The mRNA-destabilizing protein Tristetraprolin targets “meiosis arrester” Nppc mRNA in mammalian preovulatory follicles

Significance The fertility of female mammals depends upon the well-orchestrated progression of oocyte meiosis, the female germ cell division that is essential for haploid oocyte formation. In preovulatory follicles, how LH induces a decrease in CNP and its encoding mRNA Nppc , a prerequisite for oocyte meiotic resumption, remains an outstanding question to understand the mechanism that controls oocyte meiosis. The present study shows that TTP, an mRNA-destabilizing protein, is one of the regulatory components responsible for the LH-induced rapid decrease in Nppc mRNA and oocyte meiotic resumption. This finding not only highlights the importance of posttranscriptional regulation in the follicle periphery to fine-tune oocyte meiosis but also provides an insight into CNP-dependent cGMP homeostasis in other physiological systems.