• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.196-201
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• 2019

The Alu element, the most abundant transposable element, is transcribed to Alu RNA. We hypothesized that the PIWI protein regulates the expression of Alu RNA in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, where accumulated Alu RNA leads to macular degeneration. Alu transcription was induced in RPE cells treated with $H_2O_2$. At an early stage of oxidative stress, PIWIL4 was translocated into the nucleus; however, subsequently it was sequestered into cytoplasmic stress granules, resulting in the accumulation of Alu RNA. An elevated amount of Alu RNA was positively correlated with the disruption of the epithelial features of RPE via induction of mesenchymal transition. Therefore, we suggest that oxidative stress causes Alu RNA accumulation via PIWIL4 sequestration into the cytoplasmic stress granules.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.77-85
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• 2004

A significant portion (about 8% in human genome) of mammalian mRNA sequences contains AU(Adenine and Uracil) rich elements or AREs at their 3' untranslated regions (UTR). These mRNA sequences are usually stable. ARE motifs are assorted into three classes. The importance of AREs in biology is that they make certain mRNA unstable. We analyzed the occurrences of AREs and Alu, and propose a possible mechanism on how human mRNA could acquire and keep A REs at its 3' UTR originated from Alu repeats. Interspersed in the human genome, Alu repeats occupy 5% of the 3' UTR of mRNA sequences. Alu has poly-adenine (poly-A) regions at the end that lead to poly -thymine (poly-T) regions at the end of its complementary Alu. It has been discovered that AREs are present at the poly -T regions. In the all ARE's classes, 27-40% of ARE repeats were found in the poly -T region of Alu with mismatch allowed within 10% of ARE's length from the 3' UTRs of the NCBI's reference m RNA sequence database. We report that Alu, which has been reported as a junk DNA element, is a source of AREs. We found that one third of AREs were derived from the poly -T regions of the complementary Alu.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.6 s.67
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• pp.1028-1039
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• 2004

During the past 65 million years, Alu sequences have been amplified through RNA-polymerase IIIderived transcripts, and have reached the copy number of about 1.4 million in primate genomes. They are the largest family among mobile genetic elements in human genome and consist of ten percent of the human genome. Alu sequences are thought to be functionless genetically, but many researchers have proved new function and disease implication. Alu elements make the genome insertional mutation, Alu-mediated recombination events, and unexpected splicing site and change gene structures, protein sequences, splicing motifs and expression patterns. In this review, the structure and origin of Alu, consensus sequences of Alu subfamilies, evolution and distribution of Alu, and their related diseases were described. We also indicated new research direction of Alu elements in relation to evolution and disease.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.94-99
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• 2020

Brain cytoplasmic 200 RNA (BC200 RNA) is proposed to act as a local translational modulator by inhibiting translation after being targeted to neuronal dendrites. However, the mechanism by which BC200 RNA inhibits translation is not fully understood. Although a detailed functional analysis of RNA motifs is essential for understanding the BC200 RNA-mediated translation-inhibition mechanism, there is little relevant research on the subject. Here, we performed a systematic domain-dissection analysis of BC200 RNA to identify functional RNA motifs responsible for its translational-inhibition activity. Various RNA variants were assayed for their ability to inhibit translation of luciferase mRNA in vitro. We found that the 111-200-nucleotide region consisting of part of the Alu domain as well as the A/C-rich domain (consisting of both the A-rich and C-rich domains) is most effective for translation inhibition. Surprisingly, we also found that individual A-rich, A/C-rich, and Alu domains can enhance translation but at different levels for each domain, and that these enhancing effects manifest as cap-dependent translation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.126-130
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• 1998

A pair of designed primers (sequences from Gene Bank) amplified 16S fRNA gene of V. vulnificus within polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine. This PCR product is about 1.3kb DNA fragment. Six enzymes (BamH I, Alu I, Sau3A I, Hind III, Sal I, Sma I) were used for restriction pattern analysis of amplified 16S rRNA gene of V. vulnificus ATCC 27562. Digested fragments are resolved by 3% agarose gel. BamH I did not show digested fragment so, there was no cutting site of BamH I in PCR product. Alu I produced three small fragments from 400 bp to 200 bp. Sau3A I produced three fragments larger than Alu I from 70 bp and 500 bp. One of fragments of Sal I was same with 500 bp of Hind III fragment and the other was 750 bp. Sma I showed two fragments of 800 bp and 470 bp. The profile of digested fragments of 16S rRNA of V.vulnificus ATCC 27562 will may be able to use standard profile for identification of V. vulnificus.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.86-91
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• 2004

Even though it represents $6-13\%$ of human genomic DNA, Alu sequences are rarely found in coding regions. When in exon region, over $80\%$ of them are found in 3' untranslated region (UTR). Pseudogenes are an important component of human genome. Their functions are not clearly known and the mechanism of how they are generated is still debatable. Both the Alu and Pseudogenes are important research problems in molecular biology. mRNA is thought to be a prime source of pseudogene and active research is going on its molecular mechanism. We report, for the first time, that mRNAs containing Alu repeats at 3' UTR has a significantly high correlation with processed pseudogenes, suggesting a possibility that Alu containing mRNAs have a high tendency to become processed pseudogenes. It is known that about $10\%$ of all human genes have been transposed. Transposed genes at 3' UTR without Alu repeat have about two processed pseudogenes per gene on average while we found with statistical significance that a transposed gene with Alu had over three processed Pseudogenes on average. Therefore, we propose Alu repeats as a new and important factor in the generation of pseudogenes.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 1996

위축, 황화, 총생 증상 등 전형적인 병징을 나타내는 phytoplasma에 감염된 식물에서 phytoplasma만을 특이적으로 검출하기 위하여 polymerase chain reaction(PCR) 방법을 이용하였다. Phytoplasma의 16S rRNA gence의 DNA 단편을 증폭하기 위하여 1.4 kb primers (forward, 5` -GTTGATCCTGGCTCAGGATT-3` 와 reverse, 5` -AACCCCGAGAACGTATTCACC -3`)를 사용하여 증폭한 결과, phytoplasma에 이병된 오동나무, 라일락 및 미역취에서는 약 1.4 kbp의 위치에서 특이 band가 검출되었으나 control로 사용한 건전주에서는 어떠한 band 검출되지 않았다. 위의 결과를 재확인 하기 위하여 약 0.5 kb의 primers(forward, 5` -ACGAAAGCGTGGGGAGCAAA-3` 와 reverse, 5` -GAAGTCGAGTTGCAGACTTC-3`)를 사용하여 증폭한 결과, 0.5 kb의 위치에서 특이 band가 검출되었으나 control로 사용한 건전주에서는 어떠한 band도 검출되지 않았다. Phytoplasma에 이병된 식물의 PCR 반응산물을 제한효소인 AluI으로 처리하 sruf과, 오동나무와 라일락에서는 동일한 band pattern을 나타내어 서로 유연관계가 가까운 phytoplasma인 것으로 생각되며, 미역취에서는 이들과는 다른 band pattern을 나타내어 오동나무와 라일락의 phytoplasma와는 유연관계가 먼 것으로 추측된다.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.68-76
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• 2007

Due to the increasing interest in SNPs and mutational hot spots for disease traits, it is becoming more important to define and understand the relationship between SNPs and their flanking sequences. To study the effects of flanking sequences on SNPs, statistical approaches are necessary to assess bias in SNP data. In this study we mainly applied Markov chains for SNP sequences, particularly those located in intronic regions, and for analysis of in-del data. All of the pertaining sequences showed a significant tendency to generate particular SNP types. Most sequences flanking SNPs had lower complexities than average sequences, and some of them were associated with microsatellites. Moreover, many Alu repeats were found in the flanking sequences. We observed an elevated frequency of single-base-pair repeat-like sequences, mirror repeats, and palindromes in the SNP flanking sequence data. Alu repeats are hypothesized to be associated with C-to-T transition mutations or A-to-I RNA editing. In particular, the in-del data revealed an association between particular changes such as palindromes or mirror repeats. Results indicate that the mechanism of induction of in-del transitions is probably very different from that which is responsible for other SNPs. From a statistical perspective, frequent DNA lesions in some regions probably have effects on the occurrence of SNPs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.710-718
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• 2021

Placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PD-MSCs) are promising candidates for cell-based therapy in regenerative medicine. The migration and homing potential of PD-MSCs to injured sites is a critical property of MSC engraftment. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been shown to regulate the critical functions of MSCs, such as proliferation, survival, and migration. The objective of the present study was to identify the miRNA and target genes involved in PD-MSCs homing in a bile duct ligation (BDL) rat model. We selected candidate miRNAs targeting genes for PD-MSCs homing based on microarray analysis. PD-MSC engraftment in BDL-injured rat liver was identified by immunofluorescence assay and human-specific Alu gene expression by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) one week after transplantation. Compared with migrated naïve PD-MSCs under hypoxic and normoxic conditions (Hyp/Nor), the transplanted group with PD-MSCs (Tx) showed distinct differences in miRNA expressions in BDL-injured rat liver. We also validated the miRNAs and their target genes for PD-MSCs homing. The expressions of integrin α4 (ITGA4) and integrin α5 (ITGA5) target genes for miR-199a-5p and miR-148a-3p were significantly upregulated in the Tx group (p<0.05). In addition, integrin β1 (ITGB1) and integrin β8 (ITGB8) were upregulated by suppressing miR-183-5p and miR-145-5p, respectively. These results demonstrated that PD-MSCs regulate miRNA expression related to the integrin family for their homing effects on the BDL-injured rat liver. The findings further suggest that miRNA-mediated regulation of the integrin family contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of PD-MSCs in the rat hepatic fibrosis model by BDL.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 2020

Sixteen acetic acid bacteria (AAB) were isolated from blueberries and citric fruits of the Salto Grande region (Concordia, Entre Rios, Argentina) using enrichment techniques and plate isolation. Enrichment broths containing ethanol and acetic acid enabled maximum AAB recovery, since these components promote their growth. Biochemical tests allowed classification of the bacteria at genus level. PCR-RFLP of the 16S rRNA and PCR-RFLP of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer allowed further classification at the species level; this required treatment of the amplified products of 16S and 16S-23S ITS ribosomal genes with the following restriction enzymes: AluI, RsaI, HaeIII, MspI, TaqI, CfoI, and Tru9I. C7, C8, A80, A160, and A180 isolates were identified as Gluconobacter frateurii; C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, A70, and A210 isolates as Acetobacter pasteurianus; A50 and A140 isolates as Acetobacter tropicalis; and C9 isolate as Acetobacter syzygii. The bacteria identified by 16S rRNA PCR-RFLP were validated by 16S-23S PCR-RFLP; however, the C1 isolate showed different restriction patterns during identification and validation. Partial sequencing of the 16S gene resolved the discrepancy.