The environment that the cumulus oocyte complex (COC) is exposed to during either in vivo or in vitro maturation (IVM) can have profound effects on the success of fertilisation and subsequent embryo development. Glucose is a pivotal metabolite for the COC and is metabolised by glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) and the polyol pathway. Over...

The site and mechanism of platelet production by bone marrow megakaryocytes (MKs) has been the subject of extensive studies, but is still a matter of controversy. However, the recent discovery of the Mpl ligand (Mpl-l), also called megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDF) or thrombopoietin, has resulted in considerable progress in the understanding of the maturation of the MK lineage....

Centrosomes are important cell organizers. They consist of a pair of centrioles surrounded by pericentriolar material (PCM) that expands dramatically during mitosis-a process termed centrosome maturation. How centrosomes mature remains mysterious. Here, we identify a domain in Drosophila Cnn that appears to be phosphorylated by Polo/Plk1 specifically at centrosomes during mitosis. The phosphory...

In vitro maturation (IVM) is being increasingly used to treat human infertility, especially as rescue therapy for patients of polycystic ovarian syndrome and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Quality control and the determination of optimal fertilization conditions—important to increase the use of IVM oocytes for embryo production and improve pregnancy success rates—require a detailed understa...

We examined the effect of fetal calf serum (FCS) on meiotic division, subsequent fertilization, and first cleavage to the 2-cell stage of rat oocytes during in vitro maturation. FCS had no effect on the nuclear progression from dictiate to metaphase of the second maturation in vitro and, FCS had no effect on the first cleavage to the 2-cell stage of fertilized oocytes. However, FCS efficiently ...

The induction of oocyte maturation is known to involve an initial action of agonists at the oocyte surface. This leads to activation of a cytoplasmic maturation-promoting factor (MPF) which induces the observable events associated with maturation (reviews by Smith and Ecker, 1970; Smith, 1975; Wasserman and Smith, 19786; Baulieu et al. 1978; Masui and Clark, 1979; Mailer and Krebs, 1980; Mailer...

The mechanisms responsible for translational silencing of certain mRNAs in growing oocytes, and for their awakening during meiotic maturation, are not completely elucidated. We show that binding of a approximately 80-kD protein to a UA-rich element in the 3' UTR of tissue-type plasminogen activator mRNA, a mouse oocyte mRNA that is translated during meiotic maturation, silences the mRNA in prim...

The cellular distribution of immunoglobulins in human malignant and normal B cells was investigated by immunoelectron microscopy by direct incubation of fixed cells with electron microscopy by direct incubation of fixed cells with peroxidase-coupled antibody. These conjugates penetrated into the cell, resulting in the simultaneous detection of surface and cytoplasmic immunoglobulins. The latter...

A 6-year-old girl from Pakistan was investigated for neurologic symptoms also affecting 3 other family members. She was the sixth child of parents who were first cousins, born at term with normal birth weight. Developmental milestones were normal until 5 years old when she developed restless behavior, loss of motor skills, stiff gait, muscular spasticity, hepatosplenomegaly, and dysmorphic faci...

The elongation of poly(A) tails in cytoplasm is essential for oogenesis and early embryogenesis in Xenopus laevis. mGLD-2 is a mouse homologue of Xenopus cytoplasmic poly(A) polymerase xGLD-2. We found an association of mGLD-2 with cytoplasmic polyadenylation components, CPEB and CPSF described in Xenopus oocytes. To clarify the role of mGLD-2 in mouse, we produced an mGLD-2 disrupted mouse lin...