Nomikos, Michail ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Abstract
We have discovered that a single sperm protein, phospholipase C-zeta (PLCζ), can stimulate intracellular Ca(2+) signalling in the unfertilized oocyte ('egg') culminating in the initiation of embryonic development. Upon fertilization by a spermatozoon, the earliest observed signalling event in the dormant egg is a large, transient increase in free Ca(2+) concentration. The fertilized egg responds to the intracellular Ca(2+) rise by completing meiosis. In mammalian eggs, the Ca(2+) signal is delivered as a train of long-lasting cytoplasmic Ca(2+) oscillations that begin soon after gamete fusion and persist beyond the completion of meiosis. Sperm PLCζ effects Ca(2+) release from egg intracellular stores by hydrolyzing the membrane lipid PIP(2) and consequent stimulation of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP(3) ) receptor Ca(2+) -signalling pathway, leading to egg activation and early embryogenesis. Recent advances have refined our understanding of how PLCζ induces Ca(2+) oscillations in the egg and also suggest its potential dysfunction as a cause of male infertility.
Item Type: | Article |
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Date Type: | Publication |
Status: | Published |
Schools: | Schools > Medicine |
Subjects: | Q Science > QH Natural history > QH426 Genetics |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | calcium signalling; fertilization; oocyte activation; phospholipase C; sperm |
Additional Information: | Review Essays |
Publisher: | Wiley |
ISSN: | 0265-9247 |
Last Modified: | 19 Oct 2022 09:48 |
URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/22233 |
Citation Data
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