• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.179-186
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• 2003

Human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines have been derived from human blastocysts and are expected to have far-reaching applications in regenerative medicine. The objective of this study is to improve freezing method with less cryo-injuries and best survival rates in hES cells by comparing various vitrification conditions. For the vitrifications, ES cells are exposed to the 4 different cryoprotectants, ethylene glycol (EG), 1,2-propanediol (PROH), EG with dime-thylsulfoxide (DMSO) and EG with PROH. We compared to types of vehicles, such as open pulled straw (OPS) or electron microscopic cooper grids (EM grids). Thawed hES cells were dipped into sequentially holding media with 0.2 M sucrose for 1 min, 0.1 M sucrose for 5 min and holding media for 5 min twice and plated onto a fresh feeder layer. Survival rates of vitrified hES cells were assessed by counting of undifferentiated colonies. It shows high survival rates of hES cells frozen with EG and DMSO (60.8％), or EG and PROH(65.8％) on EM grids better than those of OPS, compared to those frozen with EG alone (2.4％) or PROH alone (0％) alone. The hES cells vitrified with EM grid showed relatively constant colony forming efficiency and survival rates, compared to those of unverified hES cells. The vitrified hES cells retained the normal morphology, alkaline phosphates activity, and the expression of SSEA-3 and 4. Through RT-PCR analysis showed Oct-4 gene expression was down-regulated and embryonic germ layer markers were up-regulated in the vitrified hES cells during spontaneous differentiation. These results show that vitrification method by using EM grid supplemented with EG and PROH in hES cells may be most efficient at present to minimize cyto-toxicity and cellular damage derived by ice crystal formation and furthermore may be employed for clinical application.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2013

Tetanus is a specific infectious disease, which is often associated with catastrophic events such as earthquakes, traumas, and war wounds. The obligate anaerobe Clostridium tetani is the pathogen that causes tetanus. Once the infection of tetanus progresses to an advanced stage within the wounds of limbs, the rates of amputation and mortality increase manifold. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a rapid and sensitive point-of-care detection method for C. tetani so as to ensure an early diagnosis and clinical treatment of tetanus. In this study, we developed a detection method for C. tetani using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, wherein the C. tetani tetanus toxin gene was used as the target gene. The method was highly specific and sensitive, with a detection limit of 10 colony forming units (CFU)/ml, and allowed quantitative analysis. While detecting C. tetani in clinical samples, it was found that the LAMP results completely agreed with those of the traditional API 20A anaerobic bacteria identification test. As compared with the traditional API test and PCR assay, LAMP detection of C. tetani is simple and rapid, and the results can be identified through naked-eye observation. Therefore, it is an ideal and rapid point-of-care testing method for tetanus.

• 대한한방부인과학회지
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.1-10
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the inhibitory effect of Achyranthis Radix extract(ARE) loaded hydrogel on osteoclast differentiation. Methods: MTT-assay was performed to estimate cytotoxicity of ARE, Achyranthis Radix-alginate hydrogel disk(ARHD) in bone marrow macrophages stimulated(BMMs) with human receptor activator of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ ligand(RANKL), human macrophage-colony stimulating factor(M-CSF). Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase staining and RT-PCR were performed to know the inhibitory effect on osteoclast differentiation. Reactive oxygen species and actin ring formation were analysed to observe the effect of ARHD. Results: ARE has no cytotoxicity at the concentration of 0.1 $mg/m{\ell}$ or lower. ARE decreased the number of TRAP positive cells in RANKL, M-CSF stimulated BMMs and the gene expression. ARHD has no cytotoxicity at the concentration of 10 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$ (24, 48hours), 50 ${\mu}g/m{\ell}$ (24 hours). ARHD restrained the synthesis of reactive oxygen species and the formation of actin ring. Conclusions: Achyranthis Radix has the inhibitory effect of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. Further studies are needed to treat osteoporosis by Achyranthis Radix.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.529-539
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• 2021

The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, is a serious insect pest infesting various vegetable crops. Two infectious insect viruses, baculovirus and iflavirus, are known to induce epizootics in S. exigua populations. Indeed, some laboratory colonies have appeared to be covertly infected by these viruses. Diagnostic PCR tests detected two different viruses: Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrosis virus (SeMNPV) and iflaviruses (SeIfV1 and SeIfV2). Viral extract from dead larvae of S. exigua could infect Sf9 cells and produce occlusion bodies (OBs). Feeding OBs to asymptomatic larvae of S. exigua caused significant viral disease. Interestingly, both SeIfV1 and SeIfV2 increased their titers at late larval stages. Sterilization of laid eggs with 1% sodium hypochloride significantly reduced SeMNPV titers and increased larval survival rate. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) specific to SeIfV1 or SeIfV2 significantly reduced viral titers and increased larval survival rate. To continuously feed dsRNA, a recombinant Escherichia coli HT115 expressing SeIfV1-dsRNA was constructed with an L4440 expression vector. Adding this recombinant E. coli to the artificial diet significantly reduced the SeIfV1 titer and increased larval survival. These results indicate that laboratory colony collapse of S. exigua is induced by multiple viral infections. In addition, either suppression of SeMNPV or SeIfV infection significantly increased larval survival, suggesting a cooperative pathogenicity between baculovirus and iflavirus against S. exigua.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

Background: Korean ginseng is an important cash crop in Asian countries. However, plant yield is reduced by pathogens. Among the Ilyonectria radicicola-species complex, I. mors-panacis is responsible for root-rot and replant failure of ginseng in Asia. The development of new methods to reveal the existence of the pathogen before cultivation is started is essential. Therefore, a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method was developed to detect and quantify the pathogen in ginseng soils. Methods: In this study, a species-specific histone H3 primer set was developed for the quantification of I. mors-panacis. The primer set was used on DNA from other microbes to evaluate its sensitivity and selectivity for I. mors-panacis DNA. Sterilized soil samples artificially infected with the pathogen at different concentrations were used to evaluate the ability of the primer set to detect the pathogen population in the soil DNA. Finally, the pathogen was quantified in many natural soil samples. Results: The designed primer set was found to be sensitive and selective for I. mors-panacis DNA. In artificially infected sterilized soil samples, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction the estimated amount of template was positively correlated with the pathogen concentration in soil samples ($R^2=0.95$), disease severity index ($R^2=0.99$), and colony-forming units ($R^2=0.87$). In natural soils, the pathogen was recorded in most fields producing bad yields at a range of $5.82{\pm}2.35pg/g$ to $892.34{\pm}103.70pg/g$ of soil. Conclusion: According to these results, the proposed primer set is applicable for estimating soil quality before ginseng cultivation. This will contribute to disease management and crop protection in the future.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권12호
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• pp.1876-1884
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• 2020

Ethanol often accumulates during the process of wine fermentation, and mitophagy has critical role in ethanol output. However, the relationship between mitophagy and ethanol stress is still unclear. In this study, the expression of ATG11 and ATG32 genes exposed to ethanol stress was accessed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The result indicated that ethanol stress induced expression of the ATG11 and ATG32 genes. The colony sizes and the alcohol yield of atg11 and atg32 were also smaller and lower than those of wild type strain under ethanol whereas the mortality of mutants is higher. Furthermore, compared with wild type, the membrane integrity and the mitochondrial membrane potential of atg11 and atg32 exhibited greater damage following ethanol stress. In addition, a greater proportion of mutant cells were arrested at the G1/G0 cell cycle. There was more aggregation of peroxide hydrogen (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2•-) in mutants. These changes in H2O2 and O2•- in yeasts were altered by reductants or inhibitors of scavenging enzyme by means of regulating the expression of ATG11 and ATG32 genes. Inhibitors of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (mtETC) also increased production of H2O2 and O2•- by enhancing expression of the ATG11 and ATG32 genes. Further results showed that activator or inhibitor of autophagy also activated or inhibited mitophagy by altering production of H2O2 and O2•. Therefore, ethanol stress induces mitophagy which improves yeast the tolerance to ethanol and the level of mitophagy during ethanol stress is regulated by ROS derived from mtETC.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.195-199
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• 2022

The use of copper antibacterial films as an effective infection prevention method is increasing owing to its ability to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission. In this study, we evaluated the bacterial contamination of the antibacterial copper membrane attached to a door handle at a university over time. Six mounting locations with high floating population were selected. In three sites, the door handles with the antibacterial film were exposed, while the remaining three were not attached with the antibacterial films. On days 7 and 14, isolated bacterial strains were inoculated in BHI broth and agar, respectively. Colony-forming units (CFU) were determined after incubation. Strain identification was performed using bacterial 16s rRNA PCR and sequencing. Results showed that the bacterial population on day 14 significantly increased from 6 × 10⁹ CFU/mL (day 7) to 2 × 10¹⁰ CFU/mL. Furthermore, strain distribution was not different between the on and off the copper antibacterial film groups. In conclusion, although copper has an antibacterial activity, microbial contamination may occur with prolonged use.

• 농업과학연구
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.881-892
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• 2022

Fire blight in apple and pear orchards, caused by Erwinia amylovora, is a global problem. Ongoing outbreaks have occurred since 2015. In 2020, 744 orchards were infected compared with 43 orchards in 2015 in Korea. When are insufficient. In Korea, all host plants in infected orchards are buried deeply with lime to eradicate the E. amylovora outbreak within a few days. Apple trees with infected trunks and branches and twigs with infected leaves and infected blooms were collected from an apple orchard in Chungju, Chungbuk province, where fire blight occurred in 2020. We used these samples to investigate the population density and internal distribution of E. amylovora on infected branches and twigs during early season infections. Infected branches and twigs were cut at 10 cm intervals from the infected site, and E. amylovora was isolated from tissue lysates to measure population density (colony-forming unit [CFU]·mL^-1). The polymerase chain reaction was performed on genomic DNA using E. amylovora specific primers. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect E. amylovora in asymptomatic tissue. The objective of these assays was to collect data relevant to the removal of branches from infected trees during early season infection. In infected branches, high densities of greater than 10⁶ CFU·mL^-1 E. amylovora were detected within 20 cm of the infected sites. Low densities ranging from 10² to 10⁶ CFU·mL^-1 E. amylovora were found in asymptomatic tissues at distances of 40 - 75 cm from an infection site.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.197-208
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• 2023

Dysregulation of certain long non-coding RNAs may facilitate tumor initiation and progression. However, numerous carcinogenesis-related long noncoding RNAs have not been characterized. The goal of this study was to elucidate the role of LINC00562 in gastric cancer (GC). The expression of LINC00562 was analyzed using real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The proliferative capacity of GC cells was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony-formation assays. The migration of GC cells were evaluated using wound-healing assays. The apoptosis of GC cells was assessed by measuring the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax and Bcl-2). Xenograft models in nude mice were constructed for in vivo functional analysis of LINC00562. The binding relationship between miR-4636 and LINC00562 or adaptor protein complex 1 sigma 3 (AP1S3), obtained from public databases, was confirmed using dual-luciferase and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation experiments. LINC00562 was expressed in GC cells at high levels. Knockdown of LINC00562 repressed GC cell growth and migration, promoted apoptosis in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth in nude mouse models. LINC00562 directly targeted miR-4636, and miR-4636 depletion restored the GC cell behavior inhibited by LINC00562 absence. AP1S3, an oncogene, binds to miR-4636. MiR-4636 downregulation increased AP1S3 level, restoring GC cell malignant behaviors inhibited by AP1S3 downregulation. Thus, LINC00562 exerts carcinogenic effects on GC development by targeting miR-4636-mediated AP1S3 signaling.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.153-161
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• 2010

충청지역권내 지하수를 사용하는 집단급식소의 식품용수 82시료의 norovirus 검출빈도를 조사한 결과 7시료에서 검출 되었으며, 이는 8.5%에 해당 하였다. Norovirus가 검출된 집단 급식소에 대해서는 식중독 발생이 우려됨에 따라 소독, 관정개발, 오염원제거 및 상수도 보급 등의 위생환경 개선과 유지관리가 필요하다. Norovirus의 검출에 영향을 주는 요인으로는 암모니아성질소, 총고형분, 과망간산칼륨 소비량으로 나타났다. Norovirus 양성 검출군과 음성 검출군의 수질특성을 비교한 결과 수소이온농도는 큰 차이가 없었고, 탁도, 암모니아성질소, 일반세균수, 총고형분 항목에 있어서 norovirus 양성 검출군 평균값이 음성 검출군 평균값 보다 높은 값을 나타내었다. Norovirus 검출과 관련성이 높은 환경인자의 지속적인 모니터링을 통해 집단 급식소 식중독예방에 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.