• Development and Reproduction
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2006

[ $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase(P450_{C17})$ ] is the key enzyme mediating the conversion of progesterone to $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxyprogesterone$, ultimately to androstenedione during steroidogenesis. R. dybowskii's ovarian $P450_{C17}$ cDNA was cloned to understand the regulatory mechanism of ovarian steroidogenic pathway at the molecular level in amphibian. A 2.5kb cDNA clone encoding a single open-reading frame with a 519 deduced amino acid was isolated with the screening of ovarian cDNA library. This sequence contained the three highly conserved domains as seen in $P450_{C17}$ of other species. The comparison of amino acid sequence of Rana $P450_{C17}$ with other animal's $P450_{C17}$ showed relatively high identity with 76% in Xenopus, 63% in chicken, 60% in rainbow trout, and 45% in human. Phylogenic analysis also indicated that Rana $P450_{C17}$ gene was evolutionary well conserved among vertebrate. Northern analysis indicated that the two different sizes of $P450_{C17}$ transcripts with approximately 2.5 and 3.6kb were detected in ovary tissue, but not in other tissues. The expression vector of Rana $P450_{C17}$ clearly showed the $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxylase$ activity converting the exogenous progesterone into $17\;{\alpha}-hydroxyprogesterone$ in the nonsteroidogenic COS-1 cells. Therefore, Rana $P450_{C17}$ cDNA is very useful to investigate the molecular mechanism of the ovarian steroidogenesis in amphibian.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.578-584
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• 1998

In a previous paper (Kim et al., 1996a), the immediate 5' -flanking region and coding region of the human UDP-N -acetylglucosamine:-D-mannoside-1,4-Nacetylglucosaminyltransferase III (N-acetylglucosaminyitransferase- III; GnT-III) gene was reported, isolated and analyzed. Herein, we report on amplification of a new 5' -noncoding region of the GnT-III mRNA by single-strand ligation to single-stranded cDNA-PCR (5' -RACE PCR) using poly(A)+ RNA isolated from human fetal liver cells. A cDNA clone was obtained with 5' sequences (96 bp) that diverged seven nucleotides upstream from the ATG (+1) start codon. A concensus splice junction sequence, TCTCCCGCAG, was found immediately 5' to the position where the sequences of the cDNA diverged. The result suggested the presence of an intron in the 5' -noncoding region and that the cDNA was an incompletely reversetranscribed cDNA product derived from an mRNA containing a new noncoding exon. When mRNA expression of GnT-III in various human tissues and cancer cell lines was examined, Northern blot analysis indicated high expression levels of GnT-III in human fetal kidney and brain tissues, as well as for a number of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cell lines. Promoter activities of the 5' -flanking regions of exon 1 and the new noncoding region were measured in a human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, by luciferase assays. The 5'-flanking region of exon 1 was the most active, whilst that of exon 2 was inactive.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.199-203
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• 2008

This study was performed to analyze the characterization of plasma hormonal levels during pregnancy in the Hanwoo recipients pregnant by artificial insemination (AI) or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. The synchronized recipients pregnant by SCNT embryos produced by Hanwoo fetal fibroblast cells (n=8) and by AI (control, n=5) were used. The plasma hormonal levels were measured by RIA (P4 and E2) and ELISA (cortisol), respectively. In control, the increase of E2 and the decrease of P4 were occurred immediately before the initiation of parturition. The expression pattern of plasma P4 was similar in both groups from 50 to 10 days before parturition, however, it did not decrease even at the expected date of labor in the SCNT recipients. The plasma cortisol was expressed a lower level during pregnancy in the SCNT recipients. But, the cortisol was increased in the cow aborted around 100 days of pregnancy (n=1). Based on these results, it can be postulated that the failure of the hormonal changes immediately before parturition in the SCNT recipients may be one of the most important reasons for a delayed parturition in clone calving.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2001

Cancer chemoprevention refer to the use of natural or synthetic substances to prevent the initiational and promtional events that occur during the process of carcinogenesis. The effect of Prunella Herba Vulgaris L. Aqua-acupuncture Solution (PVAS) and Prunella Herba Vulgaris L. Water-extracted Solution (PVWS) on the induction of phase II detoxification enzyme (quinone reductase, Glutathione S-transferase) and inhibition of phase I enzyme (cytochrome P4501A1) and benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct formation was examined. PVAS is potent inducers of quinone reductase activity. Glutathione levels were increased with PVAS, in cultured murine hepatoma Hepa1c1c7 cells. In addition glutathione S-transferase levels were increased with PVAS. However, there was 45.2% inhibition in the activity of cytochrome P4501A1 enzyme with the treatment of PVAS, $5{\times}$. At concentration of $1{\times}$ and $3{\times}$ of PVAS, the binding of $[^3H]B[a]P$ metabolites to DNA of NCTC-clone 1469 cell was inhibited by 25.3%, 45.0%, respectively. These results suggest that PVAS has chemopreventive potential by inducing quinone reductase and glutathione S-transferase activities, increasing GSH levels, inhibiting the activity of cytochrome P4501A1 and benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct formation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 1985

Protoplast-source meterial and enzyme strength had a significant influence on protoplast yield from hybrid poplar, Populus alba ${\times}$ P. grandidentata. The yield of protoplasts from in vitro culture of 1 month-old plantlets was more than that from greenhouse grown 4 month-old stock plant. In vitro cultured plantlets regulary produced more viable protoplasts with E-I enzyme solution (0.5% cellulase and 0.1% macerase) than those with E-II enzyme solution (1.0% cellulase and 0.2% macerase) after overnight incubation. The mean yield of protoplasts from in vitro cultured plantlets was $4{\times}10^6$ with E-I enzyme solution. Cell division was observed in these protoplast cultures after 7-10 days. Protoplast-derived hybrid poplar cells survived over 3 weeks in culture and some continuous cell divisions were evident. Other aspects associated with protoplasts from in vitro cultured plantlet are also discussed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.805-813
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• 2003

cDNA encoding somatolactin (SL) was obtained by RT-PCR from pituitary glands of rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus). The full length cDNA of rock bream somatolactin (rbSL) is 1636 bp long. It contains a 696 bp open reading frame encoding a signal peptide of 24 amino acids (an) and a mature protein of 207 aa. rbSL has seven cysteine residues$(Cys^{5},\; Cys^{15},\; Cys^{42},\; Cys^{65},\; Cys^{181},\; Cys^{198}\; $and $Cys^{206})$ and two potential N-glycosylation sites at positions $Asn^{121}$and $Asn^{153}$. The rbSL shares 61.1∼92.6% amino acid sequence similarities and 63∼92.6% nucleotide sequence identities with other teleost SLs, except for goldfish and channel catfish SL. Amino acid sequence alignment revealed that rbSL has four conserved domains $(A_{SL},\; B_{SL},\; C_{SL}and\; D_{SL})$ common to all SLs. Out of these domains, $(A_{SL},\; B_{SL},\; C_{SL}and\; D_{SL})$, are also conserved in all teleost growth hormones and prolactins. The cDNA of rbSL has been cloned into pET expression vector in order to produce recombinant rbSL in E. coli BL2l(DE3) cells. The recombinant protein showed a molecular weight of 27 kDa in SDS-PAGE.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2016

Xenotransplantation involves multiple steps of immune rejection. The present study was designed to produce nuclear transfer embryos, prior to the production of transgenic pigs, using fibroblasts carrying transgenes human complement regulatory protein hCD59 and interleukin-18 binding protein (hIL-18BP) to reduce hyperacute rejection (HAR) and cellular rejection in pig-to-human xenotransplantation. In addition to the hCD59-mediated reduction of HAR, hIL-18BP may prevent cellular rejection by inhibiting the activation of natural killer cells, activated T-cell proliferation, and induction of $IFN-{\gamma}$. Transgene construct including hCD59 and ILI-18BP was introduced into miniature pig fetal fibroblasts. After antibiotic selection of double transgenic fibroblasts, integration of the transgene was screened by PCR, and the transgene expression was confirmed by RT-PCR. Treatment of human serum did not affect the survival of double-transgenic fibroblasts, whereas the treatment significantly reduced the survival of non-transgenic fibroblasts (p<0.01), suggesting alleviation of HAR. Among 337 reconstituted oocytes produced by nuclear transfer using the double transgenic fibroblasts, 28 (15.3%) developed to the blastocyst stage. Analysis of individual embryos indicated that 53.6% (15/28) of embryos contained the transgene. The result of the present study demonstrates the resistance of hCD59 and IL-18BP double-transgenic fibroblasts against HAR, and the usefulness of the transgenic approach may be predicted by RT-PCR and cytolytic assessment prior to actual production of transgenic pigs. Further study on the transfer of these embryos to surrogates may produce transgenic clone miniature pigs expressing hCD59 and hIL-18BP for xenotransplantation.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.274-277
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• 2012

Cytokinesis is the final stage of cell division, dividing one mother cell into two daughter cells. For the cutting of a plasma membrane during bacterial cytokinesis, a tubulin homolog FtsZ protein is recruited from the cytoplasm to the division site. FtsZ protein polymerizes in a GTP-dependent manner and its N-terminal domain has a GTPase activity. In this study, we have begun to characterize FtsZ from Staphylococcus aureus (SA). Full-length SA FtsZ was cloned into pRSFDuet-1 vector and the clone was transformed into a BL21 (DE3) star cell. The recombinant SA FtsZ protein was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and dialysis. Using a spectrofluorometer, we showed that SA FtsZ undergoes a GTP-dependant polymerization in vitro. The polymer of the SA FtsZ protein disappeared after a few minutes, suggesting that the polymer is degraded as the GTP is consumed. This assay system may well be applied for inhibitor screening targeting S. aureus FtsZ.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2003

This research examined the presence of hazardous materials in chemical workplace field using an integrated chemical/biological monitoring. Chemical workplace field air for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analysis was collected using a collection tube packed with Tena.x TA adsorbent 400 mg. Workplace field air samples were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Simultaneously, Tradescantia BNL 4430 clone was exposed in situ to monitor hazardous materials in chemical workplace field. GC/MS analysis showed the presence of various VOCs such as trichloroethylene, toluene, ethylbenzene, (m,p,o)-xylenes, styrene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene. The results showed that in situ monitoring of VOCs with the Tradescantia-micronucleus (Trad-MCN) assay gave positive results in chemical workplace field and negative response at outdoor air. In conclusion, inhalation of these field air by workers may affect chronic demage to their health by inducing micronuclei formation in Tradescantia pollen mother cells. The combination of chemical/biological monitoring is very effective to evaluate hazardous materials in workplace field and can be alternatively used for screening hazardous materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.51-74
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• 2023

Multiple myeloma, which is a proliferative disease of plasma cells that originate from a single clone, is the second most common hematologic malignancy following non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In the past, its diagnosis was made based on clinical findings (so-called "CRAB") and a skeletal survey using radiographs. However, since the implementation of the International Myeloma Working Group's revised guideline regarding the radiologic diagnosis of multiple myeloma, whole-body (WB) MRI has emerged to play a central role in the early diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Diffusion-weighted imaging and fat quantification using Dixon methods enable treatment response assessment by MRI. In keeping with the trend, a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary consensus for standardized image acquisition and reporting known as the Myeloma Response Assessment and Diagnostic System (MY-RADS) has recently been proposed. This review aims to describe the clinical application of WB-MRI based on MY-RADS in multiple myeloma, discuss its limitations, and suggest future directions for improvement.