• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1468-1471
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• 2006

The last step in L-carnitine biosynthesis in eukaryotic organisms is mediated by ${\gamma}$-butyrobetaine hydroxylase (EC1.14.11.1), a dioxygenase that converts ${\gamma}$-butyrobetaine to L-carnitine. This enzyme was previously identified from rat liver and humans, and the peptide sequence of human ${\gamma}$-butyrobetaine hydroxylase was used to search the Neurospora crassa genome database, which led to an identification of an open reading frame (ORF) consisting of 1,407 bp encoding a polypeptide of 468 amino acids. When this protein was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the crude cell-free extract exhibited ${\gamma}$-butyrobetaine hydroxylase activity.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.283-287
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• 2003

While nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is beneficial for host survival, it is also detrimental to the host. Thus, regulation of iNOS gene expression may be an effective therapeutic strategy for the prevention of unwanted reactions at various pathologic conditions. During the screening process for the possible iNOS regulators, we observed that esculetin is a potent inhibitor of cytokine-induced iNOS expression. The treatment of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with the tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF) induced iNOS expression, leading to enhanced NO production. TNF-induced NO production was inhibited by esculetin in a dose-dependent manner. Esculetin inhibited the TNF-induced NO production at the transcriptional level through suppression of iNOS mRNA and subsequent iNOS protein expression. These results suggest esculetin, a component of natural products, as a naturally occurring, nontoxic means to attenuate iNOS expression and NO-mediated cytotoxicity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2002.06b
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• pp.57-57
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• 2002

Junctate is a newly identified integral endo(sarco)plasmic reticulum membrane calcium binding protein, which is an alternative splicing form of the same gene generating aspartyl-hydroxylase and junctin. Screening a mouse heart cDNA library using canine junctin cDNA as a probe yielded 3 complete mouse heart cDNAs.(omitted)

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.77 no.2
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• pp.60-64
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• 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that modulate target gene activity, and are aberrantly expressed in most types of cancer as well in lung cancer. A miRNA can potentially target a diverse set of mRNAs; further, it plays a critical role in lung tumorigenesis as well as affects patient outcome. Previous studies focused mainly on abnormal miRNAs expressions in lung cancer tissues. Interestingly, circulating miRNAs were identified in human plasma and serum in 2008. Since then, considerable effort has been directed to the study of circulating miRNAs as one of the biomarkers of lung cancer. miRNAs expression of tissues and blood in lung cancer patients is being analyzed by more researchers. Recently, to overcome the high false-positivity of low-dose chest computed tomography scan, miRNAs in lung cancer screening are being investigated. This article summarizes the recent researches regarding clinical applications of miRNAs in the diagnosis and management of lung cancer.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.80-86
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• 2006

It is clear that the construction of large insert DNA libraries is important for map-based gene cloning, the assembly of physical maps, and simple screening for specific genomic sequences. The bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) system is likely to be an important tool for map-based cloning of genes since BAC libraries can be constructed simply and analyzed more efficiently than yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) libraries. BACs have significantly expanded the size of fragments from eukaryotic genomes that can be cloned in Escherichia coli as plasmid molecules. To facilitate the isolation of molecular-biologically important genes in Ashbya gossypii, we constructed Ashbya chromosome-specific BAC libraries using pBeloBAC11 and pBACwich vectors with an average insert size of 100 kb, which is equivalent to 19.8X genomic coverage. pBACwich was developed to streamline map-based cloning by providing a tool to integrate large DNA fragments into specific sites in chromosomes. These chromosome-specific libraries have provided a useful tool for the further characterization of the Ashbya genome including positional cloning and genome sequencing.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.320-326
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• 2003

In order to identify Vibrio vulnificus in the Yellow Sea near Gunsan, Korea during the early and late summers, the efficiency of the real-time quantitative TaqMan PCR was compared to the efficiency of the conventional PCR and Biolog identification system^TM. Primers and a probe were designed from the hemolysin/cytolysin gene sequence of V. vulnificus strains. The number of positive detections by real-time quantitative TaqMan PCR, conventional PCR, and the Biolog identification system from seawater were 53 (36.8%), 36 (25%), and 10 strains (6.9%), respectively, among 144 samples collected from Yellow Sea near Gunsan, Korea. Thus, the detection method of the real-time quantitative TaqMan PCR assay was more effective in terms of accuracy than that of the conventional PCR and Biolog system. Therefore, our results showed that the real-time TaqMan probe and the primer set developed in this study can be applied successfully as a rapid screening tool for the detection of V. vulnificus.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.189.1-189.1
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• 2003

Transcript profiling is a particularly valuable tool in the field of steroid receptor biology, as these receptors are ligand-activated transcription factors and therefore exert their initial effects through altering gene expression in responsive cells. Also, an increased awareness of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and their potential to affect wildlife and humans has produced a demand for practical screening methods to identify endocrine activity. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.178.2-178.2
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• 2003

To develope the novel anti-allergic drug, many sophoricoside derivatives were synthesized. Among these derivatives, JSH-II-3, JSH-Ⅵ-3, JSH-Ⅶ-3, and JSH-Ⅷ-3 were selected and subjected to high throughput toxicity screening (HTTS) because they revealed strong IL-5 inhibitory activity and limitation of Quantity. Mouse lymphoma thymidine kinase ($tk^{+/-}$) gene assay(MOLY) and single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay in mammalian cells were used as HTTS tool in our laboratory. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.89.2-89.2
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• 2003

Ral GDP dissociation stimulator (Ral GDS) has been found to be an effector protein of Ras, and Ral, a member of small GTP-binding protein (G protein) superfamily, has been suggested to act downstream of Ras. Ral GDP dissociation stimulator-like (RGL) shares 50% amino acid identity with Ral GDP dissociation stimulator, and assumed to possess similar functional role. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, we found that dopamine D3 receptor interacts with RGL. Since RGL is known to regulate the expression of c-fos promoter, effects of D3R on gene expression of c-fos promoter was studied. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.163.4-164
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• 2003

Peptide deformylase (PDF) is essential and unique to bacteria for cytoplasmic protein synthesis, but not required in eukaryotes, thus making it an attractive target for the discovery of novel antibacterial drugs. Protein synthesis in eubacteria, under normal conditions, is initiated by formyl-methionyl-tRNA. PDF removes the formyl-group of N- formylmethionine of newly synthesized polypeptides to produce a mature protein. In this study, a pdf gene from Staphylococcus aureus 6538p was cloned in pET-14b vector and transformed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). (omitted)