaura oregonensis sp. nov., and Maculaura magna sp. nov. It is unclear which of the five species Coe originally encountered and described. We chose to retain the name "alaskensis" for the species that current researchers know as "Micrura alaskensis", although, presently, it is only known from Washington and Oregon, and has not been collected from Alaska. Maculaura aquilonia sp. nov. is the only member of the genus we have encountered in Alaska, and we show that it also occurs in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Svetlana Maslakova
- Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon, Charleston, OR 97420, USA
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Stricker SA, Beckstrom B, Mendoza C, Stanislawski E, Wodajo T. Oocyte aging in a marine protostome worm: The roles of maturation-promoting factor and extracellular signal regulated kinase form of mitogen-activated protein kinase. Dev Growth Differ 2016; 58:250-9. [PMID: 26918273 DOI: 10.1111/dgd.12269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Revised: 12/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The roles of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) and an extracellular signal regulated kinase form of mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK MAPK) are analyzed during oocyte aging in the marine protostome worm Cerebratulus. About a day after removal from the ovary, unfertilized metaphase-I-arrested oocytes of Cerebratulus begin to flatten and swell before eventually lysing, thereby exhibiting characteristics of a necroptotic mode of regulated cell death. Based on immunoblots probed with phospho-specific antibodies, MPF and ERK are initially active in freshly mature specimens. However, as oocytes age, both kinase activities decline, with ERK deactivation occurring well before MPF downregulation. Experiments using pharmacological modulators indicate that oocyte degradation is promoted by the maturation-initiated activation of ERK as well as by the deactivation of MPF that occurs in extensively aged specimens. The potential significance of these findings is discussed relative to previously published results for apoptotic eggs and oocytes of echinoderm and vertebrate deuterostomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen A Stricker
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Bradley Beckstrom
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Cristina Mendoza
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Emma Stanislawski
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Tewodros Wodajo
- Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
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Bertoldo MJ, Faure M, Dupont J, Froment P. AMPK: a master energy regulator for gonadal function. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:235. [PMID: 26236179 PMCID: PMC4500899 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 06/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
From C. elegans to mammals (including humans), nutrition and energy metabolism significantly influence reproduction. At the cellular level, some detectors of energy status indicate whether energy reserves are abundant (obesity), or poor (diet restriction). One of these detectors is AMPK (5′ AMP-activated protein kinase), a protein kinase activated by ATP deficiency but also by several natural substances such as polyphenols or synthetic molecules like metformin, used in the treatment of insulin resistance. AMPK is expressed in muscle and liver, but also in the ovary and testis. This review focuses on the main effects of AMPK identified in gonadal cells. We describe the role of AMPK in gonadal steroidogenesis, in proliferation and survival of somatic gonadal cells and in the maturation of oocytes or spermatozoa. We discuss also the role of AMPK in germ and somatic cell interactions within the cumulus-oocyte complex and in the blood testis barrier. Finally, the interface in the gonad between AMPK and modification of metabolism is reported and discussion about the role of AMPK on fertility, in regards to the treatment of infertility associated with insulin resistance (male obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Bertoldo
- Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Melanie Faure
- Unité de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR85 Nouzilly, France
| | - Joëlle Dupont
- Unité de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR85 Nouzilly, France
| | - Pascal Froment
- Unité de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UMR85 Nouzilly, France
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Kashir J, Nomikos M, Swann K, Lai FA. PLCζ or PAWP: revisiting the putative mammalian sperm factor that triggers egg activation and embryogenesis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 21:383-8. [DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gav009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 02/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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10
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Stricker SA. Calcium signaling and endoplasmic reticulum dynamics during fertilization in marine protostome worms belonging to the phylum Nemertea. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2014; 450:1182-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.03.156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 03/31/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Kashir J, Deguchi R, Jones C, Coward K, Stricker SA. Comparative biology of sperm factors and fertilization-induced calcium signals across the animal kingdom. Mol Reprod Dev 2013; 80:787-815. [PMID: 23900730 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2013] [Accepted: 07/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Fertilization causes mature oocytes or eggs to increase their concentrations of intracellular calcium ions (Ca²⁺) in all animals that have been examined, and such Ca²⁺ elevations, in turn, provide key activating signals that are required for non-parthenogenetic development. Several lines of evidence indicate that the Ca²⁺ transients produced during fertilization in mammals and other taxa are triggered by soluble factors that sperm deliver into oocytes after gamete fusion. Thus, for a broad-based analysis of Ca²⁺ dynamics during fertilization in animals, this article begins by summarizing data on soluble sperm factors in non-mammalian species, and subsequently reviews various topics related to a sperm-specific phospholipase C, called PLCζ, which is believed to be the predominant activator of mammalian oocytes. After characterizing initiation processes that involve sperm factors or alternative triggering mechanisms, the spatiotemporal patterns of Ca²⁺ signals in fertilized oocytes or eggs are compared in a taxon-by-taxon manner, and broadly classified as either a single major transient or a series of repetitive oscillations. Both solitary and oscillatory types of fertilization-induced Ca²⁺ signals are typically propagated as global waves that depend on Ca²⁺ release from the endoplasmic reticulum in response to increased concentrations of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃). Thus, for taxa where relevant data are available, upstream pathways that elevate intraoocytic IP3 levels during fertilization are described, while other less-common modes of producing Ca²⁺ transients are also examined. In addition, the importance of fertilization-induced Ca²⁺ signals for activating development is underscored by noting some major downstream effects of these signals in various animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junaid Kashir
- Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oxford, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK
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