title: PTK2b function during fertilization of the mouse oocyte.
abstract: Fertilization triggers rapid changes in intracellular free calcium that serve to activate multiple signaling events critical to the initiation of successful development. Among the pathways downstream of the fertilization-induced calcium transient is the calcium-calmodulin dependent protein tyrosine kinase PTK2b or PYK2 kinase. PTK2b plays an important role in fertilization of the zebrafish oocyte and the objective of the present study was to establish whether PTK2b also functions in mammalian fertilization. PTK2b was activated during the first few hours after fertilization of the mouse oocyte during the period when anaphase resumption was underway and prior to the pronuclear stage. Suppression of PTK2b kinase activity in oocytes blocked sperm incorporation and egg activation although sperm-oocyte binding was not affected. Oocytes that failed to incorporate sperm after inhibitor treatment showed no evidence of a calcium transient and no evidence of anaphase resumption suggesting that egg activation did not occur. The results indicate that PTK2b functions during the sperm-egg fusion process or during the physical incorporation of sperm into the egg cytoplasm and is therefore critical for successful development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, United States.
authors.forename: Jinping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, United States.
authors.forename: Lynda K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: McGinnis
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, United States.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carlton
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Hilary E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Beggs
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, United States. Electronic address: wkinsey@kumc.edu.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kinsey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051418:Focal Adhesion Kinase 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015053:Zygote / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D051418:Focal Adhesion Kinase 2; C496053:Ptk2b protein, mouse
keywords: Egg activation; Fertilization; Oocyte; PTK2b; PYK2 kinase