Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access originally published online on May 7, 2009
Human Molecular Genetics 2009 18(15):2813-2824; doi:10.1093/hmg/ddp217
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PDK1 signaling in oocytes controls reproductive aging and lifespan by manipulating the survival of primordial follicles
1 Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden
2 Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku 20520, Turku, Finland
3 Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institute SE-141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
4 Division of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
5 Department of Cell Biology, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research (JFCR), Cancer Institute, Tokyo 135-8550, Japan
6 Department of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Bra
e Branchetta 20 51000, Rijeka, Croatia
7 Department of Reproductive Biology, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, London W12 0NN, UK
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +46 907867762; Fax: +46 907865450; Email: kui.liu{at}medchem.umu.se
Received March 17, 2009; Accepted May 5, 2009
The molecular mechanisms that control reproductive aging and menopausal age in females are poorly understood. Here, we provide genetic evidence that 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1) signaling in oocytes preserves reproductive lifespan by maintaining the survival of ovarian primordial follicles. In mice lacking the PDK1-encoding gene Pdk1 in oocytes, the majority of primordial follicles are depleted around the onset of sexual maturity, causing premature ovarian failure (POF) during early adulthood. We further showed that suppressed PDK1–Akt–p70 S6 kinase 1 (S6K1)–ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) signaling in oocytes appears to be responsible for the loss of primordial follicles, and mice lacking the Rps6 gene in oocytes show POF similar to that in Pdk1-deficient mice. In combination with our earlier finding that phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) in oocytes suppresses follicular activation, we have now pinpointed the molecular network involving phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/PTEN–PDK1 signaling in oocytes that controls the survival, loss and activation of primordial follicles, which together determine reproductive aging and the length of reproductive life in females. Underactivation or overactivation of this signaling pathway in oocytes is shown to cause pathological conditions in the ovary, including POF and infertility.
![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
D. Adhikari, G. Flohr, N. Gorre, Y. Shen, H. Yang, E. Lundin, Z. Lan, M. J. Gambello, and K. Liu Disruption of Tsc2 in oocytes leads to overactivation of the entire pool of primordial follicles Mol. Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2009; 15(12): 765 - 770. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. A. Edson, A. K. Nagaraja, and M. M. Matzuk The Mammalian Ovary from Genesis to Revelation Endocr. Rev., October 1, 2009; 30(6): 624 - 712. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. Adhikari and K. Liu Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Activation of Mammalian Primordial Follicles Endocr. Rev., August 1, 2009; 30(5): 438 - 464. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||

