Intercellular diffusion of cyclic nucleotides followed by gap junction closure restarts meiosis in mouse preovulatory follicles.

ABSTRACT: Signaling by luteinizing hormone (LH) in the outer granulosa cells of mammalian ovarian follicles causes meiosis to resume in the oocyte, located ~10 cell layers away, preparing the oocyte for ovulation and fertilization. This long-distance communication is accomplished by cAMP and cGMP diffusion through gap junctions, but knowledge of cAMP dynamics in the oocyte is based on static measurements, and information about cAMP changes in the granulosa cells has not been integrated with information about cAMP changes in the oocyte. By simultaneous multihour imaging of both compartments of live ovarian follicles, using mice expressing an improved cAMP sensor, we elucidate how the meiosis-activating signal is transmitted. In response to LH, cAMP generated in the granulosa cells diffuses within ~10

SUBMITTER: Nakashima IF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12704752 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature