Bioorganic Research Institute, Suntory Foundation for Life Sciences, Kyoto, Japan.
Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Elife. 2019 Oct 1;8:e49062. doi: 10.7554/eLife.49062.
Ascidians are the closest living relatives of vertebrates, and their study is important for understanding the evolutionary processes of oocyte maturation and ovulation. In this study, we first examined the ovulation of Type A by monitoring follicle rupture in vitro, identifying a novel mechanism of neuropeptidergic regulation of oocyte maturation and ovulation. vasopressin family peptide (CiVP) directly upregulated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (CiErk1/2) via its receptor. CiVP ultimately activated a maturation-promoting factor, leading to oocyte maturation via germinal vesicle breakdown. CiErk1/2 also induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase (CiMMP2/9/13) in the oocyte, resulting in collagen degradation in the outer follicular cell layer and liberation of fertile oocytes from the ovary. This is the first demonstration of essential pathways regulating oocyte maturation and ovulation in ascidians and will facilitate investigations of the evolutionary process of peptidergic regulation of oocyte maturation and ovulation throughout the phylum Chordata.
海鞘是脊椎动物最接近的现存亲属,它们的研究对于理解卵母细胞成熟和排卵的进化过程很重要。在这项研究中,我们首先通过体外监测滤泡破裂来检查 A 型排卵,确定了一种新的神经肽调节卵母细胞成熟和排卵的机制。血管加压素家族肽(CiVP)通过其受体直接上调细胞外信号调节激酶(CiErk1/2)的磷酸化。CiVP 最终激活成熟促进因子,导致卵母细胞通过卵母细胞核破裂成熟。CiErk1/2 还诱导卵母细胞中基质金属蛋白酶(CiMMP2/9/13)的表达,导致外层滤泡细胞层中的胶原降解,并使可育卵母细胞从卵巢中释放出来。这首次证明了在海鞘中调节卵母细胞成熟和排卵的必要途径,并将促进对整个脊索动物门中肽调节卵母细胞成熟和排卵的进化过程的研究。