title: Epsin2 promotes polarity establishment and meiotic division through activating Cdc42 in mouse oocyte.
abstract: Epsins are a conserved family of endocytic adaptors essential for diverse biological events. However, its role in oocytes remains completely unknown. Here, we report that specific depletion of Epsin2 in mouse oocytes significantly disrupts meiotic progression. Confocal microscopy reveals that Epsin2 knockdown results in the failure of actin cap formation and polar body extrusion during meiosis, indicative of the importance of Epsin2 in polarity establishment and cytokinesis. In addition, spindle defects and chromosome misalignment are readily observed in oocytes depleted of Epsin2. Moreover, we find that Epsin2 knockdown markedly decreases the activity of Cdc42 in oocytes and importantly, that the dominant-positive mutant of Cdc42 (Cdc42Q61L) is capable of partially rescuing the deficient phenotypes of Epsin2-knockdown oocytes. Together, our data identify Epsin2 as a novel player in regulating oocyte maturation, and demonstrate that Epsin2 promotes polarity establishment and meiotic division via activating Cdc42.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Longsen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jiaqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, 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: Xiaojing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008540:Meiosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport; C581598:Cdc42 protein, mouse; C577774:Epn2 protein, mouse; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein
keywords: Epsin2; Pathology Section; cytoskeleton; meiosis; oocyte; polarity