Nuclear calcium release by InsP3-receptor channels plays a role in meiosis reinitiation in the mouse oocyte.

Our purpose was to investigate the presence of nuclear specific elements of the phosphoinositide pathway, and the link between nuclear calcium events and the first step of meiosis resumption, i.e. germinal vesicle breakdown (GVB) in mouse immature oocytes. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, we analyzed the effects of nuclear microinjection of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3), heparin and anti-InsP3 receptor monoclonal antibodies on both spontaneous nuclear and cytoplasmic calcium oscillations, as well as the effects of these components on the GVB. First we observed that nuclear Ca2+ events were dependent upon both nucleoplasmic and cytoplasmic InsP3 levels, highlighting a cross-talk between the GV and the cytoplasm concerning the Ca2+/InsP3 pathway. We demonstrated also that: 1) type 1 InsP3 receptors were localized at the nuclear membrane level while type 3 were absent from the nucleus; 2) calcium release from nuclear stores was mediated by type 1 rather than type 3 InsP3 receptor associated channels; 3) the anti-InsP3 R-1 mAB microinjected into the nucleus inhibited the GVB. These results demonstrate that reinitiation of meiosis requires an increase in nuclear phosphoinositide dependent Ca2+. Thus, the role of nuclear Ca2+ homeostasis is discussed with particular emphasis on nuclear envelope dynamics.