Abstract
In holothuroids, oocyte maturation is stopped in ovaries at the prophase I stage of meiosis. In natural conditions, the blockage is removed during the spawning by an unknown mechanism. When oocytes are isolated by dissection, the meiotic release can be successfully induced by a natural inducer, the REES (i.e., Rough Extract of Echinoid Spawn) that is used in aquaculture to obtain viable larvae in mass. A thioredoxin has recently been identified in the REES as the molecule responsible for holothuroid oocyte maturation. As a redox-active protein, thioredoxin is thought to reduce target proteins within the oocyte membrane and initiate an intracellular reaction cascade that leads to the unblocking of the oocyte meiosis. Our results allow us to understand additional steps in the intracellular reaction cascade induced by the action of thioredoxin on oocytes. Pharmacological agents known to have activating or inhibiting actions on oocyte maturation have been used (Forskolin, Isobutylmethylxanthine, Hypoxanthine, 6-dimethyaminopurine, Lavendustin, Genistein, Roscovitine, Cycloheximide). The effects of these agents were analysed on oocytes of the holothuroid Holothuria tubulosa incubated with or without REES and were compared to those obtained with another reducing agent, the dithiothreitol. Our results demonstrated that, at the opposite of dithiothreitol-induced oocyte maturation, thioredoxin-induced oocyte maturation is cAMP independent, but dependent of the presence of calcium in the seawater. Both pathways of induction require the activation of protein serine/threonine kinases.