• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.342-350
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• 2018

Flowering time is determined by florigens. These genes include, Heading date 3a (Hd3a) and Rice FT 1 (RFT1) in rice, which are specifically expressed in the vascular tissues of leaves at the floral transition stage. To study the cis-regulatory elements present in the promoter region of Hd3a, we generated transgenic plants carrying the 1.75-kb promoter fragment of Hd3a that was fused to the ${\beta}$-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. Plants expressing this construct conferred a vascular cell-specific expression pattern for the reporter gene. However, GUS was expressed in leaves at all developmental stages, including the early seedling stage when Hd3a was not detected. Furthermore, the reporter was expressed in roots at all stages. This suggests that the 1.75-kb region lackings cis-elements that regulate leaf-specific expression at the appropriate developmental stages. Deletion analyses of the promoter region indicated that regulatory elements determining vascular cell-specific expression are present in the 200-bp region between -245 bp and -45 bp from the transcription initiation site. By transforming the Hd3a-GUS construct to rice cultivar 'Taichung 65' which is defective in Ehd1, we observed that Ehd1 is the major regulatory element that controls Hd3a promoter activity.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2007

Barley S-adenosylmethionine synthetase1 gene, which was differentially expressed in seed development of extra early barley, was regulated by the phytohormones and abiotic stresses. In order to identify the regulation regions which were involved in transcriptional control of the phytohormones and abiotic stresses, we isolated 1459 bp fragment of HvSAMS1 gene promoter using genome walking strategy and deletion series were constructed. Deleted upstream fragments(-1459, -1223, -999, -766, -545, -301 bp) were fused to the GUS reporter gene and evaluated via Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression assay. Increased GUS activity of HvSMAS1 promoter -301/GUS construct under each of NaCl, $GA_3$, ABA and ethylene application was found. However, GUS activity was negligible in the leaves transformed with the HvSMAS1 promoter(-1459, -1223, -999, -766 and -545)/GUS constructs. No significant induction of GUS activity was observed for the ethionine and spermidine treatments. In order to locate promoter sequence of the HvSAMS1 gene that was critical for the activation of gene expression, deletion and addition promoter derivatives(+, includes 43 bp of 5' ORF) of the HvSAMS1 gene fused to the GUS reporter gene were applied. The tobacco leaves which harbored the additional HvSAMS1 promoter(-1459+, -1459 to -546, -545+ and -301+)/GUS construct did not significantly induce GUS activity as compared to the HvSAMS1 promoter(-1459, -545 and -301)/GUS constructs under each of NaCl, ABA and $GA_3$ treatment. However, the GUS activity was high in the tobacco leaves which harboring the -211 to -141 regions of the HvSAMS1 promoter. This result suggested that HvSAMS1 gene expression might be regulated by this region(from -211 to -141).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7211-7217
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• 2015

Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic roles of serum osteopontin (OPN) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the OPN promoter in patients with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: Four groups were studied, which included 157 patients with HCC, 73 with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 97 with chronic hepatitis (CH), along with 80 healthy subjects. Serum OPN and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were measured. The SNPs -66 T/G, -156 G/${\Delta}G$ and -433 C/T within the OPN promoter were determined by direct sequencing. Results: Serum OPN levels were significantly higher in patients with HCC than in the other groups. Area under receiver operating characteristics curves in distinguishing HCC from chronic liver disease (CLD; CH and LC) were 0.782 (95% CI; 0.729-0.834) for OPN and 0.888 (95% CI; 0.850-0.927) for AFP. Using the optimal cut-off value (70 ng/mL), OPN had sensitivity and specificity of 72% and 71%, respectively. Serum OPN was superior to AFP in detecting early-stage HCC (68% vs. 46%). A combination of both markers yielded an improved sensitivity for detecting early HCC to 82%. A high OPN level was significantly correlated with advanced BCLC stage and was an independent prognostic factor for HCC. The SNPs -156 and -443 were associated with susceptibility to HCC, but were not related to overall survival. Conclusions: Serum OPN is a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for HCC. The combined use of serum OPN and AFP improved the diagnosis of early HCC. Genetic variation in the OPN promoter is associated with the risk, but not the prognosis of HCC.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.403-408
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• 2019

Dorsoventral patterning of body axis in vertebrate embryo is tightly controlled by a complex regulatory network of transcription factors. Ventx1.1 is known as a transcriptional repressor to inhibit dorsal mesoderm formation and neural differentiation in Xenopus. In an attempt to identify, using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-Seq, genome-wide binding pattern of Ventx1.1 in Xenopus gastrulae, we observed that Ventx1.1 associates with its own 5'-flanking sequence. In this study, we present evidence that Ventx1.1 binds a cis-acting Ventx1.1 response element (VRE) in its own promoter, leading to repression of its own transcription. Site-directed mutagenesis of the VRE in the Ventx1.1 promoter significantly abrogated this inhibitory autoregulation of Ventx1.1 transcription. Notably, Ventx1.1 and Xcad2, an activator of Ventx1.1 transcription, competitively co-occupied the VRE in the Ventx1.1 promoter. In support of this, mutation of the VRE down-regulated basal and Xcad2-induced levels of Ventx1.1 promoter activity. In addition, overexpression of Ventx1.1 prevented Xcad2 from binding to the Ventx1.1 promoter, and vice versa. Taken together, these results suggest that Ventx1.1 negatively regulates its own transcription in competition with Xcad2, thereby fine-tuning its own expression levels during dorsoventral patterning of Xenopus early embryo.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.456-460
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• 1999

The promoter of the HSV-1 VP16 gene contains binding sites for the cellular transcription factors such as USF, CTF, and Sp1, each of which affects basal level expression of the VP16 gene. Transcription of the VP16 gene was induced by viral immediate-early proteins, ICP0 and ICP4, in a synergistic manner but repressed by ICP22. To gain further insight into the role of ICP0 in the expression of the VP16 gene during virus infection, several mutants with deletions in each of their transcriptional regulatory elements were generated. According to transient gene expression assays of these mutants using the CAT gene as a reporter, the USF and CTF binding sites were necessary for efficient induction of the promoter in the presence of transfected ICP0 or during virus infection, whereas the Sp1 binding site had little effect on ICP0-mediated VP16 expression. These results indicate that the immediate early proteins of HSV-1 regulate expression of the VP16 gene during virus infection by modulating the activities of cellular transcription factors such as USF and CTF.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.72-78
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• 1993

Since the 'promoter/enhancer region of the major immediate early (IE) ~ene of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) contains the cyclic AMP (cAMP) response element (CRE) consensus sequence, it was reasonable to hypothesize that cAMP might affect HCMV replication. Cyclic AMP modulating drugs such as 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (BrA), and papaverine were used to affect the intracellular levels of cAMP, and the effects of the drugs on HCMV replication were studied. While papaverine effectively inhibited HCMV multiplication and DNA synthesis, BrA exerted little effect on the production of infectious HCMV yields. The synthesis of DNA in HCMV-infected cells appeared to be stimulated by BrA In order to understand the effect of cAMP on the expression of HCMV major IE gene, plasmid (pCMVIE/CAT) containing a reporter gene driven by HCMV IE promoter was transfected into either permissive human embryo lung (HEL) cells or nonpermissive cells. PL,Javerine, which has been reported to block the HCMV-induced increase in cAMP, reduced the expression of pCMVIE/CA T in permissive HEL cells. Treatment of transfected cells with BrA increased the expression of HCMV major IE promoter not only in HEL cells, but also in nonpermissive HeLa and Vero cells. Therefore, it seems that the expression of HCMV major IE gene is regulated by cAMP.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.317-324
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• 2012

We characterized the cytoskeletal beta-actin (${\beta}$-ACT) gene (actb) and its 5'-upstream regulatory region in the Javanese ricefish Oryzias javanicus. The gene and protein structures were deduced from amino acid sequences of the actb gene and conserved in the teleost lineage. The O. javanicus actb gene has common transcription factor binding motifs in its regulatory region found in teleostean orthologues. Following quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, actb gene transcripts were detected in all tissues examined; however, the basal expression levels were different. During early development, O. javanicus actb mRNA levels showed a gradual increase and peaked between late somitogenesis and the heartbeat stage. Microinjection of O. javanicus embryos with the actb gene promoter-driven red fluorescent protein (RFP) gene reporter vector showed a ubiquitous distribution of RFP signals, although most exhibited a mosaic pattern of transgene expression. A small number of microinjected embryos displayed a wide distribution of RFP signals over their entire body, which resembled the expression pattern of endogenous actb. Data from this study provide a basis to develop a transgenic system with ubiquitous expression of foreign genes in O. javanicus.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.1061-1071
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• 2018

From Xenopus embryo studies, the BMP4/Smad1-targeted gene circuit is a key signaling pathway for specifying the cell fate between the ectoderm and neuro-ectoderm as well as the ventral and dorsal mesoderm. In this context, several BMP4/Smad1 target transcriptional factors have been identified as repressors of the neuro-ectoderm. However, none of these direct target transcription factors in this pathway, including GATA1b, Msx1 and Ventx1.1 have yet been proven as direct repressors of early neuro-ectodermal gene expression. In order to demonstrate that Ventx1.1 is a direct repressor of neuro-ectoderm genes, a genome-wide Xenopus ChIP-Seq of Ventx1.1 was performed. In this study, we demonstrated that Ventx1.1 bound to the Ventx1.1 response cis-acting element 1 and 2 (VRE1 and VRE2) on the promoter for zic3, which is a key early neuro-ectoderm gene, and this Ventx1.1 binding led to repression of zic3 transcription. Site-directed mutagenesis of VRE1 and VRE2 within zic3 promoter completely abolished the repression caused by Ventx1.1. In addition, we found both the positive and negative regulation of zic3 promoter activity by FoxD5b and Xcad2, respectively, and that these occur through the VREs and via modulation of Ventx1.1 levels. Taken together, the results demonstrate that the BMP4/Smad1 target gene, Ventx1.1, is a direct repressor of neuro-ectodermal gene zic3 during early Xenopus embryogenesis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.1002-1005
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• 2002

The effects of GroEL/ES chaperone on the production of soluble form of B. macerans cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) in recombinant E. coli were investigated. The cgt gene and groEL/ES genes are under the control of T7 promoter and Pzt-1 promoter, respectively. The optimal concentrations of inducers, IPTG and tetracycline, were found to be 1.0 mM and 10 ng/ml, respectively. When tetracycline and IPTG were added at the early exponential phase (2h) and exponential phase (3h) of growth, respectively, about 1.5-fold increase of soluble CGTase activity and 1.6-fold increase of soluble CGTase protein were obtained. An SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that about $37.2\%$ of total CGTase protein was in the soluble fraction when GroEL/ES chaperone was overexpressed.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-151
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• 1997

A plasmid vector with combined features of yeast shuttle vector and mammalian expression vector was constructed to facilitate expression of cloned gene in both cell-types. All necessary elements required for plasmid maintenance and selection in E. coli, yeast and mammalian cells were size-economically arranged in this plasmid. The numan cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early promoter and yeast GAL1 promoter were sequentially placed in front of the gene to be expressed. The synthetic splicing donor and acceptor sequences were inserted into the immediate upstream and downstream of the GAL1 promotor, allowing the CMV promotor to direct the expression of a given gene in mammalian cell environment by splicing out the interfering GAL1 promotor sequence. When the resulting vector containing LacZ as a gene was introduced into yeast and mammalian cells, both cells efficiently produced .betha.-galactosidase, dimonstrating its dual host usage.