2023-05-16 アルゴンヌ国立研究所(ANL)
◆ミシガン州立大学のTeresa Woodruff教授とTom O’Halloran教授を中心とする研究チームは、アルゴンヌの先端光源(APS)におけるバイオナノプローブを使用して、卵細胞自体および周囲の体細胞における亜鉛と他の微量元素の濃度を調べました。
◆研究者たちは、マウスの卵胞における亜鉛の濃度が発育過程で3倍以上増加し、鉄や銅などの他の微量元素の濃度もわずかに増加することを観察しました。成長中の卵胞が未発育の卵胞よりも70倍速く亜鉛を取り込んでいることも研究者たちは気づきました。これは、亜鉛が卵巣卵胞の成熟において重要な役割を果たしていることを示唆しています。
<関連情報>
- https://www.anl.gov/article/scientists-use-xray-beams-to-determine-role-of-zinc-in-development-of-ovarian-follicles
- https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(22)01174-7/fulltext
亜鉛の動態が初期の卵巣卵胞の発達を制御する
Zinc dynamics regulate early ovarian follicle development
Yu-Ying Chen,Si Chen,Kiwon Ok,Francesca E. Duncan,Thomas V. O’Halloran,Teresa K. Woodruff
Journal of Biological Chemistry Published:January 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102731
Zinc fluctuations regulate key steps in late oocyte and preimplantation embryo development; however, roles for zinc in preceding stages in early ovarian follicle development, when cooperative interactions exist between the oocyte and somatic cells, are unknown. To understand the roles of zinc during early follicle development, we applied single cell X-ray fluorescence microscopy, a radioactive zinc tracer, and a labile zinc probe to measure zinc in individual mouse oocytes and associated somatic cells within early follicles. Here, we report a significant stage-specific increase and compartmental redistribution in oocyte zinc content upon the initiation of early follicle growth. The increase in zinc correlates with the increased expression of specific zinc transporters, including two that are essential in oocyte maturation. While oocytes in follicles exhibit high tolerance to pronounced changes in zinc availability, somatic survival and proliferation are significantly more sensitive to zinc chelation or supplementation. Finally, transcriptomic, proteomic, and zinc loading analyses reveal enrichment of zinc targets in the ubiquitination pathway. Overall, these results demonstrate that distinct cell type–specific zinc regulations are required for follicle growth and indicate that physiological fluctuation in the localization and availability of this inorganic cofactor has fundamental functions in early gamete development.
