• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.294-298
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• 2001

Highly effective polymerase chain reaction (PCR) often brings about false positivity caused by contamination of the sample with target nucleic acids. To solve this problem, in situ PCR (ISPCR) has been developed and applied onto various tissue sections and suspension cultures. With combination of PCR and in situ hybridization, this method amplifies the nucleic acid targets in situ and detect the amplified products inside the cells over the background of various cell types. In order to amplify the nucleic acid targets inside the cells, permeabilisation of a sample is required for the entry of amplification reactants into a cell. Treatments of a sample for the purpose allow not only the entry of reactants into the cell but also the exit of amplification products out of the cell. As a means to reduce the leakage of the amplification products, two methods were applied to suspension cultures of HIV-infected Molt/LAV and U 1.1 cells, in which modified, tailed primers produced long linear amplificants whereas biotinylated dUTP instead of dTTP did bulky products.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.12.1-12.10
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• 2024

Background: Staphylococcus aureus and S. pseudintermedius are the major etiological agents of staphylococcal infections in humans, livestock, and companion animals. The misuse of antimicrobial drugs has led to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus spp., including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP). One novel therapeutic approach against MRSA and MRSP is a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) that can bind to the target nucleotide strands and block expression. Previously, two PNAs conjugated with cell-penetrating peptides (P-PNAs), antisense PNA (ASP)-cmk and ASP-deoD, targeting two essential genes in S. aureus, were constructed, and their antibacterial activities were analyzed. Objectives: This study analyzed the combined antibacterial effects of P-PNAs on S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius clinical isolates. Methods: S. aureus ATCC 29740 cells were treated simultaneously with serially diluted ASP-cmk and ASP-deoD, and the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were measured. The combined P-PNA mixture was then treated with S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius veterinary isolates at the determined MIC, and the antibacterial effect was examined. Results: The combined treatment of two P-PNAs showed higher antibacterial activity than the individual treatments. The MICs of two individual P-PNAs were 20 and 25 µM, whereas that of the combined treatment was 10 µM. The application of a combined treatment to clinical Staphylococcus spp. revealed S. aureus isolates to be resistant to P-PNAs and S. pseudintermedius isolates to be susceptible. Conclusions: These observations highlight the complexity of designing ASPs with high efficacy for potential applications in treating staphylococcal infections in humans and animals.

• 대한핵의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1967.11a
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• pp.101.3-101.3
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• 1967

• Polymer Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.250-253
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• 2013

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.24 no.2 s.77
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• pp.135-141
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• 1996

Auxotrophs and drug resistant mutants from the mycelia of Lentinus edodes were obtained by UV irradiation at survival rates of $0.024{\sim}2.45%$ and ethidium bromide (EtBr) enrichment after UV irradiation. The mutation rate was 0.40%, and back mutation rate was $4.81{\times}10^{-4}{\sim}8.46{\times}10^{-4}$. Various amino acid-, nucleic acid-, and vitamin-requiring auxotrophs were isolated. The concentrations of several fungicides, antibiotics and amino acid analogues inhibiting the growth of L. edodes were determined. The MIC values for cycloheximide, benomyl, and p-fluorophenylalanine were 2, 2000, and 1000 ug/ml respectively. Five p-fluorophenylalanine-resistant mutants and eight benomyl-resistant mutants were selected by UV irradiation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.139.1-139
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• 2003

Tissues from woody plant contain higher amount of phenolic compounds and polysaccharides, which give inhibitory effects on reverse transcriptase and/or Taq ploymerase. The common multiple-step protocols using several additives to inhibit polyphenoic compounds during nucleic acid extraction are time consuming and laborious. Sodium sulfite (Na$_2$SO$_3$) was used as inhibitor of polyphenolic oxidases in extraction buffer and compare it's effect between commercial RNA extraction kit and small-scale double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) extraction by RT-PCR. During nucleic acid extraction procedure, addition of 0.5％-1.5％ (w/v) sodium sulfite to Iysis buffer or STE buffer resulted in lighter color change than extracts without sodium sulfite and improve the RT-PCR detection. When commercial RNA extraction kit used, optimal concentration of sodium sulfite were variable according to the host plant. However, using dsRNA as RT-PCR template, 1.5％ sodium sulfite in STE buffer improves the detection of both viruses and unspecific amplifications were reduced significantly, Furthermore, when viruses existed at low titers in host plant, small-scale dsRNA extractions were very reliable.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.447-450
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• 1994

Rate of hydrolysis ethylene phosphate, dimethylphosphate and hydroxyethylmethylphosphate in neutral water have been measured. Hydrolysis of ethylene phosphate proceeds with P-0 bond cleavage $(k_{obs}=3{\times}10^{-7}s^{-1}\;at\;100^{\circ}C,\;{\Delta}H{\neq}=24\;kcal,\;{\Delta}S{\neq}=25.5\;eu)$. In constrast, hydrolysis of dimethylphosphate proceeds with C-O bond cleavage $(k_{obs}=3{\times}10^{-7}s^{-1}\;at\;150^{\circ}C)$. The rate constant for P-O bond cleavage of dimethylphosphate is estimated at $1{\times}10^{-11}s^{-1}\;at\;150^{\circ}C,\;({\Delta}H{\neq}=36\;kcal,\;{\Delta}S{\neq}=25.5\;eu)$. A phosphodiesterase catalyzed hydrolysis of dimethylphosphate is $10^{17}$ times faster than the simple water rate. The observed rate of hydrolysis of hydroxyethylmethylphosphate is comparable to that of dimethylphosphate indicating C-O bond cleavage $(k_{obs}=6{\times}10^{-7}s^{-1}\;at\;150^{\circ}C)$.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2012

More than ten years have passed since the sentinel node (SN) concept for gastric cancer surgery was first discussed. Less invasive modified surgical approaches based on the SN concept have already been put into practice for malignant melanoma and breast cancer, however the SN concept is not yet placed in a standard position in gastric cancer surgery even after two multi-institutional prospective clinical trials, the Japan Clinical Oncology Group trial (JCOG0302) and the Japanese Society for Sentinel Node Navigation Surgery (SNNS) trial. What is the problem in the clinical application of the SN concept to gastric cancer surgery? There is no doubt that we need reliable indicator(s) to determine with certainty the absence of metastasis in the lymph nodes in order to avoid unnecessary lymphadenectomy. There are several matters of debate in performing the actual procedure, such as the type of tracer, the site of injection, how to detect and harvest, how to detect metastases of SNs, and learning period. These issues have to be addressed further to establish the most suitable procedure. Novel technologies such as indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging and one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) may overcome the current difficulties. Once we know what the problems are and how to tackle them, we can pursue the goal.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.72-78
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• 2015

Recently, noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) has been adopted as a primary screening tool for fetal chromosomal aneuploidy. The principle of NIPT lies in isolating the fetal fraction of cell-free DNA in maternal plasma and analyzing it with bioinformatic tools to measure the amount of gene from the target chromosome, such as chromosomes 21, 18, and 13. NIPT will contribute to decreasing the need for unnecessary invasive procedures, including amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling, for confirming fetal aneuploidy because of its higher positive predictive value than that of the conventional prenatal screening method. However, its greater cost than that of the current antenatal screening protocol may be an obstacle to the adoption of this innovative technique in clinical practice. Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) is a novel approach for detecting and quantifying nucleic acid. dPCR provides real-time diagnostic advantages with higher sensitivity, accuracy, and absolute quantification than conventional quantitative PCR. Since the groundbreaking discovery that fetal cell-free nucleic acid exists in maternal plasma was reported, dPCR has been used for the quantification of fetal DNA and for screening for fetal aneuploidy. It has been suggested that dPCR will decrease the cost by targeting specific sequences in the target chromosome, and dPCR-based noninvasive testing will facilitate progress toward the implementation of a noninvasive approach for screening for trisomy 21, 18, and 13. In this review, we highlight the principle of dPCR and discuss its future implications in clinical practice.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2002

Ecophysiologically diapause represents a syndrome of physiological and biochemical characteristics, all of which ensure survival during a long period of dormancy. Since, silkworm enters diapause as embryo at the early embryonic stage, the duration of egg life depends on the duration of embryonic diapause. The nature of diapause in silkworm, Bombyx mori, is primarily determined by genetic characters and endocrinologicnl mechanisms, mediated by environmental factors such as temperature and photoperiod. Hibernating potency value besides nucleic acid and carbohydrate metabolism, production and utilization of sorbitol are also equally responsible for induction, initiation, determination, maintenance and termination of diapause. Embryonic diapause in Bombyx moir, induced by active secretion of sub-oesophageal ganglion is attributed to hormonal system and metabolic adjustment, which serves to bring about a new physiological state. Metabolic conversion of trehalose to glycogen at induction, glycogen to sorbitol at initiation and sorbitol to glycogen at termination of diapause is correlated and in each metabolic shift a key enzyme becomes active in response to hormonal and environmental stimulation. An attempt has been made in this review article to discuss briefly the nature of embryonic diapause, influence of various factors on diapause nature, hormonal mechanism of diapause besides biochemical composition of egg, nucleic acid and carbohydrate metabolism, production and utilization of sorbitol in relation to induction, determination, maintenance, initiation and termination of diapause in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.