Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2025
12:11
Analysis of Chromosome Segregation, Histone Acetylation, and Spindle Morphology in Horse Oocytes
Published on: May 11, 2017
10.9K
Surfeit locus protein 4 modulates endoplasmic reticulum function and maintains oocyte quality
Yuanyuan Li1,2, Li-Quan Zhou2, Ying Yin3,4,5
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Cell Cycle (Georgetown, Tex.)
|May 31, 2024
Summary
Surfeit locus protein 4 (Surf4) is not essential for mouse fertility but is crucial for oocyte quality. Loss of Surf4 impacts endoplasmic reticulum organization and oocyte developmental competence.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Reproductive Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Surfeit locus protein 4 (Surf4) functions as a cargo receptor in endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi transport.
- Complete Surf4 gene deletion causes embryonic lethality in mice.
- The specific role of Surf4 in oocyte development is currently unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of Surf4 in mouse oocyte development and female fertility.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a mouse model with oocyte-specific knockout of the Surf4 gene.
- Assessment of folliculogenesis, ovulation, fertility, oocyte quality, and meiotic progression.
- Analysis of endoplasmic reticulum distribution in Surf4-deficient oocytes.
Main Results:
- Oocyte-specific deletion of Surf4 did not affect folliculogenesis, ovulation, or overall fertility in adult mice.
- Surf4 deficiency led to slightly reduced oocyte quality, partial meiotic arrest, and a lower blastocyst formation rate.
- Endoplasmic reticulum distribution was disrupted in oocytes lacking Surf4.
Conclusions:
- Surf4 is dispensable for female mouse fertility.
- Surf4 plays a role in regulating endoplasmic reticulum organization within oocytes.
- Surf4 is involved in controlling the developmental competence of oocytes.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Protein Folding Quality Check in the RER
3.7K
ER is the primary site for the maturation and folding of soluble and transmembrane secretory proteins. The calnexin cycle is a specific chaperone system that folds and assesses the confirmation of N-glycosylated proteins before they can exit the ER lumen. The primary players of this quality check pipeline are the lectins, ER-resident chaperones, and a glucosyl transferase enzyme. In case the calnexin system in the lumen fails to salvage a misfolded protein, it is transported to the cytoplasm...
3.7K
01:27Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
3.4K
Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
3.4K
01:45Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
2.4K
Nuclear protein sorting regulates nucleus composition and gene expression, crucial for determining the fate of a eukaryotic cell. Hence, the entry and exit of molecules across the nuclear envelope is a tightly controlled process. Nuclear protein sorting can be inhibited by one of the following ways: 1) masking cargo signal sequences, 2) modifying the nuclear receptor's affinity for cargo, 3) controlling the nuclear pore size, 4) retaining the cargo during its transit to the cytosol or the...
2.4K
02:07Oogenesis
63.7K
In human women, oogenesis produces one mature egg cell or ovum for every precursor cell that enters meiosis. This process differs in two unique ways from the equivalent procedure of spermatogenesis in males. First, meiotic divisions during oogenesis are asymmetric, meaning that a large oocyte (containing most of the cytoplasm) and minor polar body are produced as a result of meiosis I, and again following meiosis II. Since only oocytes will go on to form embryos if fertilized, this unequal...
63.7K
01:26Protein Modifications in the RER
5.1K
Modification of secretory and transmembrane proteins entering the rough ER begins in the ER lumen. These modifications aid in protein folding and stabilize the acquired tertiary structure. Protein modifications in the rough ER co-occur at different stages of protein folding.
Broadly, these modifications can be categorized into four main categories — glycosylation, formation of disulfide bonds, assembly of protein subunits, and specific proteolytic cleavages like removal of signal...
Broadly, these modifications can be categorized into four main categories — glycosylation, formation of disulfide bonds, assembly of protein subunits, and specific proteolytic cleavages like removal of signal...
5.1K
01:31Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response
2.4K
Inositol-requiring kinase one or IRE1 is the most conserved eukaryotic unfolded protein response (UPR) receptor. It is a type I transmembrane protein kinase receptor with a distinctive site-specific RNase activity. As the binding mechanics of the misfolded proteins with the N-terminal domain of IRE-1 are unclear, three binding models — direct, indirect, and allosteric -- are proposed for receptor activation. Nevertheless, it is known that once a misfolded protein associates with IRE1, it...
2.4K