• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.10
• /
• pp.1581-1590
• /
• 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to clone alternative splicing isoforms of pig myoneurin (MYNN), predict the structure and function of coding protein, and study temporal and spatial expression characteristics of each transcript. Methods: Alternative splice isoforms of MYNN were identified using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and cloning techniques. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was employed to detect expression patterns in 11 tissues of Large White (LW) and Mashen (MS) pigs, and to study developmental expression patterns in cerebellum (CE), stomach (ST), and longissimus dorsi (LD). Results: The results showed that MYNN had two alternatively spliced isoforms, MYNN-1 (GenBank accession number: KY470829) and MYNN-2 (GenBank accession number: KY670835). MYNN-1 coding sequence (CDS) is composed of 1,830 bp encoding 609 AA, whereas MYNN-2 CDS is composed of 1,746 bp encoding 581 AA. MYNN-2 was 84 bp less than MYNN-1 and lacked the sixth exon. MYNN-2 was found to have one $C_2H_2$ type zinc finger protein domain less than MYNN-1. Two variants were ubiquitously expressed in all pig tissues, and there were significant differences in expression of different tissues (p<0.05; p<0.01). The expression of MYNN-1 was significantly higher than that of MYNN-2 in almost tissues (p<0.05; p<0.01), which testified that MYNN-1 is the main variant. The expression of two isoforms decreased gradually with increase of age in ST and CE of MS pig, whereas increased gradually in LW pig. In LD, the expression of two isoforms increased first and then decreased with increase of age in MS pig, and decreased gradually in LW pig. Conclusion: Two transcripts of pig MYNN were successfully cloned and MYNN-1 was main variant. MYNN was highly expressed in ST, CE, and LD, and their expression was regular. We speculated that MYNN plays important roles in digestion/absorption and skeletal muscle growth, whereas the specific mechanisms require further elucidation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.2743-2746
• /
• 2013

Background: Dilantin sodium (phenytoin) is an antiepileptic drug, which is routinely used to control generalized tonic clonic seizure and partial seizure episodes. A few case reports of oral squamous cell carcinomas arising from regions of phenytoin induced gingival overgrowth (GO), and overexpression of mitogenic factors and p53 have presented this condition as a pathology with potential to transform into malignancy. We recently investigated the genetic status of p53 and H-ras, which are known to be frequently mutated in Indian oral carcinomas in GO tissues and found them to only contain wild type sequences, which suggested a non-neoplastic nature of phenytoin induced GO. However, besides p53 and H-ras, other oncogenes and tumor suppressors such as PIK3CA, p14ARF, p16INK4a and $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}$, are frequently altered in oral squamous cell carcinoma, and hence are required to be analyzed in phenytoin induced GO tissues to be affirmative of its non-neoplastic nature. Methods: 100ng of chromosomal DNA isolated from twenty gingival overgrowth tissues were amplified with primers for exons 9 and 20 of PIK3CA, exons $1{\alpha}$, $1{\beta}$ and 2 of p16INK4a and p14ARF, and exon 2 of $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}$, in independent reactions. PCR amplicons were subsequently gel purified and eluted products were sequenced. Results: Sequencing analysis of the twenty samples of phenytoin induced gingival growth showed no mutations in the analyzed exons of PIK3CA, p14ARF, p16INK4a and $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}$. Conclusion: The present data indicate that the mutational alterations of genes, PIK3CA, p14ARF, p16INK4a and $p21^{Waf1/Cip1}$ that are frequently mutated in oral squamous cell carcinomas are rare in phenytoin induced gingival growth. Thus the findings provide further evidence that phenytoin induced gingival overgrowth as a non-neoplastic lesion, which may be considered as clinically significant given the fact that the epileptic patients are routinely administered with phenytoin for the rest of their lives to control seizure episodes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.280-285
• /
• 2006

The current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between stress related gene and meat quality in pigs. A total number of 212 three-way cross bred (Landrace-$Yorkshire{\times}Duroc$) and 38 Duroc were sampled from the Korean pig industry to determine genotype frequency of porcine stress syndrome (PSS) and heat shock protein 70 kDa (HSP70) genes and their relationship with carcass traits and longissimus meat quality. Screen of HSP70 was performed by the single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique. Based on the analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1) gene, genetic disorder of PSS was related to a mutation at $18,168^{th}$ (C to T) of exon 17. There was no significant difference in ultimate meat pH and backfat thickness between HSP70 K1-AA type and -BB type in pure Duroc breed. In Landrace-$Yorkshire{\times}Duroc$ (L-$Y{\times}D$) cross bred pig, our results indicated that HSP70 derivate type in Duroc had a limited effect on backfat thickness, but L-$Y{\times}D$ type had a noticeable linkage with HSP70 K1-AA and K3-AB. This tendency was also observed in hot carcass weight where HSP70 K1-AA and K3-AB resulted in heavier weight with 86.3 kg compared to HSP70 K1-AB and K3-BB of 74.3 kg. Results imply that stress related HSP70 genotype has a potential association with backfat thickness and carcass weight.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.763-770
• /
• 2015

Improved meat quality and greater muscle yield are highly sought after in high-quality chicken breeding programs. Past studies indicated that polymorphisms of the Perilipin gene (PLIN1) are highly associated with adiposity in mammals and are potential molecular markers for improving meat quality and carcass traits in chickens. In the present study, we screened single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in all exons of the PLIN1 gene with a direct sequencing method in six populations with different genetic backgrounds (total 240 individuals). We evaluated the association between the polymorphisms and carcass and meat quality traits. We identified three SNPs, located on the 5' flanking region and exon 1 of PLIN1 on chromosome 10 (rs315831750, rs313726543, and rs80724063, respectively). Eight main haplotypes were constructed based on these SNPs. We calculated the allelic and genotypic frequencies, and genetic diversity parameters of the three SNPs. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.2768 to 0.3750, which reflected an intermediate genetic diversity for all chickens. The CC, CT, and TT genotypes influenced the percentage of breast muscle (PBM), percentage of leg muscle (PLM) and percentage of abdominal fat at rs315831750 (p<0.05). Diplotypes (haplotype pairs) affected the percentage of eviscerated weight (PEW) and PBM (p<0.05). Compared with chickens carrying other diplotypes, H3H7 had the greatest PEW and H2H2 had the greatest PBM, and those with diplotype H7H7 had the smallest PEW and PBM. We conclude that PLIN1 gene polymorphisms may affect broiler carcass and breast muscle yields, and diplotypes H3H7 and H2H2 could be positive molecular markers to enhance PEW and PBM in chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.7
• /
• pp.943-954
• /
• 2009

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the final and rate-limiting step of triglyceride synthesis. Both DGAT1 and DGAT2 genes code proteins with DGAT activity. Studies have shown DGAT1 polymorphisms associate with intramuscular fat deposition in beef cattle, but fewer associations between DGAT2 and beef cattle economic traits have been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in intron3 of bovine DGAT2 and evaluate the associations of that with carcass, meat quality, and fat yield traits. Test animals were 157 commercial feedlot steers belonging to 3 Chinese native breeds (22 for Luxi, 24 for Jinnan, and 23 for Qinchuan), 3 cross populations (20 for Charolais${\times}$Fuzhou, 18 for Limousin ${\times}$Luxi, and 17 for Simmental${\times}$Jinan) and 1 Taurus pure breed population (16 Angus steers). In the current study, 15 SNP were discovered in intron3 and exon4 of DGAT2 at positions 65, 128, 178, 210, 241, 255, 270, 312, 328, 334, 365, 366, 371, 415, and 437 (named as their positions in PCR amplified fragments). Only 7 of them (128, 178, 241, 270, 312, 328, and 371) were analyzed, because SNP in three groups (65-128-255, 178-210-365 and 241-334-366) were in complete linkage disequilibrium within the group, and SNP 415 was a deletion and 437 was a null mutation. Frequencies for rare alleles in the 3 native breed populations were higher than in the 3 cross populations for 178 (p = 0.04), 270 (p = 0.001), 312 (p = 0.03) and 371 (p = 0.002). A general linear model was used to evaluate the associations between either SNP genotypes or allele substitutions and the measured traits. Results showed that SNP 270 had a significant association with the fat yield associated with kidney, pelvic cavity, heart, intestine, and stomach (KPHISY). Animals with genotype CC and CT for 270 had less (CC: -7.71${\pm}$3.3 kg and CT: -5.34${\pm}$2.5 kg) KPHISY than animals with genotype TT (p = 0.02). Allele C for 270 was associated with an increase of -4.26${\pm}$1.52 kg KPHISY (p = 0.006) and $-0.92{\pm}0.45%$ of retail cuts weight percentage (NMP, Retail cuts weight/slaughter body weight) (p = 0.045); allele G for 312 was associated with an increase of -5.45${\pm}$2.41 kg KPHISY (p = 0.026). An initial conclusion was that associations do exist between DGAT2 gene and carcass fat traits. Because of the small sample size of this study, it is proposed that further effort is required to validate these findings in larger populations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.10
• /
• pp.1471-1477
• /
• 2017

Objective: Since athletic performance is a most importance trait in horses, most research focused on physiological and physical studies of horse athletic abilities. In contrast, the molecular analysis as well as the regulatory pathway studies remain insufficient for evaluation and prediction of horse athletic abilities. In our previous study, we identified AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL) gene which was expressed as alternative spliced isoforms in skeletal muscle during exercise. In the present study, we validated two AXL alternative splicing transcripts (named as AXLa for long form and AXLb for short form) in equine skeletal muscle to gain insight(s) into the role of each alternative transcript during exercise. Methods: We validated two isoforms of AXL transcripts in horse tissues by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and then cloned the transcripts to confirm the alternative locus and its sequences. Additionally, we examined the expression patterns of AXLa and AXLb transcripts in horse tissues by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: Both of AXLa and AXLb transcripts were expressed in horse skeletal muscle and the expression levels were significantly increased after exercise. The sequencing analysis showed that there was an alternative splicing event at exon 11 between AXLa and AXLb transcripts. 3-dimentional (3D) prediction of the alternative protein structures revealed that the structural distance of the connective region between fibronectin type 3 (FN3) and immunoglobin (Ig) domain was different between two alternative isoforms. Conclusion: It is assumed that the expression patterns of AXLa and AXLb transcripts would be involved in regulation of exercise-induced stress in horse muscle possibly through an $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling pathway. Further study is necessary to uncover biological function(s) and significance of the alternative splicing isoforms in race horse skeletal muscle.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.7-16
• /
• 2017

The knock-in efficiency in the fibroblast is very important to produce transgenic domestic animal using nuclear transfer. In this research, we constructed three kinds of different knock-in vectors to study the efficiency of knock-in depending on structure of knock-in vector with different size of homologous arm on the ${\beta}-casein$ gene locus in the somatic cells; DT-A_cEndo Knock-in vector, DT-A_tEndo Knock-in vector I, and DT-A_tEndo Knock-in vector II. The knock-in vector consists of 4.8 kb or 1.06 kb of 5' arm region and 1.8 kb or 0.64 kb of 3' arm region, and neomycin resistance gene(neor) as a positive selection marker gene. The cEndo Knock-in vector had 4.8 kb and 1.8 kb homologous arm. The tEndo Knock-in vector I had 1.06 kb and 0.64 kb homologous arm and tEndo Knock-in vector II had 1.06 kb and 1.8 kb homologous arm. To express endostatin gene as transgene, the F2A sequence was fused to the 5' terminal of endostatin gene and inserted into exon 7 of the ${\beta}-casein$ gene. The knock-in vector and TALEN were introduced into the bovine fibroblast by electroporation. The knock-in efficiencies of cEndo, tEndo I, and tEndo II vector were 4.6%, 2.2% and 4.8%, respectively. These results indicated that size of 3' arm in the knock-in vector is important for TALEN-mediated homologous recombination in the fibroblast. In conclusion, our knock-in system may help to create transgenic dairy cattle expressing human endostatin protein via the endogenous expression system of the bovine ${\beta}-casein$ gene in the mammary gland.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.123-129
• /
• 2009

Patent ductus arteriosus(PDA) is an abnormal shunt between the descending aorta and pulmonary artery through the incompletely closed ductus arteriosus and is the most common congenital heart defect in dogs. Recent human genetic studies found that a the gene mutation in transcription factor AP-2 beta(TFAP2B) was responsible for syndromic cases of PDA. Mutations in the TFAP2B gene are associated with certain congenital cardiac defects in humans that include PDA. In this study, we isolated the entire coding exons of canine TFAP2B gene for genetic screening in dogs with PDA. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence suggested that the canine TFAP2B are phylogenetically closer to the human TFAP2B(100% identity in amino acid sequence) than mouse and rat. In cTFAP2B gene screening, one single c.936+203G>A base change was found in affected Maltese dogs with PDA. However, further screening found the same base change in one unaffected control dog, suggesting this base change might be polymorphism. No other base changes were found in other dog breeds enrolled in this study. Because the base change was located in the intronic region and found in an unaffected control dog, TFAP2B might not be responsible for familial PDA in Malteses and sporadic cases of other dog breeds, although the gene promoter region should be investigated before reaching to this conclusion. A future study that may take this study further would be to collect more samples and to screen TFAP2B in various breeds of dogs with PDA and other various congenital heart defects.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.15-23
• /
• 2006

Purpose: Glycogen storage disease type III (GSD-III), is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of glycogen metabolism. The affected enzyme is amylo-1,6-glucosidase, 4-alpha-glucanotransferase (AGL, glycogen debranching enzyme), which is responsible for the debranching of the glycogen molecule during catabolism. The disease has been demonstrated to show clinical and biochemical heterogeneity, reflecting the genotype-phenotype heterogeneity among different patients. In this study, we analyzed mutations of the AGL gene in three unrelated Korean GSD-III patients and discussed their clinical and laboratory implications. Methods: We studied three GSD-III patients and the clinical features were characterized. Sequence analysis of 35exons and part exon-intron boundaries of the AGLgene in patients were carried out by direct DNA sequencing method using genomic DNA isolated from patients' peripheral leukocytes. Results: The clinical features included hepatomegaly (in all patients), seizures (in patient 2), growth failure (in patients 1), hyperlipidemia (in patients 1 and 3), raised transaminases and creatinine kinase concentrations (in all patients) and mild EKG abnormalities (in patients 2). Liver transplantation was performed in patient 2due to progressive hepatic fibrosis. Administration of raw-corn-starch could maintain normoglycemia and improve the condition. DNA sequence analysis revealed mutations in 5 out of 6 alleles. Patient 1 was a compound heterozygote of c.1282 G>A (p.R428K) and c.1306delA (p.S603PfsX6), patient 2 with c.1510_1511insT (p.Y504LfsX10), and patient 3 with c.3416 T>C (p.L1139P) and c.l735+1 G>T (Y538_R578delfsX4) mutations. Except R428K mutation, 4 other mutations identified in3 patients were novel. Conclusion: GSD-III patients have variable phenotypic characteristics resembling GSD-Ia. The molecular defects in the AGL gene of Korean GSD-III patients were genetically heterogeneous.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.165-170
• /
• 2015

Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is a rare X-linked genetic disorder of urea synthesis in newborns. It is the most common urea cycle disorder and leads to elevated levels of ammonia in the blood. Excessive ammonia can cause various symptoms, including vomiting, lethargy, and coma. Boys have a more serious form of OTC deficiency than girls. If not treated immediately, severe OTC deficiency can lead to neurologic abnormalities, hyperammonemic coma, and death. Because late-onset OTC deficiency, which is more common in girls, presents mild symptoms, it is easy to miss diagnosis and prompt treatment. We describe an 11-month-old girl who presented periodic vomiting, intermittent lethargy, and seizure. She was diagnosed with OTC deficiency by elevated serum ammonia and urine orotic acid levels. Genetic analysis of the OTC gene revealed a missense mutation in exon 5 (c.418G>C). We reported an experience of exact diagnosis and successful treatment of late-onset OTC deficiency in our patient.