• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.81-86
• /
• 2004

Among the annotated ORFs of Streptomyces coelicolor, SCO7697 was supposed to encode for phytase (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate phosphohydrolase). The DNA fragment containing SCO7697 was cloned by the PCR from the chromosomal DNA of S.coelicolor A3(2)M. The cloned fragment was introduced into E. coli expres-sion vector, pET28a(+), to yield two recombinant plasmids, pET28-SP and pET28-LP, which were designed to encode different length of proteins. When the pET28-SP and pET28-LP were introduced into E. coli BL21, the transformants successfully overexpressed recombinant proteins, but the molecular weights of the expressed pro-teins were appeared bigger than those of expected in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The shift of cul-tural temperature from 37 to $30^{\circ}C$ made most of expressed protein be solubilized. The expressed protein, however, did not show any phytase activity. When the DNA fragment with its own promoter placed on the E. coli-Streptomyces vector, pWHM3, and introduced into S. lividans, the phytase activity was not detected either. These results suggest that even though the SCO7697 was annotated as a probable phytase with high probability (E value is $6e^{-89}$), the real product doest not have phytase activity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.385-389
• /
• 2005

To understand the pollution level by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in ambient air of industrial area, PCBs concentrations were measured at Sihwa and Banwol industrial region, Korea. The concentrations of total PCB and WHO-TEQ ranged from 2,080 to $5820\;pg/m^3$ (median value is 2,760) and from 0.19 to $1.01\;pgTEQ/m^3$ (median value is 0.42), respectively. In terms of homologues composition the fraction of highly chlorinated biphenyls(from hexa-CB to deca-CB) were higher than the air samples of other regions such as jeonju and yokohama area. The cluster analysis was conducted to study the relation between the air samples and sources such as incinerator flue gases and Aroclor samples. The isomer fractions in the homologue were used as input variables. Based on the results, the industrial ambient air samples were divided from source samples with long Euclidian distance. This suggest that the ambient air samples of Sihwa and Banwol were not on the influence of Aroclor and incinerators. Therefore, further investigation on systematical air monitoring will be required to estimate the sources of PCBs in the above industrial areas.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.7
• /
• pp.2707-2712
• /
• 2015

Background: The human homologue of the mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) gene is a negative regulator of Tp53. MDM2-309T>G a functional promoter polymorphism was found to be associated with overexpression thereby attenuation of Tp53 stress response and increased cancer susceptibility. We have planned to evaluate the possible role of MDM2-309T>G polymorphism with risk and response to chemotherapy in AML. Materials and Methods: A total of 223 de novo AML cases and 304 age and sex matched healthy controls were genotyped for the MDM2-309T>G polymorphism through the tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR method. In order to assess the functional relationship of -309T>G SNP with MDM2 expression level, we quantified MDM2 mRNA in 30 primary AML blood samples through quantitative RT-PCR. Both the (-309T>G) genotypes and the MDM2 expression were correlated with disease free survival (DFS) rates among patients who have achieved complete remission (CR) after first induction chemotherapy. Results: MDM2-309T>G polymorphism was significantly associated with AML development (p<0.0001). The presence of either GG genotype or G allele at MDM2-309 confered 1.79 (95% CI: 1.12-2.86; p<0.001) and 1.46 fold (95%CI: 1.14-1.86; p= 0.003) increased AML risk. Survival analysis revealed that CR+ve cases with GG genotype had significantly increased DFS rates (16months, p=0.05) compared to CR+ve TT (11 months) and TG (9 months) genotype groups. Further, MDM2 expression was also found to be significantly elevated in GG genotype patients (p=0.0039) and among CR+ve cases (p=0.0036). Conclusions: The MDM2-309T>G polymorphism might be involved in AML development and also serve as a good prognostic indicator.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.298-305
• /
• 2018

Rhomboid family member 2 gene (Rhbdf2) is an inactive homologue lacking essential catalytic residues of rhomboid intramembrane serine proteases. The protein is necessary for maturation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) converting enzyme, which is the molecule responsible for the release of $TNF-{\alpha}$. In this study, Rhbdf2 knockout (KO) mice were produced by CRISPR/CAS9. To see the effects of the failure of $TNF-{\alpha}$ release induced by Rhbdf2 gene KO, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), which is the representative $TNF-{\alpha}$ related disease, was induced in the Rhbdf2 mutant mouse using chicken collagen type II. The severity of the CIA was measured by traditional clinical scores and histopathological analysis of hind limb joints. A rota-rod test and grip strength test were employed to evaluate the severity of CIA based on losses of physical functions. The results indicated that Rhbdf2 mutant mice showed clear alleviation of the clinical severity of CIA as demonstrated by the significantly lower severity indexes. Moreover, a grip strength test was shown to be useful for the evaluation of physical functional losses by CIA. Overall, the results showed that the Rhbdf2 gene has a significant effect on the induction of CIA, which is related to $TNF-{\alpha}$.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.8 s.88
• /
• pp.1157-1165
• /
• 2007

VvMSA, a grapevine ASR which is highly inducible by sugar and abscisic acid signals was previously shown to be a transcription factor for a hexose transporter gene VvHT1. We isolated a cDNA clone, VlASR which is regulated temporally during the grape berry development by ACP RT-PCR (annealing control primer reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) and it proved identical to VvMSA. RT-PCR and real-time PCR analyses revealed that the VlASR gene was expressed in berries at fruit set and that its expression increased as berries aged but decreased at the late ripening stage. In order to understand the regulatory mechanism of the asr gene, a genomic fragment was cloned from grapevine. The genomic DNA was 1375 bp long and a sugar box (sucrose box 3 and sucrose responsive element 1) was identified in the 611 bp upstream region of the open reading frame. Analysis of the VlASR promoter::reporter gene fusion demonstrated that this promoter was expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis even without sucrose treatment. This result suggests that the ASR/VvHT1-mediated sugar/ABA signaling, previously reported in grapevine, may not function in Arabidopsis which has no ASR homologue.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.57-65
• /
• 1997

Cytogenetic observations of loss of the distal portion of the Y chromosome long arm were found to be associated with disrupted spermatogenesis. The existence of a gene involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis, the azoospermia factor (AZF), was postulated. In this study, we screened the AZF region including DAZ and DAZH genes and observed the expression pattern of DAZ and DAZH transcript in infertile men with azoospermia and oligospermia by using a sequence-tagged site (STS)-based PCR method. PCR primers were synthesized for 11 STSs that span Yq interval 6, SRY, DAZ, and DAZH, functional DAZ homologue on chromosome 3. Microdeletions were detected in 4/32 (12.5%) azoospermic men and 1/11 (9%) severe oligospermic men. Only 2 of 5 patients had microdeletions of Yq that contained the DAZ gene, whereas the other 3 patients had deletions extending from intervals 5L-6F proximal to the DAZ gene on Yq. Testis biopsies of the azoospermic patients revealed a variety from Sertoli cell-only syndrome to testicular maturation arrest. Of 4 men with clinical data available, average testis size was R: 13.8 cc, L: 13.8 cc, serum T was $4.0{\pm}1.25$ ng/ml, LH was $3.63{\pm}1.90$ mIU/ml, and FSH was $8.85{\pm}5.13$ mIU/ml. These values did not differ significantly from the remainder of the patients tested. We could not observed the DAZ transcript in 2 patients, who have no mature spermatozoa. In 11.6% of patients microdeletions of the AZF could be detected. These deletions in the AZF region seem to be involved causing spermatogenic failure. But the frequency of microdeletions proximal to DAZ suggests that DAZ is not the only gene associated with spermatogenic failure.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.137-141
• /
• 2013

Flavonoids have various biological activities; however, their cellular uptake mechanism is beginning to be understood only recently. This review focuses on cellular flavonoids transport mechanisms in both plants and animals. In plants, flavonoids exist in various cellular compartments, providing a specialized transport system. Newly synthesized flavonoids can be transported from the endoplasmic reticulum to the vacuoles or extracellular space via cellular trafficking pathway. Among membrane transporters, ATP binding cassette, multidrug and toxic extrusion, bilitranslocase homologue transporters play roles in both the influx and efflux of cellular flavonoids across the cell membrane. In recent years, extensive researches have provided a better understanding on the cellular flavonoid transport in mammalian cells. Bilitranslocase transports flavonoids in various tissues, including the liver, intestine and kidneys. However, other transport mechanisms are largely unknown and thus, further investigation should provide detailed mechanisms, which can potentially lead to an improved bioavailability and cellular function of flavonoids in humans.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.758-766
• /
• 2008

To evaluate homologue patterns and removal efficiency before and after water treatment, the concentrations of dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) were determined in 122 samples from 42 drinking water treatment plants throughout Japan over a two year period. The mean concentrations and toxic equivalent (TEQ) values of dioxins in raw and treated waters were 60.24 pg/L (0.14 pg-WHO-TEQ/L) and 4.15 pg/L (0.016 pg-WHO-TEQ/L), respectively. The dioxins contribution ratio of drinking water in relation to dioxins tolerable daily intake (TDI, 4 pg-TEQ/kg/day) was 0.016%. The mean TEQ removal rate of dioxins by drinking water treatment was over 88%. However, the mean removal rate of 2, 3, 7, 8-TeCDF (tetrachlorodibenzofuran) by water treatment in the 122 samples was minus 17%. Therefore, to identify which process affected the level of 2, 3, 7, 8-TeCDF, the removal efficiencies at both the advanced and conventional water treatment plants were investigated. For the TEQ removal rate across the processes, the dioxin congeners, TeCDF and non-ortho-PCBs remarkably indicated minus values after chlorination in both the advanced and conventional water treatments plant. From this study, the level of 2, 3, 7, 8-TeCDF was found to be increased as a result of chlorination.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.91-96
• /
• 2005

O-(3-[$^{18}$F]Fluoropropyl)-L-tyrosine (L-[$^{18}$F]FPT) was synthesized by nucleophilic radiofluorination followed by acidic hydrolysis of protective groups and evaluated with 9 L tumor bearing rat. L-[$^{18}$F]FPT is an homologue of O-(2-[$^{18}$F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (L-[$^{18}$F]FET) which recently is studied as a tracer for tumor imaging using positron emission tomography (PET). [$^{18}$F]FPT was directly prepared from the precursor of O-(3-ptoluenesulfonyloxypropyl)- N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-L-tyrosine methyl ester. FPT-PET image was obtained at 60 min in 9 L tumor bearing rats. The radiochemical yield of [$^{18}$F]FPT was 0-45% (decay corrected) and the radiochemical purity was more than 95% after HPLC purification. The total time elapsed for the synthesis of [$^{18}$F]FPT was 100 min from EOB (End-of-bombardment). A comparison of uptake studies between [$^{18}$F]FPT and [$^{18}$F]FET was performed. In biodistribution, [$^{18}$F]FPT showed similar pattern with [$^{18}$F]FET in various tissues, but [$^{18}$F]FPT showed low uptake in brain. Furthermore, [$^{18}$F]FPT showed higher tumor-to-brain ratio than [$^{18}$F]FET. In conclusion, [$^{18}$F]FPT seems to be more useful amino acid tracer than [$^{18}$F]FET for brain tumors imaging with PET.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.403-411
• /
• 2015

Plasmodium falciparum can invade all stages of red blood cells, while Plasmodium vivax can invade only reticulocytes. Although many P. vivax proteins have been discovered, their functions are largely unknown. Among them, P. vivax reticulocyte binding proteins (PvRBP1 and PvRBP2) recognize and bind to reticulocytes. Both proteins possess a C-terminal hydrophobic transmembrane domain, which drives adhesion to reticulocytes. PvRBP1 and PvRBP2 are large (>326 kDa), which hinders identification of the functional domains. In this study, the complete genome information of the P. vivax RBP family was thoroughly analyzed using a prediction server with bioinformatics data to predict B-cell epitope domains. Eleven pvrbp family genes that included 2 pseudogenes and 9 full or partial length genes were selected and used to express recombinant proteins in a wheat germ cell-free system. The expressed proteins were used to evaluate the humoral immune response with vivax malaria patients and healthy individual serum samples by protein microarray. The recombinant fragments of 9 PvRBP proteins were successfully expressed; the soluble proteins ranged in molecular weight from 16 to 34 kDa. Evaluation of the humoral immune response to each recombinant PvRBP protein indicated a high antigenicity, with 38-88% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Of them, N-terminal parts of PvRBP2c (PVX_090325-1) and PvRBP2 like partial A (PVX_090330-1) elicited high antigenicity. In addition, the PvRBP2-like homologue B (PVX_116930) fragment was newly identified as high antigenicity and may be exploited as a potential antigenic candidate among the PvRBP family. The functional activity of the PvRBP family on merozoite invasion remains unknown.