Regulation of Oocyte Maturation

Abstract

Oocytes have proved to be an optimal experimental system for several lines of investigation. One such line encompasses the biochemistry of cell division, in particular the relationship of calcium and cyclic nucleotide levels to the regulation of this process. Oocytes are an attractive model for studies in this area because borders of the oocyte maturation process are physiologically arrested states of cell division, and after exposure to progesterone progress between these borders occurs in 3-5 hours without interphase. This time span and perfect physiological synchrony are useful for examining different stages in the cell division process, especially using the tool of microinjection. This ability to make additions of biochemically defined components to a single dividing cell using microinjection techniques is of special value for studies of cell division because no cell-free system exists that can carry out any of the processes involved, with the partial exception of microtubule polymerization. Another line of investigation that has increased interest in the oocyte system concerns posttranscriptional effects of steroid hormones. © 1980, ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.