Microinjection of Xenopus laevis Oocytes: A Model System

Oocytes of the African frog Xenopus laevis have been used extensively as a system to study the biological activity of many different molecules. It is an excellent system to study regulation of transcription, translation and secretion, as well as the metabolic alterations associated with signaling cascades. The large size of fully grown oocytes (over 1.2 mm in diameter) and their easy manipulation and evaluation of results, has made this system an excellent one to study the potential role of any type of molecule in either mitogenic signaling or a variety of metabolic pathways. Xenopus oocytes have been specially useful in the discovery and identification of enzymes involved in the regulation of the cell cycle, and have been used extensively for the analysis of potential mitogenic signals, expression and characterization of many kinds of receptors, identification of potential inhibitors of signaling molecules, and more recently, also as a model system for the identification of apoptosis-related molecules. his research is based on the fact that the biological effects of these signals can be easily recognized by monitoring either the breakdown of the germinal vesicle (GVBD), biochemical changes within the oocyte, or DNA degradation in apoptotic nuclei.