• Bioinformatics and Biosystems
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.61-66
• /
• 2006

We propose a new fragment assembly program MLP (mate-based layout with PHRAP). MLP consists of PHRAP, repeat masking, and a new layout algorithm that uses the mate pair information. Our experimental results show that by using MLP instead of PHRAP, we can significantly reduce the difference between the assembled sequence and the original genome sequence.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.748-754
• /
• 2010

To reduce the computational cost required for assembling vessel fragments using surface geometry, this paper proposes a fast axis estimation method. Using circular constraint of pottery and local planar patch assumption, it finds the axis of the symmetry. First, the circular constraint on each cylinder is used. A circular symmetric pot can be thought of unions of many cylinders with different radii. It selects one arbitrary point on the pot fragment surface and searches a path where a circumference exists on that point. The variance of curvature will be calculated along the path and the path with the minimum variance will be selected. The symmetric axis will pass through the center of that circle. Second, the planar patch assumption and profile curve is used. The surface of fragment is divided into small patches and each patch is assumed as plane. The surface normal of each patch will intersects the axis in 3D space since each planar patch faces the center of the pot. A histogram method and minimization of the profile curve error are utilized to find the probability distribution of the axis location. Experimental results demonstrate the improvement in speed and robustness of the algorithms.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.317-321
• /
• 1997

Tau protein is one of the microtubule-associated proteins in the mammalian brain. In Alzheimer's disease, tau protein is immobilized in the somatodendritic compartment of certain nerve cells, where it forms a part of the paired helical filament (PHF). To understand the role of tau protein in the formation of PHF, a recombinant human tau protein expressed in Escherichia coli and five synthetic peptide fragments (peptide 1 to peptide 5), corresponding to the C-terminal region of tau protein, were prepared and their ability in self-assembly to form filamentous structures was examined. The recombinant human tau protein formed short rod-like structures in 0.1M MES buffer containing 1 mM $MgCI_2$, while a synthetic peptide fragment 1 containing 55 amino acid residues could assemble into a lot of long filamentous structures in water and particularly twisted helical structures in 0.1M MES buffer containing 1 mM $MgCI_2$. This suggests that the C-terminal region possesses a filament-forming ability and may be related to the formation of the helical structure by providing a powerful filament-forming driving force.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
• /
• v.67
• /
• pp.80-91
• /
• 2018

Here, we engineered spheroids by using ECM mimicking nano-fragments (NFs) with fibroblasts and investigated their effect on proliferation and cell/ECM interactions. NF incorporation resulted in formation of a stable spheroid, which improved proliferation and viability of cells by assisting oxygen transport confirmed by LOX-1 staining. In addition, hypoxic and apoptotic genes were significantly downregulated in spheroids with PD-NFs. Furthermore, ECM and cell junction proteins were highly expressed. Overall, our findings suggest that incorporation of NFs within spheroids for assembly with various cell types can be an alternative approach for 3D cell culture in many applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.305-315
• /
• 2021

The cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, is a major pest in Egypt and many countries worldwide, and causes heavy economic losses. As a result, management measures to control the spread of the worm are required. S. littoralis nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpliNPV) is one of the most promising bioagents for the efficient control of insect pests. In this study, a chitinase gene (chitA) of a 1.8 kb DNA fragment was cloned and fully characterized from SpliNPV-EG1, an Egyptian isolate. A sequence of 601 amino acids was deduced when the gene was completely sequenced with a predicted molecular mass of 67 kDa for the preprotein. Transcriptional analyses using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that chitA transcripts were detected first at 12 h post infection (hpi) and remained detectable until 168 hpi, suggesting their transcriptional regulation from a putative late promoter motif. In addition, quantitative analysis using quantitative RT-PCR showed a steady increase of 7.86-fold at 12 hpi in chitA transcription levels, which increased up to 71.4-fold at 120 hpi. An approximately 50 kDa protein fragment with chitinolytic activity was purified from ChitA-induced bacterial culture and detected by western blotting with an anti-recombinant SpliNPV chitinase antibody. Moreover, purification of the expressed ChitA recombinant protein showed in vitro growth inhibition of two different fungi species, Fusarium solani and F. oxysporum, confirming that the enzyme assembly and activity was correct. The results supported the potential role and application of the SpliNPV-ChitA protein as a synergistic agent in agricultural fungal and pest control programs.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.425-431
• /
• 2014

Leaf scald caused by the infection of Rhynchosporium secalis, is a worldwide crop disease resulting in significant loss of barley yield. In this study, a systematic sequencing of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was chosen to obtain a global picture of the assembly of genes involved in pathogenesis. To identify a large number of plant ESTs, which are induced at different time points, an amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) display of complementary DNA (cDNA) was utilized. Transcriptional changes of 140 ESTs were observed, of which 19 have no previously described function. Functional annotation of the transcripts revealed a variety of infection-induced host genes encoding classical pathogenesis-related (PR) or genes that play a role in the signal transduction pathway. The expression analyses by a semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that Rar1 and Rpg4 are defense inducible genes, and were consistent with the cDNA-AFLP data in their expression patterns. Hence, the here presented transcriptomic approach provides novel global catalogue of genes not currently represented in the EST databases.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.109-114
• /
• 2003

A promoter that is inducible by paraquat and menadione, the superoxide generators, independently of soxRS has been found in front of the sufABCDSE operon in Escherichia coli. Based on the observation that SufA is a holomog of IscA that functions in the assembly of iron sulfur cluster and the sufA promoter (sufAp) contains a putative Fur-binding consensus, we investigated whether this gene is regulated by Fur, a ferric uptake regulator, When examined in several sufAp-lacZ chromosomal fusion strains, sufAp was induced by EDTA, an iron chelator and a well-known Fur-inducer, The basal level of sufA expression increased dramatically in fur mutant, suggesting repression of sufAp by Fur. The derepression in fur mutant and EDTA-induction of sufA expression required nucleotides up to -61, where a putative Fur box is located. Purified Fur protein bound to the DNA fragment containing the putative Fur box between -35 and -10 promoter elements. The regulation by Fur and menadione induction of sufAp acted independently. The rpoS mutation increased sufA induction by menadione, suggesting that the stationary sigma factor RpoS acts negatively on sufA induction.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.159-172
• /
• 1998

사람 성장호르몬 수용체(hGHR) cDNA는 PCR방법에 의하여 fagment로서 보고되어진 바 있으나, liver cDNA로 부터 전장을 cloning한 보고는 없는 실정으로 본 연구에서는 기능을 가진 약 4.6kbp의 cDNA hGHR을 cloning 하는데 성공하였다. 먼저 cloning하기 위하여 human liver mRNA와 human breast cancer tissue로부터 회수한 mRNA를 RT-PCR방법에 의하여 human cDNA library와 cloning에 필요한 probe를 제작하였다. human library mRNA는 GT-PCR방법에 의하여 증폭하여 증폭되어진 산물은 λZAP Vector를 이용하여 cDNA library를 구축하였고,screeing을 위하여 임 보고 되어진 hGHR fragment native sequence를 기초로 N-terminal부분의 primer를 설계하여 950bp의 probe를 얻는데 성공하였다. 이 probe를 이용하여 준비된 human liver cDNA library로부터 2.5$\times$10 6개의 plaque로부터 6개의 positive clone을 획득하였고, 이들중 poly Asignal인 "AATAAA"를 포함하고 있는 가장 긴 약 3.8kbp의 clone을 sequencing한 결과 open reading frame을 포함하고 있었으나, 5'부분의 결손되어 있었다. 그리하여 이 부분은 human breast cancer tissue로 부터 회수한 mRNA를 RT-PCR에 의하여 증폭하였고, sequencing결과 이미 보고되어진 native hGHR와 비교한 결과 하나의 nucleotide가 silent mutation으로 판명되었다.한편 human liver cDNA library로부터 cloning한 3.8cp의 positive clone의 5'end의 결손된 부분에 silent mutation된 PCR 산물을 연결함으로써 native hGHR와 유사한 cDNA hGHR subcloning에 성공하였다. 이러한 cDNA hGHR의 clone이 function을 가지고 있는지를 검토하기 위하여 eukaryotic 발현 vector인 pCXN2에 의거 ligation한 후 chinese hamster ovary cell[CHO-KI]에 transfect를 실시하였다. Dexamethasone은 첨가하지 않고 hGH만의 존재하에서 이들 cell을 배양시키고 cell menbrane에서 발현 여부를 판정키 위하여 hGHR monocloual antibody를 사용하여 flow cytometery해석을 실시하는 한편 125I-hGH binding assay에 의하여 hGH binding activity를 측정하였다. 최종적으로 GH signal transduction의 target genedf으로 알려져 있는 serine protease inhibitor 2.1(Spi 2.1) gene의 promotor activity를 검토한 결과 hGHR을 transfect한 CHO Cell에 있어서 hGH의 농도에 의존적으로 증가되었다. 따라서 본 실험에서 cloning한 cDNA hGHR는 native hGHR와 같은 기능을 가지는 것으로 판명되었다.것으로 판명되었다.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.167-172
• /
• 2001

Nebulin is an approximately 700 kDa filamentous protein in vertebrate skeletal muscle. It binds to the Z line and also binds side-by-side to the entire thin actin filament in a sarcomere. The correlation of nebulin size with thin filament length have led to the suggestion that nebulin acts as a molecular ruler for the length of thin filaments. The C-terminal part of human nebulin is anchored in the sarcomeric Z-disk and contains an SH3 domain. SH3 domains have been identified in an ever-increasing number of proteins important for a wide range of cellular processes, from signal transduction to cytoskeleton assembly and membrane localization. However, the exact physiological role of SH3 domains remains, in many cases, unclear. To explore the role of nebulin SH3 in the cytoskeletal rearrangement that accompanies myoblast differentiation, we transfected sense and antisense nebulin SH3 domain fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein in myoblast. Cells expressing nebulin SH3 fragment showed decrease of cell-cell adhesion, and cells transfected with antisense nebulin SH3 gene showed a rounded cell morphology and loss of cell-matrix adhesion. No alteration in cell shape and differentiation were observed in control cells expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein. Perturbation of nebulin altered the cell shape and disrupted cell adhesion in myoblast, demonstrating that nebulin can affect cytoskeleton rearrangement.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.44 no.7
• /
• pp.517-528
• /
• 2021

A recent genetic study with Brucella abortus revealed the secretion activator gene A (SagA) as an autolysin component creating pores in the peptidoglycan (PGN) layer for the type IV secretion system (T4SS) and peptidoglycan hydrolase inhibitor A (PhiA) as an inhibitor of SagA. In this study, we determined the crystal structures of both SagA and PhiA. Notably, the SagA structure contained a PGN fragment in a space between the N- and C-terminal domains, showing the substrate-dependent hinge motion of the domains. The purified SagA fully hydrolyzed the meso-diaminopimelic acid (DAP)-type PGN, showing a higher activity than hen egg-white lysozyme. The PhiA protein exhibiting tetrameric assembly failed to inhibit SagA activity in our experiments. Our findings provide implications for the molecular basis of the SagA-PhiA system of B. abortus. The development of inhibitors of SagA would further contribute to controlling brucellosis by attenuating the function of T4SS, the major virulence factor of Brucella.