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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Xenopus laevis as a Model to Identify Translation Impairment
Published on: September 27, 2015
Membrane-anchored cyclin A2 triggers Cdc2 activation in Xenopus oocyte
J Faivre1, M Frank-Vaillant, R Poulhe
1INSERM U370, Institut Pasteur/Necker, Faculté de Médecine Necker, Paris, France.
Abstract:
In Xenopus oocyte, the formation of complexes between neosynthesized cyclins and Cdc2 contributes to Cdc2 kinase activation that triggers meiotic divisions. It has been proposed that cytoplasmic membranes could be involved in this process. To investigate this possibility, we have injected in the oocyte two undegradable human cyclin A2 mutants anchored to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. They encode fusion proteins between the truncated cyclin A2-Delta152 and a viral or cellular ER-targeting domain. We show that both mutants are fully functional as mitotic cyclins when expressed in Xenopus oocytes, bind Cdc2 and activate M-phase promoting factor.
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