Induction of metaphase arrest in cleaving Xenopus embryos in by the protein kinase p90(Rsk)

Before fertilization, vertebrate eggs are arrested in metaphase of meiosis II by cytostatic factor (CSF), an activity that requires activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. To investigate whether CSF arrest is mediated by the protein kinase p90(Rsk), which is phosphorylated and activated by MAPK, a constitutively activated (CA) form of Rsk was exp ressed in Xenopus embryos. Expression of CA Rsk resulted in cleavage arrest , and cytological analysis showed that arrested blastomeres were in M phase with prominent spindles characteristic of meiotic metaphase. Thus, Rsk app ears to be the mediator of MAPK-dependent CSF arrest in vertebrate unfertil ized eggs.