Regulation of Nuclear Envelope Assembly/Disassembly by MAP Kinase

AbstractMouse eggs arrested in metaphase II display high levels of cdc2/cyclin B1 and MAP protein kinase activities. Following fertilization there is a time-dependent decrease in the activity of each of these protein kinases. The decline in cdc2/cyclin B1 protein kinase correlates with the resumption of meiosis and the emission of the second polar body and precedes the decline in MAP kinase activity, which correlates temporally with the formation of the male and female pronuclear envelopes. These results suggest that high levels of MAP kinase activity are incompatible with the presence of a pronuclear envelope. To test this possibility, we expressed in mouse eggs a constitutively active form of MAP kinase kinase (MEK) whose only known target is p42/p44 MAP kinase. We show that following fertilization cdc2/cyclin B1 kinase activity declines and a second polar body is emitted. The endogenous MAP kinase remains active, however, and no pronuclear envelopes form. Thus, high levels of MAP kinase activity by itself in mouse eggs appear incompatible with the presence of a pronuclear envelope

Chromatin-mediated cortical granule redistribution is responsible for the formation of the cortical granule-free domain in mouse eggs

AbstractA cortical granule-free domain (CGFD) overlies the metaphase chromatin in fully mature mouse eggs. Although a chromatin-induced localized release of cortical granules (CG) during maturation is thought to be a major contributing factor to its formation, there are indications that CG redistribution may also be involved in generating the CGFD. We performed experiments to determine the relative contributions of CG exocytosis and redistribution in generating the CGFD. We found that the CGFD-inducing activity was not specific to female germ cell chromatin and was heat stable but sensitive to DNase and protease treatment. Surprisingly, chelation of egg intracellular Ca2+ levels did not prevent CGFD formation in response to microinjection of exogenous chromatin, suggesting that development of the CGFD was not a result of CG exocytosis. This finding was confirmed by the lack of CG exudate on the plasma membrane surface of the injected eggs and the absence of conversion of ZP2 to ZP2f during formation of the new CGFD. Moreover, clamping intracellular Ca2+ did not prevent the formation of the CGFD during oocyte maturation, but did inhibit the maturation-associated release of CGs between metaphase I and II. Results of these experiments suggest that CG redistribution is the dominant factor in formation of the CGFD

Dual regulation of the T-type Ca2+ current by serum albumin and β-estradiol in mammalian spermatogenic cells

AbstractThis study provides evidence for a novel mechanism of voltage-gated Ca2+ channel regulation in mammalian spermatogenic cells by two agents that affect sperm capacitation and the acrosome reaction (AR). Patch-clamp experiments demonstrated that serum albumin induced an increase in Ca2+ T current density in a concentration-dependent manner, and significant shifts in the voltage dependence of both steady-state activation and inactivation of the channels. These actions were not related to the ability of albumin to remove cholesterol from the membrane. In contrast, β-estradiol significantly inhibited Ca2+ channel activity in a concentration-dependent and essentially voltage-independent fashion. In mature sperm this dual regulation may influence capacitation and/or the AR

The “Soluble” Adenylyl Cyclase in Sperm Mediates Multiple Signaling Events Required for Fertilization

SummaryMammalian fertilization is dependent upon a series of bicarbonate-induced, cAMP-dependent processes sperm undergo as they “capacitate,” i.e., acquire the ability to fertilize eggs. Male mice lacking the bicarbonate- and calcium-responsive soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), the predominant source of cAMP in male germ cells, are infertile, as the sperm are immotile. Membrane-permeable cAMP analogs are reported to rescue the motility defect, but we now show that these “rescued” null sperm were not hyperactive, displayed flagellar angulation, and remained unable to fertilize eggs in vitro. These deficits uncover a requirement for sAC during spermatogenesis and/or epididymal maturation and reveal limitations inherent in studying sAC function using knockout mice. To circumvent this restriction, we identified a specific sAC inhibitor that allowed temporal control over sAC activity. This inhibitor revealed that capacitation is defined by separable events: induction of protein tyrosine phosphorylation and motility are sAC dependent while acrosomal exocytosis is not dependent on sAC