AWARE-Japan: The Role of Akt/PKB in the Maturation of Marine Worm Eggs

0225819Stricker该奖项支持新墨西哥大学的Stephen Stricker教授和东京生物科学与生物技术研究所的Takeo Kishimoto教授之间为期一年的合作研究项目。研究人员将对Akt PKB在海洋蠕虫卵成熟过程中的作用进行研究。为了使受精和发育正常进行，卵子必须经历一个成熟过程，这个过程是由一种重要的细胞周期调节因子，称为成熟促进因子(成熟促进因子)介导的。新月形目动物的未成熟卵(=“卵母细胞”)在与天然海水接触后会自发成熟，这一过程被称为“生发泡破裂”(GVBD)。这种GVBD可以通过在无钙水中分离卵母细胞(CaFSW)来阻止，但这种抑制可以通过添加低剂量的神经激素5-羟色胺(=5-羟色胺)来克服。研究人员将试图确定在5-羟色胺诱导的海星卵母细胞GVBD过程中，Akt/PKB是否以MAPK和CDC25不依赖的方式激活，进而下调MYT-1，从而激活MPF，就像海星卵母细胞一样。研究将集中在高空间和时间分辨率的光学成像和光谱技术上。该项目汇集了两个拥有互补专业知识和研究能力的实验室的努力。岸本教授在日本的实验室是世界上研究包括成熟卵子在内的各种细胞中强积金调控的领先中心之一。该实验室专门从事海星卵成熟的研究。该实验室实行的是一种低压形式的微量注射，特别适合用于Akt抗体灭活所需的定量注射。斯特里克教授的实验室使用了另一种高压微注射系统，这种系统不容易进行定量。这项研究将为两国之间的合作提供一个很好的机会。通过思想和技术的交流，这个项目将扩大我们的基础知识基础，促进国际理解与合作。该项目通过一名研究生的参与促进了国际人力资源的发展

0225819StrickerThis award supports a one-year collaborative research project between Professor Stephen Stricker of the University of New Mexico and Professor Takeo Kishimoto of the Tokyo Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnology. The researchers will undertake a study on the role of Akt PKB in the maturation of marine worm eggs. For fertilization and development to proceed normally, eggs characteristically must undergo a maturation process that is mediated by an important cell cycle modulator, termed maturation-promoting factor (MPF). Immature eggs (="oocytes") of nemerteans spontaneously mature after contacting natural seawater (NSW) by undergoing a process called "germinal vesicle breakdown" (GVBD). Such GVBD is blocked by isolating oocytes in calcium-free SW (CaFSW), but this inhibition can be overridden by adding low doses of the neurohormone serotonin (=5-HT). The researchers will attempt to determine if during 5-HT-induced GVBD in nemertean oocytes, Akt/PKB is activated in a MAPK-and cdc25-independent manner that in turn downregulates Myt-1 and thereby activates MPF as in starfish oocytes. The research will be centered on optical imaging and spectroscopic techniques with high spatial and temporal resolution. The project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. Professor Kishimoto's laboratory in Japan is one of the leading centers in the world for investigations of MPF regulation in a variety of cells, including maturing eggs. The lab specializes in studies of starfish egg maturation. The lab practices a low-pressure form of microinjection that is particularly well suited for quantitative injections required for antibody inactivations of Akt. Professor Stricker's laboratory utilizes an alternative high-pressure microinjection system that does not readily lend itself to quantitation. The research will offer a good opportunity to join efforts between the two countries. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. The project advances international human resources through the participation of a graduate student