Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1982 Aug 1;94(2):455–465. doi: 10.1083/jcb.94.2.455

Taxol inhibits the nuclear movements during fertilization and induces asters in unfertilized sea urchin eggs

PMCID: PMC2112877  PMID: 6125518

Abstract

Taxol blocks the migrations of the sperm and egg nuclei in fertilized eggs and induces asters in unfertilized eggs of the sea urchins Lytechinus variegatus and Arbacia punctulata. Video recordings of eggs inseminated in 10 microM taxol demonstrate that sperm incorporation and sperm tail motility are unaffected, that the sperm aster formed is unusually pronounced, and that the migration of the egg nucleus and pronuclear centration are inhibited. The huge monopolar aster persists for at least 6 h; cleavage attempts and nuclear cycles are observed. Colcemid (10 microM) disassembles both the large taxol-stabilized sperm aster in fertilized eggs and the numerous asters induced in unfertilized eggs. Antitubulin immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrates that in fertilized eggs all microtubules are within the prominent sperm aster. Within 15 min of treatment with 10 microM taxol, unfertilized eggs develop numerous (greater than 25) asters de novo. Transmission electron microscopy of unfertilized eggs reveals the presence of microtubule bundles that do not emanate from centrioles but rather from osmiophilic foci or, at times, the nuclear envelope. Taxol- treated eggs are not activated as judged by the lack of DNA synthesis, nuclear or chromosome cycles, and the cortical reaction. These results indicate that: (a) taxol prevents the normal cycles of microtubule assembly and disassembly observed during development; (b) microtubule disassembly is required for the nuclear movements during fertilization; (c) taxol induces microtubules in unfertilized eggs; and (d) nucleation centers other than centrioles and kinetochores exist within unfertilized eggs; these presumptive microtubule organizing centers appear idle in the presence of the sperm centrioles.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (6.4 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bestor T. H., Schatten G. Anti-tubulin immunofluorescence microscopy of microtubules present during the pronuclear movement of sea urchin fertilization. Dev Biol. 1981 Nov;88(1):80–91. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(81)90220-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brinkley B. R., Fistel S. H., Marcum J. M., Pardue R. L. Microtubules in cultured cells; indirect immunofluorescent staining with tubulin antibody. Int Rev Cytol. 1980;63:59–95. doi: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)61757-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. DIRKSEN E. R. The presence of centrioles in artificially activated sea urchin eggs. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Oct;11:244–247. doi: 10.1083/jcb.11.1.244. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. De Brabander M., Geuens G., Nuydens R., Willebrords R., De Mey J. Taxol induces the assembly of free microtubules in living cells and blocks the organizing capacity of the centrosomes and kinetochores. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Sep;78(9):5608–5612. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.9.5608. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HINEGARDNER R. T., RAO B., FELDMAN D. E. THE DNA SYNTHETIC PERIOD DURING EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEA URCHIN EGG. Exp Cell Res. 1964 Oct;36:53–61. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(64)90159-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Harris P., Osborn M., Weber K. Distribution of tubulin-containing structures in the egg of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus from fertilization through first cleavage. J Cell Biol. 1980 Mar;84(3):668–679. doi: 10.1083/jcb.84.3.668. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Heidemann S. R., Gallas P. T. The effect of taxol on living eggs of Xenopus laevis. Dev Biol. 1980 Dec;80(2):489–494. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(80)90421-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Inoué S., Sato H. Cell motility by labile association of molecules. The nature of mitotic spindle fibers and their role in chromosome movement. J Gen Physiol. 1967 Jul;50(6 Suppl):259–292. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kirschner M. W. Implications of treadmilling for the stability and polarity of actin and tubulin polymers in vivo. J Cell Biol. 1980 Jul;86(1):330–334. doi: 10.1083/jcb.86.1.330. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Longo F. J. Effects of cytochalasin B on sperm--egg interactions. Dev Biol. 1978 Dec;67(2):249–265. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(78)90197-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Margolis R. L., Wilson L. Microtubule treadmills--possible molecular machinery. Nature. 1981 Oct 29;293(5835):705–711. doi: 10.1038/293705a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Masurovsky E. B., Peterson E. R., Crain S. M., Horwitz S. B. Microtubule arrays in taxol-treated mouse dorsal root ganglion-spinal cord cultures. Brain Res. 1981 Aug 3;217(2):392–398. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(81)90017-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mazia D. Chromosome cycles turned on in unfertilized sea urchin eggs exposed to NH4OH. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Mar;71(3):690–693. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.3.690. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mazia D., Schatten G., Sale W. Adhesion of cells to surfaces coated with polylysine. Applications to electron microscopy. J Cell Biol. 1975 Jul;66(1):198–200. doi: 10.1083/jcb.66.1.198. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Miki-Noumura T. Studies on the de novo formation of centrioles: aster formation in the activated eggs of sea urchin. J Cell Sci. 1977 Apr;24:203–216. doi: 10.1242/jcs.24.1.203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Moy G. W., Brandriff B., Vacquier V. D. Cytasters from sea urchin eggs parthenogenetically activated by procaine. J Cell Biol. 1977 Jun;73(3):788–793. doi: 10.1083/jcb.73.3.788. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Schatten G., Schatten H. Effects of motility inhibitors during sea urchin fertilization: microfilament inhibitors prevent sperm incorporation and restructuring of fertilized egg cortex, whereas microtubule inhibitors prevent pronuclear migrations. Exp Cell Res. 1981 Oct;135(2):311–330. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(81)90167-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Schatten H., Schatten G., Petzelt C., Mazia D. Effects of griseofulvin on fertilization and early development of sea urchins. Independence of DNA synthesis, chromosome condensation, and cytokinesis cycles from microtubule-mediated events. Eur J Cell Biol. 1982 Apr;27(1):74–87. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schatten H., Schatten G. Surface activity at the egg plasma membrane during sperm incorporation and its cytochalasin B sensitivity. Scanning electron microscopy and time-lapse video microscopy during fertilization of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus. Dev Biol. 1980 Aug;78(2):435–449. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(80)90345-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schiff P. B., Fant J., Horwitz S. B. Promotion of microtubule assembly in vitro by taxol. Nature. 1979 Feb 22;277(5698):665–667. doi: 10.1038/277665a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schiff P. B., Horwitz S. B. Taxol stabilizes microtubules in mouse fibroblast cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Mar;77(3):1561–1565. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.3.1561. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Steinhardt R. A., Epel D. Activation of sea-urchin eggs by a calcium ionophore. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 May;71(5):1915–1919. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.5.1915. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Zimmerman A. M., Zimmerman S. Action of colcemid in sea urchin eggs. J Cell Biol. 1967 Aug;34(2):483–488. doi: 10.1083/jcb.34.2.483. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES