• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2022.10a
• /
• pp.261-261
• /
• 2022

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] is one of the most important grain legumes that enhance soil fertility and is well-adapted to various abiotic stress. Also, it is cultivated worldwide as a tropical annual crop, and the semi-arid regions are known as the main cowpea-produced regions. However, accumulation of soil salinity induced by low rainfall in these regions is reducing crop yields and quality. In general, plants exposed to soil salinity cause an accumulation of high ion chloride, which leads to the degradation of root and leaf proteins. In this study, we identified candidate genes associated with salinity tolerance through an analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in four cowpea germplasms with contrasting salinity tolerance. A total of 553,776,035 short reads were obtained using the Illumina Novaseq 6000 platform for RNA-Seq, which were subsequently aligned to the reference genome of cowpea Vunguiculata v1.2. A total of9,806 DEGs were identified between NaCl treatment and control of four cowpea germplasms. Among these DEGs, functions related to salt stress such as calcium transporter and cytochrome-450 family were associated with salt stress. In GO analysis and KEGG analysis, these DEGs were enriched in terms such as the "phosphorylation", ''extracellular region", and "ion binding". These RNA-seq results will improve the understanding of the salt tolerance of cowpea and can be used as useful basic data for molecular breeding technology in the future.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.520-525
• /
• 2009

Early onset of Batten disease (EBD), one of the most lethal neurodegenerative storage disorders of childhood, is caused by inactivating mutations in the Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, Neuronal (CLN1) gene. Neurogranin, a calmodulin-binding protein, is expressed in the brain and participates in the protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway. While oxidative stress is the suggested cause of neurodegeneration in EBD, its molecular mechanism(s) remains obscure. In this research, we examined the levels of neurogranin in the brain mRNA of wild-type (WT) mice and EBD knockout (KO) mice, as well as the proteins. We also performed neuronal cultures to measure the expression levels of neurgranin and phosphorylated-neurogranin with or without oxidative stress inducers and anti-oxidants. Results showed that neurogranin in both EBD KO mice brain mRNA and protein extracts decreased in an age dependent manner. However, high amounts of phosphorylated-neurogranin were detected in the 6-month brain. This pattern was also confirmed by cultured neurospheres samples. Moreover, neurospheres treated with $H_2O_2$, an oxidative stress inducer, showed increased phosphorylated-neurogranin patterns. Interestingly, this pattern returned to normal status when treated with N-acetyl-L-cystein, an anti-oxidant, after $H_2O_2$ treatment was performed. Our results suggest that the phosphorylation of neurogranin is affected by oxidative stress status in EBD, and appropriate anti-oxidant treatment will relieve hyper-phosphorylation of neurogranin.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.469-478
• /
• 2020

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) propagation is highly dependent on cellular proteins. To identify the host factors involved in HCV propagation, we previously performed protein microarray assays and identified the LIM and SH3 domain protein 1 (LASP-1) as an HCV NS5A-interacting partner. LASP-1 plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, and protein-protein interactions. Alteration of LASP-1 expression has been implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the functional involvement of LASP-1 in HCV propagation and HCV-induced pathogenesis has not been elucidated. Here, we first verified the protein interaction of NS5A and LASP-1 by both in vitro pulldown and coimmunoprecipitation assays. We further showed that NS5A and LASP-1 were colocalized in the cytoplasm of HCV infected cells. NS5A interacted with LASP-1 through the proline motif in domain I of NS5A and the tryptophan residue in the SH3 domain of LASP-1. Knockdown of LASP1 increased HCV replication in both HCV-infected cells and HCV subgenomic replicon cells. LASP-1 negatively regulated viral propagation and thereby overexpression of LASP-1 decreased HCV replication. Moreover, HCV propagation was decreased by wild-type LASP-1 but not by an NS5A binding-defective mutant of LASP-1. We further demonstrated that LASP-1 was involved in the replication stage of the HCV life cycle. Importantly, LASP-1 expression levels were increased in persistently infected cells with HCV. These data suggest that HCV modulates LASP-1 via NS5A in order to regulate virion levels and maintain a persistent infection.

• Journal of the Korean Child Neurology Society
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.45-50
• /
• 2015

Purpose: X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a fatal, axonal demyelinating, neurodegenerative disease, and is caused by mutations the in ABCD1 (ATP-binding cassette transporter subfamily D member 1). Oxidative damage of proteins caused by very long chain fatty acid accumulating in X-ALD, is an early event in the neurodegenerative cascade. We evaluated valproic acid (VPA) as a possible option for oxidative damage in X-ALD. Method: We generated fibroblast of the childhood cerebral ALD from patient. We evaluated mRNA (ribonucleic acid) level of ABCD2 by real-time polymerase chain reaction, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels by flow cytometry. Results: VPA increased expression of ABCD2 in both control and ALD fibroblast. ABCD2 gene mRNA expression was increased 1.76 fold in normal fibroblasts, and 2.22 fold in the X-ALD fibroblasts. ROS levels were decreased in VPA treated X-ALD fibroblast, especially in treated with 1 mM of VPA. ROS levels revealed 13.7 in control fibroblast, on the other hand, 5.83 in X-ALD fibroblast treated with 1 mM of VPA. Conclusion: We propose VPA as a promising novel therapeutic approach in oxidant damage that warrants further clinical investigation in X-ALD.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression patterns of key genes involved in lipid metabolism in response to dietary Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in hens. A total of 36 forty week-old Lohmann Brown were randomly allocated into 3 groups consisting of 4 replicates of 3 birds. Laying hens were subjected to one of following treatments: Control (BD, basal diet), T1 (BD+ CoQ10 100 mg/kg diet) and T2 (BD+ micellar of CoQ10 100 mg/kg diet). Birds were fed ad libitum a basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with CoQ10 for 5 weeks. Total RNA was extracted from the liver for quantitative RT-PCR. The mRNA levels of HMG-CoA reductase(HMGCR) and sterol regulatory element-binding proteins(SREBP)2 were decreased more than 30~50% in the liver of birds fed a basal diet supplemented with CoQ10 (p<0.05). These findings suggest that dietary CoQ10 can reduce cholesterol levels by the suppression of the hepatic HMGCR and SREBP2 genes. The gene expressions of liver X receptor (LXR) and SREBP1 were down regulated due to the addition of CoQ10 to the feed (p<0.05). The homeostasis of cholesterol can be regulated by LXR and SREBP1 in cholesterol-low-conditions. The supplement of CoQ10 caused a decreased expression of lipid metabolism-related genes including $PPAR{\gamma}$, XBP1, FASN, and GLUTs in the liver of birds (p<0.05). These data suggest that CoQ10 might be used as a dietary supplement to reduce cholesterol levels and to regulate lipid homeostasis in laying hens.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.5 no.5
• /
• pp.397-405
• /
• 2001

The ryanodine receptor, a $Ca^{2+}$ release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), is responsible for the rapid release of $Ca^{2+}$ that activates cardiac muscle contraction. In the excitation-contraction coupling cascade, activation of SR $Ca^{2+}$ release channel is initiated by the activity of sarcolemmal $Ca^{2+}$ channels, the dihydropyridine receptors. Previous study showed that the relaxation defect of diabetic heart was due to the changes of the expressional levels of SR $Ca^{2+}$ATPase and phospholamban. In the diabetic heart contractile abnormalities were also observed, and one of the mechanisms for these changes could include alterations in the expression and/or activity levels of various $Ca^{2+}$ regulatory proteins involving cardiac contraction. In the present study, underlying mechanisms for the functional derangement of the diabetic cardiomyopathy were investigated with respect to ryanodine receptor, and dihydropyridine receptor at the transcriptional and translational levels. Quantitative changes of ryanodine receptors and the dihydropyridine receptors, and the functional consequences of those changes in diabetic heart were investigated. The levels of protein and mRNA of the ryanodine receptor in diabetic rats were comparable to these of the control. However, the binding capacity of ryanodine was significantly decreased in diabetic rat hearts. Furthermore, the reduction in the binding capacity of ryanodine receptor was completely restored by insulin. This result suggests that there were no transcriptional and translational changes but functional changes, such as conformational changes of the $Ca^{2+}$ release channel, which might be regulated by insulin. The protein level of the dihydropyridine receptor and the binding capacity of nitrendipine in the sarcolemmal membranes of diabetic rats were not different as compared to these of the control. In conclusion, in diabetic hearts, $Ca^{2+}$ release processes are impaired, which are likely to lead to functional derangement of contraction of heart. This dysregulation of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration could explain for clinical findings of diabetic cardiomyopathy and provide the scientific basis for more effective treatments of diabetic patients. In view of these results, insulin may be involved in the control of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ in the cardiomyocyte via unknown mechanism, which needs further study.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.11
• /
• pp.1653-1663
• /
• 2016

Meat quality is a complex trait influenced by many factors, including genetics, nutrition, feeding environment, animal handling, and their interactions. To elucidate relevant factors affecting pork quality associated with oxidative stress and muscle development, we analyzed protein expression in high quality longissimus dorsi muscles (HQLD) and low quality longissimus dorsi muscles (LQLD) from Duroc pigs by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based proteomic analysis. Between HQLD (n = 20) and LQLD (n = 20) Duroc pigs, 24 differentially expressed proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS. A total of 10 and 14 proteins were highly expressed in HQLD and LQLD, respectively. The 24 proteins have putative functions in the following seven categories: catalytic activity (31%), ATPase activity (19%), oxidoreductase activity (13%), cytoskeletal protein binding (13%), actin binding (12%), calcium ion binding (6%), and structural constituent of muscle (6%). Silver-stained image analysis revealed significant differential expression of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) between HQLD and LQLD Duroc pigs. LDHA was subjected to in vitro study of myogenesis under oxidative stress conditions and LDH activity assay to verification its role in oxidative stress. No significant difference of mRNA expression level of LDHA was found between normal and oxidative stress condition. However, LDH activity was significantly higher under oxidative stress condition than at normal condition using in vitro model of myogenesis. The highly expressed LDHA was positively correlated with LQLD. Moreover, LDHA activity increased by oxidative stress was reduced by antioxidant resveratrol. This paper emphasizes the importance of differential expression patterns of proteins and their interaction for the development of meat quality traits. Our proteome data provides valuable information on important factors which might aid in the regulation of muscle development and the improvement of meat quality in longissimus dorsi muscles of Duroc pigs under oxidative stress conditions.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.677-685
• /
• 2006

Proteins that are unfolded or misfolded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) must be targeted for refolding or degradation to maintain the homeostasis of the ER. Derlin-1 was reportedly implicated in the retro-translocation of misfolded proteins from the ER to the cytosol for degradation. In this report, we showed that Derlin-1 was down-regulated in the endothelial cells derived from human hepatic cavernous hemangioma (CHEC) compared with other tested cells. Electron microscopy analysis showed that ER was aberrantly enlarged in CHEC cells, but not in other tested cells. When overexpressed, Derlin-1 induced the dilated ER to return normal size. This ER dynamic was associated with the activation of unfolded protein response (UPR). In CHEC cells where Derlin-1 was down-regulated, increased expression of the immunoglobulin heavy chain-binding protein (Bip) and UPR-specific splicing of X-box DNA-binding protein 1 (XBP1) mRNA were detected, as compared with that in other tested cells, indicating that UPR was activated. After Derlin-1 overexpression, the extent of UPR activation diminished, as evidenced by decreased expression of Bip, reduced amount of the spliced form of XBP1 ($XBP1_S$), and elevated expression of the unspliced form of XBP1 ($XBP1_U$). Taken together, these findings provide another example of a single protein being able to affect ER dynamic in mammalian cells, and an insight into the possible molecular mechanism(s).

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.514-520
• /
• 2019

This study investigated the improved lipid metabolism effect of 3T3-L1 cells induced by adipocytes using the dichloromethane (DCM) fraction in the organic solvent extract of Wassong (Orostachys japonicus). To confirm the cell cytotoxicity, each of 6 fractions of organic solvent extracts (EtOH, Hexane, DCM, EtOAc, BuOH, and H₂O) was examined using MTS assay. As a result, it was confirmed that the DCM extract was stable over the whole range of concentrations, and a DCM fraction was used to confirm the improved lipid metabolism effect. Lipid excretion was measured to confirm the change of lipid metabolism. 3T3-L1 cells induced by adipocytes were treated with DCM extract and stained with oil-red O to evaluate lipid accumulation. As a result, it was confirmed that the lipid efflux was significantly improved. In order to confirm the mechanism of lipid efflux, the mRNA expressions of ABCA1 and ABCG1, which are lipid transport proteins, were confirmed by real-time PCR. Therefore, the present study confirmed that the DCM extract from Orostachys japonicus has the effect of improving the lipid metabolism on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In addition, the results of this study will be used as the basis for the development of functional foods using Orostachys japonicus and also for conducting research on the detailed mechanisms.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.205-221
• /
• 2004

Periodontal ligament(PDL) cells have been known as playing an important roles in periodontal regeneration and gingival fibroblasts are also important to periodontal regeneration by forming connective tissue attachment. There were rare studies about the gene expression patterns of PDL cells and gingival fibroblasts, therefore in this study, we tried cDNA microarray-based gene expression monitoring to explain the functional differences of PDL cells and gingival fibroblasts in vivo and to confirm the characteristics of PDL cells. Total RNA were extracted from PDL cells and gingival fibroblasts of same person and same passages, and mRNA were isolated from the total RNA using Oligotex mRNA midi kit(Qiagen) and then fluorescent cDNA probe were prepared. And microarray hybridization were performed. The gene expression patterns of PDL cells and gingival fibroblasts were quite different. About 400 genes were expressed more highly in the PDL cells than gingival fibroblasts and about 300 genes were more highly expressed in the gingival fibroblasts than PDL cells. Compared growth factor- and growth factor receptor-related gene expression patterns of PDL cells with gingival fibroblasts, IGF-2, IGF-2 associated protein, nerve growth factor, placental bone morphogenic protein, neuron-specific growth- associated protein, FGF receptor, EGF receptor-related gene and PDGF receptor were more highly expressed in the PDL cells than gingival fibroblasts. The results of collagen gene expression patterns showed that collagen type I, type III, type VI and type VII were more highly expressed in the PDL cells than gingival fibroblasts, and in the gingival fibroblasts collagen type V, XII were more highly expressed than PDL cells. The results of osteoblast-related gene expression patterns showed that osteoblast specific cysteine-rich protein were more highly expressed in the PDL cells than gingival fibroblasts. The results of cytoskeletal proteins gene expression patterns showed that a-smooth muscle actin, actin binding protein, smooth muscle myosin heavy chain homolog and myosin light chain were more highly expressed in the PDL cells than gingival fibrobalsts, and ${\beta}-actin$, actin-capping protein(${\beta}$ subunit), actin- related protein Arp3(ARP) and myosin class I(myh-1c) were more highly expressed in the gingival fibroblasts than PDL cells. Osteoprotegerin/osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor(OPG/OCIF) was more highly expressed in the PDL cells than gingival fibroblasts. According to the results of this study, PDL cells and gingival fibroblasts were quite different gene expression patterns though they are the fibroblast which have similar shape. Therefore PDL cells & gingival fibroblasts are heterogeneous populations which represent distinct characteristics. If more studies about genes that were differently expressed in each PDL cells & gingival fibroblasts would be performed in the future, it would be expected that the characteristics of PDL cells would be more clear.