Initiation of cell volume regulation and unique cell volume regulatory mechanisms in mammalian oocytes and embryos

Abstract The period beginning with the signal for ovulation, when a fully‐grown oocyte progresses through meiosis to become a mature egg that is fertilized and develops as a preimplantation embryo, is crucial for healthy development. The early preimplantation embryo is unusually sensitive to cell volume perturbations, with even moderate decreases in volume or dysregulation of volume‐regulatory mechanisms resulting in developmental arrest. To prevent this, early embryos possess mechanisms of cell volume control that are apparently unique to them. These rely on the accumulation of glycine and betaine ( N, N, N ‐trimethylglycine) as organic osmolytes—compounds that can provide intracellular osmotic support without the deleterious effects of inorganic ions. Preimplantation embryos also have the same mechanisms as somatic cells that mediate rapid responses to deviations in cell volume, which rely on inorganic ion transport. Both the unique, embryo‐specific mechanisms that use glycine and betaine and the inorganic ion‐dependent mechanisms undergo major changes during meiotic maturation and preimplantation development. The most profound changes occur immediately after ovulation is triggered. Before this, oocytes cannot regulate their volume, since they are strongly attached to their rigid extracellular matrix shell, the zona pellucida. After ovulation is triggered, the oocyte detaches from the zona pellucida and first becomes capable of independent volume regulation. A complex set of developmental changes in each cell volume‐regulatory mechanism continues through egg maturation and preimplantation development. The unique cell volume‐regulatory mechanisms in eggs and preimplantation embryos and the developmental changes they undergo appear critical for normal healthy embryo development.