title: Cystathionine beta synthase participates in murine oocyte maturation mediated by homocysteine.
abstract: Our previous study demonstrated that cystathionine beta synthase (CBS) is highly expressed in the cumulus-oocyte complex during ovulation. However, the role of CBS during oocyte maturation remains uncertain. In this study, a small-interfering (si) RNA interference (siRNA) approach was used to investigate the potential role of CBS during oocyte maturation. Accompanied with a gradual increase of homocysteine, the introduction of CBS-siRNA into murine granulosa cells selectively depleted the corresponding target mRNA and protein for CBS as assessed by semi-quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) and immunofluorescence staining. When fully grown, germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes matured in vitro for 16 h using medium from transfected granulosa cells, the functional suppression of CBS resulted in a significant increase in the rate of GV-arrested oocytes. The results of this study provide evidence that CBS participates in the process of oocyte maturation. Furthermore, this effect may be fulfilled by conditioning the level of homocysteine in the microenvironment of the oocyte.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Peoples Hospital, Peking University, 11# South Street, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jun-Bao
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Li-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jing-Jing
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Jing-Zhu
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000378:metabolism; D003541:Cystathionine beta-Synthase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000378:metabolism*; D008715:Methionine / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009866:Oogenesis; D019899:Paracrine Communication; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D006710:Homocysteine; D008715:Methionine; D003541:Cystathionine beta-Synthase