Cyclin B in mouse oocytes and embryos: importance for human reproduction and aneuploidy.

Abstract

Oocyte maturation and early embryo development require precise coordination between cell cycle progression and the developmental programme. Cyclin B plays a major role in this process: its accumulation and degradation is critical for driving the cell cycle through activation and inactivation of the major cell cycle kinase, CDK1. CDK1 activation is required for M-phase entry whereas its inactivation leads to exit from M-phase. The tempo of oocyte meiotic and embryonic mitotic divisions is set by the rate of cyclin B accumulation and the timing of its destruction. By controlling when cyclin B destruction is triggered and by co-ordinating this with the completion of chromosome alignment, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is a critical quality control system important for averting aneuploidy and for building in the flexibility required to better integrate cell cycle progression with development. In this review we focus on cyclin B metabolism in mouse oocytes and embryos and illustrate how the cell cycle-powered clock (in fact cyclin B-powered clock) controls oocyte maturation and early embryo development, thereby providing important insight into human reproduction and potential causes of Down syndrome.

• Authors: Zbigniew Polański, Hayden Homer, Jacek Z Kubiak
• Journal: Results and problems in cell differentiation (Results Probl Cell Differ) Vol. 55 Pg. 69-91 ( 2012) ISSN: 0080-1844 [Print] Germany
• PMID: 22918801 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)

Chemical References

• Cyclin B
• CDC2 Protein Kinase

Topics

• Animals
• CDC2 Protein Kinase (metabolism)
• Cyclin B (metabolism)
• Down Syndrome (metabolism)
• Embryo, Mammalian (metabolism)
• Embryonic Development
• Humans
• M Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints
• Mice
• Oocytes (metabolism)
• Proteolysis
• Trisomy