• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.295-306
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• 2007

The growth and health of the fetus and neonate are directly influenced by the nutritional and physiological status of sows. Sows are often under catabolic conditions due to restrict feeding program during pregnancy and low voluntary feed intake during lactation. The current restrict feeding program, which aims at controlling energy intake during gestation, results in an inadequate supply of dietary protein for fetal and mammary gland growth. Low voluntary feed intake during lactation also causes massive maternal tissue mobilization. Provision of amino acids and fatty acids with specific functions may enhance the performance of pregnant and lactating sows by modulating key metabolic pathways. These nutrients include arginine, branched-chain amino acids, glutamine, tryptophan, proline, conjugated linoleic acids, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid, which can enhance conception rates, embryogenesis, blood flow, antioxidant activity, appetite, translation initiation for protein synthesis, immune cell proliferation, and intestinal development. The outcome is to improve sow reproductive performance as well as fetal and neonatal growth and health. Dietary supplementation with functional amino acids and fatty acids holds great promise in optimizing nutrition, health, and production performance of sows and piglets. (Supported by funds from Texas Tech, USDA, NLRI-RDA-Korea, and China NSF).

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2003

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women in Western countries, and its prevalence is also increasing in Asia. The major risk factor for breast cancer can be traced to reproductive events that influence the lifetime levels of hormones. However, a large percentage of breast cancer cases cannot, be explained by these risk factors. The identification of susceptibility factors that predispose individuals to breast cancer (for instance, if they are exposed to particular environmental agents) could possibly give further insight into the etiology of this malignancy and provide targets for the future development of therapeutics. The most interesting candidate genes include those that mediate a range of functions. These include carcinogen metabolism, DNA repair, steroid hormone metabolism, signal transduction, and cell cycle control. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in South Korea to evaluate the potential modifying role of the genetic polymorphisms of selected low penetrance genes that are involved in carcinogen metabolisms (i.e., CYP1A1, CYP2E1, GSTM1/T1/P1, NAT1/2, etc.), estrogen synthesis and metabolism (i.e., CYP19, CYP17, CYP1B1, COMT, ER-$\alpha$, etc.), DNA repair (i.e., XRCC1/3, ERCC2/4, ATM, AGT, etc.), and signal transduction as well as others (i.e., TGF-$\beta$, IGF-1, TNF-$\beta$, IL-1B, IL-1RN, etc.). We also took into account the potential interaction between these and the known risk factors of breast cancer. The results of selected genes will be presented in this mini-review.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.122-125
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• 2016

Phelligridin D (Phe D) is a compound isolated from Phellinus baumii, which is known for various biological activities. In this study, the authors examined the effect of Phe D on boar spermatozoa for its potential application in assisted reproductive technology for mammals. Sperm motility and deubiquitinylating activity significantly decreased when boar spermatozoa were incubated with Phe D (>$0.5{\mu}M$). The fluorescence intensities of dead sperm, and reactive oxygen species production increased after sperm incubation in the presence of Phe D. Although Phe D is associated with antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity, sperm viability deteriorated after its addition. This could lead to fertilization failure, including that following artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. Phe D might have other biological functions in spermatozoa, and therefore requires additional studies in the future.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2011

hFSH is a glycoprotein secreted from anterior pituitary and consists of ${\alpha}$ and ${\beta}$ subunits. Because of its major biological functions including sperm formation in the male and for follicular growth, FSH is used to cure woman's sterility. In this study we tried to produce recombinant hFSH in vitro using a retrovirus expression vector. Two major components of the vector we constructed are: ( i ) a DNA fragment containing ${\alpha}$ and ${\beta}$ genes fused by a DNA sequence coding carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP) of human chorionic gonadotropin, (ii) a DNA fragment corresponding woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element (WPRE). Evaluation of expression profile of the recombinant FSH using reverse transcription PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among three cell lines tested, HeLa cells were the best for hFSH expression (5,395 mIU/ml), then followed by chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) cells and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in the order of hFSH production. In addition to the amount, the FSH produced from HeLa cells was highest in terms of biological activity which was determined by measuring cAMP.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.257-263
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• 2011

In general, the blood cell culture is a common method for animal chromosome preparation. However, every animal and its cells have unique physiological characteristics and functions. Hence, it is very difficult to find the suitable method of chromosome preparation using animal lymphocyte culture. This study was carried out to fine the suitable method of chromosome preparation using lymphocytes cultures in mammalians and aves including cattle, rat, mouse and chicken. To seek the optimal method of lymphocyte culture in each animal, $2^3$ factorial experiment was designed. The design evaluated three main effects in culture duration, kinds of mitogen supplements and colcemid exposure time with two levels within each effect. The mitotic index and the score of chromosome morphology were analyzed. In results, the suitable methods of lymphocyte culture for chromosome preparation were 72 hours culture, pokeweed mitogen(PWM) supplement and 90 minutes of colcemid exposure in cattle, 72 hours culture, PWM supplement and 50 minutes of colcemid exposure in chicken, 96 hours culture, concanavalin A supplement and 90 minutes of colcemid exposure in rat, and 72 hours culture, PWM supplement and 50 minutes of colcemid exposure in mouse, respectively. In conclusion, kinds of mitogen, culture duration and colcemid exposure time significantly affected the mitotic index and chromosome morphology, in animal lymphocyte culture. The interaction effects between/among treatment factors were also statistically significant.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.21-34
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• 2014

The majority of early embryonic mortality in pregnancy occurs during the peri-implantation stage, suggesting that this period is important for conceptus viability and the establishment of pregnancy. Successful establishment of pregnancy in all mammalian species depends on the orchestrated molecular events that transpire at the conceptus-uterine interface during the peri-implantation period. This maternal-conceptus interaction is especially crucial in pigs because in them non-invasive epitheliochorial placentation occurs, in which the pre-implantation phase is prolonged. During the pre-implantation period, conceptus survival and the establishment of pregnancy are known to depend on the developing conceptus receiving an adequate supply of histotroph, which contains a wide range of nutrients and growth factors. Evidence links growth factors including epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and colony-stimulating factor 2 (CSF2) to embryogenesis or implantation in various mammalian species; however, in the case of pig, little is known about such functions of these growth factors, especially their regulatory mechanisms at the maternal-conceptus interface. Our research group has presented evidence for promising growth factors affecting cellular activities of primary porcine trophectoderm (pTr) cells, and we have identified potential intracellular signaling pathways responsible for the activities induced by these factors. Therefore, this review focuses on promising growth factors at the maternal-conceptus interface regulating the development of the porcine conceptus and playing pivotal roles in implantation events during early pregnancy in pigs.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2006

Development of placenta is a complex process that is critical for the pregnancy and controlled by many factors including cytokines, hormones, growth factors and apoptotic molecules. Recently, it has been shown that progranulin (PGRN) functions in growth of embryo and trophectoderm as well as cell migration. To initiate understanding the role of PGRN in human placental development, we investigated the expression of PGRN mRNA and protein in early and late gestation human placentas, term cytotrophoblast cells and two choriocarcinoma cell lines, JEG-3 and Jar. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction identified mRNAs derived from the PGRN gene in all samples. Immunoblot analysis showed that PGRN proteins are present in early and late gestation human placentas with decreasing levels over gestation and that PGRN proteins are present in normal and transformed trophoblast cells. Immunohistochemical analysis using paraformaldehyde-fixed tissue sections taken from early and late stages of pregnancy showed that PGRN proteins are present in cytotrophoblast cells, syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous cytotrophoblast cells and that expression pattern of PGRN differed according to the stage of cell differentiation. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that PGRN proteins have critical roles in placental development and suggest that PGRN may function in trophoblast cell growth and differentiation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.537-545
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• 2006

CMTM/CKLFSF is a novel family of proteins linking chemokines and TM4SF. In humans, these proteins are encoded by nine genes, CKLF and CMTM1-8/CKLFSF1-8. Here we report the characteristics and expression profile of CMTM3/CKLFSF3. Human CMTM3/CKLFSF3 has a high sequence identity among various species and similar characteristics as its mouse and rat homologues. Established by results both of RT-PCR and Quantitative Real-time PCR, the gene is highly transcribed in testis, leukocytes and spleen. For further verification, we generated a polyclonal antibody against human CMTM3/CKLFSF3 and found that the protein is highly expressed in the testis and some cells of PBMCs. Therefore, CMTM3/CKLFSF3 is an evolutionarily conserved gene that may have important roles in the male reproductive system and immune system. Further studies are necessary to validate its functions in the two systems.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.488-496
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• 2016

Estrogens are the key hormones regulating the development and function of reproductive organs in all vertebrates. Recent evidence indicates that estrogens play important roles in the immune system, cancer development, and other critical biological processes related to human well-being. Obviously, the gonads (ovary and testis) are the primary sites of estrogen synthesis, but estrogens synthesized in extra- gonadal sites play an equally important role in controlling biological activities. Understanding non-gonadal sites of estrogen synthesis and function is crucial and will lead to therapeutic interventions targeting estrogen signaling in disease prevention and treatment. Developing a rationale targeting strategy remains challenging because knowledge of extra-gonadal biosynthesis of estrogens, and the mechanism by which estrogen activity is exerted, is very limited. In this review, we will summarize recent discoveries of extra-gonadal sites of estrogen biosynthesis and their local functions and discuss the significance of the most recent novel discovery of intestinal estrogen biosynthesis.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2015

Morphological changes of flowers and insect visitors were observed to investigate pollinator of Caesalpinia decapetala. The flowers of C. decapetala are protandrous. Functionally, the flower is changed from male to female. As a male, pollen grain is released after anther dehisced while style is immature. After completed pollen grain release, the style starts to lengthen. It helps the stigma to easily touch the carpenter bee's thorax covered with pollen grain. At this time, flower functions as a female. The majority of taxa and individuals observed were Hymenoptera. The most frequent visitor was the Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans, carpenter bee. Carpenter bees exhibited only typical pollinator behavior among flower visitors, with touching reproductive organs and seeking nectar at the same time. The pollination behavior is as follows. Soon after carpenter bees perceived guide mark, they foraged rightward and grasped style and stamens with legs and they inserted proboscis into standard petal to seek nectar. With this behavior, the pollen grains of the male flower transfer to the ventral thorax of the carpenter bee. As the carpenter bee moves to another female flower, the deposited pollen grains are delivered to the stigma.