Involvement of Phospholipase Cγ1 in Mouse Egg Activation Induced by a Truncated Form of the C-kit Tyrosine Kinase Present in Spermatozoa

Microinjection of a truncated form of the c-kit tyrosine kinase present in mouse spermatozoa (tr-kit) activates mouse eggs parthenogenetically, and tr-kit– induced egg activation is inhibited by preincubation with an inhibitor of phospholipase C (PLC) (Sette, C., A. Bevilacqua, A. Bianchini, F. Mangia, R. Geremia, and P. Rossi. 1997. Development [Camb.]. 124:2267–2274). Co-injection of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins containing the src-homology (SH) domains of the γ1 isoform of PLC (PLCγ1) competitively inhibits tr-kit– induced egg activation. A GST fusion protein containing the SH3 domain of PLCγ1 inhibits egg activation as efficiently as the whole SH region, while a GST fusion protein containing the two SH2 domains is much less effective. A GST fusion protein containing the SH3 domain of the Grb2 adaptor protein does not inhibit tr-kit–induced egg activation, showing that the effect of the SH3 domain of PLCγ1 is specific. Tr-kit–induced egg activation is also suppressed by co-injection of antibodies raised against the PLCγ1 SH domains, but not against the PLCγ1 COOH-terminal region. In transfected COS cells, coexpression of PLCγ1 and tr-kit increases diacylglycerol and inositol phosphate production, and the phosphotyrosine content of PLCγ1 with respect to cells expressing PLCγ1 alone. These data indicate that tr-kit activates PLCγ1, and that the SH3 domain of PLCγ1 is essential for tr-kit–induced egg activation.