Journal: Advanced Science
Article Title: NLRP14 Safeguards Calcium Homeostasis via Regulating the K27 Ubiquitination of Nclx in Oocyte‐to‐Embryo Transition
doi: 10.1002/advs.202301940
Figure Lengend Snippet: Ablation of maternal NLRP14 caused the failure of the [Ca 2+ ]i induced by parthenogenetic activation. A) A schematic illustration of the spindle transfer assay between control and Nlrp14 mNull MII oocytes. WT indicates control ( Nlrp14 +/− ), KO indicates Nlrp14 mNull , PA indicates parthenogenetic activation. The hybrid oocytes produced by spindle exchange were parthenogenetically activated in an activation medium for 6 h, then cultured in KSOM. Representative images of parthenogenetically activated embryos with the indicated genotypes at day 2, day 3, and day 5. B) Bar charts showing percentages of parthenogenetic activation with indicated genotypes and treatments. Data are the mean ± SEM ( n = 3). *** p <0.001. C) control and Nlrp14 mNull MII oocytes were parthenogenetically activated in an activation medium for 6 h, then cultured in KSOM. Representative images of parthenogenetic activated embryos with the indicated genotypes at day 1 and day 2, respectively. Red arrowheads show visible pronuclei. D) Representative images of immunostaining for DNA (blue) and α‐tubulin (green) showing the MII exit and pronuclei formation in the parthenogenetic‐activated embryos. Scale bar, 20 µm. E) Bar charts showing percentages of parthenogenetic activation with indicated genotypes. *** p <0.001. F) Fluo‐4‐AM staining of oocytes showed the intracellular Ca 2+ concentration dynamics at different stages of two continuous [Ca 2+ ]i oscillations during PA. The oocytes are indicated with genotypes. Scale bar, 20 µm. G) [Ca 2+ ]i oscillation patterns after parthenogenetic activation of oocytes indicated with genotypes, respectively. H, Western blot analysis of the energy sensor AMPK using the indicated antibodies in control and Nlrp14 mNull oocytes. AMPK is composed of three subunits, the α subunit has catalytic activity (including two or three isoforms (α1 and α2)), its Thr172 phosphorylation is the target for regulating the catalytic activity of the enzyme, while the β and γ subunits are regulatory subunits. The experiment was repeated three times independently.
Article Snippet: Oligos encoding a single guide RNA (sgRNA) that targets the exon 3 of Nlrp14 were inserted into px330 plasmid.
Techniques: Activation Assay, Control, Produced, Cell Culture, Immunostaining, Staining, Concentration Assay, Western Blot, Activity Assay, Phospho-proteomics