Intracellular CA2+ response of rabbit oocytes to electrical stimulation

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Electrical stimulation is known to cause activation in mammalian oocytes, possibly by eliciting an elevation in intracellular calcium (Ca2+). This study reports intracellular Ca2+ concentrations in mature rabbit oocytes using the Ca2+ indicator fura‐2. Calcium levels were determined prior to, during, and after the administration of an electrical pulse (3.6 kV/cm for 60 μsec). Baseline Ca2+ levels ranged from 30 to 90 nM. The intracellular Ca2+ transient evoked by a pulse, peaked at 11 sec, was highly variable in amplitude (40–300 nM) and returned to prepulse levels within 300 sec. Electrically stimulated oocytes did not exhibit repetitive Ca2+ transients. The size of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ rise was influenced by the duration of the pulse, the field strength and the concentrations of external Ca2+ (P < 0.05). Oocytes electrically stimulated in the presence of 100 μM CaCl2, which evoked Ca2+ transients with a mean magnitude of 120 nM, activated at a higher rate (P < 0.05) than oocytes stimulated in the presence of either higher or lower levels of external Ca2+. Although oocytes electrically shocked at 16–18 hr after administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hphCG) activated at a lower rate than oocytes stimulated at 22–24 hphCG (P < 0.05), their intracellular Ca2+ response to the pulse was similar (P < 0.05). These results indicate that electrical pulse parameters and extracellular Ca2+ concentrations can be used to modulate intracellular Ca2+ levels and optimize oocyte activation rates. Furthermore, the data suggest that as the oocyte ages it becomes more responsive to a given intracellular Ca2+ elevation.