• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.148-156
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• 2016

Objectives According to previous studies, the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene could be an important candidate gene for schizophrenia. Some studies have linked the (AAT)n trinucleotide repeat polymorphism in CNR1 gene with the risk of schizophrenia. Meanwhile, smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) has been regarded as one of the most consistent endophenotypes of schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the association between the (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats in CNR1 gene and SPEM abnormality in Korean patients with schizophrenia. Methods We measured SPEM function in 167 Korean patients with schizophrenia (84 male, 83 female) and they were divided according to SPEM function into two groups, good and poor SPEM function groups. We also investigated allele frequencies of (AAT)n repeat polymorphisms on CNR1 gene in each group. A logistic regression analysis was performed to find the association between SPEM abnormality and the number of (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats. Results The natural logarithm value of signal/noise ratio (Ln S/N ratio) of the good SPEM function group was $4.34{\pm}0.29$ and that of the poor SPEM function group was $3.21{\pm}0.70$. In total, 7 types of trinucleotide repeats were identified, each containing 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 repeats, respectively. In the patients with $(AAT)7$ allele, the distributions of the good and poor SPEM function groups were 18 (11.1%) and 19 (11.0%) respectively. In the patients with $(AAT)_{10}$ allele, $(AAT)_{11}$ allele, $(AAT)_{12}$ allele, $(AAT)_{13}$ allele, $(AAT)_{14}$ allele and $(AAT)_{15}$ allele, the distributions of good and poor SPEM function groups were 13 (8.0%) and 12 (7.0%), 4 (2.5%) and 6 (3.5%), 31 (19.8%) and 35 (20.3%), 51 (31.5%) and 51 (29.7%), 36 (22.2%) and 45 (26.2%), 9 (5.6%) and 4 (2.3%) respectively. As the number of (AAT) n repeat increased, there was no aggravation of abnormality of SPEM function. Conclusions There was no significant aggravation of SPEM abnormality along with the increase of number of (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats in the CNR1 gene in Korean patients with schizophrenia.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.275-279
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• 2004

Gene polymorphisms of cytokines and their receptors are attractive candidates as genetic factors in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases and have been reported to be associated with disease susceptibility to autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious diseases. IL-29 is one of important candidate genes for complex trait of genetic diseases but there is no published survey of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this gene. In this study, for the first time, we have examined the full genomic sequence of IL-29 including the promoter regions to identify SNPs. We examined the frequencies of genotypes and alleles at the SNP site of IL-29 in allergic rhinitis patients and non-allergic rhinitis controls using the direct sequencing method to determine whether this IL-29 SNP is associated with allergic rhinitis in Korean population. We identified one novel SNP (1184C＞A) in the intron 2 and one novel variation site (-1842_-1841dupGA) in the promoter region of human IL-29 gene. The P values of SNP or variation site were not significant between the healthy controls and allergic rhinitis patients. Our results suggest that the 1184C＞A polymorphism and -1842_-1841dupGA variation site in human IL-29 gene were not associated to allergic rhinitis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.116-123
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• 2018

The sperm quality is determined by the kinetic characteristics and acrosome integrity of the sperm. In the previous studies, analysis of semen quality had large errors because those experiments by using microscope had been conducted by people. In recent years, the molecular biological methods have been newly developed to complement the previous techniques. The ZAR1 gene is known to be a gene that affects early embryonic development in vertebrates, but there is no study of the association with semen. In this study, we analyzed the association between the kinetic characteristics and ZAR1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype. To detect the SNPs, we performed sequencing using genomic DNA from the whole bloods of Duroc pigs. We identified an SNP in the ZAR1 gene g.2540T>C. ZAR1 SNP genotypeing in 105 pigs revealed that the major and minor alleles were T and C, respectively. After we analyzed the association between the kinetic characteristics of sperm and the ZAR1 SNP genotype, we found a significant association in MOT (p<0.01), VSL (p<0.05) of the kinetic characteristics in the Duroc boars. It was confirmed that the boars with T allele were lower in MOT and VSL than C allele. Therefore, pigs with C allele are judged to be better at the MOT and VSL of semen. Based on these results, ZAR1 SNP genotyping may be a useful molecular biomarker to improve semen quality by applying molecular breeding technology.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2020

High blood pressure (HTN) is a condition in which blood pressure is kept higher than normal. Blood pressure trait measures systolic blood pressure (SBP) which is the highest pressure and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) which is the lowest blood pressure. Pulse pressure (PP) is the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Hypertension is known as a disease caused by the interaction of the environment and genetic factors. To date, studies have been conducted to find genes associated with hypertension. Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) analysis using European data from the UK Biobank reported new 535 loci were associated with blood pressure trait. Among them, 12 genes have been reported to have a significant correlation with SBP, DBP and PP. In the study, 12 genes polymorphisms were extracted based on KARE (Korean association resource) and then we performed linear regression of blood pressure trait. As a result, 6 SNPs of the 3 genes (rs12355413 and rs11006736 of ARMC4, rs2290883, rs2290884 and rs11039014 of LRP4, rs7234941 of BCL2) showed statistically significant correlation (P<0.05) with blood pressure trait. Of the 3 genes, 6 SNPs in 2 genes (rs9651357, rs12355413, rs11006736, rs1889522 of ARMC4 and rs4987774, rs7234941 of BCL2) showed significant correlation with hypertension. These results suggest that genetic polymorphisms of ARMC4, LRP4 and BCL2 genes are associated with blood pressure traits and hypertension in Korean population. Moreover, we expected to help understand the pathogenesis of hypertension.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.307-315
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• 2001

Litter size has been one of the important economic traits in porcine reproduction. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system has been shown to mediate actions of the steroid hormone or to synergize with other endocrine factors so that it consequently plays roles in reproductive processes, including ovulation, implantation, maintenance of pregnancy, and fetal development. However, the effect of the serum IGF system on porcine litter size has not been deeply studied. Therefore, this study was conducted to relate serum IFG-II concentration and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) expression with porcine litter size. Moreover, the possible association of those with estrogen receptor (ER) as a candidate gene for litter size was investigated. Swine were separated into two groups showing high and low litter sizes, and sera were collected from sows in the estrous cycle to postnatal growth of their female progeny. Serum IFG-II concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay and IGFBP-3 expression was detected by Western ligand blotting. During the estrous cycle, IGFBP-3 expression in both groups decreased moderately from metestrus to estrus, but IFG-II concentration showed a reverse pattern. Also, IFG-II concentration and IGFBP-3 expression decreased gradually as pregnancy proceeded. Unlike IGFBP-3, IFG-II decreased moderately as newborn pigs grew. Significant differences in serum IFG-II amount between the two groups were detected at 60 (p<0.01), 75, 90, and 105 d (p<0.05) of pregnancy and at 60 (p<0.01), 45, and 105 d (p<0.05) of postnatal growth. Furthermore, based on ER genotypes, a high litter size group with genotypes AB and BB showed lower IFG-II concentration than a low litter size group with a genotype AA during pregnancy. Taken together, the results indicate that the serum IFG-II and IGFBP-3 are correlated with the litter size in pigs.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.40-43
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• 2012

Recent genomewide association studies of large samples have identified genes that are associated with blood pressure. The Global Blood Pressure Genetics (Global BPgen) and Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genome Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortiums identified 14 loci that govern blood pressure on a genomewide significance level, one of which is $CASZ1$ confirmed in both Europeans and Asians. $CASZ1$ is a zinc finger transcription factor that controls apoptosis and cell fate and suppresses neuroblastoma tumor growth by reprogramming gene expression, like a tumor suppressor. To validate the function of $CASZ1$ in blood pressure, we decreased $Casz1$ mRNA levels in mice by siRNA. $Casz1$ siRNA reduced mRNA levels by 59% in a mouse cell line. A polyethylenimine-mixed siRNA complex was injected into mouse tail veins, reducing $Casz1$ mRNA expression to 45% in the kidney. However, blood pressure in the treated mice was unaffected, despite a 55% reduction in $Casz1$ mRNA levels in the kidney on multiple siRNA injections daily. Even though $Casz1$ siRNA-treated mice did not experience any significant change in blood pressure, our study demonstrates the value of $in$ $vivo$ siRNA injection in analyzing the function of candidate genes identified by genomewide association studies.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.158-166
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• 2023

Background: Copy number variation (CNV) can be identified using next-generation sequencing and microarray technologies, the research on the analysis of its association with meat traits in livestock breeding has significantly increased in recent years. Hanwoo is an inherent species raised in the Republic of Korea. It is now considered one of the most economically important species and a major food source mainly used for meat (Hanwoo beef). Methods: In this study, CNVs and the relationship between the obtained CNV regions (CNVRs) can be identified in the Hanwoo steer samples (n = 473) using Illumina Hanwoo SNP 50K bead chip and bioinformatic tools, which were used to locate the required data and meat traits were investigated. The PennCNV software was used for the identification of CNVs, followed by the use of the CNV Ruler software for locating the different CNVRs. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis was performed. Results: We found a total of 2,575 autosomal CNVs (933 losses, 1,642 gains) and 416 CNVRs (289 gains, 111 losses, and 16 mixed), which were established with ranged in size from 2,183 bp to 983,333 bp and 10,004 bp to 381,836 bp, respectively. Upon analyzing the restriction of minor alleles frequency > 0.05 for meat traits association, 6 CNVRs in the carcass weight, 2 CNVRs in the marbling score, 3 CNVRs in the backfat thickness, and 2 CNVRs in the longissimus muscle area were related to the meat traits. In addition, we identified an overlap of 347 CNVRs. Moreover, 3 CNVRs were determined to have a gene that affects meat quality. Conclusions: Our results confirmed the relationship between Hanwoo CNVR and meat traits, and the possibility of overlapping candidate genes, annotations, and quantitative trait loci that results depended on to contribute to the greater understanding of CNVs in Hanwoo and its role in genetic variation among cattle livestock.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.77-81
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• 2005

The monocyte chemotactic protein-3 (MCP3), on chromosome 17q11.2-q12, is a secreted chemokine, which attracts macrophages during inflammation and metastasis. In an effort to discover additional polymorphism(s) in genes whose variant(s) have been implicated in asthma, we scrutinized the genetic polymorphisms in MCP3 to evaluate it as a potential candidate gene for asthma host genetic study. By direct DNA sequencing in twenty-four individuals, we identified four sequence variants within the 3 kb full genome including 1,000bp promoter region of MCP3; one in promoter region (-420T>C), three in intron (+136C>G, +563C>T, +984G>A) respectively. The frequencies of those four SNPs were 0.020 (-420T>C), 0.038 (+136C>G), 0.080 (+563C>T), 0.035 (+984G>A), respectively, in Korean population (n = 598). Haplotypes, their frequencies and linkage disequilibrium coefficients (|D'|) between SNP pairs were estimated. The associations with the risk of asthma, skin-test reactivity and total serum IgE levels were analyzed. Using statistical analyses for association of MCP3 polymorphisms with asthma development and asthma-related phenotypes, no significant signals were detected. In conclusion, we identified four genetic polymorphisms in the important MCP3 gene, but no significant associations of MCP3 variants with asthma phenotypes were detected. MCP3 variation/haplotype information identified in this study will provide valuable information for future association studies of other allergic diseases.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2009

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a multi-functional enzyme with a central role in the synthesis of long-chain fatty acid and has been considered as a positional candidate gene for BTA 19 quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting milk-fat content and fatty acid composition. In this study, we sequenced the FASN gene in several cattle breeds including Hanwoo and imported beef cattle, and identified novel DNA polymorphisms and their linkage relationship in Hanwoo. We found a significant frequency difference of the FASN (AF285607) g.17924 A$\rightarrow$G polymorphism between Hanwoo (70%) and other breeds and this polymorphism has been known for an association with fatty acid composition in Angus. Furthermore, by direct DNA sequencing in 18 unrelated Hanwoo, we identified 27 SNPs including nine novel variations in the FASN gene. Among 27 SNPs identified in the FASN gene, four SNPs were further genotyped in 100 Hanwoo and 96 imported beef cattle, and analyzed for haplotype construction and association with beef quality traits. We performed haplotype block and linkage disequilibrium studies using four selected SNPs. Two different haplotype blocks (block A: g.10568 C$\rightarrow$T and g.11280 G$\rightarrow$ A; block B: g.13125 C$\rightarrow$T and g.17924 G$\rightarrow$A) were constructed and the block A in particular had a very high r2 (0.936), which indicated a nearly complete linkage disequilibrium existed between the g.10568 C$\rightarrow$T and g.11280 G$\rightarrow$A polymorphisms. A total of four major haplotypes (frequency > 0.05) were identified with the four polymorphisms including TATG (0.36), CGCG (0.31), CGTA (0.19) and TACG (0.06). Statistical association analysis revealed that the g.10568 C$\rightarrow$T and g.11280 G$\rightarrow$A polymorphisms in the FASN were significantly associated with meat color (P=0.004) and texture (P=0.0114). The g.13125 C$\rightarrow$T and g.17924 G$\rightarrow$A polymorphisms in the FASN were also significantly associated with back-fat thickness and quantity index (P=0.0179 and 0.0495, respectively). Our findings suggested that the FASN gene polymorphisms may be used for determining the (unsaturated) fatty acid contents and carcass trait in the Hanwoo beef.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1232-1236
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• 2016

Mitochondrial calcium uptake 1 (MICU1) including two canonical EF hands, located in the mitochondrial inner membrane, is known to play a crucial role in the calcium uptake in mitochondria. Mitochondrial calcium uptake in muscular cells is related to post mortem shortening by calcium release from muscles. Therefore, the porcine MICU1 gene has been estimated as a genetic candidate for meat quality traits. In this study, variations on the exonic regions of the porcine MICU1 gene were investigated by sequencing cDNAs and tested for their association with meat quality traits. A total of 667 Berkshire heads (347 sows and 320 castrated boars) were used for this association test. Three SNPs were detected on the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the porcine MICU1 gene. SNP1 (c.*136G>A) was associated with drip loss (p=0.017) and intramuscular fat content (p=0.039). In addition, SNP2 (c.*222G>A) and SNP3 (c.*485G>A) were associated with drip loss (p=0.018) and intramuscular fat content (p<0.001), respectively. In conclusion, it was verified that three variations on the 3' UTR of the porcine MICU1 gene were significantly associated with meat quality traits. It was also suggested that molecular biological analyses are needed to validate the function of variations on the 3 UTR of the porcine MICU1 gene.