title: Functions of the MRE11 complex in the development and maintenance of oocytes.
abstract: The MRE11 complex (MRE11, RAD50, and NBS1) is a central component of the DNA damage response, governing both double-strand break repair and DNA damage response signaling. To determine the functions of the MRE11 complex in the development and maintenance of oocytes, we analyzed ovarian phenotypes of mice harboring the hypomorphic Mre11 (ATLD1) allele. Mre11 (ATLD1/ATLD1) females exhibited premature oocyte elimination attributable to defects in homologous chromosome pairing and double-strand break repair during meiotic prophase. Other aspects of meiotic progression, including attachment of telomeres to the nuclear envelope and recruitment of RAD21L, a component of the meiotic cohesin complex to the synaptonemal complex, were normal. Unlike Dmc1 (-/-) and Trp13 (Gt/Gt) mice which exhibit comparable defects in double-strand break repair and oocyte depletion by 5 days post-partum, we found that oocyte attrition occurred by 12 weeks in Mre11 (ATLD1/ATLD1) . Disruption of the oocyte checkpoint pathway governed by Chk2 gene further enhanced the survival of Mre11 (ATLD1/ATLD1) follicles. Together our data suggest that the MRE11 complex influences the elimination of oocytes with unrepaired meiotic double-strand breaks post-natally, in addition to its previously described role in double-strand break repair and homologous synapsis during female meiosis.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA.|Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Lleida, 25198, Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roset
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA. petrinij@mskcc.org.|Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY, 10021, USA. petrinij@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: John H J
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Petrini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023902:Chromosome Pairing; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004260:DNA Repair; D045643:DNA Repair Enzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D000076228:MRE11 Homologue Protein; D008540:Meiosis; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009866:Oogenesis; D009867:Oogonia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C512689:Mre11a protein, mouse; D004247:DNA; D000076228:MRE11 Homologue Protein; D045643:DNA Repair Enzymes