title: Control of mammalian oocyte growth and early follicular development by the oocyte PI3 kinase pathway: new roles for an old timer.
abstract: A large amount of information has accumulated over the past decade on how gonadotropins, steroid hormones and growth factors regulate development of the mammalian ovarian follicle. Moreover, the bi-directional communication between mammalian oocytes and their surrounding somatic (granulosa) cells has also been shown to be crucial for this process. The intra-ovarian factors, or more specifically, the intra-oocyte signaling pathways that control oocyte growth and early follicular development are largely unknown, however. Based on both in vitro studies and in vivo functional studies using gene-modified mouse models, this review focuses on the key features of the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) pathway in growing mouse oocytes and on the novel functions of the oocyte PI3K pathway in controlling mammalian oocyte growth and follicular development that have come to light only recently. We propose that the PI3K pathway in the oocyte, which is activated by granulosa cell-produced Kit ligand (KL) via the oocyte-surface receptor Kit, may serve as an intra-oocyte network that regulates both oocyte growth and the early development of ovarian follicles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. kui.liu@medchem.umu.se
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Singareddy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajareddy
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jagarlamudi
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boman
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Selstam
authors.forename: Pradeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000502:physiology*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000378:metabolism; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit