RBM14 Modulates Tubulin Acetylation and Regulates Spindle Morphology During Meiotic Maturation in Mouse Oocytes

Hao Qin; Yi Qu; Yi-Feng Yuan; Yang-Yang Li; Jie Qiao

doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.635728

RBM14 Modulates Tubulin Acetylation and Regulates Spindle Morphology During Meiotic Maturation in Mouse Oocytes

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Feb 2:9:635728. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.635728. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Hao Qin^{1

2

3

4}, Yi Qu^{1

2

3

4}, Yi-Feng Yuan^{1

2

3

4}, Yang-Yang Li^{1

2

3

4}, Jie Qiao^{1

2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology (Peking University Third Hospital), Beijing, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction (Peking University), Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁴ Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beijing, China.
⁵ Research Units of Comprehensive Diagnosis and Treatment of Oocyte Maturation Arrest, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

RBM14 is an RNA-binding protein that regulates spindle integrity in mitosis; however, its functions during meiosis are still unclear. In this study, we discovered that RBM14 expression was down-regulated in oocytes from old mice. The RBM14 distribution at different stages of meiosis was explored, while it presents overlapped localization patterns with α-tubulin in MI- and MII-stage oocytes. Treatment of MI-stage oocytes with spindle-perturbing agents revealed that RBM14 was co-localized with microtubules. RBM14 knockdown with RBM14-specific morpholino showed that RBM14-depleted oocytes underwent symmetric division compared to the controls. RBM14 knockdown also resulted in spindle defects and chromosome abnormalities during oocyte maturation, presumably due to α-tubulin hyperacetylation. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that RBM14 is interacted with endogenous α-tubulin in mammalian cells. These findings indicate that RBM14 is an essential modulator of oocyte meiotic maturation by regulating α-tubulin acetylation to affect spindle morphology and chromosome alignment. Consequently, RBM14 represents a potential biomarker of oocyte quality and a novel therapeutic target in women with oocyte maturation failure.

Keywords: RBM14; acetylation; meiosis; oocyte; spindle.