Divalent cation influx and calcium homeostasis in germinal vesicle mouse oocytes

Prior to maturation, mouse oocytes are arrested at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage during which they experience constitutive calcium (Ca2+) influx and spontaneous Ca2+ oscillations. The oscillations cease during maturation but Ca2+ influx continues, as the oocytes’ internal stores attain maximal content at the culmination of maturation, the metaphase II stage. The identity of the channel(s) that underlie this Ca2+ influx has not been completely...