• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2004

Objective: This study was to examine the in vitro neural cell differentiation patterns of human embryonic stem (hES) cells following treatment of various neurotrophic factors [basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), retinoic acid (RA), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-$\alpha$], particulary in dopaminergic neuron formation. Methods: The hES cells were induced to differentiate by bFGF and RA. Group I) In bFGF induction method, embryoid bodies (EBs, for 4 days) derived from hES were plated onto gelatin dish, selected for 8 days in ITSFn medium and expanded at the presence of bFGF (10 ng/ml) for another 6 days followed by a final differentiation in N2 medium for 7, 14 and 21 days. Group II) For RA induction, EBs were exposed of RA ($10^{-6}M$) for 4 days and allowed to differentiate in N2 medium for 7, 14 and 21 days. Group III) To examine the effects of additional neurotrophic factors, bFGF or RA induced cells were exposed to either BDNF (10 ng/ml) or TGF-$\alpha$ (10 ng/ml) during the 21 days of final differentiation. Neuron differentiation and dopamine secretion were examined by indirect immunocytochemistry and HPLC, respectively. Results: The bFGF or RA treated hES cells were resulted in similar neural cell differentiation patterns at the terminal differentiation stage, specifically, 75% neurons and 11% glial cells. Additionally, treatment of hES cells with BDNF or TGF-$\alpha$ during the terminal differentiation stage led to significantly increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression of a dopaminergic neuron marker, compared to control (p<0.05). In contrast, no effect was observed on the rate of mature neuron (NF-200) or glutamic acid decarboxylase-positive neurons. Immunocytochemistry and HPLC analyses revealed the higher levels of TH expression (20.3%) and dopamine secretion (265.5 $\pm$ 62.8 pmol/mg) in bFGF and TGF-sequentially treated hES cells than those in $\alpha$ RA or BDNF treated hES cells. Conclusion: These results indicate that the generation of dopamine secretory neurons from in vitro differentiated hES cells can be improved by TGF-$\alpha$ addition in the bFGF induction protocol.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.993-999
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• 2010

Serum lysozyme gene is one of the important genes influencing the immune system as its product can cause lysis of bacterial cell wall by cleaving the peptidoglycan layer. The present investigation on the serum lysozyme gene of Indian riverine buffalo was undertaken with the objectives to identify and characterize single nucleotide polymorphic patterns by PCR-SSCP method as well as to study the effect of different genotypes on serum lysozyme activity and somatic cell count. A total of 280 animals comprising four different famous bubaline breeds (Murrah, Mehsana, Surti and Bhadawari), spread over six different farms across the country were used for this study. A 276 bp (partial intron 2, complete exon 3 and partial intron 3) fragment of lysozyme gene was screened for polymorphism using the SSCP technique. Four genotypes namely AA, AB, BC and AC were observed, out of which BC genotype was found to be the most frequent. Among these three alleles, C allele (0.38) was most prevalent in these populations. Various SSCP allelic variants were cloned for sequencing and sequences were submitted to NCBI Genbank. From the alignment of the nucleotide sequences of various allelic variants, it was found that there were differences in 12 positions among the alleles, out of which maximum variation (at 8 places) was found in the intronic region. The allele A was closer to allele-C than allele-B. Allele B was phylogenetically equidistant from both of the other alleles. Mean lysozyme activity determined in serum samples of different animals of Murrah buffalo was $27.35{\pm}2.42\;{\mu}g$ per ml of serum, whereas the mean somatic cell count was $1.25{\pm}0.13{\times}10^5$ cells per ml of milk. The SSCP pattern-wise effects of various genotypes on lysozyme activity and SCC were analyzed. Although the mean values were apparently different in various genotypes, these differences were statistically non-significant. It can be concluded that the riverine buffaloes are sufficiently polymorphic with respect to serum lysozyme gene. The absence of AA genotype in Bhadawari breed of buffalo can be considered as a marker for breed characterization. The difference of four nucleotides in exon-3 indicates high selection pressure on the gene.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.271-277
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• 2024

Human dentition is unique to individuals and helps in identification of individuals in forensic odontology. This study proposes to study the manually ground sections of single rooted teeth using digital methods for dental age estimation. To assess the dentinal translucency from the scanned digital images of manually ground section of teeth using commercially available image edition software. Corroborating the root dentinal translucency length and region of interest (ROI) of translucency zone in pixels (as a marker of dental age) with the chronological age of the subject, as stratified by different age groups. Twenty single-rooted extracted teeth from 20 patients each from 6 groups divided as per age. Manual sectioning of the teeth followed by scanning the sections was done. Root area in pixels and ROI of translucency zone were measured. From the observed values, translucency length percentage (TLP) and percentage of ROI in pixels (TPP) was calculated and tabulated. Pearson's correlation coefficients were obtained for age with TLP and TPP. Positive correlation existed between age and TLP and also between age and TPP. With the obtained data, multilinear regression equations for specific age groups based on 10-year intervals were derived. By a step-down analysis method, age was estimated with an average error of around ±7.9 years. This study gives a novel method for age-estimation that can be applied in real-time forensic sciences.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Poultry Science Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.68-69
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• 2005

To identify germline chimeric chicken using germ cell transplantation method, the testcross, spends much time, labor and cost to perform, is the only way for distinguishing germline chimeric chicken from normal one And to enhance the method, development of breed-specific molecular markers have been needed. We have just identified breed-specific sequence polymorphisms among Barred Plymouth rock, Korean Ogol Chicken and White Leghorn in PMEL17 and MC1R gene the loci of which are identical to dominant white and extended black loci. These sequence polymorphism will be very useful for screening germline chimera.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.468-471
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• 1998

Regarding the characterstics of allergic diseases, preventive and continuous treatment is desirable, and tea would be the one of the best functional food formula for it. Here we report the development of tea processing method for the leaves of Castnaea crenata. Two forms of Castnaea crenata leaf tea were prepared, non-fermented steaming tea and semi-fermented rolling tea. Anti-allergic actions of Castanea crenata leaf tea were asessed by testing their effects on the degranulation of mast cells. For this, hexosaminidase release (degranulation marker) from RBL-2H3 cells (mast cell line) was used. At the concentration of $300\;{\mu}g/mL$ of the water extract, the degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells were inhibited 50.4% and 35.4% by non-fermented steaming tea and semi-fermented rolling tea, respectively. These results suggest that the tea processing method we developed could provide a valuable resource for the treatment of allergic diseases.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.275-284
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• 2000

The organ culture model of the whole mammary gland has many advantages for the study of branching morphogenesis and biological characteristics, including tumorigenesis. Prior to whole gland organ culture, rats were treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) or N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) for one week. The tramdorming effect and the morphological changes were assessed by the whole mount preparations and histopathological examination in terminal end buds (TEB), terminal ducts (TD), alveolar buds (AB), alveolar lobules (AL) and hyperplastic alveolar nodules (HAN) of the mammary gland. Grossfindings of the mammary glands at dissection were higher branching morphogenesis and larger volume in carcinogen-treated groups than in carcinogen-non-treated groups. Results of the whole mount method were coincided with those of the histopathological observations. Circular TEB, normally maintained AB, AL, and high cellular density were more frequently observed in carcinogen-treated groups than in carcinogen-nan-treated groups. Histopathologically, as a preneoplastic marker, HAN was maintained only in mammary organ culture of the carcinogen-treated groups. These findings suggest that in vivo trans-formation effects by carcinogens persisted during the mammary organ culture. These results were more characteristic in DMBA than in MNU-treated group. Ducts and terminal ducts appeared to have lost morphology during their growths in case of without diethylstilbestrol (DES). The fact that in vitro organ culture without DES was resulted in abnormal ductular morphogenesis confirms that DES is a physiological regulator of ductular epithelial cell growth.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 1999

The alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay, called the comet assay, has been applied to the detection of DNA damage from a number of chemical and biological factors in vivo and in vitro. The comet assay is a novel method to assess DNA single-strand breaks, alkali-labile sites in individual cells. The effect of peach kernel extracts on radiation-induced DNA damage in human blood lymphocytes was evaluated by the SCGE assay. The lymphocytes, with or without pretreatment of the extracts, were exposed to 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 Gy of $^{60}Co$ gamma ray. Significantly increased tail moment, which was a marker of DNA strand breaks in the comet assay, showed an excellent dose-response relationship. The treatment of the peach kernel extracts reduced the DNA damage by 30 % in irradiated groups as compared to that in non-treated control groups. The result indicates that the extracts shows radioprotective effect on lymphocyte DNA when assessed by the comet assay.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.249-255
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• 1996

In this paper, a in situ hybridization(ISH) has been used to investigate the yield of viral RNA expression from each organ tissues. It is studied to establish a rapidly, specific diagnostic method detecting rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus(RHDV) RNA in 10% formalin-fixed, paraffin-em-bedded tissues of naturally RHDV-infected rabbits using oligonucleotide probe to be made by RHDV total sequences. Biotin was used as the oligonucleotide probe marker. in situ hybridization is detected the virus genome in the cells and tissue as specifically compared with others nucleic acid hybridization method. All ISH procedure of RHDV were completed to Mi-croProbe$^{TM}$ capillary action system within 1-2 hours. In this report, RHDV was distributed widely in the cytoplasm of liver cell and the cortex of kidney but lung tissue and medulla of kidney were showed to positive reaction at locally. Although not entirely free of technical limitations, nucleic acid identification holds advantages over other diagnostic tests, including exquisite sensitivity, specificity, interchangeability and speed. It is expected that, in the immediate future viral nucleic acid detection will be a prominent part of the methods used in histopathology.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1691-1695
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• 2005

The bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3 gene encodes cell surface glycoproteins that initiate immune responses by presenting processed antigenic peptides to CD4 T helper cells. DRB3 is the most polymorphic bovine MHC class II gene which encodes the peptide-binding groove. Since different alleles favour the binding of different peptides, DRB3 has been extensively evaluated as a candidate marker for associations with various bovine diseases and immunological traits. For that reason, the genetic diversity of the bovine class II DRB3 locus was investigated by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP). This study describes genetic variability in the BoLA-DRB3 in Iranian Golpayegani Cattle. Iranian Golpayegani Cows (n = 50) were genotyped for bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3.2 allele by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Bovine DNA was isolated from aliquots of whole blood. A two-step polymerase chain reaction followed by digestion with restriction endonucleases RsaI, HaeIII and BstYI was conducted on the DNA from Iranian Golpayegani Cattle. In the Iranian Golpayegani herd studied, we identified 19 alleles.DRB3.2${\times}$16 had the highest allelic frequency (14%), followed by DRB3.2${\times}$7 (11%). Six alleles (DRB3.2${\times}$25, ${\times}$24, ${\times}$22, ${\times}$20, ${\times}$15, ${\times}$3) had frequencies = 2%. Although additional studies are required to confirm the present findings, our results indicate that exon 2 of the BoLA-DRB3 gene is highly polymorphic in Iranian Golpayegani Cattle.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.77-86
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• 2008

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on the derivation of mouse ES cells from isolated blastomeres. Two-cell stage mouse embryos were obtained from superovulated BDF1 female mice. Collected embryos were cultured to blastocyst stage in culture medium supplemented with 0, 1,000, 2,500 or 5,000 U/mL of LIF. Cultured blastocysts were examined by counting the number of cells in the inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) using differential staining method. When 2-cell embryos were cultured with 2,500 U/ml of LIF, the cell numbers of ICM significantly increased in comparing with those of the control($21.0{\pm}4.0$ vs. $15.9{\pm}5.0$, P<0.01) and 1,000 U/mL of LIF-containing group ($21.0{\pm}4.0$ vs. $16.6{\pm}4.9$, P<0.05). We used an ES cell establishment medium with 20% Knockout Serum Replacement and 0.01 mg/mL ACTH instead of fetal bovine serum. Establishing efficacy of ES cell lines were the highest in 2,500 U/mL of LIF-containing group as 36.7% (11/30). This culture medium was applied to the culture of isolated blastomeres and to derivate ES cell lines. Three ES cell lines (21.4%) from isolated blastomeres of 2-cell stage embryos were established. In further experiments, we could establish one ES cell line (4.0%) from single blastomere of 4-cell stage embryo. The subcultured ES cells and their embryoid bodies were characterized by analyzing gene expression for undifferentiation and differentiation marker gene using immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR. In conclusion, LIF supplementation in culture medium could increase the cell number in ICM of blastocysts and support derivation of ES cell lines from isolated blastomeres.