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Regulation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase in single starfish oocytes during maturation and fertilization
Author(s) -
Carroll David J,
Mantilla Ana,
Pennington Britney,
Wei Hua
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.a992-c
Subject(s) - germinal vesicle , oocyte , human fertilization , mapk/erk pathway , starfish , phosphorylation , protein kinase a , microbiology and biotechnology , kinase , biology , oocyte activation , chemistry , embryo , genetics , ecology
The mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway may play a pivotal role during oocyte maturation and fertilization in the eggs of some animals. Using a phosphorylation‐state specific antibody, we show that MAPK becomes phosphorylated during starfish oocyte maturation and then dephosphorylated following fertilization. To understand how MAPK is regulated during these transitions, we compare MAPK phosphorylation changes in single starfish oocytes to those observed in oocyte populations. Changes in MAPK phosphorylation are more abrupt when visualized in single oocytes than when oocyte populations are assayed. Oocytes incubated with farnesyl transferase inhibitor III (FPT III) do not undergo germinal vesicle breakdown or MAPK phosphorylation in response to 1‐MA, suggesting that Ras is involved in this process. The single cell system will allow examination of the variability of individual oocyte response to differing stimuli. This is something that cannot be observed when working with samples prepared from populations of cells. It is hoped that this will allow novel mechanistic studies to understand the regulation of MAPK during oocyte maturation and at fertilization in much finer detail than has been possible. This research was supported by NIH AREA Award R15 HD048712‐01.