• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2000

Ameloblasotma is slowly growing, locally invasive neoplasm with a potentially destructive behavior. The epithelium of ameloblastoma is thought to have an intrinsic growth potential and has been shown to present a higher rate of proliferation as compared to odontogenic cysts with low local recurrence rate. The molecular mechanisms that regulate the cell growth and invasion of ameloblastoma cells are unknown. Bcl-2 protein, which prevent apoptosis, is expressed in immortalized ameloblastoma cell line(AM-1)(Harada et al 1998). Expression of bcl-2 protein occurs in tooth germs, whose epithelial component may act as the histogenic precursor of ameloblastoma. Bax is considered as a main effector of apoptosis. Bax forms homodimers and also heterodimers with bcl-2. p53 tumor supressor gene participates not only in cell proliferation control but also in induction of apoptosis. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the apoptosis related protein expression in odontogenic cyst and ameloblastoma. A total of 10 dentigerous cysts and 16 ameloblastomas were used in the present study. Dentigerous cyst showed negative or slight positive for p53 and bcl-2 but strongly positive for bax, ameloblastoma, on the other hand, strongly positive for p53 and bcl-2 but weekly positive for bax. Bcl-2 was expressed for ameloblastoma mainly in outer layer or whole layer of epithelium and for dentigerous cyst mainly in basal layer. The difference in expression of apoptosis related protein in dentigerous cyst and ameloblastoma might explain the peculiar aggressive growth pattern of ameloblastoma.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2006

Several methods for determining the response of corn to glyphosate were investigated to provide a fast and reliable method for identifying glyphosate-resistant corn in vivo. Two bioassays were developed. One assay is named 'whole plant / leaf growth assay', in which the herbicide glyphosate is applied on the upper part of 3rd leaf and the growth of herbicide-untreated 4th leaf is measured at 3 day after treatment. in this assay, the leaf growth of conventional corn was inhibited in a dose dependent from 50 to $1600{\mu}g/mL$ of glyphosate and growth inhibition at $1600{\mu}g/mL$ was 55% of untreated control. The assay has the potential to be used especially in the case that the primary cause of glyphosate resistance is related with a reduction of the herbicide translocation. Another assay is named 'leaf segment / shikimate accumulation assay', in which the four excised leaf segments ($4{\times}4mm$) are placed in each well of a 48-well microtiter plate containing $200{\mu}L$ test solution and the amount of shikimate is determined after incubation for 24 h in continuous light at $25^{\circ}C$. In this assay, 0.33% sucrose added to basic test solution enhanced a shikimate accumulation by 3 to 4 times and the shikimate accumulation was linearly occurred from 2 to $8{\mu}g/mL$ of glyphosate, showing an improved response to the method described by Shaner et al. (2005). The leaf segment / shikimate accumulation assay is simple and robust and has the potential to be used as a high throughput assay in the case that the primary cause of glyphosate resistance is related with EPSPS, target site of the herbicide. Taken together, these two assays would be highly useful to initially select the lines obtained after transformation, to investigate the migration of glyphosate-resistant gene into other weeds and to detect a weedy glyphosate-resistant corn in field.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.205-209
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• 2008

Recently, Sun et al (2008) reported that the IL6R polymorphism is associated with schizophrenia. Therefore, to detect the association between polymorphisms of interleukin 31 receptor A (IL31RA) and schizophrenia, we genotyped 9 SNPs [rs9292101 (intron 1), rs1009639 (exon 2, Pr043Pro), rs2161582 (intron 2), rs68761890 (intron 5), rs16884629 (intron 6), rs11956465 (intron 12), rs12153724 (intron 12), and rs16884641 (intron 14)] using the Golden Gate assay on Illumina BeadStation 500 GX. Two hundred eighteen patients with schizophrenia and 379 normal subjects were recruited. Patients with schizophrenia were diagnosed according to DSM-IV, and control subjects without history of psychiatric disorders were selected. We used SNPStats, Haploview, HapAnalyzer, SNPAnalyzer, and Helixtree programs for the evaluation of genetic data. Of nine polymorphisms, three SNPs (rs9292101, rs1009639, and rs11956465) were associated with schizophrenia. The rs9292101 and rs11956465 showed significant associations with the risk of schizophrenia in the codominant [rs9292101, odds ratio (OR)=0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.58${\sim}$0.95, p=0.017] and recessive (rs11956465, OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.42${\sim}$0.96, p=0.034) models, respectively. The rs1009639 also was statistically related to schizophrenia in both codominant (OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.60${\sim}$0.97, p=0.025) and dominant (OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.44${\sim}$0.98, p=0.035) models. Two linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks were made. In the analysis of haplotypes, a haplotype (GCT) in block 1 and a haplotype (CCACAG) in block 2 showed significant associations between schizophrenia and control groups (haplotype GCT, frequency=0.509, chi square=4.199, p=0.040; haplotype CCACAG, frequency=0.289, chi square=5.691, p=0.017). The results suggest that IL31RA may be associated with risk of schizophrenia in Korean population.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2001

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) has been known to play a role in the regulation of hCG secretion by human placenta. Recently, a gene encoding the second f개m of GnRH (GnRH-II) was identified in human. Herein, we demonstrate that GnRH-II is expressed in human placenta and assess GnRH-II expression by nested RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in human placenta during the first trimester. We found that two altematively spliced transcripts of GnW-II mRNA were expressed in human placental tissues of first trimester and the shorter variant had a 21-bp deletion in GnRH-associated peptide (GAP). Immunoreactive GnRH-II was localized in both cytotrophoblastic and syncytiotrophoblastic cytoplasm. The immunostaining intensity was stronger in cytotrophoblast. Villous stromal cells also showed GnRH-II immunoreactiyiry. The results of our study report that the second isoform of GnRH (GnRH-II) is expressed in the first trimester human placenta and we suggest that GnRH-II may also play a regulatory role in maintenance of early pregnancy and hCG secretion in human placenta.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.283-290
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• 1988

A spontaneous revertant of mutation rbsB103 that is ribose taxis-positive was characterized. This revertant was found to be export-competent in the export of ribose-binding protein shown by the disappearance of accumulated mutant precursor protein and the export of mature ribose-binding protein to the periplasm. The reversional change was shown to be in the region of risB gene that codes for the amino terminal portion of ribose-binding protein. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography of peptide patterns of ribose-binding proteins confirmed the relationship between the wild-type and the revertant proteins as shown for the mutant previously (Iida et al., 1985). When the processing rate of presursor proteins from the wild type and the revertant strain in vivo was compared by pulse-chase experiment, it was found that processing is less efficient than normal in the revertant. Purified mature proteins from both wild-type and revertant were subjected to amino acid sequencing. The results confirmed the amino acid changes deduced from the DNA sequencing and showed that processing of the revertant precursor occured in the correct position even though there are two different amino acids present in the signal sequence.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.222-230
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• 2005

Purpose : ARC syndrome refers to an association of arthrogryposis, renal tubular dysfunction, and cholestasis. The VPS33B gene was recently identified as the causative gene. So far, 41 cases of ARC syndrome have been reported worldwide, and it has rarely been reported in Korea. This study was conducted to report the clinical findings of seven ARC syndrome cases in Korean children, focusing especially on renal tubular dysfunction. Methods : The hospital records of 7 cases diagnosed as ARC syndrome at Severance Hospital between Mar. 1995 and Aug. 2005 were reviewed and analyzed. Results : Of the 7 cases, 4 were boys and 3 were girls. Six patients(85$\%$) were born with normal birth weight at term, and one was born at preterm. All cases presented with cholestasis and severe jaundice. According to the type of arthrogryposis described by Brown et al, type 3 and 4 were found in 2 patients and type,6, 7, and the undistributed type in one patient respectively. Other associated clinical findings were as follows : failure to thrive in 6(85$\%$), lax skin in 5(71$\%$), and gray platelet syndrome in 4(57$\%$). Urine analysis revealed 6 cases(85$\%$) with proteinuria, 3(43$\%$) with hematuria, 5(71$\%$) with glycosuria, 2(29$\%$) with phosphaturia and 2(29$\%$) with calciuria. Serum electrolytes showed 4 cases(57$\%$) with hyponatremia, 3(43$\%$) with hypokalemia, and 1(14$\%$) with creatinine elevation. Renal tubular dysfunctions were diagnosed as renal tubular acidosis in 6 cases(85$\%$), nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in 2(29$\%$), and Fanconi syndrome in 2(29$\%$). During the follow-up period, 2(29$\%$) had no treatment, 5(85$\%$) had continuous supplementation to correct the electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, and 1(14$\%$) had dialysis. Only one patient had a family history of ARE syndrome in a sibling. Four cases(57$\%$) were diagnosed at the mean age of 8.2 months, and one case was lost during follow-up. Ages of the survived 2 cases were 13 and 25 months, respectively. Conclusion : The rare disease of ARC syndrome Is associated with severe renal dysfunction. However, this study revealed that the renal manifestation of ARC syndrome in Korean children is relatively mild and survival rate is higher than that of previous studies. Contrary to previous reports, this study showed that familial cases are rare and sporadic occurence is possible in Korea. Thus, the diagnosis of this syndrome requires a careful evaluation of the venal function in cases of congenital arthrogryposis, and a mandatory genetic counseling of affected family for prevention of familial occurance. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:222-230)

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.46-57
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• 2000

Objectives : The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of subacute treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(paroxetine and sertraline) on immobility in the forced swim test(FST) and on FST-induced changes in immune parameters of the mice. Methods : Authors applied a modified method of FST by Porsolt et al. Over 5 BALB/c mice were used for each group of experiments. To explore the changes in immune parameters by FST, authors investigated the production of anti-rat RBC antibody, concanavalin A(ConA)- or lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated splenocytes proliferation assay and cytokine gene expression. Results : Both paroxetine and sertraline decreased the duration of immobility in a dose-related manner. FST-performed mice showed a significant decrease in mitogenic responses of splenocytes and a slight increasing tendency in anti-rat RBC antibody response. All these responses were attenuated significantly by paroxetine and attenuated nearly nominal significance level by sertraline. The cytokine profiles of ConA-stimulated splenocytes from FST-performed mice showed stronger expression of IL-4 and weaker expression of IL-2 than control mice, and no changes in the expressions of IFN-$\gamma$ and lymphotoxin. IL-6 and IL-10 were not expressed in both group of mice. The pretreatment of paroxetine and sertraline attenuated the altered cytokine expressions in FST-performed mice to some extent. Some alterations of the expressions of IL-6 and IL-10 were observed in the mice which the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors had been pretreated. Conclusion : The subacute treatment of paroxetine and sertraline attenuated the FST-induced behavioral and immune changes, and these serotonin reuptake inhibitors may exert some modulating effects on the immune system by the induction of cytokine gene expression, especially IL-6 and IL-10.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.67-80
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• 2005

Phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase $C\delta$ $PLC\delta$) plays an important role in many cellular responses and is involved in the production of second messenger. The present study was conducted to obtain the biochemical characteristics of the expressed recombinant $PLC\delta$ in E. coli cloned from Misgurnus mizolepis and partially purified $PLC\delta$ enzymes from liver tissues of M. mizolepis (wild ML-$PLC\delta$). The ML $PLC\delta$ gene was cloned and expressed under the previous report (Kim et al., 2004), and purified the recombinant protein by successive chromatography using $Ni^{2+}$-NTA affinity column and gel iltration FPLC column. The wild ML-$PLC\delta$ protein was solublized with 2 M KCI and purified by successive chromatography on open heparin-Sephagel and analytical TSKgel heparin-5PW. Both the recombinant and wild ML-$PLC\delta$ form of protein showed a concentration-dependent PLC activity to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bis-phosphate (PIP$_2$) or phosphatidylinositol (PI). Its activity was absolutely $Ca^{2+}$- dependant, which was similar to mammalian $PLC\delta$ isozymes. Maximal PI-hydrolytic activations of recombinant and wild ML- TEX>$PLC\delta$ was at pH 7.0 and pH 7.5, respectively. In addition, the enzymatic activities of recombinant and wild ML-$PLC\delta$ were increased in concentration-dependent manner by detergent, such as sodium deoxycholate SDC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC). The activities decreased in contrast by a polyamine, such as spermine. Western blotting showed that several types of $PLC\delta$ isozymes exist in various organs. Taken together our results, it suggested that the biochemical characteristics of ML-$PLC\delta$ are similar with those of mammalian $PLC\delta1$ and ${\delta}3$ isozymes.