Skip to Content
Merck
  • Epidermal growth factor receptor signaling uncouples germ cells from the somatic follicular compartment at ovulation.

Epidermal growth factor receptor signaling uncouples germ cells from the somatic follicular compartment at ovulation.

Nature communications (2021-03-06)
Laleh Abbassi, Stephany El-Hayek, Karen Freire Carvalho, Wusu Wang, Qin Yang, Sofia Granados-Aparici, Rafael Mondadori, Vilceu Bordignon, Hugh J Clarke
ABSTRACT

Germ cells are physically coupled to somatic support cells of the gonad during differentiation, but this coupling must be disrupted when they are mature, freeing them to participate in fertilization. In mammalian females, coupling occurs via specialized filopodia that project from the ovarian follicular granulosa cells to the oocyte. Here, we show that signaling through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the granulosa, which becomes activated at ovulation, uncouples the germ and somatic cells by triggering a massive and temporally synchronized retraction of the filopodia. Although EGFR signaling triggers meiotic maturation of the oocyte, filopodial retraction is independent of the germ cell state, being regulated solely within the somatic compartment, where it requires ERK-dependent calpain-mediated loss of filopodia-oocyte adhesion followed by Arp2/3-mediated filopodial shortening. By uncovering the mechanism regulating germ-soma uncoupling at ovulation, our results open a path to improving oocyte quality in human and animal reproduction.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Grace Bio-Labs SecureSeal imaging spacer, 8 wells, diam. × thickness 9 mm × 0.12 mm
Sigma-Aldrich
Roscovitine, ≥98% (TLC)
Sigma-Aldrich
Natriuretic Peptide, C-Type, ≥95% (HPLC)
Sigma-Aldrich
Calpain Inhibitor I, ≥97% (TLC), powder
Sigma-Aldrich
Phalloidin–Tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyanate, sequence from Amanita phalloides(synthetic: peptide sequence)
Sigma-Aldrich
Carbenoxolone disodium salt, ≥98%
Sigma-Aldrich
U0126 ethanolate, ≥98% (HPLC), powder
Sigma-Aldrich
PD 153035, An extremely potent, cell-permeamble, reversible, ATP-competitive and specific inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; IC₅₀ = 25 pM; Ki = 6 pM).
Sigma-Aldrich
AG 1478, A cell-permeable, reversible, ATP-competitive, highly potent and selective inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor kinase versus HER2-neu and platelet-derived growth factor receptor kinase.
Sigma-Aldrich
DL-Cysteine, technical grade
Sigma-Aldrich
8-(4-Chlorophenylthio)-guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate sodium salt, ≥95% (HPLC), powder
Sigma-Aldrich
Cilostamide, phosphodiesterase inhibitor
Sigma-Aldrich
Polyvinylpyrrolidone, mol wt (number average molecular weight Mn 360kDa)
Sigma-Aldrich
CK-666, ≥98% (HPLC), powder
Roche
DAPI, 4′,6-Diamidine-2′-phenylindole dihydrochloride