RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Filopodia-like protrusions of adjacent somatic cells shape the developmental potential of oocytes
JF Life Science Alliance
JO Life Sci. Alliance
FD Life Science Alliance LLC
SP e202301963
DO 10.26508/lsa.202301963
VO 6
IS 6
A1 Flora Crozet
A1 Gaëlle Letort
A1 Rose Bulteau
A1 Christelle Da Silva
A1 Adrien Eichmuller
A1 Anna Francesca Tortorelli
A1 Joséphine Blévinal
A1 Morgane Belle
A1 Julien Dumont
A1 Tristan Piolot
A1 Aurélien Dauphin
A1 Fanny Coulpier
A1 Alain Chédotal
A1 Jean-Léon Maître
A1 Marie-Hélène Verlhac
A1 Hugh J Clarke
A1 Marie-Emilie Terret
YR 2023
UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/6/6/e202301963.abstract
AB The oocyte must grow and mature before fertilization, thanks to a close dialogue with the somatic cells that surround it. Part of this communication is through filopodia-like protrusions, called transzonal projections (TZPs), sent by the somatic cells to the oocyte membrane. To investigate the contribution of TZPs to oocyte quality, we impaired their structure by generating a full knockout mouse of the TZP structural component myosin-X (MYO10). Using spinning disk and super-resolution microscopy combined with a machine-learning approach to phenotype oocyte morphology, we show that the lack of Myo10 decreases TZP density during oocyte growth. Reduction in TZPs does not prevent oocyte growth but impairs oocyte-matrix integrity. Importantly, we reveal by transcriptomic analysis that gene expression is altered in TZP-deprived oocytes and that oocyte maturation and subsequent early embryonic development are partially affected, effectively reducing mouse fertility. We propose that TZPs play a role in the structural integrity of the germline–somatic complex, which is essential for regulating gene expression in the oocyte and thus its developmental potential.