• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.193-199
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• 2010

We report here the production of transgenic chickens that can regulate human erythropoietin (hEPO) gene expression. The glycoprotein hormone hEPO is an essential for viability and growth of the erythrocytic progenitors. Retrovirus vector system used in this study has two features including tetracycline-controllable promoter and woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulator element (WPRE). The former is for to reduce the possibility of physiological disturbance due to constitutional and unregulated expression of hEPO gene in the transgenic chicken. The latter is for maximum expression of the foreign gene when we turn-on the gene expression. A replication-defective Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV)-based vectors packaged with vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G) was injected beneath the blastoderm of non-incubated chicken embryos (stage X). Out of 325 injected eggs, 28 chicks hatched after 21 days of incubation and 16 hatched chicks were found to express the hEPO gene delivered by the vector. The biological activity of the recombinant hEPO in transgenic chicken serum was comparable to its commercially available counterpart. The recombinant hEPO in transgenic chicken serum had N- and O-linked carbohydrate simillar to that produced from in vitro cultured cells transformed with hEPO gene.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9131-9136
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• 2014

ELDF15, homologous with AT2 receptor-interaction protein 1 (ATIP1), may play an important role in cell differentiation, proliferation, and carcinogenesis. We aimed to understand the biological function of ELDF15 via construction and transfection of a recombinant expression vector containing antisense ELDF15. Recombinant expression vectors were successfully constructed and transfected into K562 cells. A stable transfectant, known as pXJ41-asELDF15, stably produced antisense ELDF15. Compared with K562 and K562-zeo cells, K562-pXJ41-asELDF15 cells showed inhibition of cell proliferation. RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression and protein level of ELDF15 decreased significantly in K562 cells transfected with pXJ41-asELDF15. Expression of hemoglobin increased in K562 cells transfected with pXJ41-asELDF15 by benzidine staining. increases NBT reduction activity in K562 cells transfected with pXJ41-asELDF15.Colony forming efficiency in two-layer soft agar was clearly inhibited as assessed by electron microscopy. These results suggest that ELDF15 plays a potential role in cell differentiation, proliferation and carcinogenesis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1511-1514
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• 2012

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the influence of siRNA interference with a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) gene on gastric carcinoma sgr-7901 cell apoptosis. Correlations between APRIL silencing and tyrosine kinase (trka) expression were also explored. Methods: Two APRIL-silencing siRNA vectors were constructed, and transfected into human gastric carcinoma sgr-7901 cells, expression before and after transfection being detected using RT-PCR and western blot analyses. The expression of 15 trka genes was detected using RT-PCR and apoptotic rates of sgr-7901 were assessed by flow cytometry. Results: The expression levels of receptor trka genes were significantly decreased, and the apoptotic rate of sgr-7901 was significantly increased after transfection (P < 0.05). Conclusion: APRIL gene silencing can increase the apoptotic rate of gastric carcinoma cells, and inhibit the expression of receptor trka genes. There is a correlation between the signaling pathways of APRIL and trka.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.229-234
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• 2006

We have generated transgenic mice that expressed mouse extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in their skin. In particular, the expression plasmid DNA containing human keratin K14 promoter was used to direct the keratinocyte-specific transcription of the transgene. To compare intron-dependent and intron-independent gene expression, we constructed two vectors. The vector B, which contains the rabbit -globin intron 2, was not effective for mouse EC-SOD overexpression. The EC-SOD transcript was detected in the skin, as determined by Northern blot analysis. Furthermore, EC-SOD protein was detected in the skin tissue, as demonstrated by Western blot analysis. To evaluate the expression levels of EC-SOD in various tissues, we purified EC-SOD from the skin, lungs, brain, kidneys, livers, and spleen of transgenic mice and measured its activities. EC-SOD activities in the transgenic mice skin were approximately 7 fold higher than in wild-type mice. These results suggest that the mouse overexpressing vector not only induces keratinocyte-specific expression of EC-SOD, but also expresses successfully functional EC-SOD. Thus, these transgenic mice appeared to be useful for the expression of the EC-SOD gene and subsequent analysis of various skin changes, such as erythema, inflamation, photoaging, and skin tumors.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.485-493
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• 2006

Lactococcus species are noninvasive and nonpathogenic microorganisms that are widely used in industrial food fermentation and as well-known probiotics. They have been modified by traditional methods and genetic engineering to produce useful food-grade materials. The application of genetically modified lactococci in the food industry requires their genetic elements to be safe and stable from integration with endogenous food microorganisms. In addition, selection for antibiotic-resistance genes should be avoided. Several expression and secretion signals have been developed for the production and secretion of useful proteins in lactococci. Food-grade systems composed of genetic elements from lactic acid bacteria have been developed. Recent developments in this area have focused on food-grade selection markers, stabilization, and integration strategies, as well as approaches for controlled gene expression and secretion of foreign proteins. This paper reviews the expression and secretion signals available in lactococci and the development of food-grade markers, food-grade cloning vectors, and integrative food-grade systems.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2019

This study aimed to develop a bile-responsive expression system for lactobacilli. The promoters of four genes, encoding phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar phosphotransferase (mannose-specific), L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), HPr kinase, and D-alanine-D-alanine ligase, respectively, which were highly expressed by bile addition in Lactobacillus johnsonii PF01, were chosen. Each promoter was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and fused upstream of the ${\beta}$-glucuronidase gene as a reporter, respectively. Then, these constructs were cloned into E. coli-Lactobacillus shuttle vector pULP2, which was generated by the fusion of pUC19 with the L. plantarum plasmid pLP27. Finally, the constructed vectors were introduced into L. plantarum for a promoter activity assay. The LDH promoter showed the highest activity and its activity increased 1.8-fold by bile addition. The constructed vector maintained in L. plantarum until 80 generations without selection pressure. A bile-responsive expression vector, $pULP3-P_{LDH}$, for Lactobacillus spp. can be an effective tool for the bile-inducible expression of bioactive proteins in intestine after intake in the form of fermented dairy foods.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.418-425
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• 2019

Multicistronic elements, such as the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) and 2A-like cleavage sequence, serve crucial roles in the eukaryotic ectopic expression of exogenous genes. For utilization of multicistronic elements, the cleavage efficiency and order of elements in multicistronic vectors have been investigated; however, the dynamics of multicistronic element-mediated expression remains unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamics of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) IRES- and porcine teschovirus-1 2A (p2A)-mediated expression. By utilizing real-time fluorescent imaging at a minute-level resolution, we monitored the expression of fluorescent reporters bridged by either EMCV IRES or p2A in two independent cultured cell lines, HEK293 and Neuro2a. We observed significant correlations for the two fluorescent reporters in both multicistronic elements, with a higher correlation coefficient for p2A in HEK293 but similar coefficients for IRES-mediated expression and p2A-mediated expression in Neuro2a. We further analyzed the causal relationship of multicistronic elements by convergent cross mapping (CCM). CCM revealed that in all four conditions examined, the expression of the preceding gene causally affected the dynamics of the subsequent gene. As with the cross correlation, the predictive skill of p2A was higher than that of IRES in HEK293, while the predictive skills of the two multicistronic elements were indistinguishable in Neuro2a. To summarize, we report a significant temporal correlation in both EMCV IRES- and p2A-mediated expression based on the simple bicistronic vector and real-time fluorescent monitoring. The current system also provides a valuable platform to examine the dynamic aspects of expression mediated by diverse multicistronic elements under various physiological conditions.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2005

One of the critical problems to be solved in transgenic animal production is uncontrollable constitutive expression of foreign genes, which usually results in serious physiological disturbances in the transgenic animal. To circumvent this problem, we constructed and tested two retrovirus vectors designed to express the GFP(green fluorescent protein) gene under the control of the tetracycline-inducible promoters. To maximize the GFP gene expression at turn-on state, WPRE(woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element) sequence was introduced into the retrovirus vectors at downstream region of either the GFP gene or the sequence encoding rtTA(reverse tetracycline-controlled transactivator). Transformed cells were cultured in the medium supplemented with or without doxycycline(tetracycline derivative) for 48 hours, and induction efficiency was measured by comparing the GFP gene expression level using fluorometry and western blotting. Higher GFP expression was observed from the vector carrying the WPRE sequence at 3' side of the GFP gene, while tighter expression control(up to 20 fold) was obtained from the vector in which the WPRE sequence was placed at 3' side of rtTA sequence. The resulting tetracycline inducible vector system may be used in transgenic animal production and gene therapy.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2003

Lactadherin (formerly known as BA46), a major glycoprotein of the human milk fat globule membrane, is abundant in human breast milk and breast carcinoma cells and is known to prevent symptomatic rotavirus infections. In this study, we tried to transfer the human lactadherin gene to the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells using retrovirus vector system and tested inducible expression of the gene under the tetracycline-controllable promoter. At first, tetracycline-mediated inducibility was tested using E.coli LacZ marker gene. NIH3T3 cells co-infected with RevTet-On and RevTRE-LacZ retrovirus vectors showed that the cells responded to doxycycline (a derivative of tetracycline) in a dose-dependent manner, and prominent induction of the lacZ gene expression was observed from 1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of doxycycline concentration. Based on the results of the pilot experiment, inductional expression of the human lactadherin gene was conducted using RevTet-On and RevTRE-Ltd retrovirus vectors. Analysis with the RT-PCR demonstrated successful inductional expression of the lactadherin gene in the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Considering that constitutive overexpression of the exogenous genes in the target cells causes serious physiological imbalance, the results obtained in this study will be very useful especially in the studies of gene therapy and transgenic animal production.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.261-266
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• 2023

The skeletal muscles of livestock play a crucial role as protein sources for humans, and the consumption of poultry meat is steadily increasing worldwide. Numerous genes, including myogenic regulatory factors, are involved in myogenesis, and precise regulation of them is essential. In this study, genes specifically expressed in muscles were selected, and their promoters were cloned and analyzed. The analysis of gene expression in various tissues of animals revealed that many genes exhibited specific expression patterns in skeletal muscles, with TNNT3, TNNC2, and MYF6 genes showing similar patterns in poultry. The promoter regions of three genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction to sizes of 1.2 kb, 1.03 kb, and 1.43 kb, respectively. These fragments were then inserted at the front of the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene in vectors. It was confirmed that the sequences of three promoters closely matched the chicken genome sequences. Upon introducing vectors with each promoter into QM7 quail muscle cells, all three promoters successfully induced the expression of the green fluorescent protein. The brightness of the green fluorescence in each promoter was approximately seven times dimmer compared to the control, CMV-IE promoter. It is predicted that more than 230 transcription factors can bind to each promoter, especially various transcription factors expressed in muscles, including myogenic regulatory factors such as MYF5, MYOD, and MYOG. These promoters can be valuable for studying gene expression in poultry muscle cells, and further research is needed to precisely investigate the regulatory region of gene expression in promoters.