Across the meiotic divide - CSF activity in the post-Emi2/XErp1 era.
Abstract
Vertebrate eggs are arrested at the metaphase stage of meiosis II. Only upon fertilization
will the metaphase-II-arrested eggs exit meiosis II and enter interphase. In 1971,
Masui and Markert injected egg extracts into a two-cell-stage embryo and found that
the injected blastomere arrested at the next mitosis. On the basis of these observations,
they proposed the existence of an activity present in the eggs that is responsible
for meiosis-II arrest and can induce mitotic arrest, and named this activity cytostatic
factor (CSF). Although the existence of CSF was hypothesized more than 35 years ago,
its precise identity remained unclear until recently. The discovery of the Mos-MAPK
pathway and characterization of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) as
a central regulator of M-phase exit provided the framework for a molecular understanding
of CSF. These pathways have now been linked by the discovery and characterization
of the protein Emi2, a meiotic APC/C inhibitor, the activity and stability of which
are controlled by the Mos-MAPK pathway. Continued investigation into the mechanism
of action and mode of regulation of Emi2 promises to shed light not only on CSF function,
but also on the general principles of APC/C regulation and the control of protein
function by MAPK pathways.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AnimalsCyclin B
Developmental Biology
F-Box Proteins
Feedback, Physiological
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
MAP Kinase Signaling System
Meiosis
Mitosis
Models, Biological
Oocytes
Phosphorylation
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mos
Xenopus Proteins
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/8390Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1242/jcs.036855Publication Info
Wu, Judy Qiju; & Kornbluth, Sally (2008). Across the meiotic divide - CSF activity in the post-Emi2/XErp1 era. J Cell Sci, 121(Pt 21). pp. 3509-3514. 10.1242/jcs.036855. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/8390.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Sally A. Kornbluth
Jo Rae Wright University Distinguished Professor Emerita
Our lab studies the regulation of complex cellular processes, including cell cycle
progression and programmed cell death (apoptosis). These tightly orchestrated processes
are critical for appropriate cell proliferation and cell death, and when they go awry
can result in cancer and degenerative disorders. Within these larger fields, we have
focused on understanding the cellular mechanisms that prevent the onset of mitosis
prior to the completion of DNA replication, the process

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