Distinct egg membrane vesicles differing in binding and fusion properties contribute to sea urchin male pronuclear envelopes formed in vitro

Acute depletion of diacylglycerol from the cis-Golgi affects localized nuclear envelope morphology during mitosis

Dysregulation of nuclear envelope (NE) assembly results in various cancers; for example, renal and some lung carcinomas ensue due to NE malformation. The NE is a dynamic membrane compartment and its completion during mitosis is a highly regulated process, but the detailed mechanism still remains incompletely understood. Previous studies have found that isolated diacylglycerol (DAG)-containing vesicles are essential for completing the fusion of the NE in nonsomatic cells. We investigated the impact of DAG depletion from the cis-Golgi in mammalian cells on NE reassembly. Using advanced electron microscopy, we observed an enriched DAG population of vesicles at the vicinity of the NE gaps of telophase mammalian cells. We applied a mini singlet oxygen generator-C1-domain tag that localized DAG-enriched vesicles at the perinuclear region, which suggested the existence of NE fusogenic vesicles. We quantified the impact of Golgi-DAG depletion by measuring the in situ NE rim curvature of the reforming NE. The rim curvature in these cells was significantly reduced compared with controls, which indicated a localized defect in NE morphology. Our novel results demonstrate the significance of the role of DAG from the cis-Golgi for the regulation of NE assembly.

Vesicular PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 and Rab7 are key effectors of sea urchin zygote nuclear membrane fusion

Regulation of nuclear envelope dynamics is an important example of the universal phenomena of membrane fusion. The signalling molecules involved in nuclear membrane fusion might also be conserved during the formation of both pronuclear and zygote nuclear envelopes in the fertilised egg. Here, we determine that class-I phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are needed for in vitro nuclear envelope formation. We show that, in vivo, PtdIns(3,4,5)P₃ is transiently located in vesicles around the male pronucleus at the time of nuclear envelope formation, and around male and female pronuclei before membrane fusion. We illustrate that class-I PI3K activity is also necessary for fusion of the female and male pronuclear membranes. We demonstrate, using coincidence amplified Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) monitored using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), a protein-lipid interaction of Rab7 GTPase and PtdIns(3,4,5)P₃ that occurs during pronuclear membrane fusion to create the zygote nuclear envelope. We present a working model, which includes several molecular steps in the pathways controlling fusion of nuclear envelope membranes.

The Use of Two-Photon FRET-FLIM to Study Protein Interactions During Nuclear Envelope Fusion In Vivo and In Vitro

FRET-FLIM techniques have wide application in the study of protein and protein-lipid interactions in cells. We have pioneered an imaging platform for accurate detection of functional states of proteins and their interactions in fixed cells. This platform, two-site-amplified Förster resonance energy transfer (a-FRET), allows greater signal generation while retaining minimal noise thus enabling application of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to be routinely deployed in different types of cells and tissue. We have used the method described here, time-resolved FRET monitored by two-photon FLIM, to demonstrate the direct interaction of Phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) by Src Family Kinase 1 (SFK1) during nuclear envelope formation and during male and female pronuclear membrane fusion in fertilized sea urchin eggs. We describe here a generic method that can be applied to monitor any proteins of interest.

Conservation of proteo-lipid nuclear membrane fusion machinery during early embryogenesis

The fusogenic lipid diacylglycerol is essential for remodeling gamete and zygote nuclear envelopes (NE) during early embryogenesis. It is unclear whether upstream signaling molecules are likewise conserved. Here we demonstrate PLCγ and its activator SFK1, which co-operate during male pronuclear envelope formation, also promote the subsequent male and female pronuclear fusion. PLCγ and SFK1 interact directly at the fusion site leading to PLCγ activation. This is accompanied by a spatially restricted reduction of PtdIns(4,5)P2. Consequently, pronuclear fusion is blocked by PLCγ or SFK1 inhibition. These findings identify new regulators of events in the early embryo and suggest a conserved "toolkit" of fusion machinery drives successive NE fusion events during embryogenesis.

Multiple mechanisms determine ER network morphology during the cell cycle in Xenopus egg extracts

Fusion of ER membranes by atlastin and interaction of ER with growing microtubule ends and dynein cooperate to generate distinct ER morphologies during the cell cycle.

In metazoans the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) changes during the cell cycle, with the nuclear envelope (NE) disassembling and reassembling during mitosis and the peripheral ER undergoing extensive remodeling. Here we address how ER morphology is generated during the cell cycle using crude and fractionated Xenopus laevis egg extracts. We show that in interphase the ER is concentrated at the microtubule (MT)-organizing center by dynein and is spread by outward extension of ER tubules through their association with plus ends of growing MTs. Fusion of membranes into an ER network is dependent on the guanosine triphosphatase atlastin (ATL). NE assembly requires fusion by both ATL and ER-soluble N-ethyl-maleimide–sensitive factor adaptor protein receptors. In mitotic extracts, the ER converts into a network of sheets connected by ER tubules and loses most of its interactions with MTs. Together, these results indicate that fusion of ER membranes by ATL and interaction of ER with growing MT ends and dynein cooperate to generate distinct ER morphologies during the cell cycle.

A structural role for lipids in organelle shaping

The importance of proteins in shaping the membranes that define the perimeters of organelles is well documented. By forming cross-links, motors, or scaffolds or by inserting into membranes, proteins can harness energy to deform membranes, particularly when high degrees of curvature are necessitated-as in small membrane vesicles, tubules of the endoplasmic reticulum, the edges of endoplasmic reticulum sheets or Golgi apparatus cisternae, and membrane fusion intermediates (stalks). Here we propose that membrane lipids displaying negative curvature act in concert with membrane proteins to contribute to the alteration and maintenance of bending in biological membranes. We emphasize recent data from studies of sea urchin eggs and embryos and suggest how novel approaches can lead to future directions for investigating the roles of such lipids in vivo.

Dynamics of PLCγ and Src family kinase 1 interactions during nuclear envelope formation revealed by FRET-FLIM

The nuclear envelope (NE) breaks down and reforms during each mitotic cycle. A similar process happens to the sperm NE following fertilisation. The formation of the NE in both these circumstances involves endoplasmic reticulum membranes enveloping the chromatin, but PLCγ-dependent membrane fusion events are also essential. Here we demonstrate the activation of PLCγ by a Src family kinase (SFK1) during NE assembly. We show by time-resolved FRET for the first time the direct in vivo interaction and temporal regulation of PLCγ and SFK1 in sea urchins. As a prerequisite for protein activation, there is a rapid phosphorylation of PLCγ on its Y783 residue in response to GTP in vitro. This phosphorylation is dependent upon SFK activity; thus Y783 phosphorylation and NE assembly are susceptible to SFK inhibition. Y783 phosphorylation is also observed on the surface of the male pronucleus (MPN) in vivo during NE formation. Together the corroborative in vivo and in vitro data demonstrate the phosphorylation and activation of PLCγ by SFK1 during NE assembly. We discuss the potential generality of such a mechanism.

The mechanism of a nuclear pore assembly: a molecular biophysics view

The basic problem of nuclear pore assembly is the big perinuclear space that must be overcome for nuclear membrane fusion and pore creation. Our investigations of ternary complexes: DNA-PC liposomes-Mg²⁺, and modern conceptions of nuclear pore structure allowed us to introduce a new mechanism of nuclear pore assembly. DNA-induced fusion of liposomes (membrane vesicles) with a single-lipid bilayer or two closely located nuclear membranes is considered. After such fusion on the lipid bilayer surface, traces of a complex of ssDNA with lipids were revealed. At fusion of two identical small liposomes (membrane vesicles) < 100 nm in diameter, a "big" liposome (vesicle) with ssDNA on the vesicle equator is formed. ssDNA occurrence on liposome surface gives a biphasic character to the fusion kinetics. The "big" membrane vesicle surrounded by ssDNA is the base of nuclear pore assembly. Its contact with the nuclear envelope leads to fast fusion of half of the vesicles with one nuclear membrane; then ensues a fusion delay when ssDNA reaches the membrane. The next step is to turn inside out the second vesicle half and its fusion to other nuclear membrane. A hole is formed between the two membranes, and nucleoporins begin pore complex assembly around the ssDNA. The surface tension of vesicles and nuclear membranes along with the kinetic energy of a liquid inside a vesicle play the main roles in this process. Special cases of nuclear pore formation are considered: pore formation on both nuclear envelope sides, the difference of pores formed in various cell-cycle phases and linear nuclear pore clusters.

Nuclear envelope formation in vitro: a sea urchin egg cell-free system

The formation of the nuclear envelope (NE) typically occurs once during every mitotic cycle in somatic cells, and also around the sperm nucleus following fertilization. Much of our understanding of NE assembly has been derived from systems modeling the latter event in vitro. In these systems, demembranated sperm nuclei are combined with fertilized egg cytoplasmic extracts and an ATP-regenerating system and in a multistep process they form the functional double bilayer of the NE. Using a system that we developed from sea urchin gametes, we have demonstrated that NE assembly is regulated by membrane vesicles in a spatial and temporal fashion, emphasizing the roles of phosphoinositides, particularly phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P(2)), diacylglycerols (DAG), and lipid-modifying enzymes in NE assembly.

Spatial regulation of membrane fusion controlled by modification of phosphoinositides

Membrane fusion plays a central role in many cell processes from vesicular transport to nuclear envelope reconstitution at mitosis but the mechanisms that underlie fusion of natural membranes are not well understood. Studies with synthetic membranes and theoretical considerations indicate that accumulation of lipids characterised by negative curvature such as diacylglycerol (DAG) facilitate fusion. However, the specific role of lipids in membrane fusion of natural membranes is not well established. Nuclear envelope (NE) assembly was used as a model for membrane fusion. A natural membrane population highly enriched in the enzyme and substrate needed to produce DAG has been isolated and is required for fusions leading to nuclear envelope formation, although it contributes only a small amount of the membrane eventually incorporated into the NE. It was postulated to initiate and regulate membrane fusion. Here we use a multidisciplinary approach including subcellular membrane purification, fluorescence spectroscopy and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)/two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to demonstrate that initiation of vesicle fusion arises from two unique sites where these vesicles bind to chromatin. Fusion is subsequently propagated to the endoplasmic reticulum-derived membranes that make up the bulk of the NE to ultimately enclose the chromatin. We show how initiation of multiple vesicle fusions can be controlled by localised production of DAG and propagated bidirectionally. Phospholipase C (PLCγ), GTP hydrolysis and (phosphatidylinsositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P₂) are required for the latter process. We discuss the general implications of membrane fusion regulation and spatial control utilising such a mechanism.

Nuclear envelope formation: mind the gaps

During mitosis in metazoans, the nuclear envelope (NE) breaks down at prophase and reassembles at telophase. The regulation of NE assembly is essential to correct cell functioning. The complex issue of the regulation of NE formation remains to be solved. It is still uncertain that a single mechanism depicts NE formation during mitosis. The aim of this review is to address some of the cytological, biophysical, and molecular aspects of models of NE formation. Our emphasis is on the role of lipids and their modifying enzymes in envelope assembly. We consider how the NE can be used as a model in characterizing membrane dynamics during membrane fusion. Fusion mechanisms that give insight into the formation of the double membrane of the envelope are summarized. We speculate on the possible roles of phosphoinositides in membrane fusion and NE formation.

Phosphatidylinositol metabolism and membrane fusion

Membrane fusion underlies many cellular events, including secretion, exocytosis, endocytosis, organelle reconstitution, transport from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi and nuclear envelope formation. A large number of investigations into membrane fusion indicate various roles for individual members of the phosphoinositide class of membrane lipids. We first review the phosphoinositides as membrane recognition sites and their regulatory functions in membrane fusion. We then consider how modulation of phosphoinositides and their products may affect the structure and dynamics of natural membranes facilitating fusion. These diverse roles underscore the importance of these phospholipids in the fusion of biological membranes.

Nuclear envelope remnants: fluid membranes enriched in sterols and polyphosphoinositides

Background

The cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells is a highly dynamic compartment where membranes readily undergo fission and fusion to reorganize the cytoplasmic architecture, and to import, export and transport various cargos within the cell. The double membrane of the nuclear envelope that surrounds the nucleus, segregates the chromosomes from cytoplasm and regulates nucleocytoplasmic transport through pores. Many details of its formation are still unclear. At fertilization the sperm devoid of nuclear envelope pores enters the egg. Although most of the sperm nuclear envelope disassembles, remnants of the envelope at the acrosomal and centriolar fossae do not and are subsequently incorporated into the newly forming male pronuclear envelope. Remnants are conserved from annelid to mammalian sperm.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Using lipid mass spectrometry and a new application of deuterium solid-state NMR spectroscopy we have characterized the lipid composition and membrane dynamics of the sperm nuclear envelope remnants in isolated sperm nuclei.

Conclusions/Significance

We report nuclear envelope remnants are relatively fluid membranes rich in sterols, devoid of sphingomyelin, and highly enriched in polyphosphoinositides and polyunsaturated phospholipids. The localization of the polybasic effector domain of MARCKS illustrates the non-nuclear aspect of the polyphosphoinositides. Based on their atypical biophysical characteristics and phospholipid composition, we suggest a possible role for nuclear envelope remnants in membrane fusion leading to nuclear envelope assembly.

Epigenetic reprogramming of nuclei using cell extracts

Recent evidence indicates that nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts from undifferentiated cells can reprogram gene expression and promote pluripotency in otherwise more developmentally restricted cell types. Notably, extracts of embryonal carcinoma cells or embryonic stem cells have been shown to elicit a shift in the transcriptional program of target cells to upregulate embryonic stem cell genes, downregulate somatic cell-specific markers, and epigenetically modify histones. Reprogrammed kidney epithelial cells acquire a potential for differentiation toward ectodermal and mesodermal lineages. Cell extract-mediated nuclear reprogramming may constitute an attractive alternative to reprogramming somatic cells by cell fusion or nuclear transfer. This review highlights recent observations leading to the concept that extracts derived from pluripotent cells contain regulatory components capable of reprogramming somatic nuclear function. Limitations of current extract-based reprogramming approaches are also addressed.

Polyunsaturated phosphatidylinositol and diacylglycerol substantially modify the fluidity and polymorphism of biomembranes: a solid-state deuterium NMR study

One of the main biological systems that can be used as a model for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in membrane fusion is the formation of the nuclear envelope (NE). NE assembly to form the male pronucleus at fertilization occurs by binding of NE membrane precursor vesicles to chromatin and their fusion. MV1 is an NE precursor vesicle population of low density, highly enriched in [18:0/20:4]PI. The modification of [18:0/20:4]PI to [18:0/20:4]DAG leads to NE formation, and the depletion of MV1 from the total membrane precursors results in the inhibition of NE assembly. Here we show by 2H NMR studies of various physiologically relevant model membranes made of [18:0/20:4]PI, [18:0/20:4]DAG, and saturated and unsaturated PC that membranes of composition similar to MV1 exhibit dramatically enhanced fluidity and non-lamellar structures, thus providing a possible explanation for the essential role of MV1 and the modification of PI to DAG in membrane precursor vesicles during NE assembly.

PLCgamma is enriched on poly-phosphoinositide-rich vesicles to control nuclear envelope assembly

Nuclear envelope assembly is an essential event in each cell cycle but the proteins and lipids involved in its regulation remain mostly unknown. Assembly involves membrane fusions but neither specific SNAREs nor Rab GTPases have been identified in its control. We report that a precursor membrane population (MV1) required for NE assembly has a unique lipid composition consisting prominently of poly-phosphatidylinositides. The lipid composition was determined by adapting HPLC electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry to phosphoinositide analysis, revealing the capacity of this technique to document dynamic lipid transitions of functional importance in natural membrane populations. MV1 is >100-fold enriched in endogenous PLCgamma and >25-fold enriched in the PLC substrate phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PtdInsP2) compared to the second membrane population, derived largely from endoplasmic reticulum (ER), that contributes most of the NE. During NE formation PLCgamma becomes transiently phosphorylated at the tyrosine 783 site indicative of its activation. In addition specific inhibition of PLCgamma blocks nuclear envelope formation. In vivo, PLCgamma is concentrated on vesicles of similar size to purified MV1. These associate with nuclei during the period of NE formation and are distinct from ER membranes. The unprecedented concentration of PLCgamma and its substrate PtdInsP2 in a subset of membranes that binds to only two regions of the nucleus, and activation of PLCgamma by GTP during initial stages of NE formation provide a mechanism for temporal control of NE assembly and offer an explanation for how such a process of membrane fusion can be spatially regulated.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE: Structure, Function, and Dynamics of the Nuclear Periphery

The nuclear envelope (NE) is a highly specialized membrane that delineates the eukaryotic cell nucleus. It is composed of the inner and outer nuclear membranes, nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) and, in metazoa, the lamina. The NE not only regulates the trafficking of macromolecules between nucleoplasm and cytosol but also provides anchoring sites for chromatin and the cytoskeleton. Through these interactions, the NE helps position the nucleus within the cell and chromosomes within the nucleus, thereby regulating the expression of certain genes. The NE is not static, rather it is continuously remodeled during cell division. The most dramatic example of NE reorganization occurs during mitosis in metazoa when the NE undergoes a complete cycle of disassembly and reformation. Despite the importance of the NE for eukaryotic cell life, relatively little is known about its biogenesis or many of its functions. We thus are far from understanding the molecular etiology of a diverse group of NE-associated diseases.

Diacylglycerol induces fusion of nuclear envelope membrane precursor vesicles

Purified membrane vesicles isolated from sea urchin eggs form nuclear envelopes around sperm nuclei following GTP hydrolysis in the presence of cytosol. A low density subfraction of these vesicles (MV1), highly enriched in phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), is required for nuclear envelope formation. Membrane fusion of MV1 with a second fraction that contributes most of the nuclear envelope can be initiated without GTP by an exogenous bacterial PtdIns-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) which hydrolyzes PtdIns to form diacylglycerides and inositol 1-phosphate. This PI-PLC hydrolyzes a subset of sea urchin membrane vesicle PtdIns into diglycerides enriched in long chain, polyunsaturated species as revealed by a novel liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Large unilammelar vesicles (LUVs) enriched in PtdIns can substitute for MV1 in PI-PLC induced nuclear envelope formation. Moreover, MV1 prehydrolyzed with PI-PLC and washed to remove inositols leads to spontaneous nuclear envelope formation with MV2 without further PI-PLC treatment. LUVs enriched in diacylglycerol mimic prehydrolyzed MV1. These results indicate that production of membrane-destabilizing diglycerides in membranes enriched in PtdIns may facilitate membrane fusion in a natural membrane system and suggest that MV1, which binds only to two places on the sperm nucleus, may initiate fusion locally.

Nuclear envelope assembly is promoted by phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C with selective recruitment of phosphatidylinositol-enriched membranes

Nuclear envelope (NE) formation in a cell-free egg extract proceeds by precursor membrane vesicle binding to chromatin in an ATP-dependent manner, followed by a GTP-induced NE assembly step. The requirement for GTP in the latter step of this process can be mimicked by addition of bacterial PI-PLC [phosphoinositide (PtdIns)-specific phospholipase C]. The NE assembly process is here dissected in relation to the requirement for endogenous phosphoinositide metabolism, employing recombinant eukaryotic PI-PLC, inhibitors and direct phospholipid analysis using ESI-MS (electrospray ionization mass spectrometry). PtdIns (phosphatidylinositol) species analysis by ESI-MS indicates that the chromatin-bound NE precursor vesicles are enriched for specific PtdIns species. Moreover, during GTP-induced precursor vesicle fusion, the membrane vesicles become partially depleted of the PtdIns 18:0/20:4 species. These data indicate that eukaryotic PI-PLC can support NE formation, and the sensitivity to exogenous recombinant PtdIns-5-phosphatases shows that the endogenous PLC hydrolyses a 5-phosphorylated species. It is shown further that the downstream target of this DAG (diacylglycerol) pathway does not involve PKC (protein kinase C) catalytic function, but is mimicked by phorbol esters, indicating a possible engagement of one of the non-PKC phorbol ester receptors. The results show that ESI-MS can be used as a sensitive means to measure the lipid composition of biological membranes and their changes during, for example, membrane fusogenic events. We have exploited this and the intervention studies to illustrate a pivotal role for PI-PLC and its product DAG in the formation of NEs.

The Ran GTPase as a marker of chromosome position in spindle formation and nuclear envelope assembly

The small GTPase Ran is a key regulator of nucleocytoplasmic transport during interphase. The asymmetric distribution of the GTP-bound form of Ran across the nuclear envelope--that is, large quantities in the nucleus compared with small quantities in the cytoplasm--determines the directionality of many nuclear transport processes. Recent findings that Ran also functions in spindle formation and nuclear envelope assembly during mitosis suggest that Ran has a general role in chromatin-centred processes. Ran functions in these events as a signal for chromosome position.

Microtubule-dependent assembly of the nuclear envelope in Xenopus laevis egg extract

Microtubules take part in several mechanisms of intracellular motility, including organelle transport and mitosis. We have studied the ability of Xenopus egg extract to support nuclear membrane and pore complex formation when microtubule dynamics are manipulated. In this report we show that the formation of a nuclear envelope surrounding sperm chromatin requires polymerized microtubules. We have observed that microtubule-depolymerizing reagents, and AS-2, a known inhibitor of the microtubule motor protein kinesin, do not inhibit the formation of a double nuclear membrane. However these double membranes contain no morphologically identifiable nuclear pore complexes and do not support the accumulation of karyophilic proteins. In contrast, the assembly of annulate lamellae, cytoplasmic structures containing a subset of pore complex proteins, was not affected. Our data show that not only polymerized microtubules, but also the microtubule motor protein kinesin, are involved in the formation of the nuclear envelope. These results support the conclusion that multiple nuclear envelope-forming mitotic vesicle populations exist, that microtubules play an essential and selective role in the transport of nuclear envelope-forming vesicle population(s), and that separate mechanisms are involved in nuclear envelope and annulate lamellae formation.

Phospholipid identification and quantification of membrane vesicle subfractions by 31P-1H two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance

An approach to the direct quantification of phospholipids from two-dimensional 31P-1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with isotropic proton mixing has been developed as a general method for phospholipid analysis of minor membrane vesicle subfractions. Membrane vesicles were subfractionated by sedimentation to density equilibrium in a sucrose gradient, and a modified Folch method was employed to extract their phospholipids. The coefficient for the NMR detection efficiency of each phospholipid and the relative mole percentage of the phospholipids present in the membrane vesicles were calculated. We demonstrate low detection limits such that relative concentrations of phospholipids in membrane subfractions may be determined even in the submicromolar range.

Rearrangements of sea urchin egg cytoplasmic membrane domains at fertilization

Fertilization in the sea urchin is accompanied by rapid reorganization of the egg endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER-derived vesicles contribute to one of three classes of membranes used in assembling the male pronuclear envelope in vitro. We provide here biochemical evidence for the rearrangement of sea urchin egg cytoplasmic membrane domains at fertilization up to the first mitosis, with respect to two nuclear envelope markers, lamin B and lamin B receptor (LBR), using purified vesicles prepared from homogenates fractionated by floatation on sucrose gradients. In unfertilized eggs, immunoprecipitation data indicate that most of lamin B and LBR are localized in the same vesicles but do not interact. By 3 min post-fertilization, both proteins are more widely distributed across the gradients and by 12 min most of lamin B and LBR are localized in vesicles of different densities. This partitioning is maintained throughout S phase. At mitosis, most lamin B and LBR remain in distinct vesicles, while a small proportion of lamin B and LBR, likely derived from the disassembled nuclear envelope, associate in a minor subset of vesicles. The results illustrate a dynamic reorganization of egg cytoplasmic membranes at fertilization, and the establishment of distinct membrane domains enriched in specific nuclear envelope markers during the first cell cycle of sea urchin development. Additionally, we demonstrate that male pro-nuclear membrane assembly occurs only when both cytosol and membranes originate from fertilized but not unfertilized eggs, suggesting that fertilization-induced membrane rearrangements contribute to the ability of the egg to assemble the male pronuclear envelope.

Sorting nuclear membrane proteins at mitosis

The nuclear envelope (NE) breaks down reversibly and reassembles at mitosis. Two models of mitotic nuclear membrane disassembly and reformation have emerged from studies of NE dynamics in somatic cells and egg extracts. One model suggests that nuclear membranes fragment reversibly by vesiculation, producing NE-derived vesicles separate from the endoplasmic reticulum. The second model proposes that nuclear membranes vanish by diffusion of their integral proteins through a continuous endoplasmic reticulum. Here, we discuss critically the grounds for the elaboration of these apparently mutually exclusive views. Our conclusions favour a model in which nuclear membranes do not vesiculate during mitosis.

Mechanisms and control of embryonic genome activation in mammalian embryos

Activation of transcription within the embryonic genome (EGA) after fertilization is a complex process requiring a carefully coordinated series of nuclear and cytoplasmic events, which collectively ensure that the two parental genomes can be faithfully reprogrammed and restructured before transcription occurs. Available data indicate that inappropriate transcription of some genes during the period of nuclear reprogramming can have long-term detrimental effects on the embryo. Therefore, precise control over the time of EGA is essential for normal embryogenesis. In most mammals, genome activation occurs in a stepwise manner. In the mouse, for example, some transcription occurs during the second half of the one-cell stage, and then a much greater phase of genome activation occurs in two waves during the two-cell stage, with the second wave producing the largest onset of de novo gene expression. Changes in nuclear structure, chromatin structure, and cytoplasmic macromolecular content appear to regulate these periods of transcriptional activation. A model is presented in which a combination of cell cycle-dependent events and both translational and posttranslational regulatory mechanisms within the cytoplasm play key roles in mediating and regulating EGA.

In vitro nuclear assembly with affinity-purified nuclear envelope precursor vesicle fractions, PV1 and PV2

Nuclear envelope precursor vesicles were affinity purified from a Xenopus egg extract by a chromatin binding method. Vesicles bound to chromatin at 4 degrees C were dissociated with a high salt buffer and further fractionated into nuclear envelope precursor vesicle fractions 1 (PV1) and 2 (PV2) by differential centrifugation. PV1 contained larger vesicles. When chromatin was incubated in a Xenopus egg cytosol fraction supplemented with PV1, vesicles bound to chromatin, fused with each other, formed a bilayered nuclear envelope, and assembled into spherical small nuclei. However, the thus assembled nuclei did not grow to the normal size. Nuclear pore complexes were not found on the thus assembled nuclei. On the other hand, PV2 contained smaller vesicles. PV2 vesicles bound to chromatin, fused little with each other in the Xenopus egg cytosol fraction, and no nuclei were assembled. When PV1 supplemented with PV2 was used for the nuclear assembly reaction, the assembled nuclei grew to the normal size. Nuclear pore complexes existed in the thus assembled nuclear envelopes. These results suggested that 1) two vesicle populations, PV1 and PV2, are necessary for the assembly of normal sized nuclei, 2) PV1 contains a chromatin targeting molecule(s) and membrane fusion machinery, 3) PV2 contains a chromatin targeting molecule(s) and a molecule(s) necessary for nuclear pore complex assembly, and 4) PV1 has the ability to assemble a nuclear membrane, and PV2 is necessary for the assembly of nuclear pore complexes and for nuclei to grow to the normal size. An in vitro nuclear assembly system constituted with affinity-purified vesicle fractions, PV1 and PV2, was established.

Nuclear assembly

We review old and new insights into the structure of the nuclear envelope and the components responsible for its dynamic reassembly during mitosis. New information is coming to light about several of the proteins that mediate nuclear reassembly. These proteins include the lamins and their emerging relationship with proteins such as otefin and the MAN antigens: peripheral proteins that might participate in lamina structure. There are four identified proteins localized to the inner nuclear membrane: the lamina-associated proteins LAP1 and LAP2, emerin, and the lamin B receptor (LBR). LBR can interact independently with lamin B and a chromodomain protein, Hp1, and appears to be a central player in targeting nuclear membranes to chromatin. Intermediates in the assembly of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) can now be studied biochemically and visualized by high resolution scanning electron microscopy. We discuss the possibility that the filament-forming proteins Tpr/p270, NuMA, and perhaps actin may have roles in nuclear assembly.

Remodeling the sperm nucleus into a male pronucleus at fertilization

After fertilization, the dormant sperm nucleus undergoes morphological and biochemical transformations leading to the development of a functional nucleus, the male pronucleus. We have investigated the formation of the male pronucleus in a cell-free system consisting of permeabilized sea urchin sperm nuclei incubated in fertilized sea urchin egg extract containing membrane vesicles. The first sperm nuclear alteration in vitro is the disassembly of the sperm nuclear lamina as a result of lamin phosphorylation mediated by egg protein kinase C. The conical sperm nucleus decondenses into a spherical pronucleus in an ATP-dependent manner. The new nuclear envelope (NE) forms by ATP-dependent binding of vesicles to chromatin and GTP-dependent fusion of vesicles to each other. Three cytoplasmic membrane vesicle fractions with distinct biochemical, chromatin-binding and fusion properties, are required for pronuclear envelope assembly. Binding of each fraction to chromatin requires two detergent-resistant lipophilic structures at each pole of the sperm nucleus, which are incorporated into the NE by membrane fusion. Targeting of the bulk of NE vesicles to chromatin is mediated by a lamin B receptor (LBR)-like integral membrane protein. The last step of male pronuclear formation involves nuclear swelling. Nuclear swelling is associated with import of soluble lamin B into the nucleus and growth of the nuclear envelope by fusion of additional vesicles. In the nucleus, lamin B associates with LBR, which apparently tethers the NE to the lamina. Thus male pronuclear envelope assembly in vitro involves a highly ordered series of events. These events are similar to those characterizing the remodeling of somatic and embryonic nuclei transplanted into oocytes. The relationship between sperm nuclear remodeling at fertilization and nuclear remodeling after nuclear transplantation is discussed.

Nuclear envelope dynamics during male pronuclear development

Upon fertilization, the sperm nucleus undergoes reactivation. The poreless sperm nuclear envelope is replaced by a functional male pronuclear envelope and the highly compact male chromatin decondenses. Here some recent evidence is examined: that disassembly of the sperm lamina is required for chromatin decondensation, that remnant portions of the sperm nuclear envelope target the binding of egg membrane vesicles that form the male pronuclear envelope, that functional male pronuclear envelopes containing lamin B receptor assemble prior to lamin import and lamina formation, and that lamina assembly drives male pronuclear swelling. Several unresolved issues are discussed.

Protein kinase C-mediated interphase lamin B phosphorylation and solubilization

Disassembly of the sperm nuclear envelope at fertilization is one of the earliest events in the development of the male pronucleus. We report that nuclear lamina disassembly in interphase sea urchin egg cytosol is a result of lamin B phosphorylation mediated by protein kinase C (PKC). Lamin B of permeabilized sea urchin sperm nuclei incubated in fertilized egg G1 phase cytosolic extract is phosphorylated within 1 min of incubation and solubilized prior to sperm chromatin decondensation. Phosphorylation is Ca2+-dependent. It is reversibly inhibited by the PKC-specific inhibitor chelerythrine, a PKC pseudosubstrate inhibitor peptide, and a PKC substrate peptide, but not by inhibitors of PKA, p34(cdc2) or calmodulin kinase II. Phosphorylation is inhibited by immunodepletion of cytosolic PKC and restored by addition of purified rat brain PKC. Sperm lamin B is a substrate for rat brain PKC in vitro, resulting in lamin B solubilization. Two-dimensional phosphopeptide maps of lamin B phosphorylated by the cytosolic kinase and by purified rat PKC are virtually identical. These data suggest that PKC is the major kinase required for interphase disassembly of the sperm lamina.