Vertebrate eggs arrest at metaphase of the second meiotic division before fertilization under the effect of a cytostatic factor (CSF). This arrest is established during oocyte maturation by the MAPK kinase module, comprised of Mos, MEK, MAPKs and p90. Maintenance of CSF arrest at metaphase requires inhibitors of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) like Emi1, which sequesters the APC activator ...

SKAP2 (Src kinase-associated phosphoprotein 2), a substrate of Src family kinases, has been suggested to be involved in actin-mediated cellular processes. However, little is known about its role in mouse oocyte maturation. In this study, we thus investigated the expression, localization, and functions of SKAP2 during mouse oocyte asymmetric division. SKAP2 protein expression was detected at all...

Cell-free extracts prepared from activated clam oocytes contain factors which induce phosphorylation of the single 67-kD lamin (L67), disassemble clam oocyte nuclei, and cause chromosome condensation in vitro (Dessev, G., R. Palazzo, L. Rebhun, and R. Goldman. 1989. Dev. Biol. 131:469-504). To identify these factors, we have fractionated the oocyte extracts. The nuclear lamina disassembly (NLD)...

Intracellular mRNA localization is an effective mechanism for protein targeting leading to functional polarization of the cell. The mechanisms controlling mRNA localization and specifically how the actin and microtubule (MT) cytoskeletons cooperate in this process are not well understood. In Drosophila, Oskar protein accumulation at the posterior pole of the oocyte is required for embryonic dev...

background: human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg) has been used as a replacement for the mid-cycle luteinizing hormone (lh) surge for several years. the recent arrival of recombinant dna technology has made recombinant hcg (rhcg) accessible. objective: to assess efficacy of rhcg compared to urinary hcg (uhcg) for triggering of ovulation and induction of final oocyte maturation in assisted reproduc...

2. The biology of the oocyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 2.1. Oogenesis and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 2.2. Bioelectrical properties of the oocyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 2.3. The oocyte at work...

Oocyte quality is a key limiting factor in female fertility, yet we have a poor understanding of what constitutes oocyte quality or the mechanisms governing it. The ovarian follicular microenvironment and maternal signals, mediated primarily through granulosa cells (GCs) and cumulus cells (CCs), are responsible for nurturing oocyte growth, development and the gradual acquisition of oocyte devel...

The Drosophila melanogaster gurken gene encodes a TGF alpha-like signaling molecule that is secreted from the oocyte during two distinct stages of oogenesis to define the coordinate axes of the follicle cell epithelium that surrounds the oocyte and its 15 anterior nurse cells. Because the gurken receptor is expressed throughout the epithelium, axial patterning requires region-specific secretion...

Histological analysis was carried out on ovarian development in the picnic seabream, Acanthopagrus berda (Forsskål 1775) caught estuarine waters of Calicut, Kerala, India from January to December 2016. Four developmental phases oocyte were identified viz., oogonia proliferation and transformation into primary oocyte, growth phase, secondary phase maturation these are similar those described for...

Adiponectin is one of the most important, recently discovered adipocytokines that acts at various levels to control male and female fertility through central effects on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis or through peripheral effects on the ovary, uterus, and embryo. We studied simultaneous changes in the gene expression pattern of adiponectin and adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2...