• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2011

As a specific and effective therapeutic genetic material against hepatitis C virus (HCV) multiplication, HCV internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-targeting hammerhead ribozyme which activity is allosterically regulated by HCV regulatory protein, NS5B RNA replicase, was constructed. The allosteric ribozyme was composed of sequence of RNA aptamer to HCV NS5B, communication module sequence which can transfer structural transition for inducing ribozyme activity upon binding NS5B to the aptamer, and sequence of ribozyme targeting +382 nucleotide of HCV IRES. With real-time PCR analysis, the ribozyme was found to efficiently inhibit HCV replicon replication in cells. Of note, the allosteric ribozyme was shown to inhibit HCV replicon replication more efficiently than either HCV genome-targeting ribozyme or NS5B aptamer only. This allosteric ribozyme can be used as a lead genetic agent for the specific and effective suppression of HCV replication.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2001

Attempts using in vitro and in vivo selection procedures have been made to search for hammerhead ribozymes that have higher activities than the wild-type ribozyme and also to determine whether other sequences might be possible in the catalytic core of the hammerhead ribozyme. Active sequences selected in the past conformed broadly to the consensus core sequence except at A9, and no sequences were associated with higher activity than that of the hammerhead with the consensus core, an indication that the consensus sequence derived from viruses and virusoids is probably the optimal sequence [Vaish et al. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 6495-6501]. Recently, during construction of ribozyme expression vectors, we isolated a mutant hammerhead ribozyme, with an insertion of G between A9 and G10.1, that appeared to show significant activity [Kawasaki et al. (1996) Nucleic Acids Res. 24, 3010-3016; Kawasaki et al. (1998) Nature 393, 284-289]. We, therefore, characterized kinetic properties of the G-inserted mutant ribozymes in terms of the NUX rule. We demonstrate that the NUX rule is basically applicable to the G-inserted ribozymes and, more importantly, one type of G-inserted ribozyme was very active with $k_{cat}$, value of $6.4\;min^{-1}$ in 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) and 10 mM $MgCl_2$ at $37^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.457-464
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• 2021

To analyze the buffet phenomenon that causes serious vibration loads on a satellite launch vehicle, the pressure fluctuations on a hammerhead launch vehicle at transonic speeds are predicted by coupling CFD analysis and semi-empirical methods. From the RANS simulation, shock oscillation region, separation region, and separation reattachment region are identified, and the boundary layer thickness, the displacement thickness, and flow properties at boundary layer edge are calculated. The pressure fluctuations and power spectra on the hammerhead fairing are predicted by coupling RANS results and semi-empirical methods considering spatial distribution, and compared with the experimental data.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.167-169
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• 2018

A smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena, was caught from the coastal water of Boryeoung-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea in June 13, 2014. The shark had a total of 23 fetuses in its body. There were 12 males and 11 females. The total length of the young sharks ranges from 49.0 cm to 54.7 cm. This collection suggested that western coastal water of Korea is a birth ground of smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2007

For the development of basic genetic materials for specific and effective therapeutic approach to suppress multiplication of hepatitis C virus (HCV), HCV internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-targeting hammerhead ribozyme which activity is allosterically regulated by HCV regulatory protein, NS5B RNA replicase, was developed. The ribozyme targeted most effectively to +382 nucleotide (nt) site of HCV IRES RNA. The allosteric ribozyme was designed to be composed of sequence of RNA aptamer to HCV NS5B, communication module sequence which can transfer structural transition for inducing ribozyme activity upon binding NS5B to the aptamer, and sequence of ribozyme targeting +382 nt of HCV IRES. Noticeably, we employed in vitro selection technology to identify the most appropriate communication module sequence which can induce ribozyme activity depending on the US5B protein. We demonstrated that the ribozyme was nonfunctional either in the absence of any proteins or in the presence of control bovine serum albumin. In sharp contrast, the allosteric ribozyme can induce activity of cleavage reaction with HCV IRES RNA in the presence of the HCV NS5B protein. This allosteric ribozyme can be used as lead compound for specific and effective anti-HCV agent, tool for highthroughput screening to isolate lead chemicals for HCV therapeutics, and ligand for biosensor system for HCV diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2021

During atmospheric ascent of a launch vehicle, airborne acoustic loads act on the vehicle and its effect becomes pronounced at transonic speed. In the present study, acoustic loads acting on a hammerhead launch vehicle at a transonic speed have been analyzed using ��-ω SST based IDDES and the results including mean Cp, Cprms, and PSD are compared to available wind-tunnel test data. Mesh dependency of IDDES results has been investigated and it has been concluded that with an appropriate turbulence scale-resolving computational mesh, the characteristic flow features around a transonic hammerhead launch vehicle such as separated shear flow at fairing shoulder and its reattachment on rear body as well as large pressure fluctuation in the region of separated flow behind the boat-tail can be predicted with reasonable accuracy for engineering purposes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.177-182
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• 1998

A pool of cis-acting hammerhead ribozymes randomized in their substrate recognition sequences was constructed. A variety of active cis-acting ribozymes which had various structures of stems I and III was selected from the pool by in vitro selection. The selected ribozymes were cloned and sequenced. The relationship between the cleavage efficiency and base-pairing in stems I and III of the selected ribozymes was investigated. The ribozymes with the smaller difference in folding energies between the active conformation and the stable but inactive conformation showed a tendency to have the better cleavage efficiency. The optimum length of stem I was 5 or 6 bases while the longer stem III, in general, appeared to be required for efficient cleavage. The specificity of the ribozyme reaction is discussed in terms of the length of stems I and III.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1997.10b
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• pp.256.2-256
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• 1997

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.522-527
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• 1995

To develop an antiviral agent for the rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV), a hammerhead type ribozyme, which has a potential target site on the genome segment 3, was designed. Oligonucleotides for the ribozyme and its substrate were synthesized, annealed, and cloned into a plasmid pBluescript II KS(+). Ribozyme and substrate RNAs were then synthesized by in vitro transcription with $T_3$ RNA polymerase, obtaining RNAs in expected size, 193 and 182 nucleotides, respectively. The substrate RNA was efficiently cleaved into two fragments when incubated with the ribozyme at $55^{\circ}C$, while the cleavage was not detected at $37^{\circ}C$. In addition, the segment 3 RNA of RBSDV was also cleaved into two fragments by the same ribozyme at $55^{\circ}C$. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the hammerhead ribozyme has an in vitro endonucleolytic activity and may be used as an antiviral agent in transgenic plants.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2024

The advantages of replicon vectors of RNA viruses include a high ability to stimulate innate immunity and exponential amplification of target mRNA leading to high expression of foreign antigens. The present study aimed to construct a DNA-layered nervous necrosis virus (NNV) replicon vector system in which the capsid protein gene was replaced with a foreign antigen gene and to compare the efficiency of foreign antigen expression between the conventional DNA vaccine vector and the present replicon vector. We presented the first report of a nodavirus DNA replicon-based foreign antigen expression system. Instead of a two-vector system, we devised a one-vector system containing both an NNV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase cassette and a foreign antigen-expressing cassette. This single-vector approach circumvents the issue of low foreign protein expression associated with the low co-transfection efficiency of a two-vector system. Cells transfected with a vector harboring hammerhead ribozyme-fused RNA1 and RNA2 (with the capsid gene ORF replaced with VHSV glycoprotein ORF) exhibited significantly higher transcription of the VHSV glycoprotein gene compared to cells transfected with either a vector without hammerhead ribozyme or a conventional DNA vaccine vector expressing the VHSV glycoprotein. Furthermore, the transcription level of the VHSV glycoprotein in cells transfected with a vector harboring hammerhead ribozyme-fused RNA1 and RNA2 showed a significant increase over time. These results suggest that NNV genome-based DNA replicon vectors have the potential to induce stronger and longer expression of target antigens compared to conventional DNA vaccine vectors.