title: Incapacity of response to disulfide-reducing agent in Triton X-100-treated oocytes of starfish, Asterina pectinifera.
abstract: Resumption of meiosis in starfish oocytes is induced by the natural maturation-inducing hormone, 1-methyladenine (1-MeAde). Oocyte maturation is also induced by the disulfide-reducing agent, dithiothreitol (DTT). Previous studies have shown that 1-MeAde controls meiosis by interacting with its receptors, which are located exclusively on oocyte plasma membrane. However, little is known about the mechanism of oocyte maturation induced by DTT. Thus, this study examined whether DTT interacts with 1-MeAde receptors to induce oocyte maturation. When oocytes were treated with Triton X-100, they failed to respond to 1-MeAde and DTT. Although the Triton X-100-treated oocytes recovered the capacity to respond to 1-MeAde during incubation in seawater, they remained unresponsive to DTT during seawater incubations. These results suggest that DTT does not interact with 1-MeAde receptors to induce oocyte maturation in starfish. It is possible that a protein essential for mediating DTT-induced maturation is eliminated from the oocytes surface following Triton X-100 treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, School of Science and Engineering, Teikyo University, Tochigi, Japan. bio-mita@nasu.bio.teikyo-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mita
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047288:Asterina / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D004220:Disulfides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004229:Dithiothreitol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017830:Octoxynol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019163:Reducing Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013215:Starfish
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D019163:Reducing Agents; D017830:Octoxynol; D004229:Dithiothreitol