Src family kinases are involved in the meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes

Abstract

Mammalian meiotic maturation is regulated by changes in the phosphorylation state of proteins involved in signalling pathways. The regulatory proteins include the family of Src tyrosine kinases. Src family kinases (SFKs) are required for meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes, and it remains to be elucidated whether they play the same role in porcine oocytes. To clarify the role of SFKs in the meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes we used inhibition of SFKs, western blotting and immunolocalisation to determine the presence of SFKs and localisation in the oocytes and assays to determine the activity of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Inhibition of SFKs resulted in the disruption of oocyte maturation and led to a decline in MPF and MAPK activity. The fluorescence intensity of SFKs in the cytoplasm and membrane of MI oocytes decreased significantly compared with germinal vesicle oocytes. The highest fluorescence intensity for SFKs was detected on the membrane of MII oocytes. Only weak fluorescence was detected in the perichromosomal area of MI and MII oocytes. These results prove that SFKs play an active role in the meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes by regulating MPF and MAPK activity.