• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제30권10호
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• pp.2449-2452
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• 2009

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.181-186
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• 2009

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), which is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder, results from a CTG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene. Retention of mutant DMPK (mDMPK) transcripts in the nuclei of affected cells has been known to be the main cause of pathogenesis of the disease. Thus, reducing the RNA toxicity through elimination of the mutant RNA has been suggested as one therapeutic strategy against DM1. In this study, we suggested RNA replacement with a trans -splicing ribozyme as an alternate genetic therapeutic approach for amelioration of DM1. To this end, we identified the regions of mDMPK 3'-UTR RNA that were accessible to ribozymes by using an RNA mapping strategy based on a trans-splicing ribozyme library. We found that particularly accessible sites were present not only upstream but also downstream of the expanded repeat sequence. Repair or replacement of the mDMPK transcript with the specific ribozyme will be useful for DM1 treatment through reduction of toxic mutant transcripts and simultaneously restore wild-type DMPK or release nucleus-entrapped mDMPK transcripts to the cytoplasm.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.361-364
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• 2004

Internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is known to be essential for HCV replication and most conserved among HCV variants. Hence, IRES RNA is a good therapeutic target for RNA-based inhibitors, such as ribozymes. We previously proposed a new anti-HCV modulation strategy based on trans-splicing ribozymes, which can selectively replace HCV transcripts with a new RNA that exerts anti-HCV activity. To explore this procedure, sites which are accessible to ribozymes in HCV IRES were previously determined by employing an RNA mapping method in vitro. In this study, we evaluate the intracellular accessibility of the ribozymes by comparing the trans-splicing activ­ities in cells of several ribozymes targeting different sites of the HCV IRES RNA. We assessed the intra­cellular activities of the ribozymes by monitoring their target-specific induction degree of both reporter gene activity and cytotoxin expression. The ribozyme capable of targeting the most accessible site iden­tified by the mapping studies then harbored the most active trans-splicing activity in cells. These results suggest that the target sites predicted to be accessible are truly the most accessible in the cells, and thus, could be applied to the development of various RNA-based anti-HCV therapies.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.13-18
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• 2002

2가 양이온($Mg^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$)이 조효소 thiamine pyrophosphate에 의한 T4파지 티민생합성 유전자 (td) 인트론 RNA의 splicing에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. $Mg^{2+}$를 30 mM까지 증가시켰을 때 splicing 활성은 농도에 비례하여 증가하였다. 그러나 $Mg^{2+}$이 존재하지 않는 상태에서 0.1-4 mM 농도에 걸쳐 $Zn^{2+}$를 사용한 결과 약 20% 정도의 splicing이 일어났다. 이때 대부분의 splicing product는 인트론-엑손2 및 엑손2였고 엑손1-엑손2는 검출되지 않았다. 그리고 4 mM 농도에서는 RNA가 대부분 가수분해되는 현상이 나타났다. $Mn^{2+}$ 이온은 사용한 농도 범위 (0.1-8 mM)에서 $Zn^{2+}$ 보다는 전반적으로 약간 증가된 splicing 활성을 보였으며 8 mM 농도에서도 약 30% 정도의 splicing 활성을 보였다. $Zn^{2+}$ 이온처럼 splicing product는 인트론-엑손2 및 엑손2였고 엑손1-엑손2는 검출되지 않았 다. 반면에 splicing반응에 10 mM $Mg^{2+}$ 를 첨가했을 때 $Zn^{2+}$ 과 $Mn^{2+}$ 이온은 평균 약 35-40% 정도 splicing활성을 촉진시키는 것으로 나타났다. 실험한 2가 양이온 중에서 특히 $Mg^{2+}$ 은 가장 낮은 농도에서 thiamine pyrophosphate 에 의한 억제반응을 극복하는 최고의 활성효과를 나타냈다. 이와 같은 억제 회복 효과는 $Mg^{2+}$에 의한 리보자임의 td intron 구조적 안정성에 기인하는 것으로 추정된다.

• 한국식물병리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국식물병리학회 1994년도 Proceedings of International Symposium on BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF PLANT DISEASES Korean Society of Plant Pathology
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• pp.86-102
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• 1994

To understand the molecular structure and pathogenesis mechanism of Korean garlic viruses, we have isolate cDNA clones for garlic viruses. The partial nucleotide sequences of 24 cDNA clones were determined and that of six clones containing poly (A) tail were compared with those of other plant viruses. One of those clones, V9 has 81.8% similarity in nucleotide sequence and 93.0% in deduced amino acid sequence, respectively, to the coat protein gene for garlic mosaic virus (GMV). Northern blot analysis with the clone V9 demonstrated that the genome of GMV is 7.8 kb long and has poly (A) tail. The anti-coat protein antibody for GMV recognizes 35 kDa polypeptide which could be the coat protein of GMV from infected garlic leaf extract or virus preparation. Clone G7 has about 62% of deduced amino acid sequence identity with the members of potyvirus group. Northern blot analysis with the clone G7 demonstrated that the genome of the potyvirus I garlic is 9.0 kb long and has poly (A) tail. The third clone, S81, shows 42% amino acid identity to the potexvirus. The other clones are under the characterization. To test the possibility of producing garlic virus resistant plant, we have designed a hairpin type ribozyme to cleave V9 RNA at the middle of the coat protein gene. From the cleavage reactions in vitro with two different sizes of RNA substrates, V9SUB (144 nucleotides) and V9 RNA (1,361 nucleotides), the ribozyme can cleave V9 sequence effectively at the predicted site. To study the activity of the ribozyme in vivo, plant transformation is in progress. Further possibilities to produce garlic virus resistant plant will be discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.844-848
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• 2002

In more than half of human tumors, the p53 tumor suppressor gene is mutated. Thus, restoration of wild-type p53 activity by repair of mutant RNA could be a potentially promissing approach to cancer treatment. To explore the potential use of RNA repair for cancer therapy, trans-splicing group I ribozymes were developed that could replace mutant p53 RNA with RNA sequence attached to the 3'end of ribozymes. By employing a mapping library of ribozymes, we first determined which regions of the p53 RNA are accessible to ribozymes, and found that the leader sequences upstream of the AUG start codon appeared to be particularly accessible. Next, trans-splicing ribozymes were generated that specifically recognized the sequences around these accessible regions. Subsequently, the ribozymes reacted with and altered the p53 transcripts by transferring a 3'exon tag sequence onto the targeted p53 RNA with high fidelity. Thus, these ribozymes could be utilized to repair mutant p53 in tumors, which would revert the neoplastic phenotype.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제35권4호
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• pp.253-257
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• 1999

Cadaverine, putrescine, spermidine과 spermine이 spectinomycin에 의한 T4 파지 thymidylate synthase 유전자(td) intron의 splicing 억제에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. Polyamine이 존재하지 않는 상태에서 7mM spectinomycin은 splicing rate를 약 40% 감소시켰다. 사용한 농도 범위(0.1~5mM)에서 cadaverine은 splicing rate를 감소시켰으나, putrescine은 0.5mM 농도에서 약 13% 정도의 splicing rate를 증가시켰다. Spermidine은 0.5mM 농도에서 약 11% 정도의 splicing rate를 증가시켰으며, sperimine은 0.01mM 농도에서 약 16% 정도의 splicing rate을 증가시켰다. 시험한 polyamine 중에서 특히 sperimine은 가장 낮은 농도에서 spectinomycin에 의한 억제반응을 극복하는 최고의 활성효과를 나타냈다. 이와 같은 억제 회복 효과는 polyamine에 의한 td intron 리보자임의 구조적 안정성에 기인하는 것으로 추정된다.