Naturally occurring steroids in Xenopus oocyte during meiotic maturation. Unexpected presence and role of steroid sulfates.

In the ovary, oocytes are surrounded by follicle cells and arrested in prophase of meiosis I. Although steroidogenic activity of follicle cells is involved in oogenesis regulation, clear qualitative and quantitative data about the steroid content of follicles are missing. We measured steroid levels of Xenopus oocytes and follicles by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We show that dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is the main steroid present in oocytes. Lower levels of free steroids are also detected, e.g., androgens, whereas progesterone is almost undetectable. We propose that sulfatation is a protective mechanism against local variations of active steroids that could be deleterious for follicle-enclosed oocytes. Steroid levels were measured after LH stimulation, responsible for the release by follicle cells of a steroid signal triggering oocyte meiosis resumption. Oocyte levels of androgens rise slowly during meiosis re-entry whereas progesterone increases abruptly to micromolar concentration, therefore representing the main physiological mediator of meiosis resumption in Xenopus oocyte.

Differential regulation of Cdc2 and Aurora-A in Xenopus oocytes: a crucial role of phosphatase 2A.

The success of cell division relies on the activation of its master regulator Cdc2-cyclin B, and many other kinases controlling cellular organization, such as Aurora-A. Most of these kinase activities are regulated by phosphorylation. Despite numerous studies showing that okadaic acid-sensitive phosphatases regulate both Cdc2 and Aurora-A activation, their identity has not yet been established in Xenopus oocytes and the importance of their regulation has not been evaluated. Using an oocyte cell-free system, we demonstrate that PP2A depletion is sufficient to lead to Cdc2 activation, whereas Aurora-A activation depends on Cdc2 activity. The activity level of PP1 does not affect Cdc2 kinase activation promoted by PP2A removal. PP1 inhibition is also not sufficient to lead to Aurora-A activation in the absence of active Cdc2. We therefore conclude that in Xenopus oocytes, PP2A is the key phosphatase that negatively regulates Cdc2 activation. Once this negative regulator is removed, endogenous kinases are able to turn on the activator Cdc2 system without any additional stimulation. In contrast, Aurora-A activation is indirectly controlled by Cdc2 activity independently of either PP2A or PP1. This strongly suggests that in Xenopus oocytes, Aurora-A activation is mainly controlled by the specific stimulation of kinases under the control of Cdc2 and not by downregulation of phosphatase.

How does Xenopus oocyte acquire its competence to undergo meiotic maturation?

During Xenopus oogenesis, the follicle-enclosed oocyte, arrested at the diplotene stage of meiotic prophase, accumulates pre-MPF. Pre-MPF is an heterodimer formed of cyclin B2 and Cdc2 protein kinase, which is maintained inactive by inhibitory phosphorylations on Thr14 and Tyr15. When the oocyte reaches its full size, it becomes competent to respond to progesterone and to activate MPF through a positive feedback loop. In this paper, we present experimental data indicating that the molecular network involved in the autoamplification loop of MPF is progressively established during late oogenesis.

Polo-like kinase confers MPF autoamplification competence to growing Xenopus oocytes.

During oogenesis, the Xenopus oocyte is blocked in prophase of meiosis I. It becomes competent to resume meiosis in response to progesterone at the end of its growing period (stage VI of oogenesis). Stage IV oocytes contain a store of inactive pre-MPF (Tyr15-phosphorylated Cdc2 bound to cyclin B2); the Cdc25 phosphatase that catalyzes Tyr15 dephosphorylation of Cdc2 is also present. However, the positive feedback loop that allows MPF autoamplification is not functional at this stage of oocyte growth. We report that when cyclin B is overexpressed in stage IV oocytes, MPF autoamplification does not occur and the newly formed cyclin B-Cdc2 complexes are inactivated by Tyr15 phosphorylation, indicating that Myt1 kinase remains active and that Cdc25 is prevented to be activated. Plx1 kinase (or polo-like kinase), which is required for Cdc25 activation and MPF autoamplification in full grown oocytes is not expressed at the protein level in small stage IV oocytes. In order to determine if Plx1 could be the missing regulator that prevents MPF autoamplification, polo kinase was overexpressed in stage IV oocytes. Under these conditions, the MPF-positive feedback loop was restored. Moreover, we show that acquisition of autoamplification competence does not require the Mos/MAPK pathway.

Xenopus H-RasV12 promotes entry into meiotic M phase and cdc2 activation independently of Mos and p42(MAPK).

In the Xenopus oocyte, progesterone triggers M phase Promoting Factor (MPF) activation in a protein synthesis dependent manner. Although the synthesis of the p42(MAPK) activator Mos appears to be required for MPF activation, p42(MAPK) activity has been shown to be dispensable. To clarify this paradox, we attempted to activate the p42(MAPK) pathway independently of Mos synthesis by cloning and using Xenopus H-Ras in the oocyte. We demonstrate that the injection of the constitutively active Xe H-RasV12 mutant induces p42(MAPK) and MPF activation through two independent pathways. Xe H-RasV12 induces only a partial activation of p42(MAPK) when protein synthesis and MPF activation are prevented. A full level of p42(MAPK) activation is reached when MPF is activated and Mos is present. In contrast, MPF activation induced by Xe H-RasV12 is achieved independently of Mos synthesis and p42(MAPK) activation but still depends on protein synthesis. Therefore, the amphibian oocyte represents a new model system to analyse an original H-Ras pathway ending to MPF activation and distinct from the p42(MAPK) pathway. The identification of the proteins synthesized in response to Xe H-RasV12 and required for MPF activation, represents an important clue in understanding the mechanism of progesterone action.

Mos is not required for the initiation of meiotic maturation in Xenopus oocytes.

In Xenopus oocytes, the c-mos proto-oncogene product has been proposed to act downstream of progesterone to control the entry into meiosis I, the transition from meiosis I to meiosis II, which is characterized by the absence of S phase, and the metaphase II arrest seen prior to fertilization. Here, we report that inhibition of Mos synthesis by morpholino antisense oligonucleotides does not prevent the progesterone-induced initiation of Xenopus oocyte meiotic maturation, as previously thought. Mos-depleted oocytes complete meiosis I but fail to arrest at metaphase II, entering a series of embryonic-like cell cycles accompanied by oscillations of Cdc2 activity and DNA replication. We propose that the unique and conserved role of Mos is to prevent mitotic cell cycles of the female gamete until the fertilization in Xenopus, starfish and mouse oocytes.

Thr-161 phosphorylation of monomeric Cdc2. Regulation by protein phosphatase 2C in Xenopus oocytes.

Fully grown Xenopus oocyte is arrested at prophase I of meiosis. Re-entry into meiosis depends on the activation of MPF (M-phase promoting factor or cyclin B.Cdc2 complex), triggered by progesterone. The prophase-arrested oocyte contains a store of Cdc2. Most of the protein is present as a monomer whereas a minor fraction, called pre-MPF, is found to be associated with cyclin B. Activation of Cdc2 depends on two key events: cyclin binding and an activating phosphorylation on Thr-161 residue located in the T-loop. To get new insights into the regulation of Thr-161 phosphorylation of Cdc2, monomeric Cdc2 was isolated from prophase oocytes. Based on its activation upon cyclin addition and detection by an antibody directed specifically against Cdc2 phosphorylated on Thr-161, we show for the first time that the prophase oocyte contains a significant amount of monomeric Cdc2 phosphorylated on Thr-161. PP2C, a Mg2+-dependent phosphatase, negatively controls Thr-161 phosphorylation of Cdc2. The unexpected presence of a population of free Cdc2 already phosphorylated on Thr-161 could contribute to the generation of the Cdc2 kinase activity threshold required to initiate MPF amplification.