• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.12 no.8
• /
• pp.3541-3546
• /
• 2011

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved lysosomal pathway for degrading cytoplasmic proteins, macromolecules, and organelles in addition to recycling protein and ATP synthesis. Although autophagy is very important during embryogenesis, the mechanism underlying the dynamic development during this process remains largely unknown. In order to obtain insights into autophagy in early embryo development, we analyzed gene expression levels of autophagy-related genes (ATGs) in mouse embryos developing in vitro. Using real time RT-PCR technique, ATGs including Atg2a, Atg3, Atg4b, Atg5, Atg6, Atg7, Atg9a, and Wipi3, as maternal transcripts, were only up-regulated in 1-cell embryo stage before zygotic genomic activation (ZGA), and then expression decreased from 2-cell to blastocyst embryo stage. ATGs including Dram and Atg9b were expressed abundantly in 1-cell embryo state and in blastocyst embryo stage, athough Atg8 and Ulk1 were constantly expressed during preimplantation stage. However, Atg4d were only up-expressed from 4-cell to blastocyst stage. These results suggest that autophagy is related in mouse embryo, which possibly gives an important role for early development.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.254-259
• /
• 2020

Increasing evidence suggests the role of miR-449a in the regulation of tumorigenesis and autophagy. Autophagy plays an important role in the malignancy of T-cell lymphoma. However, it is still unknown whether miR-449a is associated with autophagy to regulate the malignancy of T-cell lymp homa. In this study, we for the first time demonstrated that miR-449a enhanced apoptosis of T-cell lymphoma cells by decreasing the degree of autophagy. Further, miR-449a downregulated autophagy-associated 4B (ATG4B) expression, which subsequently reduced the autophagy of T-cell lymphoma cells. Mechanistically, miR-449a decreased ATG4B protein level by binding to its mRNA 3'UTR, thus reducing the mRNA stability. In addition, studies with nude mice showed that miR-449a significantly inhibited lymphoma characteristics in vivo. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the "miR-449a/ATG4B/autophagy" pathway played a vital role in the malignancy of T-cell lymphoma, suggesting a novel therapeutic target.

• Journal of Plant Biology
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.107-113
• /
• 1995

pRLYS1 containing intact rbcL gene of maize (Zea mays L. cv Golden X Bantam T-51; Zm-A) was digested with several restriction enzymes to construct subcones carrying promoter region of rbcL. The DNA fragments of 0.20, 0.19, 0.92 and 1.55 kb among the EcoRI digests, the EcoRI-DdeI digests, the AvaI digests and the EcoRI-BamHI digests of pRLYS1 were subcloned into pBluscriptSK＋and named pRLPS2, pRLPS3, pRLPS14 and pRLPS35, respectively. Four subclones contain the 1.92 kb portion from 136 nucleotide downstream to 1780 nucleotide upstream from the ATG initiation codon of rbcL gene. pRLPS2 (-29 to -229) and pRLPS3 (-239 to -420 from the ATG) were sequenced. When nucleotide sequence of Zm-A was compared with sequence of rbcL promoter region of a different cultivar of maize (Zea mays L. cv WFG TMS X BS7; Zm-B), the difference rate between two cultivars was 4.3%. The mean of sequence divergence between Zm-A and three grass species in the same tribe, Andropogoneae, in the upstream region from 29 to 420 of ATG was 1.8%, whereas between Zm-B and above-mentioned three species was 5.4%. Therefore, Zm-A seems to evolutionarily closer to three other species in Andropogoneae tribe than Zm-B is.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.23-31
• /
• 2021

PURPOSE: This study compared the effect of training ankle joint and hip joint thera-band exercise on balance. METHODS: The participants were divided into two groups of 11 each. Group A performed hip exercise after ankle exercise, and Group B performed ankle exercise after hip exercise. Using a green thera-band, the dorsiflexion and plantarflexion and hip flexion and hip extension were exercised repeatedly for 15 seconds three times with a five-second rest between each set. After the exercise and measurement of one area were complete, the exercise and measurement of the other area were performed at one-day intervals. The balance ability was assessed using a Tetrax and Y-balance test and repeated three times; the best values were taken. RESULTS: In the stability index (ST) of the static balance, the hip joint exercise group (HTG) during the follow-up of normal eye open (NO) revealed notable improvement over the ankle joint exercise group (ATG), and in the follow-up of the normal eye closed (NC), the ATG showed significant improvement over the HTG. In the pillow with eye closed (PC) follow-up, the ATG showed significant improvements over the HTG. At the left (Lt) and Y-balance test (YBT), the ATG showed significant improvements in the follow-up over the HTG (p <.05). CONCLUSION: In static balance, the ATG showed significant improvement in the follow-up of NC and PC over the HTG. In the dynamic balance, the Lt. dynamic balance on the non-dominant side in the ATG showed significant improvement in the follow-up over the HTG.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.422-430
• /
• 2000

In order to search for the effects of Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence and nucleotide sequence of spacer region (SD-ATG) on bGH expression, oligonucleotides containing random SD sequences and a spacer region were chemically synthesized. The distance between SD region and initiation codon (ATG) was fixed to 9 nucleotides in length. The expression vectors have been constructed using pT7-1 vector containing a T7 promoter. Positive clones were screened with colony hybridization and named pT7A or pT7B plasmid series. The selected clones were confirmed by DNA sequencing and finally, 19 clones having various SD combinations were obtained. When bovine growth hormone was induced by IPTG in E. coli BL21(DE3), all cells harboring these plasmids produced a detectable level of bGH in western blot analysis. However, various SD sequences did not affect on bGH expression, indicating that the sequences of SD and the spacer region did not sufficiently destabilize mRNA secondary structure of bGH gene. Therefore, these results indicate that the disruption of mRNA secondary structure might be a major factor for regulating bGH expression in the translational initiation process.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.348-359
• /
• 2022

Gastric adenocarcinoma is among the top causes of cancer-related death and is one of the most commonly diagnosed carcinomas worldwide. Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) has been reported to inhibit the gastric cancer metastasis. In our previous study, BITC induced apoptosis in AGS cells. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of BITC on autophagy mechanism in AGS cells. First, the AGS cells were treated with 5, 10, or 15 μM BITC for 24 h, followed by an analysis of the autophagy mechanism. The expression level of autophagy proteins involved in different steps of autophagy, such as LC3B, p62/SQSTM1, Atg5-Atg12, Beclin1, p-mTOR/mTOR ratio, and class III PI3K was measured in the BITC-treated cells. Lysosomal function was investigated using cathepsin activity and Bafilomycin A1, an autophagy degradation stage inhibitor. Methods including qPCR, western blotting, and immunocytochemistry were employed to detect the protein expression levels. Acridine orange staining and omnicathepsin assay were conducted to analyze the lysosomal function. siRNA transfection was performed to knock down the LC3B gene. BITC reduced the level of autophagy protein such as Beclin 1, class III PI3K, and Atg5-Atg12. BITC also induced lysosomal dysfunction which was shown as reducing cathepsin activity, protein level of cathepsin, and enlargement of acidic vesicle. Overall, the results showed that the BITC-induced AGS cell death mechanism also comprises the inhibition of the cytoprotective autophagy at both initiation and degradation steps.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.67-72
• /
• 2006

The nucleotide sequence of the cloned cellulolytic xylanase gene (bglBC2) from B. circulans ATCC21367 was determined. bglBC2 consists of an 1,224 bp open reading frame (ORF) coding for a polypeptide of 407 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 45 kDa. The Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence (5'-AAAGGAG-3') was found 9 bp upstream of the initiation codon, ATG. A promoter region corresponding closely to the B. subtilis consensus sequence (-35: TTGACA,-10: TATAAT) was detected, the putative -35 and -10 sequences of which were TTTACA and TATACT, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cellulolytic xylanase showed 97% homology with that of the alkaline $endo-\beta-1,4-glucanase$ from B. circulans KSM-N257, 75% homology with that of the $endo-\beta-1,3-1,4-glucanase$ from B. circulans WL-12, and 45% homology with that of the $endo-\beta-1,4-glucanase$ (cellulase) from Bacillus sp. KSM-330. The bglBC2 sequence was deposited in Gen-Bank under the accession number AY269256.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.592-598
• /
• 2019

Objective: Autophagy is a bulk degradation system for intracellular proteins which contributes to skeletal muscle homeostasis, according to previous studies in humans and rodents. However, there is a lack of information on the physiological role of autophagy in the skeletal muscle of meat animals. This study was planned as a pilot study to investigate changes in expression of two major autophagy-related genes, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain $3{\beta}$ (MAP1LC3B) and autophagy related 7 (ATG7) in fattening beef cattle, and to compare them with skeletal muscle growth. Methods: Six castrated Japanese Black cattle (initial body weight: $503{\pm}20kg$) were enrolled in this study and fattened for 7 months. Three skeletal muscles, M. longissimus, M. gluteus medius, and M. semimembranosus, were collected by needle biopsy three times during the observation period, and mRNA levels of MAP1LC3B and ATG7 were determined by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of genes associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system, another proteolytic mechanism, were also analyzed for comparison with autophagy-related genes. In addition, ultrasonic scanning was repeatedly performed to measure M. longissimus area as an index of muscle growth. Results: Our results showed that both MAP1LC3B and ATG7 expression increased over the observation period in all three skeletal muscles. Interestingly, the increase in expression of these two genes in M. longissimus was highly correlated with ultrasonic M. longissimus area and body weight. On the other hand, the expression of genes associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system was unchanged during the same period. Conclusion: These findings suggest that autophagy plays an important role in the growth of skeletal muscle of fattening beef cattle and imply that autophagic activity affects meat productivity.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 1990

The coding sequence of hepatitis B viral core antigen (HBcAg) (subtype adr) contains two in-phase initiation codons, one for precore and the other for core antigen gene. To study the expression of core antigen and the role of precore region, the coding sequence of HBcAg with or without precore (pre-C) region were subcloned into yeast expression vector containing phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter. To study the role of upstream region in the expression of the core antigen, a series of 5' deletion mutants were also subcloned into the vector. After transformation into various host strains, the expression of HBcAg were analysed by radio-immunoassat. Under optimal condition of core antigen gene expression in yeast, the highest amount of antigen was detected in the cell line SHY4 containing pGKHBc plasmid composed of the yeast PGK gene promoter, terminator and C-gene. Regardless of the presence of precore region, core antigen was not detected in the medium but in cell extract. These results suggest that precore region cannot affect the secretion of core antigen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.223-228
• /
• 1997

A DNA fragment containing the gene for cell wall hydrolase of alkalophilic Bacillus subtilis BL-29 was cloned into E. coli JM109 using pUC18 as a vector. A recombinant plasmid, designated pCWL45B, was contained in the fragment originating from the alkalophilic B. subtilis BL-29 chromosomal DNA by Southern hybridization analysis. The nucleotide sequence of a 1.6-kb HindIII fragment containing a cell wall hydrolase-encoding gene was determined. The nucleotide sequence revealed an open reading frame (ORF) of 900 bp with a concensus ribosome-binding site located 6 nucleotide upstream from the ATG start codon. The primary amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence revealed a putative protein of 299 amino acid residues with an M.W. of 33, 206. Based on comparison of the amino acid sequence of the ORF with amino acid sequences in the GenBank data, it showed significant homology to the sequence of cell wall amidase of the PBSX bacteriophage of B. subtilis.