• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2007

We identified two alternatively spliced variants of the peroxisomal targeting signal 1 (PTS1) receptor protein Pex5ps in monocot (rice, wheat, and barley) but not in dicot (Arabidopsis and tobacco) plants. We characterized the molecular and functional differences between the rice (Oryza sativa) Pex5 splicing variants OsPex5pL and OsPex5pS. There is only a single-copy of OsPEX5 in the rice genome and RT-PCR analysis points to alternative splicing of the transcripts. Putative light-responsive cis-elements were identified in the 5' region flanking OsPEX5L and Northern blot analysis demonstrated that this region affected light-dependent expression of OsPEX5 transcription. Using the pex5-deficient yeast mutant Scpex5, we showed that OsPex5pL and OsPex5pS are able to restore translocation of a model PTS1 protein (GFP-SKL) into peroxisomes. OsPex5pL and OsPex5pS formed homo-complexes via specific interaction domains, and interacted with each other and OsPex14p to form hetero-complexes. Although overexpression of OsPex5pL in the Arabidopsis pex5 mutant (Atpex5) rescued the mutant phenotype, overexpression of OsPex5pS only resulted in partial recovery.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 1998

Xanthomonas sp. isolated from soil exhibited cell wall lytic activity of Candida albicans and secreted chitinase in chitin media. Especially, the chitinase activity was induced by chitin and reached a maximum level at 3 days culture in chitin media. We constructed genomic library of Xanthomonas sp. using cosmid vector in E. coli. Oligonucleotide probe was synthesized from the consensus sequence corresponding to chitinase active site, which was derived from the comparison of amino acid sequences of bacterial chitinase genes. Using this oligonucleotide probe, we screened the genomic library. By restriction enzyme mapping of the positive clones, we identified 4 independent clones which may contain the chitinase gene. One of the clones, named pXCH1 (1.2 kb insert), was further analyzed. Northern blot analysis indicated that is transcripts, 1 kb and 0.8 kb, were induced by chitin. When the cloned gene was induced by IPTG in E.coli cell, chitinase activity which was secreted onto culture media was not observed. However, when the cell was disrupted by using sonicator and then centrifuged, the supernatant exhibited chitinase activity. SDS-PAGE of the supernatant indicated that about 35 kDa protein was induced by IPTG. From these results, it was concluded that the cloned DNA was one of the chitinase genes of Xanthomonas sp.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.265-272
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• 2008

The CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β(C/EBPβ), a member of the leucine zipper DNA-binding protein of transcription factor, plays a crucial role in the control of early phases of adipocyte differentiation. In this studies, we report the identification, characterization, and expression of the Korean native cattle C/EBPβ gene. The Korean native cattle and black cattle C/EBPβ cDNA includes a 1047bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 348 amino acids. The C/EBPβ cDNA sequence of the Korean native cattle and black cattle shows high conservation with the corresponding amino acid sequences reported in other species. The distribution of C/EBPβ mRNA in various tissues of Korean native cattle aged 26 months was investigated using Northern Blot analysis. The C/EBPβ expression was detected in adipose tissue, lung, sirloin while expression was not detected in heart, kidney, small intestine, colon, and liver. However, we are analyzed polymorphism of bZIP domain in the C/EBPβ gene. A polymorphism was not identified at this position.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.368-374
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• 2011

The relationship between MDHA reductase activity and ascorbate, dehydroascorbate, and hydrogen peroxide content was evaluated, and this experiment was conducted to determine the change of MDHA reductase activity and the level of steady-state mRNA abundance of MDHA reductase in lettuce leaves subjected to low temperature stress. MDHA reductase activity of chloroplastic and cytosolic fraction in lettuce leaves subjected to $4^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr increased, followed by a steady decrease during the duration of recovery to $20^{\circ}C$ for 48 hr. The content of ascorbate slowly increased during low temperature treatment, followed by a rapid increase during the duration of recovery to $20^{\circ}C$ for 48 hr, while dehydroascorbate content rapidly decreased. The relationship between MDHA reductase activity of chloroplastic and cytosolic fraction in lettuce leaves subjected to $4^{\circ}C$ and ascorbate content correlated positively ($R^2$=0.9240, 0.9108, respectively), but MDHA reductase activity of chloroplastic and cytosolic fraction and dehydroascorbate were reversely correlated ($R^2$=0.8638, 0.8980, respectively). Hydrogen peroxide content and MDHA reductase activity of chloroplastic and cytosolic fraction in lettuce leaves subjected to $4^{\circ}C$ correlated positively ($R^2$=0.9443, 0.9647, respectively). Northern blot analysis showed that the level of mRNA transcript of MDHA reductase was similar to total activity of MDHA reductase, and also that the level of mRNA of MDHA reductase after recovery to $20^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr decreased.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2001

In order to investigate the effect of Transforming growth factor ${\beta}1$(below TGF-${\beta}1$) and osteogenic protein-1(below Op-1) onto the myogenic differentiation, C2C12 satellite myoblastic cell line was cultured and treated with both growth factors. At first morphological changes with microscopical examination were examined, and isolated total RNA to analyse mRNA expression of bone marker proteins, muscle regulatory proteins, TGF-${\beta}$ receptor and their ligands by Northern blot analysis. And cellular proliferative inducibility of both growth factors was also tested to C2C12 cells. Incubating the cell with $5ng/m{\ell}$ of TGF-${\beta}1$ until 4 days almost inhibited multinucleated myotube formation expressing muscular regulatory proteins, and induced decreasing Id proteins. However, no osteoblastic phenotypes was induced by TGF-${\beta}1$ in C2C12 cells. The mRNA expression of TGF-${\beta}$ receptors with TGF-${\beta}1$ was conversed after 48 hours cultured. Type I TGF-${\beta}$ receptor was seemed to play a role in negative signalling for inhibition of myogenic differentiation. OP-1 dose dependently induced ALP activity, osteopontine production and bone sialoprotein production at concentrations above $100ng/m{\ell}$ and osteocalcin production at concentrations above $300ng/m{\ell}$. The concentration of OP-1 required to induce these osteoblastic phenotypes was the same as that required to almost completely inhibit myotube formation. Incubation with above $100ng/m{\ell}$ OP-1 suppressed the expression of mRNA for muscular egulatory proteins from 2 days after incubation. Expression of Id-1, 2, 3 mRNA were stimulated by OP-1 at concentration above $300ng/m{\ell}$. When C2C12 cells were treated with both growth factors, TGF-${\beta}1$ potentiated the inhibitory effect of OP-1 on myotube formation and expression of mRNA for myogenin at 12 days. And TGF-${\beta}1$ reduced osteocalcin and bone sialoprotein production induced by OP-1 at 12 days in C2C12 cells. Both growth factor had no mitogenic effect. These results indicate that OP-1 converts the differentiation pathway of C2C12 myoblasts into that of osteoblastic lineage cells and it's not heritable, but TGF-${\beta}1$ does not and has reversible inhibitory activity on the myogenic differentiation. TGF-${\beta}1$ and OP-1 play a role in myogenic differentiation via different mechanism between them.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.37-37
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• 2015

dsRNA was found in malformed cultures of Lentinula edodes strain FMRI0339, one of the three most popular sawdust cultivated commercial strains of shiitake, and was also found in healthy-looking fruiting bodies and actively growing mycelia. Cloning of the partial genome of the dsRNA revealed the presence of the RdRp sequence of a novel L. edodes mycovirus (LeV), and sequence comparison of the cloned amplicon showed an identical sequence to known RdRp genes of LeV found in strain HKA. The meiotic stability of dsRNA was examined by measuring the ratio of the presence of dsRNA among sexual monokaryotic progeny. More than 40% of the monokaryotic progeny still contained the dsRNA, indicating the persistence of dsRNA during sexual reproduction. Comparing the mycelia growth of monokaryotic progeny suggested that, although variations in the growth rate existed among progeny and virus infection was observed in highly actively growing progeny, there appeared to be a tendency toward a lower frequency of virus incidence in actively growing progeny. This study attempted to cure the edible mushroom L. edodes strain FMRI0339 of the L. edodes mycovirus (LeV) in order to obtain an isogenic virus-free fungal strain as well as a virus-infected strain for comparison. Mycelial fragmentation, followed by being spread on a plate with serial dilutions resulted in a virus-free colony. Viral absence was confirmed with gel electrophoresis after dsRNA-specific virus purification, Northern blot analysis, and PCR using reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR). Once cured, all of fungal cultures remained virus-free over the next two years. Interestingly, the viral titer of LeV varied depending on the culture condition. The titer from the plate culture showed at least a 20-fold higher concentration than that grown in the liquid culture. However, the reduced virus titer in the liquid culture was recovered by transferring the mycelia to a plate containing the same medium. In addition, oxygen-depleted culture conditions resulted in a significant decrease of viral concentration, but not to the extent seen in the submerged liquid culture. Although no $discernable phenotypic changes in colony morphology were observed, virus-cured strains showed significantly higher growth rates and mycelial mass than virus-infected strains. We were also explored effects of LeV on fruiting body formation and mushroom yield. The fruiting body formation yield of virus-free L. edodes was larger than virus-infected L. edodes. These results indicate that LeV infection has a deleterious effect on mycelial growth and fruiting body formation. In addition, we have been investigated host-parasite interaction between L. edodes and its mycovirus interaction to study viral mechanism by establishment of proteomics.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.529-533
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• 2011

Metallothioneins (MT) are a group of low-molecular weight, cysteine-rich, intracellular proteins that are encoded by a family of genes containing at least 10 functional isoforms in human. The expression and induction of these proteins is associated with protection against DNA damage, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Many studies have shown increased expression of MT in various human tumors, whereas MT is down-regulated in certain tumors such as hepatocellular carcinoma and liver adenocarcinoma. Hence, the expression of MT is not universal to all human tumors but may depend on the differentiation status and proliferative index of tumors, along with other tissue factors and gene mutations. Using Northern blot analysis, we found that laminin induced expression of MT-1 in HSG and PC12 cells, which can be differentiated by laminin, but had no effect on MB-231, MDA-435, and PC-3 cells, which cannot be differentiated by laminin. In addition, we analyzed the expression level of the MT-1 gene in five prostate cancer cell lines possessing different metastatic potential. The expression of MT-1 in normal and less malignant cells (RWPE-1 and WPE1-NA22) was high and up-regulated by laminin, whereas the expression of MT-1 in WPE1-NB14, WPE1-NB11, and WPE1-NB26 cells (malignant) was extremely low and not elevated by laminin. These results suggest that the MT-1 gene is involved in laminin-mediated differentiation and affects the metastatic potential of tumor cells.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.338-348
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• 1997

Background : Endotoxin, the component of outermembrane of gram negative organism, plays an important role in the initiation and amplification of inflammatory reaction by its effects on inflammatory cells. Until recently, there have been continuing efforts to delinate the mechanisms of the signal trasduction pathway of endotoxin stimuli on inflammatory cells. By uncovering the mechanisms of signal transduction pathway of endotoxin stimuli, we can expect to have tools to control the excessive inflammatory responses which sometimes may be fatal to the involved host. It was generally accepted that endotoxin exerts its inflammatory effects through inflammatory cytokines that are produced by endotoxin-stimulated inflammatory cells and there were some reports on the importance of protein kinase C and protein tyrosine kinase activation in the production of inflammatory cytokines by endotoxin So we evaluated the effect of pretreatment of protein kinase C inhibitors (H7, Staurosporin) and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors(Herbimycin, Genistein) on the endotoxin-stimulated cytokines(IL-8 & TNF-$\alpha$) mRNA expression. Method : Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from healthy volunteers by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient method and purified by adhesion to 60mm Petri dishes. Endotoxin(LPS 100ng/ml) was added to each dishes except one control dish, and each endotoxin-stimulated dishes was preincubated with H7, Staurosporin(protein kinase C inhibitor), Herbimycin or Genistein(protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor) respectively except one dish. Four hours later the endotoxin stimulation, total RNA was extracted and Northern blot analysis for IL-8 mRNA and TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA was done. Result : Endotoxin stimulation increased the expression of IL-8 mRNA and TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA expression in human peripheral blood monocyte as expected and the stimulatory effect of endotoxin on TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA expression was inhibited by protein kinase C inhibitors(H7, Staurosporin) and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Herbimycin, Genistein). The inhibitory effect of each drugs was increased with increasing concentration. The stimulatory effect of endotoxin on IL-8 mRNA was also inhibited by H7 and protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Herbimycin, Genistein) dose-dependently but not by Staurosporin. Conclusion : Protein kinase C and protein tyrosine kinase are involved in the endotoxin induced signal transduction pathway in human peripheral blood monocyte.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1271-1284
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• 1997

Background : Tumor necrosis factor(TNF) has been considered as an important candidate for cancer gene therapy based on its potent anti-tumor activity. However, since the efficiency of current techniques of gene transfer is not satisfactory, the majority of current protocols is aiming the in vitro gene transfer to cancer cells and re-introducing genetically modified cancer cells to host. In the previous study, it was shown that TNF-sensitive cancer cells transfected with TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA would become highly resistant to TNF, and the probability was shown that the acquired resistance to TNF might be associated with synthesis of some protective protein. Understanding the mechanisms of TNF-resistance in TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfected cancer cells would be an important step for improving the efficacy of cancer gene therapy as well as for better understandings of tumor biology. This study was designed to evaluate whether the levels of TNF receptor mRNA expression and soluble TNF receptor release from cancer cells are changed after TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfection. Method : We transfected TNF-$\alpha$ c-DNA to WEHI164(murine fibrosarcoma cell line), NCI-H2058(human mesothelioma cell line), A549(human non-small cell lung cancer cell line), ME180(human cervix cancer cell line) cells using retroviral vector(pLT12SN(TNF)) and confirm the expression of TNF with PCR, EUSA, MTT assay. Then we determined the TNF resistance of TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfected cells(WEHI164-TNF, NCIH2058-TNF, A549-TNF, ME180-TNF) and evaluated the TNF receptor mRNA expression with Northern blot analysis and soluble TNF receptor release with EUSA. Results : The TNF receptor mRNA expressions of parental cells and genetically modified cells were not significantly different. The soluble TNF receptor levels of media from genetically modified cells were lower than those from parental cells. Conclusion : The acquired resistance to TNF after TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfection may not be associated with the change in the TNF receptor and the soluble TNF receptor expression.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.421-432
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• 2005

In order to understand the renal reabsorption mechanism of neutral amino acids via amino acid transporters, we have isolated human L-type amino acid transporter 2 (hLAT2) and human T-type amino acid transporter 1 (hTAT1) in human, then, we have examined and compared the gene structures, the functional characterizations and the localization in human kidney. Northern blot analysis showed that hLAT2 mRNA was expressed at high levels in the heart, brain, placenta, kidney, spleen, prostate, testis, ovary, lymph node and the fetal liver. The hTAT1 mRNA was detected at high levels in the heart, placenta, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, pancreas, spleen, thymus and prostate. Immunohistochemical analysis on the human kidney revealed that the hLAT2 and hTAT1 proteins coexist in the basolateral membrane of the renal proximal tubules. The hLAT2 transports all neutral amino acids and hTAT1 transports aromatic amino acids. The basolateral location of the hLAT2 and hTAT1 proteins in the renal proximal tubule as well as the amino acid transport activity of hLAT2 and hTAT1 suggests that these transporters contribute to the renal reabsorption of neutral and aromatic amino acids in the basolateral domain of epithelial proximal tubule cells, respectively. Therefore, LAT2 and TAT1 play essential roles in the reabsorption of neutral amino acids from the epithelial cells to the blood stream in the kidney. Because LAT2 and TAT1 are essential to the efficient absorption of neutral amino acids from the kidney, their defects might be involved in the pathogenesis of disorders caused by a disruption in amino acid absorption such as blue diaper syndrome.