Journal
CURRENT BIOLOGY
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pages 1249-1254Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2006.05.023
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Funding
- MRC [G0300723] Funding Source: UKRI
- Medical Research Council [G0300723] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [G0300723, G0800784] Funding Source: Medline
- Wellcome Trust [064421] Funding Source: Medline
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The mature mammalian oocyte is highly polarized because asymmetrical spindle migration to the oocyte cortex ensures extrusion of small polar bodies in the two meiotic divisions, essential for generation of the large egg. Actin filaments, myosin motors, and formin-2, but not microtubules, are required for spindle migration [1-3]. Here, we show that Cdc42, a key regulator of cytoskeleton and cell polarity in other systems [4-10], is essential for meiotic maturation and oocyte asymmetry. Disrupting CDC42 function by ectopic expression of its GTPase-defective mutants causes both halves of the first meiotic spindle to extend symmetrically toward opposing cortical regions and prevents an asymmetrical division. The elongated spindle has numerous astral-like microtubules, and aPKC, normally associated with the spindle poles, is distributed along its length. Dynactin is displaced from kinetochores, consistently homologous chromosomes do not segregate, and polar body extrusion is prevented. Perturbing the function of aPKC also causes elongation of the meiotic spindle but still permits spindle migration and polar body extrusion. Thus, at least two pathways appear to be downstream of CDC42: one affecting the actin cytoskeleton and required for migration of the meiotic spindle, and a second affecting the spindle microtubules in which aPKC plays a role.
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