Analysis of mouse oocyte activation suggests the involvement of sperm perinuclear material.
The mouse oocyte can be activated by injection of a single, intact mouse spermatozoon or its isolated head. Isolated tails are unable to activate the oocyte. Active sperm-borne oocyte-activating factor(s) (SOAF) appears during transformation of the round spermatid into the spermatozoon. The action of SOAF is not highly species-specific: mouse oocytes are activated by injection of spermatozoa from foreign species, such as the hamster, rabbit, pig, human, and even fish. Some SOAF can be extracted by simple freeze-thawing of (hamster) spermatozoa; additional SOAF is obtained by sequential treatment of spermatozoa with Triton X-100 and SDS. Electron microscopic examination of sperm heads during SOAF extraction suggests that the relatively insoluble SOAF is associated with perinuclear material. When microsurgically injected into oocytes, Triton X-100-treated sperm heads (with perinuclear material, but without any membranes) can activate the oocytes, leading to normal embryonic development. Whereas perinuclear components have been believed to play a purely structural role, these data suggest an additional function for them in oocyte activation.
Kimura
Y
Y
Department of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology, University of Hawaii School of Medicine, Honolulu 96822, USA.
Yanagimachi
R
R
Kuretake
S
S
Bortkiewicz
H
H
Perry
A C
AC
Yanagimachi
H
H
D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006224:Cricetinae; D003470:Culture Media; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D017830:Octoxynol / Q000494:pharmacology; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012995:Solubility; D013045:Species Specificity; D013077:Sperm Head / Q000502:physiology; D013082:Sperm Tail / Q000502:physiology; D013087:Spermatids / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013552:Swine
D003470:Culture Media; D017830:Octoxynol