• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.48-55
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• 2001

When an elongating RNA polymerase encounters DNA damage on the template strand of a transcribed gene it can either be arrested by or be transcribed through the lesion. Lesions that arrest RNA polymerases are thought to be subject to transcription-coupled repair, whereas that damage that is bypassed can cause miscoding, resulting in mutations in the transcript (transcriptional mutagenesis). We have developed a technique using a plasmid-based luciferase reporter assay to determine the extent to which a particular type of DNA base modification is capable of causing transcriptional mutagenesis in vivo. The system uses Escherichia coli strains with different DNA repair backgrounds and is designed to detect phenotypic changes caused by transcriptional mutageneis under nongrowth conditions. In addition, this method is capable of indicating the extent to which a particular DNA repair enzyme (or pathway) suppresses the occurrence of transcriptional mutagenesis. Thus, this technique provides a tool with which the effects of various genes on non-replication-dependent pathways resulting in the generation of mutant proteins can be gauged.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.498-502
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• 1998

HBV polymerase shares several regions of amino acid homology with other DNA-directed and RNA-directed polymerases. The amino acid residues $Asp^{429}$, $Gly^{518}$, $Asp^{551}$, $Lys^{585}$, and $Gly^{641}$ in the conserved motifs A, B', C, D, and E in the polymerase domain of HBV polymerase were mutated to alanine or histidine by in vitro site-directed mutagenesis. Those mutants were overexpressed, purified, and analyzed against DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity and affinity for DNA binding. All those mutants did not show DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activities indicating that those five amino acid residues are all critical in DNA polymerase activity. South-Western analysis shows that amino acid residues $ASp^{429}$ and $ASp^{551}$ are essential to DNA binding, and $Gly^{318}$ and $Gly^{585}$ also affect DNA binding to a certain extent.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.452-456
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• 2001

Surface plasmon resonance has been used for a biospecific interaction analysis between two macromolecules in real time. Determination of an antibody that is capable of specifically interacting with the native form of antigen is very useful for many biological and medical applications. Twenty monoclonal antibodies against the $\alpha$ subunit of E. coli DNA polymerase III were screened for specifically recognizing the native form of protein using surface plasmon resonance. Only four monoclonal antibodies among them specifically recognized the native $\alpha$ protein, although all of the antibodies were able to specifically interact with the denatured $\alpha$ subunit. These antibodies failed to interfere with the interaction between the $\tau$ and $\alpha$ subunits that were required for dimerization of the two polymerases at the DNA replication fork. This real-time analysis using surface plasmon resonance provides an easy method to screen antibodies that are capable of binding to the native form of the antigen molecule and determine the biological interaction between the two molecules.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2008

A gene's influence on an organism's Darwinian fitness ultimately determines whether it will be lost, maintained or modified by natural selection, yet biologists have few gene expression systems in which to measure whole-organism gene function. In the Department of Molecular Ecology at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology we are training "molecularly enabled field biologists" to use transformed plants silenced in the expression of environmentally regulated genes and the plant's native habitats as "laboratories." Research done in these natural laboratories will, we hope, increase our understanding of the function of genes at the level of the organism. Examples of the role of threonine deaminase and RNA-directed RNA polymerases illustrate the process.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.381-385
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• 1999

Taq DNA polymerase from Thermus aquaticus has been shown to be very useful in a polymerase chain reaction. Taq DNA polymerase has a domain at the amino terminus (residues 1 to 290) that has 5'-3' exonuclease activity and a domain at the C-terminus that catalyzes the polymerase reaction. Taq DNA polymerase is classified into the Pol I family, which is represented by E. coli DNA polymerase I. The alignment of amino acid sequences for the 5'-3' exonuclease domains of the Pol I family DNA polymerases shows ten highly conserved carboxylic amino acids. Crystallographic studies suggested that six of the carboxylic amino acids are clustered within a 7 $\AA$ radius by chelating three metal ions in the active site. Those six carboxylic residues are mutagenized to alanines in order to better understand their function. All six carboxylic residues, Asp l8, Glu1l7, Asp1l9, Asp120, Asp142, and Aspl44, are crucial for catalysis of 5'-3' exonuclease.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.150-156
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• 2018

Tankyrases are multifunctional poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases that regulate a variety of cellular processes including WNT signaling, telomere maintenance, regulation of mitosis, and many others. Tankyrases interact with target proteins and regulate their interactions and stability through poly (ADP-ribosyl) ation. In addition to their roles in telomere maintenance and regulation of mitosis, tankyrase proteins regulate tumor suppressors such as AXIN, PTEN, and AMOT. Therefore, tankyrases can be effective targets for cancer treatment. Tankyrase inhibitors could affect a variety of pathways that are carcinogenic (essential for the unlimited proliferation of human cancer cells), including WNT, AKT, YAP, telomere maintenance, and regulation of mitosis. Recently, new aspects of the function and mechanism of tankyrases have been reported and several tankyrase inhibitors have been identified. Also, it has been proposed that the combination of conventional chemotherapy agents with tankyrase inhibitors may have synergistic anti-cancer effects. Based on this, it is expected that more advanced and improved tankyrase inhibitors will be developed, enabling new therapeutic strategies against cancer and other tankyrase linked diseases. This review discusses tankyrase function and the role of tankyrase inhibitors in the treatment of cancer.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.245-249
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• 2014

Among dozens of DNA polymerases cloned from thermophilic bacteria, Taq DNA polymerase from Thermus aquaticus has been most frequently used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that is being applied to gene cloning, DNA sequencing, gene expression analysis, and detection of infectious and genetic diseases. Since native Taq DNA polymerase is expressed at low level in T. aquaticus, recombinant Escherichia coli system was used to produce Taq DNA polymerase in a large amount. Taq DNA polymerase was expressed as a soluble form under the control of tac promoter in E. coli, and purified by heat treatment and ion exchange chromatographies. The purified Taq DNA polymerase was nearly homogeneous and exhibited a similar DNA amplification activity with a commercial Taq DNA polymerase.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.265-272
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• 2017

Aryl hydrocarbons such as 3-nitrobenzanthrone (NBA), 4-aminobiphenyl (ABP), acetylaminofluorene (AAF), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), and 1-nitropyrene (NP) form bulky DNA adducts when absorbed by mammalian cells. These chemicals are metabolically activated to reactive forms in mammalian cells and preferentially get attached covalently to the $N^2$ or C8 positions of guanine or the $N^6$ position of adenine. The proportion of $N^2$ and C8 guanine adducts in DNA differs among chemicals. Although these adducts block DNA replication, cells have a mechanism allowing to continue replication by bypassing these adducts: translesion DNA synthesis (TLS). TLS is performed by translesion DNA polymerases-Pol ${\eta}$, ${\kappa}$, ${\iota}$, and ${\zeta}$ and Rev1-in an error-free or error-prone manner. Regarding the NBA adducts, namely, 2-(2'-deoxyguanosin-$N^2$-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone (dG-$N^2$-ABA) and N-(2'-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone (dG-C8-ABA), dG-$N^2$-ABA is produced more often than dG-C8-ABA, whereas dG-C8-ABA blocks DNA replication more strongly than dG-$N^2$-ABA. dG-$N^2$-ABA allows for a less error-prone bypass than dG-C8-ABA does. Pol ${\eta}$ and ${\kappa}$ are stronger contributors to TLS over dG-C8-ABA, and Pol ${\kappa}$ bypasses dG-C8-ABA in an error-prone manner. TLS efficiency and error-proneness are affected by the sequences surrounding the adduct, as demonstrated in our previous study on an ABP adduct, N-(2'-deoxyguanosine-8-yl)-4-aminobiphenyl (dG-C8-ABP). Elucidation of the general mechanisms determining efficiency, error-proneness, and the polymerases involved in TLS over various adducts is the next step in the research on TLS. These TLS studies will clarify the mechanisms underlying aryl hydrocarbon mutagenesis and carcinogenesis in more detail.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.471-477
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• 1998

Taq DNA polymerase from Thermus aquaticus is very useful in the polymerase chain reaction. Taq DNA polymerase is classified in the pol I family, represented by E. coli DNA polymerase I. The three-dimensional structural alignment of 3'-5'exonuclease domains from the pol I family DNA polymerases explains why Taq DNA polymerase does not carry out proofreading in polymerase chain reactions. Three sequence motifs, Exo I, II, and III, must exist to carry out 3'-5'exonuclease activity for proof- reading by a 3'-5'exonuclease reaction, but these are abolished in Taq DNA polymerase. The key catalytic module in 3'-5'exonuclease is two metal ions chelated by four active-site carboxylic amino acids. Taq DNA polymerase was mutagenized to construct the catalytic module in the active site. The circular dichroism technique supported the formation of the catalytic module, and the radioactive assay showed that the 3'-5'exonuclease activity doubled in the mutant Taq DNA polymerase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.375.1-375.1
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• 2016

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has revolutionized genetics and become one of the most popular techniques in modern biological and medical sciences. It can be used not only as an in vitro DNA amplification method but also used in many bioassay applications. The PCR can be used to exponentially produce a large number of DNA copies from a small quantity of DNA molecules in a few hours. However, as unwanted DNA fragments are also often manufactured, the amplification efficiency of PCR is decreased. To overcome this limitation, several nanomaterials have been employed to increase the specificity of the PCR reaction. Recently, graphene has attracted a great interest for its excellent electron transfer, thermal and biocompatibility. Especially, gold nanoparticle-coated graphene oxide (GO/AuNPs) led to enhance electron and thermal transfer rate and low-charge transfer resistance. Therefore, we report the development of a demonstration for the PCR efficiency using a large-scale production of the GO and combination of gold nanoparticles. Because a thermal conductivity is an important factor for improving the PCR efficiency in different DNA polymerases and different size samples. When PCR use GO/AuNPs, the result of transmission electron microscopy and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) showed an enhanced PCR efficiency. We have demonstrated that GO/AuNPs would be simply outperformed for enhancing the specificity and efficiency of DNA amplification procedure.