In vivo regulation of cytostatic activity in Xenopus metaphase II-arrested oocytes
Abstract
Metaphase II arrest of Xenopus oocyte is characterized by the presence of M-phase-promoting factor (MPF) and of a microtubular spindle, both of which are stable in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors. We studied in vivo this equilibrium state that is settled during meiotic maturation. At time of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), cdc2 kinase and MAP kinase activities are stimulated. A component of the cyclin ubiquitin ligase, CDC27, is phosphorylated at the same time and remains phosphorylated until fertilization, indicating that an important component of the ligase complex is modified as early as GVBD. During a first period extending from GVBD until the cortical anchorage of the metaphase II spindle, homogeneous pools of cdc2 kinase and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activities are present in oocyte and are strictly dependent on protein turnover, since protein synthesis inhibition induces their total inactivation and drives oocytes into interphase. The metaphase II spindle, once anchored into the cortex, is no more sensitive to protein synthesis inhibition, likewise MAP kinase activity. During this cellular arrest, cdc2 kinase is divided into two distinctly regulated pools. The first one contains cyclin B that...Continue Reading
References
Specific proteolysis of the c-mos proto-oncogene product by calpain on fertilization of Xenopus eggs
Citations
APC/C-Cdc20-mediated degradation of cyclin B participates in CSF arrest in unfertilized Xenopus eggs
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