title: Involvement of Rab6a in organelle rearrangement and cytoskeletal organization during mouse oocyte maturation.
abstract: Rab GTPases have been reported to define the identity and transport routes of vesicles. Rab6 is one of the most extensively studied Rab proteins involved in regulating organelle trafficking and integrity maintenance. However, to date, the function of Rab6 in mammalian oocytes has not been addressed. Here we report severe disorganization of endoplasmic reticulum upon specific knockdown of Rab6a in mouse oocytes. In line with this finding, intracellular Ca(2+) stores are accordingly reduced in Rab6a-depleted oocytes. Furthermore, in these oocytes, we observe the absence of cortical granule free domain, which is a kind of special organelle in matured oocytes and its exocytosis is calcium dependent. On the other hand, following Rab6a knockdown, the prominent defects of cytoskeletal structures are detected during oocyte meiosis. In particular, the majority of Rab6a-depleted oocytes fail to form the actin cap, and the frequency of spindle defects and chromosome misalignment is significantly elevated. In summary, our data reveal that Rab6a not only participates in modulating the organization of oocyte organelles, but also is a novel regulator of meiotic apparatus in mammalian oocytes.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science &Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.|State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Center of Reproductive Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Rujun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jiaqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science &Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.|State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science &Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Honglin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rui
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science &Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008540:Meiosis; D051379:Mice; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C094135:Rab6 protein; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins; D002118:Calcium