Digitoxigenin, a digitalis steroid, induces meiotic maturation of Xenopus laevis oocytes.
Digitoxigenin, a C23 digitalis steroid induces meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocyte. The dose of digitoxigenin which induces half maximal response is 3.3 +/- 2.10(-5)M. In contrast the conjugated digitalis steroid, digitoxin (digitoxigenine + 3 digitoxoses) never triggered maturation at any of the doses tested. These experiments which show that only free digitoxigenin mimics progesterone action, suggest that both digitoxigenin and progesterone possess a common initial site of action which is not localized at the level of the outer leaflet of the oocyte plasma membrane.
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D004073:Digitoxigenin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004074:Digitoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007700:Kinetics; D008540:Meiosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014982:Xenopus laevis
D004073:Digitoxigenin; D004074:Digitoxin; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase