WEE2

WEE2, also called Wee1B, is the oocyte-specific paralog of WEE1 and shares its ability to phosphorylate the inhibitory Tyr15 of CDK1. Its defining role is in female meiosis: WEE2 keeps cyclin B-CDK1 inactive in growing oocytes and contributes to maintaining meiotic arrest until the luteinizing hormone surge, after which its activity must be extinguished for meiotic resumption and fertilization. Biallelic loss-of-function mutations in WEE2 cause oocyte maturation arrest and female infertility, a Mendelian phenotype not seen with somatic WEE1. Beyond the germline, WEE2 expression is reported in a subset of tumors. Recombinant WEE2 serves meiosis and fertility research.