LOCALIZATION OF THE UROKINASE TYPE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR RECEPTOR (uPAR) IN THE BOVINE CUMULUS/OOCYTE COMPLEXES

ROLDÁN-OLARTE, MARIELA; GARCÍA, DANIELA; GARCÍA, VANESA; RIZO, GABRIELA; MICELI, DORA C

Horco Molle, Tucumán

Jornada; XXIX Jornadas Científicas de la Asociación de Biología de Tucumán; 2012

Asociación de Biología de Tucumán

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serineprotease involved in the extracellular matrix remodeling, through the plasmin generation. When uPA is bound to uPAR, its proteolytic activity increases and also it can activate intracellular signal pathways. The aim of this work was to study the localization and expression of uPAR in immature and in vitro matured (IVM) cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). Bovine ovaries were collected during slaughter and COCs were obtained by aspiration of ovarian follicles. After selection, COCs were separated in two groups, one of them was IVM. Detection of uPAR in immature and IVM COCs was performed by indirect immunofluorescence. To study the expression of uPAR, groups of 50 COCs immature and IVM were treated with hyaluronidase. Oocytes and follicular cells were taken apart, to obtain total RNA; then they were analyzed by RT-PCR. By confocal microscopy, uPAR was observed in follicular cells and oocytes plasma membrane. The RT-PCR assays showed a fragment of 164 bp corresponding to uPAR in follicular cells and oocytes, before and after IVM. These results suggest that the uPA/ uPAR interaction would allow the generation of plasmin in the surface of the oocyte and/ or the activation of intracellular signals that would promote their maturation and fertilization.