• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제23권8호
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• pp.1057-1065
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• 2010

Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of feeding a newly-developed rare earth mineral-yeast product, zinc oxide (ZnO) or antibiotics on the performance, nutrient digestibility and serum parameters of weanling pigs. In experiment 1, 150 crossbred barrows (24 d old and 6.28 kg BW) were fed one of five dietary treatments consisting of an unsupplemented basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with antibiotics (33 ppm tiamulin and 100 ppm chlortetracycline), ZnO (1,500 or 2,500 ppm) or 0.1% peptide-bound rare earth mineral-yeast. In experiment 2, 576 crossbred barrows (28 d old and 7.20 kg BW) were fed the same diets as those used in experiment 1 modified only by the addition of 1.0% Celite 545 to all diets as a digestibility marker. However, the negative control was not included. In experiment 1, weight gain was significantly lower (p<0.05) for pigs fed the negative control than for pigs fed diets supplemented with antibiotics, ZnO, or rare earth mineral-yeast. Pig performance did not differ between pigs fed the four supplemented diets. In experiment 2, there were no differences in performance between pigs fed diets supplemented with antibiotic, ZnO or rare earth mineral-yeast. The digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, calcium, phosphorus and energy were significantly (p<0.01) higher on the rare earth mineral-yeast diet than on diets supplemented with ZnO. In addition, pigs fed the diet supplemented with rare earth mineral-yeast had significantly (p<0.05) higher digestibility of histidine, lysine, threonine and valine than pigs fed the ZnO supplemented diets. Digestibility coefficients for pigs fed antibiotics tended to be intermediate to those of pigs fed rare earth mineralyeast or ZnO. In conclusion, the performance of pigs fed rare earth mineral-yeast was basically equal to that of pigs fed antibiotics or ZnO indicating that rare earth mineral-yeast can be successfully used as a growth promoter in diets fed to nursery pigs. The effects of rare earth mineral-yeast appeared to be mediated through improvements in nutrient digestibility.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.461-468
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• 2016

In recent years, various naturally occurring defence peptides such as plectasin have attracted considerable research interest because they could serve as alternatives to antibiotics. However, the production of plectasin from natural microorganisms is still not commercially feasible because of its low expression levels and weak stability. A tandemly arrayed plectasin gene (1,002 bp) from Pseudoplectania nigrella was generated using the isoschizomer construction method, and was inserted into the pPICZαA vector and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The selected P. pastoris strain yielded 143 μg/ml recombinant plectasin (Ple) under the control of the methanol-inducible alcohol oxidase 1 (AOX1) promoter. Ple was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be 41 kDa. In vitro studies have shown that Ple efficiently inhibited the growth of several gram-positive bacteria such as Streptococcus suis and Staphylococcus aureus. S. suis is the most sensitive bacterial species to Ple, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 4 μg/ml. Importantly, Ple exhibited resistance to pepsin but it was quite sensitive to trypsin and maintained antimicrobial activity over a wide pH range (pH 2.0 to 10.0). P. pastoris offers an attractive system for the cost-effective production of Ple. The antimicrobial activity of Ple suggested that it could be a potential alternative to antibiotics against S. suis and S. aureus infections.

• BMB Reports
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• 제51권10호
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• pp.514-519
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• 2018

Ovarian cancer is the most fatal gynecological malignancy in women and identification of new therapeutic targets is essential for the continued development of therapy for ovarian cancer. TRRAP (transformation/transcription domain-associated protein) is an adaptor protein and a component of histone acetyltransferase complex. The present study was undertaken to investigate the roles played by TRRAP in the proliferation and tumorigenicity of ovarian cancer stem cells. TRRAP expression was found to be up-regulated in the sphere cultures of A2780 ovarian cancer cells. Knockdown of TRRAP significantly decreased cell proliferation and the number of A2780 spheroids. In addition, TRRAP knockdown induced cell cycle arrest and increased apoptotic percentages of A2780 sphere cells. Notably, the mRNA levels of stemness-associated markers, that is, OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG, were suppressed in TRRAP-silenced A2780 sphere cells. In addition, TRRAP overexpression increased the mRNA level of NANOG and the transcriptional activity of NANOG promoter in these cells. Furthermore, TRRAP knockdown significantly reduced tumor growth in a murine xenograft transplantation model. Taken together, the findings of the present study suggest that TRRAP plays an important role in the regulation of the proliferation and stemness of ovarian cancer stem cells.

• BMB Reports
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.223-229
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• 2003

The product of a tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) from South America, $\beta$-lapachone, is known to exhibit various pharmacological properties, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to further elucidate the possible mechanisms by which $\beta$-lapachone exerts its anti-proliferative action in cultured human prostate cancer cells. We observed that the proliferation-inhibitory effect of $\beta$-lapachone was due to the induction of apoptosis, which was confirmed by observing the morphological changes and cleavage of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase protein. A DNA flow cytometric analysis also revealed that $\beta$-lapachone arrested the cell cycle progression at the G1 phase. The effects were associated with the down-regulation of the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRB) as well as the enhanced binding of pRB and the transcription factor E2F-1. Also, $\beta$-lapachone suppressed the cyclindependent kinases (Cdks) and cyclin E-associated kinase activity without changing their expressions. Furthermore, this compound induced the levels of the Cdk inhibitor $p21^{WAF1/CIP1}$ expression in a p53-independent manner, and the p21 proteins that were induced by $\beta$-lapachone were associated with Cdk2. $\beta$-lapachone also activated the reporter construct of a p21 promoter. Overall, our results demonstrate a combined mechanism that involves the inhibition of pRB phosphorylation and induction of p21 as targets for $\beta$-lapachone. This may explain some of its anticancer effects.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권8호
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• pp.401-402
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• 2016

S6K1 is a key regulator of cell growth, cell size, and metabolism. Although the role of cytosolic S6K1 in cellular processes is well established, the function of S6K1 in the nucleus remains poorly understood. Our recent study has revealed that S6K1 is translocated into the nucleus upon adipogenic stimulus where it directly binds to and phosphorylates H2B at serine 36. Such phosphorylation promotes EZH2 recruitment and subsequent histone H3K27 trimethylation on the promoter of its target genes including Wnt6, Wnt10a, and Wnt10b, leading to repression of their expression. S6K1-mediated suppression of Wnt genes facilitates adipogenic differentiation through the expression of adipogenic transcription factors PPARγ and Cebpa. White adipose tissues from S6K1-deficient mice consistently exhibit marked reduction in H2BS36 phosphorylation (H2BS36p) and H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), leading to enhanced expression of Wnt genes. In addition, expression levels of H2BS36p and H3K27me3 are highly elevated in white adipose tissues from mice fed on high-fat diet or from obese humans. These findings describe a novel role of S6K1 as a transcriptional regulator controlling an epigenetic network initiated by phosphorylation of H2B and trimethylation of H3, thus shutting off Wnt gene expression in early adipogenesis.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제20권10호
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• pp.1563-1568
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• 2010

암(dark) 상태에서 재배한 대두의 하배축 길이 생장의 분자 기작을 연구하기 위한 일환으로 암 상태에서 재배한 대두 하배축으로부터 cDNA library를 제작한 후 ESTs를 구축하였다. 이들 ESTs 중 색소체 ABC 단백질과 아미노산 서열이 매우 유사한 clone을 선발한 후 이 유전자의 전체염기서열을 결정하였다. GmNAP1 단백질은 엽록체로 향하는 transit peptide 서열이 존재한다. 빛에 의해 GmNAP1 유전자 전사가 어떻게 변화되는지 알아보기 위해 지속적인 적색광, 근적색광 그리고 암 상태에서 성장시키면서 유전자의 전사량을 확인하였다. 이 색소체 NAP1는 엽록소의 전구 물질인 protoporphytin IX를 세포질에서 엽록체로 이동시키는 기능을 한다. 대두에서 분리된 GmNAP1 유전자의 기능을 확인하기 위하여 35S 프로모터 뒤에 GmNAP1 유전자를 접합한 후 애기장대에 형질전환하였다. 형질전환 된 애기장대의 엽록소 함량은 야생형의 엽록소 함량보다 훨씬 높게 측정되었다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권8호
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• pp.4113-4117
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• 2012

Breast cancer is a prevalent heterogeneous malignant disease. Gene expression profiling by DNA microarray can classify breast tumors into five different molecular subtypes: luminal A, luminal B, HER-2, basal and normal-like which have differing prognosis. Recently it has been shown that immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2), can divide tumors to main subtypes: luminal A (ER+; PR+/-; HER-2-), luminal B (ER+;PR+/-; HER-2+), basal-like (ER-;PR-;HER2-) and Her2+ (ER-; PR-; HER-2+). Some subtypes such as basal-like subtype have been characterized by poor prognosis and reduced overall survival. Due to the importance of the ER signaling pathway in mammary cell proliferation; it appears that epigenetic changes in the $ER{\alpha}$ gene as a central component of this pathway, may contribute to prognostic prediction. Thus this study aimed to clarify the correlation of different IHC-based subtypes of breast tumors with $ER{\alpha}$ methylation in Iranian breast cancer patients. For this purpose one hundred fresh breast tumors obtained by surgical resection underwent DNA extraction for assessment of their ER methylation status by methylation specific PCR (MSP). These tumors were classified into main subtypes according to IHC markers and data were collected on pathological features of the patients. $ER{\alpha}$ methylation was found in 25 of 28 (89.3%) basal tumors, 21 of 24 (87.5%) Her2+ tumors, 18 of 34 (52.9%) luminal A tumors and 7 of 14 (50%) luminal B tumors. A strong correlation was found between $ER{\alpha}$ methylation and poor prognosis tumor subtypes (basal and Her2+) in patients (P<0.001). Our findings show that $ER{\alpha}$ methylation is correlated with poor prognosis subtypes of breast tumors in Iranian patients and may play an important role in pathogenesis of the more aggressive breast tumors.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.71-77
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• 2011

Drought and salinity are the most important abiotic stresses that affect the normal growth and development of plants. Glycine betaine is one of the most important osmolytes present in higher plants that enable them to cope with environmental stresses through osmotic adjustment. In this study, a betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) gene from spinach under the control of the stress-induced promoter rd29A from Arabidopsis thaliana was introduced into potato cultivar Gannongshu 2 by the Agrobacterium tumefaciens system. Putative transgenic plants were confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Northern hybridization analysis demonstrated that expression of BADH gene was induced by drought and NaCl stress in the transgenic potato plants. The BADH activity in the transgenic potato plants was between 10.8 and 11.7 U. There was a negative relationship (y = -2.2083x + 43.329, r = 0.9495) between BADH activity and the relative electrical conductivity of the transgenic potato plant leaves. Plant height increased by 0.4-0.9 cm and fresh weight per plant increased by 17-29% for the transgenic potato plants under NaCl and polyethylene glycol stresses compared with the control potato plants. These results indicated that the ability of transgenic plants to tolerate drought and salt was increased when their BADH activity was increased.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.223-230
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• 2016

아스코르빈산(ascorbic acid, AsA)는 강력한 항산화 물질 및 환원제로서 식물에서 산화형 AsA인 dehydroascorbate(DHA)를 활성형인 환원형 AsA로 변환시키는 효소인 dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR)에 의해 생성된다. 선행연구의 결과로서, 본 연구팀은 참깨의 모상근에서 분리한 DHAR 유전자를 이용하여 항시 발현하는 CaMV 35S 프로모터와 괴경 특이적으로 발현하는 patatin 프로모터의 조절하에 과발현 시킨 형질전환 감자를 개발하였다. 형질전환 감자 식물체들은 비형질전환체 보다 증가된 DHAR 활성과 AsA 함량을 보인 바 있다. 본 연구에서는 단백질체 분석을 통해서 형질전환 감자 식물체에서 DHAR 과발현에 의해 조절되는 단백질들을 조사하였다. 단백질체 분석의 결과로서, 형질전환 감자에서 도입된 DHAR 단백질과 다양한 항산화 관련 단백질들이 식물 생장시기 동안 증가 하였다. 본 연구의 결과로서, 도입된 유전자인 DHAR이 항산화 단백질들의 발현 증가를 통해 형질전환 식물체의 스트레스 내성 기작을 향상 시킬 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• 응용통계연구
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• 제23권5호
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• pp.799-812
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• 2010

최근 소매금융시장에 제1금융권의 진출로 인해 그동안 제2금융업의 주된 영역이었던 서민층과 개인고객 중심의 소매금융시장에서도 경쟁이 가속화되고 있는 실정이다. 이러한 상황에서 생존을 위해 가장 핵심적인 요소는 고객만족을 통해 고객의 이탈을 방지하고 우수고객을 유치하는 것이라 할 수 있다. 따라서 고객만족경영이 가장 핵심적 생존전략으로 대두되고 있다. 본 연구는 이러한 상황에서 수협 상호금융업을 중심으로 서민층 중심의 소매금융업에서의 고객만족 요소가 무엇인지 확인하고, 조사를 통해 고객만족도, 충성도, NPS(NPS)를 산출한다. 이를 바탕으로 CS Portfolio분석을 통해 고객만족 제고를 위한 전략적 개선 요인을 도출하여 고객만족 경영을 위한 전략적 추진 방향을 제시하는 것을 목적으로 한다.