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Mechanisms Regulating Oocyte Meiotic Resumption: Roles of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology (C.-G.L., Q.-Y.S.) and Graduate School (C.-G.L.), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China; The Jackson Laboratory (Y.-Q.S.), Bar Harbor, Maine 04609; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (H.-Y.F.), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030; and Department of Veterinary Pathobiology (H.S.), University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Qing-Yuan Sun, State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road, Chaoyang Beijing 100101, China. E-mail: sunqy{at}ioz.ac.cn; sunqy1{at}yahoo.com.

Oocyte meiotic maturation is one of the important physiological requirements for species survival. However, little is known about the detailed events occurring during this process. A number of studies have demonstrated that MAPK plays a pivotal role in the regulation of meiotic cell cycle progression in oocytes, but controversial findings have been reported in both lower vertebrates and mammals. In this review, we summarized the roles of MAPK cascade and related signal pathways in oocyte meiotic reinitiation in both lower vertebrates and mammals. We also tried to reconcile the paradoxical results and highlight the new findings concerning the function of MAPK in both oocytes and the surrounding follicular somatic cells. The unresolved questions and future research directions regarding the role of MAPK in meiotic resumption are addressed.

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