scholarly journals Association of nucleoplasmin with transcription products as revealed by immunolocalization in the amphibian oocyte.

1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 683-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Moreau ◽  
N Angelier ◽  
M L Bonnanfant-Jais ◽  
P Gounon ◽  
P Kubisz
Keyword(s):  
Transcriptional Activity ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Nuclear Proteins ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Actin Network ◽  
Previously Treated ◽  
Pleurodeles Waltlii ◽  
Chromosome Axis ◽  
Lampbrush Loops ◽  
Nuclear Content

The oocyte nucleus of Pleurodeles waltlii contains a major 32,000-mol-wt acidic protein which is called nucleoplasmin. Rabbit antibodies were raised against total nuclear proteins from Pleurodeles oocytes. Affinity-purified antibodies directed against nucleoplasmin were prepared using antigens bound to nitrocellulose paper. The specificity of the antibody was controlled on two-dimensional electrophoretic gels of nuclear proteins. The intranuclear distribution of nucleoplasmin was analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence and the immunogold technique in light and electron microscopy. The antibody was tested on a spread of the nuclear content prepared in the presence of calcium, on the nuclear content spread in the presence of phalloidin so that an actin network appeared, and on a spread of nuclei from oocytes previously treated by actinomycin D. In all cases, nucleoplasmin appeared to be localized on the lampbrush loops, i.e., on the sites of transcription and, more specifically, on the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles; this protein was also associated with the RNP particles of the nuclear sap (free or inserted in the actin network). Nucleoplasmin was localized on large RNP particles that appeared when transcription was blocked. We never found this protein on the chromosome axis. These results suggest that nucleoplasmin may play a role in transcriptional activity.

scholarly journals F-actin patches nucleated on chromosomes coordinate capture by microtubules in oocyte meiosis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariia Burdyniuk ◽  
Andrea Callegari ◽  
Masashi Mori ◽  
François Nédélec ◽  
Péter Lénárt
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Actin Network ◽  
Nuclear Envelope Breakdown ◽  
Oocyte Meiosis ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Ran Gtp

AbstractCapture of each and every chromosome by spindle microtubules is essential to prevent chromosome loss and aneuploidy. In somatic cells, astral microtubules search and capture chromosomes forming lateral attachments to kinetochores. However, this mechanism alone is insufficient in large oocytes. We have previously shown that a contractile F-actin network is additionally required to collect chromosomes scattered in the 70-μm starfish oocyte nucleus. How this F-actin-driven mechanism is coordinated with microtubule capture remained unknown. Here, we show that after nuclear envelope breakdown Arp2/3-nucleated F-actin patches form around chromosomes in a Ran-GTP-dependent manner, and we propose that these structures sterically block kinetochore-microtubule attachments. Once F-actin-driven chromosome transport is complete, coordinated disassembly of these F-actin patches allows synchronous capture by microtubules. Our observations indicate that this coordination is necessary, as early capture of chromosomes by microtubules would interfere with F-actin-driven transport leading to chromosome loss and formation of aneuploid eggs.

scholarly journals Involvement of contractile proteins in the changes in consistency of oocyte nucleoplasm of the newt Pleurodeles waltlii.

1981 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Gounon ◽  
E Karsenti
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Immunoperoxidase Technique ◽  
Actin Microfilaments ◽  
Nuclear Actin ◽  
Filamentous Form ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Pleurodeles Waltlii ◽  
Indirect Immunoperoxidase ◽  
Actin Cables

In the present work, we show that actin is present in considerable quantities in the oocyte nucleus of the newt Pleurodeles waltlii. The nuclear sap, extracted in saline buffer containing Ca++, is fluid. DNAase I inhibition assays have shown that 90% of actin is under a globular state in such conditions. Chelation of Ca++ by EGTA leads to the formation of a nuclear gel composed of individual microfilaments. This nuclear gel contains approximately 50% of total nuclear actin in a filamentous form. Phalloidin, a drug known to stabilize F-actin, induces the formation of a network of actin cables in the nuclei. This network contains nearly 100% of total nuclear actin in the filamentous form. The observation of the cables in the electron microscope shows that they are made of tightly associated microfilaments to which RNP-like particles are bound. The actin antibodies stain the cables and the particles by the indirect immunoperoxidase technique; myosin antibodies mainly stain the particles. The formation of the phalloïdin-induced network seems to require the presence of Ca++, Mg++, and ATP. We propose a scheme for the regulation of the supramolecular forms of actin in oocyte nuclei in which a delicate equilibrium seems to exist between globular actin, microfilaments, and actin cables. This equilibrium would be controlled by the concentration of Ca++, ATP, and various actin-associated proteins.

A light- and electron-microscope study of the oocyte nucleus during development of the antral follicle in the prepubertal mouse

1975 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-615
Author(s):  
L.A. Chouinard
Keyword(s):  
Meiotic Prophase ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Antral Follicle ◽  
Mouse Oocyte ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Follicle Development ◽  
Preovulatory Follicle ◽  
Functional Changes

The ordered changes which occur in the structural organization of the mouse oocyte nucelus during the preparatory, the maturative and the preovulatory stages of antral follicle development, have been studied under both light and electron microscopy. All observations have been made on those antral follicles whose development is initiated on postnatal day 14 and completed by postnatal day 28 in prepubertal animals of the ICR albino mouse strain. The formed entities that can be recognized within the oocyte nucleus during that period are the condensing bivalents, the heterochromatic knobs, the nucleolus and the extranucleolar bodies. At the onset of antral follicle development, the highly unravelled dictyate bivalents are seen to take on a lampbrush-type configuration. Subsequent condensation of these lampbursh bivalents appears to be a very gradual and lengthy process that extends over almost the entire period of antral follicle development. The shortening and thickening of the lampbrush bivalents are best interpreted as resulting from the withdrawal of their lateral loop-like projections into the chromosome axes and from the focal aggregation of these axes into compact chromatin masses. Electron-opaque granules, which appear within the oocyte nucleus during the preparatory and maturative follicle stages, are seen to be intimately associated with these condensing bivalents. A number of Feulgen-positive heterochromatic knobs make their appearance in contact with certain bivalents during the preparatory follicle stage. These knobs are not reincorporated as such into the condensing chromatin masses and undergo disintegration and dissolution during the preovulatory follicle stage. The size, shape and ultrastructural features of the nucleolus remain unchanged thoughout the period of antral follicle development. Breakdown and dissolution of the nucleolar mass is a swift process that takes place only in the fully mature preovulatory follicle and more or less concomitantly with the dismantling of the nuclear envelope. The extranucleolar bodies increase noticeably in size during the preparatory and the maturative follicle stages; they shrink in size and undergo dissolution during the preovulatory stage of antral follicle development. An attempt is made to interpret these morphological changes in the light of current knowledge concerning the architectural and functional organization of the oocyte nucleus in general during meiotic prophase. The relevant observational evidence would be consistent with the view that, during antral follicle deveopment, the mouse oocyte nucleus is not, as too often assumed, in a period of arrested evolution; its formed components undergo structural, maturational and functional changes which are of significance not only for the resumption of the first meiotic prophase but also for the early development of the embryo.

Immunolocalization of three oocyte nuclear proteins during oogenesis and embryogenesis in Pleurodeles

Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-728
Author(s):  
C. Abbadie ◽  
D. Boucher ◽  
J. Charlemagne ◽  
J.C. Lacroix
Keyword(s):  
Adult Development ◽  
Nuclear Proteins ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Lampbrush Chromosomes ◽  
Mitotic Chromosomes ◽  
Midblastula Transition ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Young Embryo ◽  
Stock Pile ◽  
Oocyte Nuclear Proteins

The location of three proteins of the oocyte nucleus of Pleurodeles was studied during oogenesis and embryogenesis using monoclonal antibodies A33/22, C3/1 and C36/1. Immunoblotting of two-dimensional gel electrophoregrams of oocyte nuclear proteins showed that these antibodies recognized proteins whose relative molecular masses and isoelectric points were 80×103 and 6á4, 175×103 and 5 and 270×103 and 7, respectively. In the oocyte, all three proteins were nucleoplasmic; those revealed by antibodies A33/22 and C36/1 were detected on lampbrush chromosomes: the first one on the RNP matrix of the loops, and the second one on both the loops and the chromomeres. Protein A33/22 was observed in most nuclei during embryonic, larval and adult development, except for the young embryo, before the midblastula transition. The distribution of this protein in the oocyte and its behaviour during development suggest that it might be involved in the packaging of RNAs during transcription. Antibody C3/1 recognized an oocyte nucleoplasmic protein with biochemical and biophysical properties similar to those of protein N1-N2. After oocyte maturation, the protein moved into the cytoplasm of the animal hemisphere and, from fertilization to the midblastula stage, it shifted from the cytoplasm into the nuclei as cell division proceeded. Starting from the gastrula stage, this protein became specific to the endoderm nuclei. After hatching, it was no longer detectable. This behaviour seems to correspond to that of a nuclear protein issued from the maternal stock pile. Protein C36/1 behaved similarly during early development, but remained in most nuclei after neurulation until the adult age, with a pattern similar to that of protein A33/22. In addition, it was present on the mitotic chromosomes. Its association with mitotic as well as lampbrush chromosomes connects it with the DNP fibre proteins.

The prophase oocyte nucleus is a homeostatic G-actin buffer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Scheffler ◽  
Federica Giannini ◽  
Binyam Mogessie
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Import ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Genetic Disorders ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Actin Network ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Mammalian Oocyte ◽  
Large Oocyte ◽  
And Function ◽  
Mammalian Eggs

AbstractFormation of healthy mammalian eggs from oocytes requires specialised F-actin structures. F-actin disruption produces aneuploid eggs, which are a leading cause of human embryo deaths, genetic disorders, and infertility. We found that oocytes regulate F-actin organisation and function by promptly transferring excess monomeric G-actin from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Inside healthy oocyte nuclei, transferred monomers form dynamic F-actin structures, a conserved feature that significantly declines with maternal age. Monomer transfer must be controlled tightly. Blocked nuclear import of G-actin triggers assembly of a dense cytoplasmic F-actin network, while excess G-actin in the nucleus dramatically stabilises nuclear F-actin. Imbalances in either direction predispose oocytes to aneuploidy. The large oocyte nucleus is thus a homeostatic G-actin buffer that is used to maintain cytoplasmic F-actin form and function.One Sentence SummaryMammalian oocyte nuclei buffer cytosolic G-actin

scholarly journals F-Actin nucleated on chromosomes coordinates their capture by microtubules in oocyte meiosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (8) ◽  
pp. 2661-2674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariia Burdyniuk ◽  
Andrea Callegari ◽  
Masashi Mori ◽  
François Nédélec ◽  
Péter Lénárt
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Actin Network ◽  
Nuclear Envelope Breakdown ◽  
Oocyte Meiosis ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Ran Gtp

Capture of each and every chromosome by spindle microtubules is essential to prevent chromosome loss and aneuploidy. In somatic cells, astral microtubules search and capture chromosomes forming lateral attachments to kinetochores. However, this mechanism alone is insufficient in large oocytes. We have previously shown that a contractile F-actin network is additionally required to collect chromosomes scattered in the 70-µm starfish oocyte nucleus. How this F-actin–driven mechanism is coordinated with microtubule capture remained unknown. Here, we show that after nuclear envelope breakdown Arp2/3-nucleated F-actin “patches” form around chromosomes in a Ran-GTP–dependent manner, and we propose that these structures sterically block kinetochore–microtubule attachments. Once F-actin–driven chromosome transport is complete, coordinated disassembly of F-actin patches allows synchronous capture by microtubules. Our observations indicate that this coordination is necessary because early capture of chromosomes by microtubules would interfere with F-actin–driven transport leading to chromosome loss and formation of aneuploid eggs.

Protamine-DNA interaction

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-201
Author(s):  
D.P. Bazett-Jones ◽  
F.P. Ottensmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Small Volume ◽  
Double Helix ◽  
Dna Interaction ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Sperm Head ◽  
Nuclear Proteins ◽  
Field Electron Microscopy ◽  
Dark Field Electron ◽  
Dna Double Helix ◽  
Positively Charged

Dark field electron microscopy has been used for the study of the structure of individual macromolecules with a resolution to at least the 5Å level. The use of this technique has been extended to the investigation of structure of interacting molecules, particularly the interaction between DNA and fish protamine, a class of basic nuclear proteins of molecular weight 4,000 daltons.Protamine, which is synthesized during spermatogenesis, binds to chromatin, displaces the somatic histones and wraps up the DNA to fit into the small volume of the sperm head. It has been proposed that protamine, existing as an extended polypeptide, winds around the minor groove of the DNA double helix, with protamine's positively-charged arginines lining up with the negatively-charged phosphates of DNA. However, viewing protamine as an extended protein is inconsistent with the results obtained in our laboratory.

The Morphology of Vacuolated Cells in the Liver Following Administration of Vitamin A.

1973 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 408-409
Author(s):  
Odell T. Minick ◽  
Hidejiro Yokoo ◽  
Fawzia Batti
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Liver Cells ◽  
Prominent Feature ◽  
Vascular Space ◽  
Vacuolated Cell ◽  
Vacuolated Cells ◽  
Vacuolated Cytoplasm

Vacuolated cells in the liver of young rats were studied by light and electron microscopy following the administration of vitamin A (200 units per gram of body weight). Their characteristics were compared with similar cells found in untreated animals.In rats given vitamin A, cells with vacuolated cytoplasm were a prominent feature. These cells were found mostly in a perisinusoidal location, although some appeared to be in between liver cells (Fig. 1). Electron microscopy confirmed their location in Disse's space adjacent to the sinusoid and in recesses between liver cells. Some appeared to be bordering the lumen of the sinusoid, but careful observation usually revealed a tenuous endothelial process separating the vacuolated cell from the vascular space. In appropriate sections, fenestrations in the thin endothelial processes were noted (Fig. 2, arrow).

Freeze-etch studies of epiphyseal growth plate cartilage reveal matrix vesicles associated with calcification

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 670-671
Author(s):  
Russell N. A. Cecil ◽  
H. Clarke Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Chromic Acid ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Matrix Vesicles ◽  
Matrix Vesicle ◽  
Glycerol Solution ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Epiphyseal Growth Plate ◽  
Growth Plates ◽  
Sprague Dawley Rats ◽  
Tibial Epiphyseal

Unfixed proximal tibial epiphyseal growth plates were studied by freeze-etch to confirm the presence of extracellular calcifying matrix vesicles and to determine the substructure of matrix vesicle membranes as compared to plasma and other membranes of intact chondrocytes. Growth plates from 6-10 week old Sprague-Dawley rats were cut into 1x3 mm blocks whose long dimension was oriented either perpendicular or parallel to the long axis of the tibia. Some blocks were fixed at pH 7. 0 in 0. 2M cacodylate - buffered 2. 5% glutaraldehyde for 1 hour at 4ÅC. The blocks were immersed in 30% glycerol solution at 4ÅC for 1 hour, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and then fractured, etched for 2 minutes, and coated with platinum, carbon and 0. 2% Formvar solution. The replicas were cleaned with chromic acid, floated onto Formvar coated grids, and examined with a Phillips EM 300 electron microscope.Fixed and unfixed specimens appeared similar in ultrastructure. Chondrocytes, matrix, and matrix vesicles were identified. In specimens fractured parallel to the long axis of the tibia, the reserve, proliferative, hypertrophic, and calcifying zones could be discerned as described by light and electron microscopy.

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