Survivin is essential for fertile egg production and female fertility in mice

Cell Death Dis. 2014 Mar 27;5(3):e1154. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2014.126.

Abstract

Survivin is the smallest member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family and acts as a bifunctional protein involved in mitosis regulation and apoptosis inhibition. To identify the physiological role of Survivin in female reproduction, we selectively disrupted Survivin expression in oocytes and granulosa cells (GCs), two major cell types in the ovary, by two different Cre-Loxp conditional knockout systems, and found that both led to defective female fertility. Survivin deletion in oocytes did not affect oocyte growth, viability and ovulation, but caused tetraploid egg production and thus female infertility. Further exploration revealed that Survivin was essential for regulating proper meiotic spindle organization, spindle assembly checkpoint activity, timely metaphase-to-anaphase transition and cytokinesis. Mutant mice with Survivin depleted in GCs showed reduced ovulation and subfertility, caused by defective follicular growth, increased follicular atresia and impaired luteinization. These findings suggest that Survivin has an important role in regulating folliculogenesis and oogenesis in the adult mouse ovary.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anaphase
  • Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Chromosomes, Mammalian / metabolism
  • Cytokinesis
  • Down-Regulation
  • Female
  • Fertility*
  • Gene Deletion
  • Granulosa Cells / metabolism
  • Growth Differentiation Factor 9 / metabolism
  • Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Integrases / metabolism
  • Kinetochores / metabolism
  • Luteinization
  • M Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints
  • Meiosis
  • Mice
  • Oocytes / cytology
  • Oocytes / metabolism*
  • Oogenesis*
  • Ovulation
  • Repressor Proteins / metabolism*
  • Survivin

Substances

  • Birc5 protein, mouse
  • Gdf9 protein, mouse
  • Growth Differentiation Factor 9
  • Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Survivin
  • Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome
  • Cre recombinase
  • Integrases