Zinc is an extremely important trace element that plays important roles in several biological processes. However, the function of zinc in meiotic division of porcine oocytes is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of zinc during meiotic resumption in in vitro matured porcine oocytes. During meiotic division, a massive release of zinc was observed. The level of free zinc in the cytop...

The effects of pertussis toxin (PT) on the growth and dimethylsulfoxide (Me2SO4)-induced differentiation of the HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line were tested. Cell growth was quantified by direct cell counts. Cell differentiation was estimated by measuring the expression of myeloid-specific cell-surface antigens (Mo-1 and fMet-Leu-Phe [fMLP] receptors), the ability of the cells to pr...

The mammalian oocyte undergoes an asymmetric division during meiotic maturation, producing a small polar body and a haploid gamete. This process involves the dynamics of actin filaments, and the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) protein superfamily is a major regulator of actin assembly. In the present study, the small GTPase CDC42 was shown to participate in the meiotic maturation of porcine o...

23 The mammalian oocyte undergoes an asymmetric division during meiotic maturation, 24 producing a small polar body and a haploid gamete. This process involves the dynamics of 25 actin filaments, and the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) protein superfamily is a major 26 2 regulator of actin assembly. In the present study, the small GTPase CDC42 was shown to 1 participate in the meiotic maturat...

During the first meiotic cell division of the Xenopus oocyte, a transient microtubule network appears at the basal part of the disintegrating nucleus. In order to know if this structure plays a role in the formation of the first meiotic spindle, we have studied the actions of Ca2+ ions and taxol during the whole maturation process. We now report that when the free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration i...

Unequal centrosome maturation correlates with asymmetric division in multiple cell types. Nevertheless, centrosomal fate determinants have yet to be identified. Here, we show that the Notch pathway regulator Mindbomb1 co-localizes asymmetrically with centriolar satellite proteins PCM1 and AZI1 at the daughter centriole in interphase. Remarkably, while PCM1 and AZI1 remain asymmetric during mito...

Plasmacytoma transformants of the X63-Ag8-653 cell line carrying an expression vector with either IL-2, -3, -4, or -5 cDNA were established that secrete the corresponding ILs at high rates. The four mouse ILs (mILs) were then tested as single ILs and in combinations for their effects on the maturation of resting and proliferation of activated normal mouse splenic B cells. mIL-3 and mIL-4 were i...

rate of in vitro maturation of oocytes is one of the challenges of assisted reproductive techniques. in this study we investigated the effects of supplementation of cysteamine on the rate of in vitro maturation of oocytes in two different media. germinal vesicle oocytes were collected from mouse ovary and cultured in two media (tcm199 and meme) with 0, 50, 100, 200, 500 µm/ml cysteamine. number...

Changes in the morphology of the sperm nucleus in the egg cytoplasm are mong the immediate events in nucleocytoplasmic interactions during early embryogenesis. Soon after its entrance into the egg cytoplasm, the sperm nucleus of various organisms increases in size with the transformation of condensed chromatin to a diffuse state, resembling the chromatin of an interphase nucleus (2, 13, 15, 16)...

NDEL1 is a binding partner of LIS1 that participates in the regulation of cytoplasmic dynein function and microtubule organization during mitotic cell division and neuronal migration. NDEL1 preferentially localizes to the centrosome and is a likely target for cell cycle-activated kinases, including CDK1. In particular, NDEL1 phosphorylation by CDK1 facilitates katanin p60 recruitment to the cen...