• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.781-798
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• 2018

Plants have evolved strategies to cope with drought stress by maximizing physiological capacity and adjusting developmental processes such as flowering time. The WOX13 orthologous group is the most conserved among the clade of WOX homeodomain-containing proteins and is found to function in both drought stress and flower development. In this study, we isolated and characterized OsWOX13 from rice. OsWOX13 was regulated spatially in vegetative organs but temporally in flowers and seeds. Overexpression of OsWOX13 (OsWOX13-ov) in rice under the rab21 promoter resulted in drought resistance and early flowering by 7-10 days. Screening of gene expression profiles in mature leaf and panicles of OsWOX13-ov showed a broad spectrum of effects on biological processes, such as abiotic and biotic stresses, exerting a cross-talk between responses. Protein binding microarray and electrophoretic mobility shift assay analyses supported ATTGATTG as the putative cis-element binding of OsWOX13. OsDREB1A and OsDREB1F, drought stress response transcription factors, contain ATTGATTG motif(s) in their promoters and are preferentially expressed in OsWOX13-ov. In addition, Heading date 3a and OsMADS14, regulators in the flowering pathway and development, were enhanced in OsWOX13-ov. These results suggest that OsWOX13 mediates the stress response and early flowering and, thus, may be a regulator of genes involved in drought escape.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2014

Gastric cancer is highly invasive, aggressively malignant, and amongst the most prevalent of all forms of cancer. Despite improved management strategies, early stage diagnosis of gastric cancer and accurate prognostic assessment is still lacking. Several recent reports have indicated that the pathogenesis of gastric cancer involves complex molecular mechanisms and multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Functional inactivation of the tumor suppressor protein PTEN (Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog) has been detected in multiple cases of gastric cancer, and already shown to be closely linked to the development, progression and prognosis of the disease. Inactivation of PTEN can be attributed to gene mutation, loss of heterozygosity, promoter hypermethylation, microRNA- mediated regulation of gene expression, and post-translational phosphorylation. PTEN is also involved in mechanisms regulating tumor resistance to chemotherapy. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of PTEN and its roles in gastric cancer, and emphasizes its potential benefits in early diagnosis and gene therapy-based treatment strategies.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.187-192
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• 2011

TGF-$\beta$ activated kinase-1 (TAK1) plays a pivotal role in developmental processes in many species. Previous research has mainly focused on the function of TAK1 in model organisms, and little is known about the function of TAK1 in hymenoptera insects. Here, we isolated and characterized the TAK1 gene from Apis cerana cerana. Promoter analysis of AccTAK1 revealed the presence of transcription factor binding sites related to early development. Real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry experiments revealed that AccTAK1 was expressed at high levels in fourth instar larvae, primarily in the abdomen, in the intestinal wall cells of the midgut and in the secretory cells of the salivary glands. In addition, AccTAK1 expression in fourth instar larvae could be dramatically induced by treatment with pesticides and organic solvents. These observations suggest that AccTAK1 may be involved in the regulation of early development in the larval salivary gland and midgut.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.174-182
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• 1992

The hemagglutinin-esterase glycoprotein (HE) gene of bovine coronavirus, coupled with a simian virus 40 early promoter and polyadenylation signal, was inserted into a human adenovirus transfer vector. The transfer vector was used to co-transfect 293 cells along with adenovirus genomic DNA. The hemagglutinin-esterase transcription unit was rescued into the adenovirus genome by homologous in vivo DNA recombination between the vector plasmid DNA and the adenovirus genomic DNA, and a recombinant adenovirus was isolated by several rounds of plaque assays. Thus the recombinant adenovirus carries the hemagglutinin-esterase gene in the early transcription region 3 (E3) of the adenovirus genome in the parallel orientation to the E3 transcription. The recombinant adenovirus synthesized the HE polypeptide in HeLa cells as demonstrated by immunoprecipitation with anti-coronavirus rabbit antisera. The recombinant HE polypeptide could be labelled by $[^3H]$glucosamine, demonstrating that the recombinant HE was glycosylated. Cells expressing the HE polypeptide exhibited hemadsorption activity when incubated with mouse erythrocytes. The HE was transported to the plasma membrane as shown by the cell surface immunofluorescence, indicating that the recombinant HE polypeptide retained its biological activities. Potential for the use of infectious recombinant adenovirus as a live virus-vectored vaccine candidate for bovine coronavirus disease is discussed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.262-268
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• 2006

During endometrial differentiation the extracellular matrix (ECM) changes dramatically to prepare for implantation of the embryo. However, the genes regulating the ECM build-up in the uterine endometrium during early pregnancy are not well known. Using the PCR-select cDNA subtraction method, dermatopontin was identified in the uterus of a pregnant mouse on day 4 of gestation. Dermatopontin mRNA increased dramatically on day 3, and was at its highest level at the time of implantation. Administration of RU 486 significantly inhibited mRNA expression by day 4 of gestation, but ICI 182,780 did not. Progesterone markedly induced dermatopontin expression in ovariectomized uteri within 4 h of administration, whereas estrogen had little effect. In silico analysis revealed progesterone receptor binding sites in the dermatopontin promoter region. Decidualization did not induce expression of dermatopontin; instead dermatopontin mRNA became strongly localized at the interimplantation site. In situ hybridization revealed that expression gradually decreased in the luminal epithelial cells as pregnancy progressed, whereas it increased in the stromal cells. The pattern of localization and the changes of intensity of dermatopontin mRNA coincided with those of collagen. Collectively, these results strongly suggest that dermatopontin expression is steroid-dependent. They also suggest that, at the time of implantation, dermatopontin expression is primarily regulated spatio-temporally by progesterone via progesterone receptors, and is modulated by the decidual response during implantation. Dermatopontin may be one of the regulators used to remodel the uterine ECM for pregnancy.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2006

Purpose : We hypothesized that mannose binding lectin gene(MBL2), a key molecule of innate immunity, may contirbute to the development and the outcome of respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) disease in early childhood. This study was performed to investigate the genetic basis of polymorphisms and haplotypes of MBL2 for RSV disease severity in Korean children. Methods : Cases with severe RSV diseases are 99 children with severe RSV lower respiratory tract infections, who were admitted to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital through 1993~2000. The control subjects consisted of 224 anonymous healthy Korean blood donors. The frequency of promoter variant(-221, X/Y) and structural variant(codon 54) were compared between the case patient group and the control subject group. Results : The mean age of patients was 11.8 months; 49% were <6 months, 39% were 6-24 months and 12% were >24 months. In the cohort of cases of severe RSV diseases, the genotypic frequencies of structural variant in codon 54 were 61% for AA, 34% for AB, and 5% for BB. Those of the promoter X/Y variant were 85% for YY and 15% for XY. There were no significant differences in overall distribution of both structural and promoter variants between the cases and the control subjects. We did not observe statistical difference in the haplotypic frequencies of MBL2. Conclusion : Common variants of MBL2 gene most likely do not contribute to the risk for severe RSV diseases in Korean children. Further genetic association studies should be conducted in a larger propsectively recruited cohort of children with RSV infection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1043-1048
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• 2011

A methanol extract of Cassia tora seeds was successively partitioned with diethyl ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and water, and the antitumor-promoting activity of the solvent fractions was determined by inhibition of Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by teleocidin B-4 in Raji cells. The diethyl ether (68.7%) and chloroform (91.2%) fractions and the hydrolysate (94.3%) of the ethyl acetate fraction had strong inhibitory activities. The chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions were chromatographed on silica gel and further purified by HPLC. Three active compounds, obtusifolin-2-glucoside (75.0%), chryso-obtusin-6-glucoside (56.8%), and norrubrofusarin-6-glucoside (39.4%), were obtained from the ethyl acetate fraction, and two active compounds, questin (97.9%) and chryso-obtusin (53.8%), were isolated from the chloroform fraction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.60-60
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• 2003

GSH-dependent glutaredoxinl (Grxl) was characterized in Dictyostelium discoideum. After starvation, the mRNA levels of grx1 gene increased during aggregation, thereafter decreased up to tip formation and increased again during culmination. To investigate the function of Grxl, the protein was overexpressed in D. discoideum using actinl5 promoter, The phenotype analysis on Grxl-overexpressed cells showed the maintenance of slug stage for a long period and delayed culmination under dark condition. To corroborate these phenotype by the enzyme, the two mutant forms of Grxl (C21S and C24S) were overexpressed in D. discoideum. The phenotype of two mutant cells represented no slug formation and the early culmination on dark condition. These results indicate that Grxl might regulate the transition from slug to culminant in darkness.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.409-415
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• 1997

The carp $\beta$-actin regulatory sequences and RSV/LTR promoter were tested whether they are functinal to express linked structure gene (chloramphenicol acetyltransferas, CAT) in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) by determining the patterns of gene expression following intramuscular in vivo direct injection. The injection experiments with various concentrations of both pRSVCAT and pFV4CAT clearly revealed the effectiveness of DNA dosage on expression of CAT. The increase of CAT activity was linear in both plasmids, and maximal CAT activity was obtained with 100 ug of pFV4CAT injection. The amounts of CAT expression with pFV4CAT-injected fist were higher than those with pRSVCAT-injected fish. CAT activity was readily detectable as early as one day after injection, slightly increased at day 2, and declined over time. Most amount of DNA intramuscularly injected into olive flounder muscles persisted extrachromosomally without showing any integrated or replicated form in vivo.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 1998

Various Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were transformed with a 2 ${\mu}$-based multicopy expression plasmid, pYIGP, carrying Kluyveromyces marxianus inulinase gene under the control of GAPDH promoter. Among then two strains, SEY2102 and 2805, showed high levels of cell growth and inulinase expression, and were selected to study their fermentation properties on inulin. Jerusalem artichoke inulin was more effective for cell growth (10∼11 g-dry wt./L at 48 hr) and inulinase expression (1.0 units/mL with SEY2102/pYIGP and 2.5 units/mL with 2805/pYIGP) than other inulin sources such as dahlia and chicory. It was also found that maximal ethanol production of 9 g/L was obtained from Jerusalem artichoke inulin at the early stationary phase (around 30 hr), indicating that recombinant S. cerevisiae cells secreting exoinulinase could be used for the simultaneous saccharification of inulin and ethanol fermentation.