Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Stress and Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) in Mammalian Oocyte Maturation and Preimplantation Embryo Development

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 20; no. 2; p. 409
• Main Authors: Lin, Tao, Lee, Jae Eun, Kang, Jung Won, Shin, Hyeon Yeong, Lee, Ju Bin, Jin, Dong Il
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.01.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Biomarkers; Blastocyst; Cell Differentiation; Embryonic Development; Embryos; Endoplasmic reticulum; Endoplasmic Reticulum - metabolism; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Gene expression; Homeostasis; Humans; Kinases; Mammals; Oocytes - metabolism; Oogenesis; Phosphorylation; Protein folding; Protein synthesis; Review; Signal Transduction; Transcription factors; Unfolded Protein Response; unfolded protein response; apoptosis; embryos; oocytes; endoplasmic reticulum stress
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms20020409

Mammalian oocytes and early embryos derived from in vitro production are highly susceptible to a variety of cellular stresses. During oocyte maturation and preimplantation embryo development, functional proteins must be folded properly in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to maintain oocyte and embryo development. However, some adverse factors negatively impact ER functions and protein synthesis, resulting in the activation of ER stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathways. ER stress and UPR signaling have been identified in mammalian oocytes and embryos produced in vitro, suggesting that modulation of ER stress and UPR signaling play very important roles in oocyte maturation and the development of preimplantation embryos. In this review, we briefly describe the current state of knowledge regarding ER stress, UPR signaling pathways, and their roles and mechanisms in mammalian (excluding human) oocyte maturation and preimplantation embryo development.