PUBLICATION

Cadherin-catenin complexes during zebrafish oogenesis: heterotypic junctions between oocytes and follicle cells

Authors
Cerdà, J., Reidenbach, S., Prätzel, S., and Franke, W.W.
ID
ZDB-PUB-990824-15
Date
1999
Source
Biology of reproduction   61(3): 692-704 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Cerdà, Joan
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Cadherins/metabolism*
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins/chemistry
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins/genetics
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins/metabolism*
  • DNA, Complementary/isolation & purification
  • Desmoplakins
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Intercellular Junctions*
  • Mice
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oocytes/chemistry
  • Oocytes/ultrastructure*
  • Oogenesis*
  • Ovarian Follicle/chemistry
  • Ovarian Follicle/ultrastructure*
  • Sequence Homology
  • Trans-Activators*
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Zebrafish Proteins
  • alpha Catenin
  • beta Catenin
  • gamma Catenin
PubMed
10456847 Full text @ Biol. Reprod.
Abstract
During vertebrate oogenesis, the germ cells and associated somatic cells remain connected by a variety of adhering junctional complexes. However, the molecular composition of these cellular structures is largely unknown. To identify the proteins forming the heterotypic adherens junctions between oocytes and follicle cells in the zebrafish (Danio rerio), the cDNAs encoding alphaE-catenin and plakoglobin were isolated. Using these cDNAs, in combination with the previously isolated beta-catenin cDNA, and antibodies specific for alpha- and beta-catenin, plakoglobin, and N- and E-cadherin, we found differences in catenin and plakoglobin gene expression during oogenesis. The immunolocalization of these plaque proteins, as well as of cadherins, in the ovarian follicle indicated an enrichment of alpha- and beta-catenin and of E-cadherin-like protein(s) in the oocyte cortex, notably at sites of oocyte-follicle cell contacts, suggesting the presence of hitherto unknown heterotypic adherens junctions between these cells. By contrast, plakoglobin and N-cadherin localization was restricted to cell-cell contacts in the follicle cell layer. During oocyte maturation, mRNAs for alphaE- and beta-catenin and plakoglobin accumulated, and all three plaque-forming proteins were stored in unfertilized eggs, either in complexed forms with cadherins or as free cytoplasmic pools. These findings suggest possible roles of these junctional proteins during early embryogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping