• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.77-86
• /
• 2001

Background: Hepatitis C virus(HCV), a family of Flaviviridae, has a host cell-derived envelope containing a positive-stranded RNA genome, and has been known as the maj or etiological agent for chronic hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. There remains a need to dissect a molecular mechanism of pathogenesis for the development of therapeutic and effective preventive measure for HCV. Identification of cellular receptor is of central importance not only to understand the viral pathogenesis, but also to exploit strategies for prevention of HCV. This study was aimed at identifying peptide mimotopes inhibiting the binding of E2 protein of HCV to MOLT-4 cell. Methods: In this study, phage peptide library displaying a random peptides consisting of 7 or 12 random peptides was employed in order to pan against E2 protein. Free HCV particles were separated from the immune complex forms by immunoprecipitation using anti-human IgG antibody, and used for HCV-capture ELISA. To identify the peptides inhibiting E2-binding to MOLT-4 cells, E2 protein was subj ect to bind to MOLT-4 cells under the competition with phage peptides. Results: Several phage peptides were selected for their specific binding to E2 protein, which showed the conserved sequence of SHFWRAP from 3 different peptide sequences. They were also able to recognize the HCV particles in the sera of HCV patients captured by monoclonal antibody against E2 protein. Two of them, showing peptide sequence of HLGPWMSHWFQR and WAPPLERSSLFY respectively, were revealed to inhibit the binding of E2 protein to MOLT-4 cell efficiently in dose dependent mode. However, few membrane-associated receptor candidates were seen using Fasta3 programe for homology search with these peptides. Conclusion: Phage peptides containing HLGPWMSHWFQR and WAPPLERSSLFY respectively, showed the inhibition of E2-binding to MOLT-4 cells. However, they did not reveal any homologues to cellular receptors from GenBank database. In further study, cellular receptor could be identified through the screening of cDNA library from MOLT-4 or hepatocytes using antibodies against these peptide mimotopes.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.369-375
• /
• 2018

Mycoplasma genitalium has 367 conserved genes and the smallest genome among mono-culturable prokaryotes. Conservative metabolic pathways were examined among M. genitalium and 14 prokaryotes, one hyperthermophilic exosymbiotic archaeon Nanoarchaeum equitans and 13 intracellular eubacteria of plants or insects, with fewer conserved genes than M. genitalium. They have 11 to 71 metabolic pathways, however complete metabolic pathways ranged from 1 to 24. Totally, metabolic pathway hole is very high due to the lack of 45.8% of the enzymes required for the whole metabolic pathways and it could be suggested that the shared metabolic pathway with the host's enzyme would work or the essential substances are host dependent. The number of genes necessary for mass transfer through the cell membrane is also very low, and it may be considered that the simple diffusion or the protein of the host will function in the cell membrane of these prokaryotes. Although the tRNA charging pathway was distributed in all 15 prokaryotes, each has 5-20 tRNA charging genes. This study would give clues to the understanding of the metabolic pathways of intracellular parasitic bacteria of plant and endosymbiotic bacteria of insects, and could provide basic data for prevention of crop damage, development of insect pests and human medicines.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.33-39
• /
• 2015

In filamentous fungi, velvet complex associated with the veA gene plays pivotal roles in development and secondary metabolism. In a model fungus Aspergillus nidulans, many proteins that can interact with VeA, including two methyltransferases VipB and VipC, have been isolated and characterized. In this study, we isolated homologs of the vipB and vipC genes in the human opportunistic pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus and named AfuvipB and AfuvipC. The AfuvipB gene, annotated as Afu3g14920 in the Aspergillus Genome Database (AspGD) database, consists of 1,510 bp interrupted with 10 introns yielding 336 amino acid-long putative methyltransferase protein. Similarly, AfuvipC, which is Afu8g01930, has 10 introns and encodes a polypeptide with 339 amino acids having a methyltransferase domain in the middle of the protein. To characterize the function of the genes in A. fumigatus, knock-out mutants were generated and the phenotypes were observed. Deletion of AfuvipB gene caused no obvious phenotypic change on point inoculation but showed smaller colony than wild-type when the mutant was subjected to culture on single spore-driven culture condition. However, AfuvipC deletion mutant demonstrated no phenotypic difference from wild type both in point inoculation and streaking cultures. These results indicate that the two methyltransfereases might have a redundant role and could be dispensable in normal culture conditions.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.177-190
• /
• 2006

Objectives : It has long been known about the anticancer effect of GRR-HAS, however, it has not been systemically determined the differentially regulated genes by GRR-HAS in cancer cells. The purpose of this study is to screen the GRR-HAS mediated differentially expressed genes in cancer cells such as HepG2 hepatoma cell lines. Oligonucleotide microarray and proteomic approaches were employed to screen the differential expression genes. Methods : GRR~HAS was prepared by boiling and stored at $-70^{\circ}C$ until use. Cells were treated with various concentrations of GRR-HAS (0.1, 0.5, 1.5, 10, $20mg/m{\ell}$) for 24 h. Cell toxicity was tested by MTT assay. To screen the differentially expressed genes in cancer cells, cells were treated with $1.5mg/m{\ell}$ of GRR-HAS. For oligonucleotide microarray assay, total RNA was used for gene expression analysis using oligonucleotide genechip (Human genome Ul33 Plus 2.0., Affimatrix Co.). For proteomic analysis, total protein was analyzed by 2D gel electrophoresis and Q-TOF mass spectrometer. Results : It has no cytotoxic effects on both HepG2 cells in all concentrations(0.1, 0.5, 1.5, 10,$20mg/m{\ell}$). In oligonucleotide microarray assay, the number of more than twofold differentially regulated known genes was 320 with 6 up-regulated and 314 down-regulated genes in HepG2 cells. In proteomic analysis, three spots were identified by 2D-gel electrophoresis and Q-TOF analysis. One down -regulated protein was protein disulfide isomerase and up-regulated proteins were fatty acid binding protein 1 and 14-3-3 gan1lTIa protein by $1.5mg/m{\ell}$ of CRR-HAS. Discussion : This study showed the comprehensive gene expression analysis using oligonucleotide microarray for the screening of GRR-HAS mediated differentially regulated genes. These results will provide a better application of GRR-HAS in cancer field and drug target development.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.335-347
• /
• 2016

Multiple interferon tau (IFNT) genes exist in bovine. An antiluteolytic substance secreted by the bovine conceptus and primarily responsible for maternal recognition of pregnancy is bovine trophoblast protein 1 (bIFNT1), a new type I interferon tau (IFNT) genes. The objectives of this research were to investigate whether multiple, distinct gene encode bIFNT1 and other type I bIFNT gene in the bovine genome and to examine expression of bIFNT1 and other bIFNTc1 mRNAs during conceptus development. These transcrips could be regulated through caudal-related homeobox-2 (CDX2) and ETS2 and/or AP1 (JUN) expression, a transcription factor implicated in the control of cell differentiation in the trophectoderm. The presence of mRNAs encoded by bIFNT1 and type I bIFNTc1 genes were examined quantitatively via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of total cellular RNA (tcRNA) extracted from on day 17, 20 and 22 bovine conceptuses. The expression level of bIFNT1 was higher on day 17 transcripts were gradually weakly detectable on day 20 and 22. However, the other bIFNTc1 gene examined transcripts was highly expressed on day 20 and transcripts were weakly detectable on day 17 and 22 bovine conceptuses. Furthermore, human choriocarcinoma JEG3 was co-transfected with an -1kb-bIFNT1/c1-Luc constructs and several transcription factor expression plasmids. Compared to each -1kb-bIFNT1/c1-Luc increased when this constructs were co-transfected with, ETS2, AP1(JUN), CREBBP and/or CDX2. Also, bIFNTc1 gene was had very effect on activity by alone ETS2, and AP1 (JUN) expression factors in choriocarcinoma JEG3 cell. However, bIFNT1 gene expression of the upstream region was not identified. We demonstrated that the activities of bIFN genes are regulated by differential, tissue-specific and developmental competence during pregnancy.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.1345-1354
• /
• 2014

Copy number variations (CNVs), important genetic factors for study of human diseases, may have as large of an effect on phenotype as do single nucleotide polymorphisms. Indeed, it is widely accepted that CNVs are associated with differential disease susceptibility. However, the relationships between CNVs and gene expression have not been characterized in the horse. In this study, we investigated the effects of copy number deletion in the blood and muscle transcriptomes of Thoroughbred racing horses. We identified a total of 1,246 CNVs of deletion polymorphisms using DNA re-sequencing data from 18 Thoroughbred racing horses. To discover the tendencies between CNV status and gene expression levels, we extracted CNVs of four Thoroughbred racing horses of which RNA sequencing was available. We found that 252 pairs of CNVs and genes were associated in the four horse samples. We did not observe a clear and consistent relationship between the deletion status of CNVs and gene expression levels before and after exercise in blood and muscle. However, we found some pairs of CNVs and associated genes that indicated relationships with gene expression levels: a positive relationship with genes responsible for membrane structure or cytoskeleton and a negative relationship with genes involved in disease. This study will lead to conceptual advances in understanding the relationship between CNVs and global gene expression in the horse.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.2747-2751
• /
• 2014

Background: DNA repair pathways play a crucial role in maintaining the human genome. Previous studies associated DNA repair gene polymorphisms (XPD Lys751Gln, XRCC1 Arg280His and XRCC1 Arg399Gln) with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. These non-synonymous polymorphisms may alter DNA repair capacity and thus increase or decrease susceptibility. The present study aimed to determine the genotype distribution of XPD codon 751, XRCC1 codon 280 and codon 399 polymorphisms and haplotype associations among NPC cases and controls in the Malaysian population. Materials and Methods: We selected 157 NPC cases and 136 controls from two hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for this study. The polymorphisms studied were genotyped by PCR-RFLP assay and allele and genotype frequenci es, haplotype and linkage disequilibrium were determined using SNPstat software. Results: For the XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism, the frequency of the Lys allele was higher in cases than in controls (94.5% versus 85.0%). For the XRCC1 Arg280His polymorphism, the frequency of Arg allele was 90.0% and 89.0% in cases and controls, respectively and for XRCC1 Arg399Gln the frequency of the Arg allele was 72.0% and 72.8% in cases and controls respectively. All three polymorphisms were in linkage disequilibrium. The odds ratio from haplotype analysis for these three polymorphisms and their association with NPC was 1.93 (95%CI: 0.90-4.16) for haplotype CGC vs AGC allele combinations. The global haplotypte association with NPC gave a p-value of 0.054. Conclusions: Our study provides an estimate of allele and genotype frequencies of XRCC1Arg280His, XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XPD Lys751Gln polymorphisms in the Malaysian population and showed no association with nasopharyngeal cancer.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.63 no.5
• /
• pp.579-589
• /
• 2020

Objective : No optimum genetic rat Huntington model both neuropathological using an adeno-associated virus (AAV-2) vector vector has been reported to date. We investigated whether direct infection of an AAV2 encoding a fragment of mutant huntingtin (AV2-82Q) into the rat striatum was useful for optimizing the Huntington rat model. Methods : We prepared ten unilateral models by injecting AAV2-82Q into the right striatum, as well as ten bilateral models. In each group, five rats were assigned to either the 2×10¹² genome copies (GC)/mL of AAV2-82Q (×1, low dose) or 2×10¹³ GC/mL of AAV2-82Q (×10, high dose) injection model. Ten unilateral and ten bilateral models injected with AAV-empty were also prepared as control groups. We performed cylinder and stepping tests 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after injection, tested EM48 positive mutant huntingtin aggregates. Results : The high dose of unilateral and bilateral AAV2-82Q model showed a greater decrease in performance on the stepping and cylinder tests. We also observed more prominent EM48-positive mutant huntingtin aggregates in the medium spiny neurons of the high dose of AAV2-82Q injected group. Conclusion : Based on the results from the present study, high dose of AAV2-82Q is the optimum titer for establishing a Huntington rat model. Delivery of high dose of human AAV2-82Q resulted in the manifestation of Huntington behaviors and optimum expression of the huntingtin protein in vivo.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.205-214
• /
• 2005

Background: We examined global gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with ulcerative colitis (DC), and tested whether the identified genes with the altered expression might be associated with susceptibility to UC. Methods: PBMCs from 8 UC and 8 normal healthy (NH) volunteers were collected, and total RNAs were subjected to the human 8.0K cDNA chip for the micro array analysis. Real time-PCR (RT-PCR) was performed to verify the results of micro array. One hundred forty UC patients and 300 NH controls were recruited for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Results: Twenty-five immune function-related genes with over 2-fold expression were identified. Of these genes, two chemokines, namely, CXCL1 and CCL20, were selected because of their potential importance in the evocation of host innate and adaptive immunity. Four SNPs were identified in the promoter and coding regions of CXCL1, while there was no significant difference between all patients with UC and controls in their polymorphisms, except minor association at g.57A>G (rs2071425, p=0.02). On the other hand, among three novel and one known SNPs identified in the promoter region of CCL20, g. -1,706 G>A (p=0.000000055), g. -1,458 G>A (p=0.0048), and g. -962C>A (p=0.0006) were found to be significantly associated with the susceptibility of Uc. Conclusion: Altered gene expression in mononuclear cells may contribute to IBD pathogenesis. Although the findings need to be confirmed in other populations with larger numbers of patients, the current results demonstrated that polymorphisms in the promoter region of CCL20 are positively associated with the development of Uc.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.11 no.6 s.44
• /
• pp.69-78
• /
• 2006

In the field of the bioinformatics, it plays an important role in predicting functional information or structure information to search similar sequence in biological DB. Biolrgical sequences have been increased dramatically since Human Genome Project. At this point, because the searching speed for the similar sequence is highly regarded as the important factor for predicting function or structure, the SMP(Sysmmetric Multi-Processors) computer or cluster is being used in order to improve the performance of searching time. As the method to improve the searching time of BLAST(Basic Local Alighment Search Tool) being used for the similarity sequence search, We suggest the nBLAST algorithm performing on the cluster environment in this paper. As the nBLAST uses the MPI(Message Passing Interface), the parallel library without modifying the existing BLAST source code, to distribute the query to each node and make it performed in parallel, it is possible to easily make BLAST parallel without complicated procedures such as the configuration. In addition, with the experiment performing the nBLAST in the 28 nodes of LINUX cluster, the enhanced performance according to the increase in the number of the nodes has been confirmed.