• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1644-1651
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• 2014

Transgenic animals have become important tools for the production of therapeutic proteins in the domestic animal. Production efficiencies of transgenic animals by conventional methods as microinjection and retrovirus vector methods are low, and the foreign gene expression levels are also low because of their random integration in the host genome. In this study, we investigated the homologous recombination on the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene locus using a knock-in vector for the ${\beta}$-casein gene locus. We developed the knock-in vector on the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene locus and isolated knock-in fibroblast for nuclear transfer. The knock-in vector consisted of the neomycin resistance gene (neo) as a positive selectable marker gene, diphtheria toxin-A gene as negative selection marker, and 5' arm and 3' arm from the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene. The secretion of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was more easily detected in the cell culture media than it was by western blot analysis of cell extract of the HC11 mouse mammary epithelial cells transfected with EGFP knock-in vector. These results indicated that a knock-in system using ${\beta}$-casein gene induced high expression of transgene by the gene regulatory sequence of endogenous ${\beta}$-casein gene. These fibroblasts may be used to produce transgenic pigs for the production of therapeutic proteins via the mammary glands.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.3 s.83
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• pp.396-401
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• 2007

This research investigated whether exposure of diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) and particulate metter (PM) effect on intercellular. adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression in asthma-induced Balb/c and IL-10 knock out (KO) mouse. Mouse was sensitized with intraperitoneal injection with ovalbumin, followed by challenges with intranasal ovalbumin. After induction of asthma mouse placed in the inhalation chamber and exposed to DEP and PM (10 $mg/m^3$). The evidences of pulmonary inflammation were assessed by immunohistochemical stain and westen blot against ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in the lung tissue. In the immunohistochemical stain, positive reactions for ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were much stronger in asthma-induced groups and asthma-induced group with DEP or PM than control groups. Although mild positive reactions were appeared in asthma-induced IL-10 KO mice groups, positive reactions were very strong in the asthma-induced group with DEP or PM. In Western blot, expression of VCAM-1 was increased in asthma-induced group with DEP or PM than asthma-induced groups. In the IL-10 KO mouse, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression were increased in asthma-induced group with DEP or PM than asthma-induced groups. DEP and PM exposure have additive effects on the aggravation of inflammatory signs in the asthma-induced murine model. These results suggest that inhalation of DEP and PM in asthmatic patients may aggravate clinical symptoms.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.363-370
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• 2012

The outer dense fiber 2 (ODF2) protein is an important component of sperm tail outer dense fiber and localizes at the centrosome. It has been reported that the RO072 ES cell derived homozygote knock out of ODF2 results in an embryonic lethal phenotype, and XL169 ES cell derived heterozygote knock out causes severe defects in sperm tail development. The ODF2s splicing variant, Cenexin1, possesses a C-terminal extension, and the phosphorylation of serine 796 residue in an extended C-terminal is responsible for Plk1 binding. Cenexin1 assembles ninein and causes ciliogenesis in early stages of the cell cycle in a Plk1-independent manner. Alternatively, in the late stages of the cell cycle, G2/M phase, Cenexin1 binds to Plk1 and results in proper mitotic progression. In this study, to identify the in vivo function of Plk1 binding to phosphorylated Cenexin1 S796 residue, and to understand the in vivo functional differences between ODF2 and Cenexin1, we generated ODF2/Cenexin1 S796A/Cenexin1 WT expressing transgenic mice in a RO072 ES cell derived $ODF2^{+/-}$ knock out background. We observed a severe defect of sperm tail development by ectopic expression of Cenexin1 S796A mutant and no phenotypic differences between the ectopic expression of ODF2/Cenexin1 WT in $ODF2^{+/-}$ background and in normal wild type mice.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.734-741
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• 2014

Histone modifications on major transcription factor target genes are one of the major regulatory mechanisms controlling adipogenesis. Plant homeodomain finger 2 (PHF2) is a Jumonji domain-containing protein and is known to demethylate the histone H3K9, a repressive gene marker. To better understand the function of PHF2 in adipocyte differentiation, we constructed stable PHF2 knock-down cells by using the mouse pre-adipocyte cell line 3T3-L1. When induced with adipogenic media, PHF2 knock-down cells showed reduced lipid accumulation compared to control cells. Differential expression using a cDNA microarray revealed significant reduction of metabolic pathway genes in the PHF2 knock-down cell line after differentiation. The reduced expression of major transcription factors and adipokines was confirmed with reverse transcription- quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. We further performed co-immunoprecipitation analysis of PHF2 with four major adipogenic transcription factors, and we found that CCATT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)${\alpha}$ and C/EBP${\delta}$ physically interact with PHF2. In addition, PHF2 binding to target gene promoters was confirmed with a chromatin immunoprecipitation experiment. Finally, histone H3K9 methylation markers on the PHF2-binding sequences were increased in PHF2 knock-down cells after differentiation. Together, these results demonstrate that PHF2 histone demethylase controls adipogenic gene expression during differentiation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.454-464
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• 2018

Crosstalk between G-protein signaling and glutamatergic transmission within the brain reward circuits is critical for long-term emotional effects (depression and anxiety), cravings, and negative withdrawal symptoms associated with opioid addiction. A previous study showed that Regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) may be implicated in opiate action in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, the mechanism of the NAc-specific RGS4 actions that induce the behavioral responses to opiates remains largely unknown. The present study used a short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knock-down of RGS4 in the NAc of the mouse brain to investigate the relationship between the activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors and RGS4 in the NAc during morphine reward. Additionally, the shRNA-mediated RGS4 knock-down was implemented in NAc/striatal primary-cultured neurons to investigate the role that striatal neurons have in the morphine-induced activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors. The results of this study show that the NAc-specific knock-down of RGS4 significantly increased the behaviors associated with morphine and did so by phosphorylation of the GluR1 (Ser831) and NR2A (Tyr1325) glutamate receptors in the NAc. Furthermore, the knock-down of RGS4 enhanced the phosphorylation of the GluR1 and NR2A glutamate receptors in the primary NAc/striatal neurons during spontaneous morphine withdrawal. These findings show a novel molecular mechanism of RGS4 in glutamatergic transmission that underlies the negative symptoms associated with morphine administration.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2007

During early embryo development, Oct-4 is an important transcription factor for the early differentiation the present study was first examined methylation status in distal enhancer and promoter region of Oct-4 during mouse pre-implantation embryo development. In oocyte and sperm, high methylation was observed in both distal and proximal of promoter in Oct-4. Following fertilization relatively high methylation level remained until 8-cell stage embryos, but decreased at the morula and blastocyst stage. Specific gene knock down of Oct-4 by siRNA injection into zygote induced higher methylation rates of both distal and proximal region of promoter of Oct-4. These results suggest a functional link between the DNA methylation status of distal and promoter resign in the Oct-4 gene and the gene sequence-specific transcriptional silencing by exogenous siRNA injection during mouse preimplantation embryos.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.356-362
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• 2019

The binding of MS2 bacteriophage coat protein (MCP) to MS2 binding site (MBS) RNA stem-loop sequences has been widely used to label mRNA for live-cell imaging at single-molecule resolution. However, concerns have been raised recently from studies with budding yeast showing aberrant mRNA metabolism following the MS2-GFP labeling. To investigate the degradation pattern of MS2-GFP-labeled mRNA in mammalian cells and tissues, we used Northern blot analysis of ${\beta}$-actin mRNA extracted from the Actb-MBS knock-in and $MBS{\times}MCP$ hybrid mouse models. In the immortalized mouse embryonic cell lines and various organ tissues derived from the mouse models, we found no noticeable accumulation of decay products of ${\beta}$-actin mRNA compared with the wild-type mice. Our results suggest that accumulation of MBS RNA decay fragments does not always happen depending on the mRNA species and the model organisms used.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 2021

Increasing the efficiency of HR (homologous recombination) is important for a successful knock-in. Rad51 is mainly involved in homologous recombination and is associated with strand invasion. The HR-related mismatch repair system maintains HR fidelity by heteroduplex rejection and repair. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to control Rad51, which plays a critical role in HR, through UV-induced DNA damage. It is also to confirm the effect on the expression of MMR related genes (Msh2, Msh3, Msh6, Mlh1, Pms2) and HR-related genes closely related to HR through treatment with the MMR inhibitor CdCl₂. The mRNA expression of Rad51 gene was confirmed in both HC11 cells and mouse testes, but the mRNA expression of Dmc1 gene was confirmed only in mouse testes. The protein expression of Rad51 and Dmc1 gene increased in UV-irradiated HC11 cells. After 72 hours of treatment with 1 ㎛ of CdCl₂, the mRNA expression level of Msh3, Pms2, and Rad51 decreased, but the mRNA expression level of Msh6 and Mlh1 increased in HC11 cells. There was no significant difference in Msh2 mRNA expression between CdCl₂ untreated-group and the 72 hours treated group. In conclusion, HR-related gene (Rad51) was increased by UV-induced DNA damage. Treatment of the MMR inhibitor CdCl₂ in HC11 cells decreased the mRNA expression of Rad51.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.114-117
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• 2016

In vivo labeling of bone with fluorochromes is a widely used method for assessment of bone formation and remodeling processes. In particular, calcein is used as a marker for identification of bone growth, which is indicated by a green color. Calcein green is a calcium chelator that adheres to regions of mineralizing bone thereby allowing localization of new bone. Bone formation and remodeling in vivo can be assessed by calcium-binding calcein labeling. In this study, changes in the femoral bone of a normal mouse model at both 4 and 8 weeks were evaluated using calcein labeling. Intense deposition of calcium in the bone was observed after application for 8 weeks. A mouse model is suitable for application in in vivo experiments using genetically modified mice, such as knock-out mice, however data regarding femoral cross sectional bone in young mice are limited. The current study confirmed calcein as a useful marker for identification of bone growth, which was indicated by a green color on photomicrographs. This methodological process may provide basic information for interpreting bone formation and regeneration to pharmacologic or genetic manipulation in mice.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.377-381
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• 2012

The histidine-rich $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein (HRC) is a $Ca^{2+}$ binding protein in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In this study, we examined whether the HRC is involved in the regulation of cardiac contraction and $Ca^{2+}$ signaling using HRC knock-out (KO) mouse ventricular myocytes. In field-stimulated single mouse ventricular myocytes, cell shortenings and $Ca^{2+}$ transients were measured using a video edge detection and a confocal $Ca^{2+}$ imaging, respectively. Compared with the wide-type (WT) myocytes, the magnitudes of cell shortenings were significantly larger in HRC KO cells (P<0.01, WT vs. KO). The rate of contraction and relaxation was significantly accelerated in HRC KO myocytes (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively, WT vs. KO). The magnitudes of $Ca^{2+}$ transients were increased by HRC KO (P<0.01, WT vs. KO). In addition, the decay of the $Ca^{2+}$ transient was faster in HRC KO cells than in wild-type cells P<0.01, WT vs. KO). These results suggest that HRC may suppress SR $Ca^{2+}$ releases and decay of $Ca^{2+}$ transients during action potentials, thereby attenuating ventricular contraction and relaxation.