Abstract
N-WASP is the mammalian ortholog of WASP which is an actin nucleation promoting factor and has been reported to regulate actin nucleation and polymerization for multiple cell activities. However, the expression and functions of N-WASP in porcine oocytes are still unclear. In this study, we showed that N-WASP expressed at all stages during porcine oocyte maturation, and immunofluorescence staining indicated that N-WASP mainly accumulated at the cortex in different stages of meiosis. Inhibition of N-WASP activity by Wiskostatin significantly decreased the rate of first polar body extrusion and disturbed the cell cycle progression of porcine oocytes. Further analysis indicated that cortical actin distribution was interfered by N-WASP inhibition, and this might be through its regulatory roles on the expression and localization of ARP2, a key component of actin nucleator Arp2/3 complex. Moreover, the expression of N-WASP decreased after ROCK activity inhibition, indicating a ROCK-N-WASP-ARP2/3 pathway for actin assembly in porcine oocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that N-WASP is critical for the regulation of actin filaments for cytokinesis during porcine oocyte maturation.