• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.300-308
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• 2000

The Fibroblast growth factors(FGFs) plays an important role in the control of osteogenesis during skeletal development. Especially, FGF-2 is a potent mesodermal inducer during embryogenesis and FGF receptors (FGFRs) messages are strongly expressed in developing bones. In this study, we investigated the effect of bFGF on osteopontin(OPN) gene expression in ST-2 cells and tried to elucidate the mechanism of its stimulatory effects. The obtain results were as follows; The treatment of bFGF(1ng/ml) upregulates OPN, fibronectin mRNA levels and downregulates type I collagen mRNA levels. But, there was no remarkable difference in alkaline phosphatase mRNA levels between two groups. The OPN gene expression increased in a dose-dependent manner up to 10ng/ml and OPN gene began to occur at around 3h with continuous increase up to 24h then decreased to basal level at 48h. 30 minutues pretreatment with cycloheximide (500ng/ml), a protein synthesis inhibitor, prior to addition bFGF resulted in blocking bFGF induced OPN expression. These results suggest that bFGF increased the level of OPN mRNA in a dose and time-dependent manner via the synthesis of certain transcriptional regulatory proteins.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.578-584
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• 1998

In a previous paper (Kim et al., 1996a), the immediate 5' -flanking region and coding region of the human UDP-N -acetylglucosamine:-D-mannoside-1,4-Nacetylglucosaminyltransferase III (N-acetylglucosaminyitransferase- III; GnT-III) gene was reported, isolated and analyzed. Herein, we report on amplification of a new 5' -noncoding region of the GnT-III mRNA by single-strand ligation to single-stranded cDNA-PCR (5' -RACE PCR) using poly(A)+ RNA isolated from human fetal liver cells. A cDNA clone was obtained with 5' sequences (96 bp) that diverged seven nucleotides upstream from the ATG (+1) start codon. A concensus splice junction sequence, TCTCCCGCAG, was found immediately 5' to the position where the sequences of the cDNA diverged. The result suggested the presence of an intron in the 5' -noncoding region and that the cDNA was an incompletely reversetranscribed cDNA product derived from an mRNA containing a new noncoding exon. When mRNA expression of GnT-III in various human tissues and cancer cell lines was examined, Northern blot analysis indicated high expression levels of GnT-III in human fetal kidney and brain tissues, as well as for a number of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cell lines. Promoter activities of the 5' -flanking regions of exon 1 and the new noncoding region were measured in a human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, by luciferase assays. The 5'-flanking region of exon 1 was the most active, whilst that of exon 2 was inactive.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.67-78
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• 2007

Background : Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is one of the principal inducers of interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$) in lymphocytes. Materials and Methods : The effect of IL-18 on the expression of chemokine IP-10(CXCL10) mRNA in C57BL/6 mouse peritoneal macrophages was studied by using Northern blot analysis, enzyme linked immunosobent assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Results : IL-18 was determined to exert no direct effect on the expression of IP-10(CXCL10) mRNA. However, IL-18 pretreatment was determined to play a cooperative role in the synergistic induction of LPS-induced IP-10(CXCL10) mRNA expression. The effect associated with IL-18 pretreatment with regard to the synergistic induction of LPS-induced IP-10 (CXCL10) mRNA expression was detected after 16 hr of IL-18 pretreatment, administered prior to LPS stimulation. The pattern of NF-${\kappa}B$ binding activity during IL-18 pretreatment with LPS stimulation was found to coincide with the expression of IP-10(CXCL10) mRNA. Conclusion : Although IL-18 alone exerts no direct effect on the expression of chemokine IP-10(CXCL10), a definite period of IL-18 pretreatment induces the synergistic expression of LPS-induced IP-10(CXCL10) mRNA. NF-${\kappa}B$ activation is a component of this synergistic effect of IL-18 pretreatment. These results provide useful information, which may facilitate the elucidation of the action mechanisms underlying IL-18 effect on the expression of IP-10(CXCL10) mRNA.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.245-257
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• 1999

일상 생활에서 우리는 스트레스에 항상 노출되어 있으며, 스트레스는 생체의 신경계, 내분비계 및 면역계의 변화를 수반한 항상성의 파괴로 수많은 정신적, 육체적 질병을 야기시킨다. 특히 구강안면영역에서도 다양한 구강점막질환과 구강건조증 등을 발생시킨다. 스트레스를 제거하는 방법으로는 약물요법 및 상담, 명상요법, 종교요법 등 다양한 방법이 제시되고 있는데, 다소의 부작용이 나타나거나 꾸준히 시행하기가 쉽지 않으며 스트레스의 원인을 근본적으로 제거하기가 현실적으로 용이하지 않은 경우가 많아 스트레스에 대한 해결책에 대하여 많은 관심이 집중되고 있다. 이에 본인은 스트레스가 가해졌을 때 백서 악하선에서 관철되며 apoptosis에 대하여 세포보호작용을 하는 clusterin(SGP-2)을 이용하여 구속스트레스를 가하기에 앞서 오랫동안 경험적으로 사용되어 왔고 부작용이 적은 전통약물인 보혈안신탕을 투여하고 스트레스에 의한 타액선의 조직변화를 관찰하여 그 효과를 확인해 보고자하였다. Sprague-Dawley계 응성 백서(200-230g/bw) 33마리를 정상 대조군(3마리), 구속스트레스군(15마리) 및 보혈안신탕 투여 후 구속스트레스군(15마리)으로 나누고 이틀을 각각 구속장치에 구속한 후 0, 1, 3, 5, 7일에 회생시켜 악하선을 적출하였으며, 면역조직화학법 및 Northern Blot을 이용하여 clusterin의 변화를 관찰하였다. 그 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 구속스트레스군의 악하선 조직에서 clusterin 단백질과 mRNA는 실험 즉일군에서만 미약하게 관찰되었으며 실험 3일과 5일 후에 핵붕괴 및 핵농축 등의 핵변화를 동반한 apoptosis가 관찰 되었다. 2. 보혈안신탕 투여 후 구속스트레스군의 악하선 조직에서 실험 5일군까지 clusterin 이 증가한 후 실험 7일군에서는 감소하였다. 3. 보혈안신탕 투여 후 구속스트레스군의 악하선 조직에서는 apoptosis가 관찰되지 않았다. 4. 보혈안신탕 투여 후 구속스트레스군의 악하선 조직에서 clusterin mRNA가 실험 전군에 걸쳐 미약하게 관찰되었다. 이상의 결과로 타액선 조직은 스트레스 단백질인 clusterin을 생산하여 세포를 보호함으로써 스트레스 상황에 적응하지만, 생리적 적용한계를 넘는 스트레스에 노출될 때는 apoptosis됨이 확인되었다. 그리고 보혈안신탕은 스트레스 상황에서 세포의 생리적 적응력을 높여 세포의 apoptosis를 억제하는 효과를 나타냄이 확인되었다. 따라서 본 연구결과는 구강건조증등의 스트레스성 타액선 질환의 병리기전을 규명하는데 도움이되리라 생각되며, 향후 항스트레스 효과를 가진 보혈안신탕등의 한약재를 임상에 적용함으로써 스트레스로 인한 신체의 병리적 변화를 다소나마 차단할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.175-183
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• 2005

The two major isoflavones in soy, genistein and daidzein, are well known to prevent hormone-dependent cancers by their anti estrogenic activity. The exact molecular mechanisms for the protective action are, however, not provided yet. It has been reported that genistein and daidzein have a potential anticancer activity through their antiproliferative effect in many hormone-dependent cancer cell lines. Transforming growth $factor-\beta1(TGF-\beta1)$ has also been found to have cell growth inhibitory effect, especially in mammary epithelial cells. This knowledge led to a hypothetical mechanism that the soy isoflavones-induced growth inhibitory effect can be derived from the regulation of $TGF-\beta1$ and $TGF-\beta$ receptors. In order to test this hypothesis, the effects of the soy isoflavones at various concentrations and periods on the expression of $TGF-\beta1$and $TGF-\beta$ receptors were investigated by using Northern blot analysis in human breast carcinoma epithelial cell lines, an estrogen receptor positive cell line (MCF-7) and an estrogen receptor negative cell line (MDA-MB-231). As a result, only genistein has shown a profound dose-dependent effect on $TGF-\beta1$ expression in the $ER^+$ cell line within the range of doses tested, and the expression levels are correspondent to their inhibitory activities of cell growth. Moreover, daidzein showed down-regulated $TGF-\beta1$ expression at a low dose, the cell growth proliferation was promoted at the same condition. Therefore, antiproliferative activity of the soy isoflavones can be mediated by $TGF-\beta1$ expression, and the effects are mainly, if not all, occurred by ER dependent pathway. The expression of $TGF-\beta$ receptors was induced at a lower dose than the one for $TGF-{\beta}1$ induction regardless of the presence of ER, and the expression patterns are similar to those of the cell growth inhibition. These results indicated that the regulation of $TGF-\beta$ receptor expression as well, prior to $TGF-\beta1$ expression, may be involved in the antiproliferative activity of soy isoflavones. Little or no expression of $TGF-\beta$ receptors was found in the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, suggesting refractory properties of the cells to growth inhibitory effect of the $TGF-\beta$. The soy isoflavones can seemingly restore the sensitivity of growth inhibitory responses to $TGF-\beta1$ by re-inducing $TGF-\beta$ receptors expression. In conclusions, our findings presented in this study show that the antitumorigenic activity of the soy isoflavones could be mediated by not only $TGF-\beta1$induction but $TGF-\beta$ receptor restoration. Thus, soy isoflavones could be good model molecules to develop new nonsteroidal antiestrogenic chemopreventive agents, associated with, regulation of $TGF-\beta$ and its receptors.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2005

A potent demethylating agent, 5-Azacytidine (5-AzaC) has been widely used as in many studies on DNA methylation, regulation of gene expression, and cancer biology. The mechanisms of the demethylating activity were known to be formation of complex between DNA and DNA methyltransferase (MTase), which depletes cellular MTase activity. However, 5-AzaC can also induce hypermethylation of a transgene in a transgenic cell line, G12 cells and it was explained as a result of defense mechanisms to inactivate foreign gene(s) somehow. This finding evoked the question that whether the phenomenon of hypermethylation induced by 5-AzaC is limited to the transgene or it can be occurred in endogenous gene(s). In order to answer the question, mutagenicity test of 5-AzaC and molecular characterization of mutants obtained from the test were performed using an endogenous gene, thymidine kinase (tk) in Chinese hamster V79 cells. When V79 and V79-J3 subclone cells were treated with 1, 2.5 ,5, $10{\mu}M$ of 5-AzaC for 48 hours, their maximum mutant frequencies were revealed as $6\times10^{-3}\;at\;5{\mu}M$(350-fold induction over background) and $8\times10^{-3}\;at\;2.5{\mu}M$ (l,800-fold induction over background) respectively. Since the induction rates were too high to be induced by true mutations, many trifluorothymidine (TFT)-resistant $(TFT^R)$ cells were subjected to Northern blot analysis to check the presence of tk transcripts. Surprisingly, all clones tested possessed the transcripts in a similar level, that implicates the $TFT^R$ phenotype induced by 5-AzaC has not given rise to hypermethylation of the gene in spite of unusually high mutation frequency. In addition, it has shown that the TK activity in the pool of 5-AzaC-induced $TFT^R$ cells has about a half of that in spontaneously-induced $TFT^R$ cells or in non-selected parental V79-J3 cells. This result suggests that the mechanism(s) underlying the TFT-resistance between spontaneously occurred and 5-AzaC-induced cells may be different. These findings have shown that the $TFT^R$ phenotype induced by 5-AzaC has not given rise to hypermethylation of the tk gene, and 5-AzaC may be induced by one or combined pathways among many drug resistance mechanisms. The exact mechanisms for the 5-AzaC-induced $TFT^R$ phenotype remain to elucidate.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.212-218
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• 2010

Zinc finger-containing transcription factors are the largest single family of transcriptional regulators in mammals, which play an essential role in cell differentiation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and neoplastic transformation. Here we have cloned a novel KRAB-related zinc finger gene, ZNF424, encoding a protein of 555aa. ZNF424 gene consisted of 4 exons and 3 introns, and mapped to chromosome 19p13.3. ZNF424 gene was ubiquitously expressed in human embryo tissues by Northern blot analysis. ZNF424 is conserved across species in evolution. Using a GFP-labeled ZNF424 protein, we demonstrate that ZNF424 localizes mostly in the nucleus. Transcriptional activity assays shows ZNF424 suppresses transcriptional activity of L8G5-luciferase. Overexpression of ZNF424 in HEK-293 cells inhibited the transcriptional activity of NFAT and p21, which may be silenced by siRNA. The results suggest that ZNF424 protein may act as a transcriptional repressor that suppresses NFAT and p21 pathway to mediate cellular functions.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.389-405
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of IGF-I for DNA synthetic activity and the mRNA expression of bone matrix protein, type I collagen and osteopontin in prolifetation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. To evaluate DNA synthetic activity, cells were seeded at $2{\times}10^4cells/ml$ in 24 well plates and to evaluate mRNA of type I collagen and osteopontin cells were seeded at $5{\times}10^5cells/ml$ in 100mm culture dishes. These cells were cultured in alpha-minimum essential medium(${\alpha}-MEM$) containing 10% fetal bovine serum at $37^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ incubator. For DNA synthetic activity test 1, 10, 100ng/ml IGF-I were added to the cells which had been cultured for 3 days before 24 hours. For type I collagen mRNA expression 1, 10ng/ml IGF-I were added to the cells which had been cultured for 5, 10 days and for osteopontin mRNA expression 0.1, 1, 10ng/ml IGF-I were added to the cells which had been cultured for 5, 15, 20 days. Cell proliferaton was measured by the incorporation of [$^3H$]-thymidine into DNA and expression for type I collagen and osteopontin were measured by northern blot analysis. The results were as follows : DNA synthetic activity were generally higher in experimental group than control group. Expressions of type I collagen mRNA were higher at 5 day group and much lower at 10 day group in the control groups. In the experimental groups, mRNA expressions were slightly increased when 1 ng/ml IGF-I were added to 5 day group and decreased in all experimental 10 day groups. Expressions of osteopontin mRNA were higher at 20 day groups and lower at 15 day groups than the control groups. In the experimental groups, mRNA expressions were incereased when 0.1, 1 ng/ml IGF-I were added to 5 day group and in all the 15 day groups, but decreased when 0.1, 1, 10 ng/ml IGF-I were added to 20 day groups. IGF-I stimulated DNA synthetic activity of MC3T3-E1 cells during proliferation stage significantly, did not greatly changed effects on type I collagen mRNA expression and stimulated osteopontin mRNA expression at 15 day especially. In conclusion, we suggests that IGF-I have a tendency of stimulation effect of DNA synthetic activity but do not stimulate type I collagen mRNA in proliferation stage of MC3T3-E1 cell cultures, and stimulate osteopontin mRNA in differentiation stage of MC3T3-E1 cell cultures.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.57-69
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• 2003

It is well known that many pesticides possess hormonal activity, and affect the developments of wildlife and mammals including human. Currently, pyrethroid insecticides are in worldwide use to control in and outdoor pests, providing potential far environmental exposure. Hormonal activities of these pyrethroid insecticides, however, have been little studied, and the developmental effects of them were no reported. Therefore, we firstly examined the potential estrogenic activities of some pyrethroid insecticides (permethrin, cypermethrin, tetramethrin, deltamethrin, sumithrin, fenvalerate and bioallethrin) by immature rat uterotrophic assay, luciferase reporter gene assay and Calbindin-D$\sub$9k/ (CaBP-9k) gene expression assay. Uterine wet weights were increased by permethrin and the permethrin-induced weights were inhibited by ICI 182780 in the uterolrophic assay. On the other hand tetramethrin significantly reduced uterine and vaginal wet weights, and also inhibited the E2-induced weight increases at all doses tested. Cypermethrin and sumithrin had a tendency to increase uterine weights, although not statistically significant. Permethrin and cypermethrin dose-dependently increased the luciferase activity in reporter gene assay. Northern blot analysis showed that permethrin induced CaBP-9k mRNA expression whereas tetramethrin inhibted. Subsequent studies were conducted to investigate the possible developmental effects of four pyrethroid insecricides (permethrin, cypermethrin, sumithrin and teramethrin). Either diethlbestrol (DES) or 17${\beta}$ -estradiol (E2) was used as a reference control in this study. Pyrethroid insecticides were administered to Sprague Dawley rats via subcutaneous injection at 6 to 18 days of gestation or 1 to 5 days after birth. In utero treatment of permethrin (10mg/kg/day) in female rat resulted in significant increases in uterine and ovarian weights while significant decreases in serum E2 concentration, uterine and ovarian ER${\alpha}$ mRNA levels. Sumithrin and permethrin led to acceleration in vaginal opening of female rat, while delay in preputial separation of male after neonatal treatment. Anogenital distances of PND 18 were significantly reduced in sumthrin-treated, and permerhrin-treated male rats after neonatal treatment. All the pyrethroid insecticides tested caused significant increases in uterine weights on PND 18, while significant reductions in the first diestrus phase when neonataly treated. In addition, exposure to pyrethroids in neonatal period led to significant reduction in relative brain weight in female rat on PND 18, but its weight was recovered in diestrus phase. In summary, Our experimental data demonstrate the possibilities of developmental effects of pyrethroid insecticides via estrogenic or antiestrogenic activity.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.283-287
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• 2001

Differential display based on PCR was employed to identify genes expressed during tuber-developing stage of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Irish Cobbler). An eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A) clone isolated from a cDNA library constructed with developing micro-tuber using a probe of PCR fragment. We isolated three positive clones and ore of them contained open reading frame. This clone revealed high sequence similarity to tomato eIF 5A cDNA. At the DNA level, there is 94.8% identity with the tomato eIF-5A4, whereas at the protein level there is a high identity with 97.5%. The potato eIF 5A clone is 716 bp in length and contains a single open reading frame from 57 to 539 bp, a 56 bp 5'-untranslated region and a 177 bp 3'-untranslated region. The deduced protein composed of 160 amino acid residues, with a predicted molecular mass of 17.4 kD and an estimated pl of 5.5. The sequence of 12 (STSKTGKHGHAK) amino acids among eIF-5A proteins is perfectly conserved from yeast to human. That sequence in potato eIF-5A protein is also conserved at position 46 to 57 amino acid. This region embeds the post-translational modification site of the lysine residue (at the seventh K) to hypusine that is crucial to eIF-5A activity. The northern blot analysis of eIF5A has shown abundant expression, mainly in flower organs (stamen, ovary, petal, sepal), fruit and stolen.