Exportin 1 (XPO1) is a nuclear transport receptor involved in the nuclear export ofmajority proteins in somatic cells. In mammalian oocytes, however, only the presence of XPO1 has been reported at mRNA and protein levels, and the definitive functions of XPO1 and its effects on the meiotic maturation of oocytes have never been directly examined. In the present study, the expression state and the nuclear-export function of porcine XPO1 were analyzed in porcine oocytes. In addition, we investigated the effects of the overexpression and inhibition of XPO1 on meiotic regulation in fullgrown and growing oocytes by mRNA injection and inhibitor treatment. Endogenous XPO1 was stably expressed in porcine oocytes during the germinal vesicle (GV) stage, and the expression of exogenous XPO1 significantly decreased the nuclear localization of XPO1 cargos, snurportin 1, and WEE1B. Inhibition of XPO1 by a specific inhibitor, leptomycin B, delayed the GV breakdown (GVBD), whereas the overexpression of XPO1 by mRNA injection accelerated the GVBD. XPO1 overexpression overcame the meiotic arrest induced by WEE1B expression in full-grown oocytes. Surprisingly, the GVBD of porcine growing oocytes, which could not resume meiosis by the maturation culture in vitro, was induced by the expression of exogenous XPO1. These results showed the presence of XPO1 and its function as a nuclear export receptor in mammalian oocytes, including growing oocytes, and they suggest that the regulation of nuclear transport has a large influence on the GV maintenance and meiotic resumption of oocytes.

Summary Sentence

Exportin 1 functions as a nuclear export receptor and is involved in meiotic resumption of porcine full-grown and growing oocytes via its nuclear-export function.