Identification of three types of voltage dependent Ca2+‐channels in mouse follicular oocytes

The immunocytochemical method was used to identify the existence of voltage‐dependent Ca2+‐channels in mouse follicular oocytes. Three types of voltage‐dependent Ca2+‐channels were shown to exist in the follicular oocytes for the first time, the P/Q‐type Ca2+‐channel, the N‐type Ca2+‐channel, and the L‐type Ca2+‐channel. Among proven Ca2+ ‐channels, distributions of the P/Q‐type Ca2+‐channel and L‐type Ca2+ ‐channel showed localized staining (clustered pattern) on the oolemma. The distribution of the P/Q‐type Ca2+ ‐channel showed all localized staining, and the range of localized staining was from 1 to 8 in staining intensity. As the staining intensity increased from 1 to 8, the number of localized staining decreased. The L‐type Ca2+‐channel are homogeneously stained (29.4%‐54.2%), while some of them (around 28.7%‐44.1%) showed localized staining on the oolemma. However, the rest of them showed no staining at all (17.1%‐ 26.5%). On the contrary, the N‐type Ca2+‐channel showed mostly homogeneous staining, ...