Remodeling of the specialized intermediate filament network in mammalian eggs and embryos during development: regulation by protein kinase C and protein kinase M.
The sheets serve as an maternal supply of assembled, cytokeratin, intermediate filaments. They are remodeled at each major developmental transition in mammalian early development, that is fertilization, embryonic compaction, blastocyst formation, and formation of the primitive ectoderm and primitive endoderm during implantation into the uterine wall. Our results indicate that the sheets exist as specialization for placental development as they have a major role in the maintenance of epithelial integrity at the time the embryo is implanting into the uterine wall. They also contribute intermediate filaments to the junctional complexes required for embryonic compaction. Our analyses demonstrate the they are regulated at the time of fertilization by the action of PKC/PKM, a kinase that acts as a cellular chronometer with both temporal and spatial precision that remodels the egg into the zygote.
Gallicano
G I
GI
Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287, USA.
Capco
D G
DG
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000502:physiology; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D007382:Intermediate Filaments / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008322:Mammals / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology*; D010063:Ovum / Q000254:growth & development*; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000502:physiology*
D011493:Protein Kinase C