• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1484-1488
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• 2009

Familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HOKPP) is an autosomal dominant muscle disorder characterized by episodic attacks of muscle weakness with concomitant hypokalemia. Mutations in either a calcium channel gene (CACNA1S) or a sodium channel gene (SCN4A) have been shown to be responsible for this disease. The combination of sarcolemmal depolarization and hypokalemia has been attributed to abnormalities of the potassium conductance governing the resting membrane potential. To understand the pathophysiology of this disorder, we examined both mRNA and protein levels of delayed rectifier potassium channel genes, KCNQ3 and KCNQ5, in skeletal muscle fibers biopsied from patients with HOKOur results showed an increase in the cytoplasmic level of KCNQ3 protein in patients' cells exposed to 50 mM external concentration of potassium. However, mRNA levels of both channel genes did not show significant change in the same condition. Our results suggest that long term exposure of skeletal muscle cells in HOKPP patients to high extracellular potassium alters the KCNQ3 localization, which could possibly hinder the normal function of this channel protein. These findings may provide an important clue to understanding the molecular mechanism of familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.503-516
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• 2020

KCNQ family constitutes slowly-activating potassium channels among voltage-gated potassium channel superfamily. Recent studies suggested that KCNQ4 and 5 channels are abundantly expressed in smooth muscle cells, especially in lower urinary tract including corpus cavernosum and that both channels can exert membrane stabilizing effect in the tissues. In this article, we examined the electrophysiological characteristics of overexpressed KCNQ4, 5 channels in HEK293 cells with recently developed KCNQ-specific agonist. With submicromolar EC₅₀, the drug not only increased the open probability of KCNQ4 channel but also increased slope conductance of the channel. The overall effect of the drug in whole-cell configuration was to increase maximal whole-cell conductance, to prolongate the activation process, and left-shift of the activation curve. The agonistic action of the drug, however, was highly attenuated by the co-expression of one of the β ancillary subunits of KCNQ family, KCNE4. Strong in vitro interactions between KCNQ4, 5 and KCNE4 were found through Foster Resonance Energy Transfer and co-immunoprecipitation. Although the expression levels of both KCNQ4 and KCNE4 are high in mesenteric arterial smooth muscle cells, we found that 1 μM of the agonist was sufficient to almost completely relax phenylephrine-induced contraction of the muscle strip. Significant expression of KCNQ4 and KCNE4 in corpus cavernosum together with high tonic contractility of the tissue grants highly promising relaxational effect of the KCNQ-specific agonist in the tissue.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.324-331
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• 2013

Channels formed by the co-assembly of the KCNQ1 subunit and the mink (KCNE1) subunit underline the slowly activating delayed rectifier $K^+$ channels ($I_{Ks}$) in the heart. This $K^+$ channel is one of the main pharmacological targets for the development of drugs against cardiovascular disease. Panax ginseng has been shown to exhibit beneficial cardiovascular effects. In a previous study, we showed that ginsenoside Rg3 activates human KCNQ1 $K^+$ channel currents through interactions with the K318 and V319 residues. However, little is known about the effects of ginsenoside metabolites on KCNQ1 $K^+$ alone or the KCNQ1 + KCNE1 $K^+$ ($I_{Ks}$) channels. In the present study, we examined the effect of protopanaxatriol (PPT) and compound K (CK) on KCNQ1 $K^+$ and $I_{Ks}$ channel activity expressed in Xenopus oocytes. PPT more strongly inhibited the $I_{Ks}$ channel currents than the currents of KCNQ1 $K^+$ alone in concentration- and voltage-dependent manners. The $IC_{50}$ values on $I_{Ks}$ and KCNQ1 alone currents for PPT were $5.18{\pm}0.13$ and $10.04{\pm}0.17{\mu}M$, respectively. PPT caused a leftward shift in the activation curve of $I_{Ks}$ channel activity, but minimally affected KCNQ1 alone. CK exhibited slight inhibition on $I_{Ks}$ and KCNQ1 alone $K^+$ channel currents. These results indicate that ginsenoside metabolites show limited effects on $I_{Ks}$ channel activity, depending on the structure of the ginsenoside metabolites.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.707-713
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• 2018

This study was done to search for positional candidate genes associated with the back fat thickness trait using a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) in purebred Yorkshires (N = 1755). Genotype and phenotype analyses were done for 1,642 samples. As a result of the associations with back fat thickness using the Gemma program (ver. 0.93), when the genome-wide suggestive threshold was determined using the Bonferroni method ($p=1.61{\times}10^{-5}$), the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers with suggestive significance were identified in 1 SNP marker on chromosome 2 (MARC0053928; $p=3.65{\times}10^{-6}$), 2 SNP markers on chromosome 14 (ALGA0083078; $p=7.85{\times}10^{-6}$, INRA0048453; $p=1.27{\times}10^{-5}$), and 1 SNP marker on chromosome 18 (ALGA0120564; $p=1.44{\times}10^{-5}$). We could select positional candidate genes (KCNQ1, DOCK1, LOC106506151, and LOC110257583), located close to the SNP markers. Among these, we identified a potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member gene (KCNQ1) and the dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (DOCK1) gene associated with obesity and Type-2 diabetes. The SNPs and haplotypes of the KCNQ1 and DOCK1 genes can contribute to understanding the genetic structure of back fat thickness. Additionally, it may provide basic data regarding marker assisted selection for a meat quality trait in pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.893-899
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• 2009

Few studies have reported the existence of imprinted genes in cattle compared to the human and mouse. Genomic imprinting is expressed in monoallelic form and it depends on a single parent-specific form of the allele. Comparative analysis of mammals other than the human is a valuable tool for explaining the genomic basis of imprinted genes. In this study, we investigated 34 common imprinted genes in the human and mouse as well as 35 known non-imprinted genes in the human. We found short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs), and long terminal repeats (LTRs) in imprinted (human and mouse) and control (cattle) genes. Pair-wise comparisons for the three species were conducted using SINEs, LINEs, and LTRs. We also calculated 95% confidence intervals of frequencies of repetitive sequences for the three species. As a result, most genes had a similar interval between species. We found 11 genes with conserved SINEs, LINEs, and LTRs in the human, mouse, and cattle. In conclusion, eleven genes (CALCR, Grb10, HTR2A, KCNK9, Kcnq1, MEST, OSBPL5, PPP1R9A, Sgce, SLC22A18, and UBE3A) were identified as candidate imprinted genes in cattle.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.155-161
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• 2008

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC) still has poor outcome, and laryngeal cancer is the most frequent subtype of HNSCC. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel treatments to improve the outcome of patients with HNSCC. It is critical to gain further understanding on the molecular and chromosomal alteration of HNSCC to identify novel therapeutic targets but genetic etiology of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx is so complex that target genes have not yet been clearly identified. Array based CGH(array-CGH) allows investigation of general changes in target oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, which should, in turn, lead to a better understanding of the cancer process. In this study, We used genomic wide array-CGH in tissue specimens to map genomic alterations found in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas. As results, gains of MAP2, EPHA3, EVI1, LOC389174, NAALADL2, USP47, CTDP1, MASP1, AHRR, and KCNQ5, with losses of SRRM1L, ANKRD19, FLJ39303, ZNF141, DSCAM, GPR27, PROK2, ARPP-21, and B3GAT1 were observed frequently in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissue specimens. These data about the patterns of genomic alterations could be a basic step for understanding more detailed genetic events in the carcinogenesis and also provide information for diagnosis and treatment in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The high resolution of array-CGH combined with human genome database would give a chance to find out possible target genes which were gained or lost clones.