间隙连接蛋白在卵泡发育过程中的作用

Role of the Connexins in the Ovarian Follicle Development

间隙连接广泛分布于各种组织细胞中,由其构成的通道允许小分子信号物质在相邻细胞间直接传递,在细胞间的通讯方面起着非常重要的作用。间隙连接由连接蛋白(Cx)组成,目前已经发现Cx家族有20多个成员[1],它们在相邻细胞间组成同种或异种间隙连接,调控着细胞的增殖和分化。在哺乳动物卵泡发育过程中,卵母细胞与周围的颗粒细胞之间形成的缝隙连接,介导胞间通讯,对生殖细胞迁移、卵母细胞减数分裂能力恢复、颗粒细胞分层、卵泡成腔、黄体形成、促性腺激素信号传递有非常重要的调节作用。本文根据近年来相关的研究报道,对卵泡发育过程中间隙连接的作用进行综述。

Gap junctional intercellular channels are widely distributed in various tissues and cells,which allow adjacent cells to share small molecules directly,playing an important role in cellular communication.Gap junctional intercellular channels are composed of connexins,a homologous family of more than twenty proteins have been characterized[1].Gap junctional intercellular channels regulate the cell proliferation and cell differentiation.Oocytes and granulosacells regulate follicle development by cellular communication via gap junctional intercellularchannels.In follicle development,the function of gap junctions regulates primordial germ cell migration,oocytes meiotic competence re covery,granulosa multilaminate,follicle antrum formation,corpora luteum formaion,signal transduction of gonadotropins.This review summarizes evidence of recent experiments to illustrate the possible functions of different gap junctions in the follicle development.