Capturing Cytoskeleton-Based Agitation of the Mouse Oocyte Nucleus Across Spatial Scales

The lab aims to better understand the mechanisms involved in the acquisition of female gamut quantity, which is essential for the reproduction of sexual species using the mouse oocytes model system. Recently, we identified a novel mechanical transduction process that promotes agitation of the nucleus and its content, leading to the fine regulation of maternal RNAs in mouse oocytes. The imaging and image analysis pipeline presented in this protocol allows us to highlight the transmission of cytoskeletal forces as a continuum across scales from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and its components, including nuclear RNA processing bodies in mouse oocytes.

This protocol provides simple tools that allow us to address first transmission across multiple cellular scales in a single pipeline for the first time. Complemented with biophysical modeling, this protocol constitutes a non-invasive technique to address changes in nuclear mechanics and the dissipation of energy across cellular compartments.