Aneuploid embryo generally leads to infertility, spontaneous abortion and birth defects, mainly resulting from abnormal chromosome segregation during maternal oocytes meiosis. Chromosome division is conducted by bipolar spindle which formed through an acentrosomal way, dependent on a unique microtubule organizing center ( MTOC) in mammalian oocytes, however, the molecular composition and functional regulation of MTOC is still not fully ex-plored. LIM kinases 1 (LIMK1) is a conserved serine/threonine kinase, a major regulator of actin and microtubule dynamics, involved in microtubule stability and spindle positioning during mitosis. So far little is known about LIMK1 protein expression and its roles in oocytes during meiosis. We reported here the protein expression and sub-cellular distribution of LIMK1 in mouse oocytes during meiosis. Western blot procedure detected high and stable expression of LIMK1 in mouse oocytes from germinal vesicle ( GV) stage to metaphase II ( MII) . In contrast, acti-vated LIMK1 ( phosphorylated at Thr508 , pLIMK1 Thr508 ) was only observed after germinal vesicle breakdown ( GVBD) , and gradually increased with peak levels at metaphase I ( MI) and MII. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that LIMK1 was co-localized with microtubules on the whole spindle structure, while pLIMK1Thr508 was con-
centrated with key components of MTOC,pericentrin and -Tubulin, on spindle poles in mouse oocytes. Inhibition of LIMK1 activity by BMS3, a specific ATPase competitive inhibitor, distroyed the formation of bipolar spindle structure, disturbed MTOC integrity and MTOC proteins recruitment to spindle poles. Moreover, LIMK1 inhibition caused chromosome misalignment and meiotic progression arrest at MI stage. Therefore, LIMK1 activity is required for formation and maintenance of bipolar spindle in mouse oocytes,importantly, pLIMK1T508 is MTOC-associated protein,involved in establishment and positioning of MTOC.