Proteasomal degradation of ubiquitinated proteins in oocyte meiosis and fertilization in mammals.

Gametogenesis and fertilization are the key events in sexual reproduction. In the female, meiosis results in a large oocyte that is competent for fertilization and fundamental for the success of early embryonic development. Progression through meiosis is monitored by fine regulatory mechanisms. In this review, we focus on one of the most well-known regulatory elements, the E3 ligase APC/C, which mediates proteolytic degradation of a number of important substrates via the ubiquitin proteasome pathway (UPP). The UPP also indirectly regulates protein synthesis by affecting proteins involved in RNA metabolism, a process that is paramount for the transcriptionally silent oocyte. During the past few years, more evidence has accumulated to suggest that the UPP has an important role in zona pellucida penetration and gamete fusion in mammals. This review focuses on the function of the UPP in regulating oocyte meiotic maturation in mammals, with special attention to its role in chromosome segregation and polar body extrusion, its role in the acquisition of meiotic/developmental competence and recent advances in our understanding of the UPP role in fertilization.

Role of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 in antipolyspermy defense of mammalian oocytes.

The ubiquitin-proteasome system regulates many cellular processes through rapid proteasomal degradation of ubiquitin-tagged proteins. Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCHL1) is one of the most abundant proteins in mammalian oocytes. It has weak hydrolytic activity as a monomer and acts as a ubiquitin ligase in its dimeric or oligomeric form. Recently published data show that insufficiency in UCHL1 activity coincides with polyspermic fertilization; however, the mechanism by which UCHL1 contributes to this process remains unclear. Using UCHL1-specific inhibitors, we induced a high rate of polyspermy in bovine zygotes after in vitro fertilization. We also detected decreased levels in the monomeric ubiquitin and polyubiquitin pool. The presence of UCHL1 inhibitors in maturation medium enhanced formation of presumptive UCHL1 oligomers and subsequently increased abundance of K63-linked polyubiquitin chains in oocytes. We analyzed the dynamics of cortical granules (CGs) in UCHL1-inhibited oocytes; both migration of CGs toward the cortex during oocyte maturation and fertilization-induced extrusion of CGs were impaired. These alterations in CG dynamics coincided with high polyspermy incidence in in vitro-produced UCHL1-inhibited zygotes. These data indicate that antipolyspermy defense in bovine oocytes may rely on UCHL1-controlled functioning of CGs.

Detection of condensin I and II in maturing pig oocytes.

The multiprotein complexes known as condensins (I and II) are major players in chromosome dynamics in mitotic and meiotic cells. Here, we report for the first time the detection of different condensin subunits from both complexes in mammalian oocytes. Using immunoblotting analysis we examined expression levels of condensin subunits during meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes. The expression of the core subunit structural maintenance of chromosomes 2 (SMC2), identical in both condensin complexes, did not change significantly during maturation. Similarly, there was no significant change in the expression of the chromosome associated protein (CAP)-H and CAP-H2 subunits, components of condensin I and II, respectively. Conversely, the expression profiles of CAP-G, CAP-D2 (condensin I) and CAP-D3 (condensin II) were more interesting. At least two isoforms of the CAP-D2 subunit were detected, along with three isoforms of the CAP-D3 and CAP-G subunits. We suggest that this diverse migration of subunit isoforms is due to post-translational modification. Earlier, it was reported that non-SMC proteins are phosphorylated by cyclin-dependent kinase 1. In the present study, we analysed the phosphorylation status of the three subunits in oocyte extracts using alkaline phosphatase treatment and we found that at least the fastest migrating form of CAP-D3 was likely to be phosphorylated in maturing porcine oocytes. In addition, the localisation of CAP-H and CAP-H2 subunits was examined using immunofluorescence staining with specific antibodies, as well as following microinjection of their enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged mRNA into germinal vesicle-stage oocytes. CAP-H was found in the cytoplasm, whereas CAP-H2 was localised within the nucleus.

Regulation of cap-dependent translation initiation in the early stage porcine parthenotes.

The binding of mRNAs to ribosomes is mediated by the protein complex eIF4F in conjunction with eIF4B (eukaryotic initiation factor 4F and 4B). EIF4F is a three subunit complex consisting of eIF4A (RNA helicase), eIF4E (mRNA cap binding protein), and eIF4G (bridging protein). The crucial role is played by eIF4E, which directly binds the 5'-cap structure of the mRNA and facilitates the recruitment to the mRNA of other translation factors and the 40S ribosomal subunit. EIF4E binding to mRNA and to other initiation factors is regulated on several levels, including its phosphorylation on Ser-209, and association with its regulatory protein 4E-binding protein (4E-BP1). In this study we document that both the translation initiation factor eIF4E and its regulator 4E-BP1 become dephosphorylated in the early stage porcine zygotes already 8 hr post-activation. Similarly, the activities of ERK1/2 MAP and Mnk1 kinases, which are both involved in eIF4E phosphorylation, gradually decrease during this period with the timing similar to that of eIF4E dephosphorylation. The formation of an active eIF4F complex is also diminished after 9-15 hr post-activation, although substantial amounts of this complex have been detected also 24 hr post-activation (2-cell stage). The overall protein synthesis in the parthenotes decreases gradually from 12 hr post-activation reaching a minimum after 48 hr (4-cell stage). Although the translation is gradually decreasing during early preimplantation development, the eIF4F complex, which is temporarily formed, might be a premise for the translation of a small subset of mRNAs at this period of development.