• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제42권6호
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• pp.801-812
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• 1995

CR asthma is associated with disease chronicity, a positive family history of asthma and in vitro and in vivo defects in mononuclear cell function. The HPA axis in CR asthmatics is suppressed normally by dexamethasone and the pharmacokinetic profile of an oral dose of prednisolone is similar to that found in CS subjects. In addition, competitive binding studies have shown that the ligand binding and nuclear translocation functions of the GR are similar in the two groups. Studies using gel retardation assay have indicated a defect in DNA binding in CR subjects. Chemical mutational analysis of the GR has shown that is not due to a defect in its structure at the cDNA level. Scatchard analysis of the GR/DNA and GR/ligand interactions suggests that there may be transcriptional interference of the GR with other transcriptionally active molecules leading to defective gene transcription.

• 한국환경성돌연변이발암원학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.259-265
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• 2002

Phthalate analogues are a plasticizer and solvent used in industry. Phthalates were reported to be a potential carcinogen classified in the category of suspected endocrine disruptors. Most common human exposure to these compounds may occur with contaminated food. They may migrate into food from plastic wrap or may enter food from general environmental contamination. Since these substances are not limited to the original products, and enter the environment, they have become widespread environmental pollutants, thus leading to a variety of phthalates that possibly threaten the public health. Concern about their use has been mounting. To screen and elucidate the endocrine disrupting activity and their mechanism of phthalate analogues, first of all, E-screen assay was performed in MCF7 human breast cancer cells with seven phthalate analogues. In this cell proliferation assay, only dibutyl phthalate (DBP) showed weak estrogenic activity. Also the yeast-based transcription assay to assess the interactions of DBP with the estrogen, androgen, and progesterone receptors was conducted. DBP in the concentration ranges from 10$^{-16}$ to 10$^{-11}$ M was active in the estrogen transcriptional assay, but it did not show the effect on $\beta$-galactosidase activity in the progesterone and androgen transcriptional assays. These data indicate that DBP shows estrogenic potential and can be classified as weak and/or suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.69-74
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• 2010

The mu opioid receptor (MOR) has been regarded as the main site of interaction with analgesics in major clinical use, particularly morphine. The repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor (REST) functions as a transcriptional repressor of neuronal genes in non-neuronal cells. However, it is expressed in certain mature neurons, suggesting that it may have complex and novel roles. In addition, the interactions between MOR and REST and their functions remain unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of morphine on the expression of REST mRNA and protein in human neuroblastoma NMB cells to investigate the roles of REST induced by MOR activation in neuronal cells. To determine the effects of morphine on REST expression, we performed RT-PCR, real-time quantitative RT-PCR, western blot analysis and radioligand binding assays in NMB cells. By RTPCR and real-time quantitative RT-PCR, the expression of REST was found to be unchanged by either the MOR agonist morphine or the MOR specific antagonist CTOP. By western blot, morphine was shown to significantly inhibit the expression of REST, but this suppression was completely blocked by treatment with CTOP. In the radioligand binding assay, the overexpression of REST led to an increased opioid ligand binding activity of endogenous MOR in the NMB cells. These results together suggest that morphine inhibits the expression of REST in human neuroblastoma cells through a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism mediated through MOR.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.457-465
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• 2018

The expression of BCL-2 interacting cell death suppressor (BIS), an anti-stress or anti-apoptotic protein, has been shown to be regulated at the transcriptional level by heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) upon various stresses. Recently, HSF1 was also shown to bind to BIS, but the significance of these protein-protein interactions on HSF1 activity has not been fully defined. In the present study, we observed that complete depletion of BIS using a CRISPR/Cas9 system in A549 non-small cell lung cancer did not affect the induction of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and HSP27 mRNAs under various stress conditions such as heat shock, proteotoxic stress, and oxidative stress. The lack of a functional association of BIS with HSF1 activity was also demonstrated by transient downregulation of BIS by siRNA in A549 and U87 glioblastoma cells. Endogenous BIS mRNA levels were significantly suppressed in BIS knockout (KO) A549 cells compared to BIS wild type (WT) A549 cells at the constitutive and inducible levels. The promoter activities of BIS and HSP70 as well as the degradation rate of BIS mRNA were not influenced by depletion of BIS. In addition, the expression levels of the mutant BIS construct, in which 14 bp were deleted as in BIS-KO A549 cells, were not different from those of the WT BIS construct, indicating that mRNA stability was not the mechanism for autoregulation of BIS. Our results suggested that BIS was not required for HSF1 activity, but was required for its own expression, which involved an HSF1-independent pathway.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.399-403
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• 2009

$p19^{ras}$ is an alternative splicing variant of the proto-oncogene c-H-ras pre-mRNA of $p21^{ras}$. In contrast to $p21^{ras}$, $p19^{ras}$ does not have a C-terminal CAAX motif that targets the plasma membrane and is localized to both the cytoplasm and nucleus. We found that $p19^{ras}$ activated the transcriptional activity of $p73{\beta}$ through protein-protein interactions in the nucleus. p73 is known to play an important role in cellular damage responses such as apoptosis. Although p73 is a structural and functional homologue of p53, p73-mediated apoptosis has not yet been clearly elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that the interaction between $p19^{ras}$ and $p73{\beta}$ accelerated $p73{\beta}$-induced apoptosis through a caspase-3 dependent pathway. Treatment with DEVD-CHO, a caspase inhibitor, also strengthened $p73{\beta}$-mediated apoptosis through a caspase-3 dependent pathway. Furthermore, the enhanced transcriptional activity of endogenous $p73{\beta}$ by treatment with Taxol was amplified by $p19^{ras}$ overexpression, which markedly increased caspase-3 dependent apoptosis in the p53-null SAOS2 cancer cell line. Our findings indicate a functional linkage between $p19^{ras}$ and p73 in caspase-3 mediated apoptosis of cancer cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제21권7호
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• pp.679-685
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• 2011

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) produces a putative effector, XoAvrBs2. We expressed XoAvrBs2 homologously in Xoo with a TAP-tag at the C-terminus to enable quantitative analysis of protein expression and secretion. Addition of rice leaf extracts from both Xoo-sensitive and Xoo-resistant rice cultivars to the Xoo cells induced expression of the XoAvrBs2 gene at the transcriptional and translational levels, and also stimulated a remarkable amount of XoAvrBs2 secretion into the medium. In a T3SS-defective Xoo mutant strain, secretion of the TAPtagged XoAvrBs2 was blocked. Thus, we elucidated the transcriptional and translational expressions of the XoAvrBs2 gene in Xoo was induced in vitro by the interaction with rice and the induced secretion of XoAvrBs2 was T3SSdependent. It is the first report to measure the homologous expression and secretion of XoAvrBs2 in vitro by rice leaf extract. Our system for the quantitative analysis of effector protein expression and secretion could be generally used for the study of host-pathogen interactions.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.280-288
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• 2020

RNA interference (RNAi) has attracted attention as a promising approach to control plant viruses in their insect vectors. In the present study, to suppress replication of the rice stripe virus (RSV) in its vector, Laodelphax striatellus, using RNAi, dsRNAs against L. striatellus genes that are strongly upregulated upon RSV infection were delivered through a rice leaf-mediated method. RNAi-based silencing of peroxiredoxin, cathepsin B, and cytochrome P450 resulted in significant down regulation of the NS3 gene of RSV, achieving a transcriptional reduction greater than 73.6% at a concentration of 100 ng/μl and, possibly compromising viral replication. L. striatellus genes might play crucial roles in the transmission of RSV; transcriptional silencing of these genes could suppress viral replication in L. striatellus. These results suggest effective RNAi-based approaches for controlling RSV and provide insight into RSV-L. striatellus interactions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제34권9호
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• pp.1757-1768
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• 2024

The expression of two major virulence factors of Vibrio cholerae, cholera toxin (CT) and toxin co-regulated pilus (TCP), is induced by environmental stimuli through a cascade of interactions among regulatory proteins known as the ToxR regulon when the bacteria reach the human small intestine. ToxT is produced via the ToxR regulon and acts as the direct transcriptional activator of CT (ctxAB), TCP (tcp gene cluster), and other virulence genes. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and several small-molecule inhibitors of ToxT have been developed as antivirulence agents against V. cholerae. This study reports the inhibitory effects of fatty acids and virstatin (a small-molecule inhibitor of ToxT) on the transcriptional activation functions of ToxT in isogenic derivatives of V. cholerae strains containing various toxT alleles. The fatty acids and virstatin had discrete effects depending on the ToxT allele (different by 2 amino acids), V. cholerae strain, and culture conditions, indicating that V. cholerae strains could overcome the effects of UFAs and small-molecule inhibitors by acquiring point mutations in toxT. Our results suggest that small-molecule inhibitors should be examined thoroughly against various V. cholerae strains and toxT alleles during development.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.211-220
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• 2020

CAR의 활성은 리간드 결합 뿐만 아니라, 세포외신호전달 경로를 통한 관련 조절인자들의 인산화, 전사 조절인자들과의 상호작용, 그리고 coactivators 및 corepressors의 동원, 분해 및 발현 등에 의해 조절되며, 이러한 CAR의 활성 조절은 또한 외인성 화학물질과 에너지 대사, 세포의 증식 및 사멸을 포함한 다양한 생리적 항상성 조절에 영향을 미친다. CAR는 ERK1/2의 신호전달경로에 의해 인산화되어 Hsp-90/CCRP와 복합체를 형성하여 세포질 내에 잔류하는 반면, PB는 ERK1/2를 억제하여 downstream 신호전달 조절인자들의 탈인산화를 유발하고, 활성화된 RACK-1/PP2A를 동원하여 CAR를 탈인산화 함으로써 핵 이동 및 전사 활성을 유도한다. CAR의 활성은 FoxO1 및 PGC-1α와의 cross-talk을 통하여 각각 전사 활성 억제와 ubiquitination을 통한 단백질 분해를 유도하여 당합성과정에 관여하는 PEPCK 및 G6Pase 유전자의 발현을 억제한다. CAR에 의한 지방의 합성과 산화 조절은 각각 PPARγ 및 PPARα와의 cross-talk에 의한 PGC-1α의 분해와 CPT-1의 발현 억제 또는 PGC-1α와의 결합을 통해 지방 합성 유전자의 발현 억제와 조직 특이적 산화 억제 또는 촉진으로 이루어진다. CAR는 FoxO1의 억제를 통한 p21의 발현 억제와 cyclin D1의 발현을 유도하여 세포 증식을 촉진하는 반면, GADD45B의 발현을 통한 MKK7과 JNK1의 활성을 억제하여 세포 사멸을 억제한다. 결론적으로, CAR는 세포외신호전달 경로와 세포내 조절인자들과의 다양한 상호작용을 통하여 외인성 화학물질의 대사뿐만 아니라 에너지 대사 및 세포의 성장과 사멸의 조절을 통한 항상성 유지에 관여한다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.500-506
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• 2005

HOX11 encodes a homeodomain-containing transcription factor which directs the development of the spleen during embryogenesis. While HOX11 expression is normally silenced through an unknown mechanism in all tissues by adulthood, the deregulation of HOX11 expression is associated with leukemia, such as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The elucidation of regulatory elements contributing to the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of HOX11 gene expression is of great importance. Previous reports of HOX11 regulatory elements mainly focused on the 5'-flanking region of HOX11 on the chromosome related to transcriptional control. To expand the search of putative cis-elements involved in HOX11 regulation at the post-transcriptional level, we analyzed HOX11 mRNA 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) and found an AU-rich region. To characterize this AU-rich region, in vitro analysis of HOX11 mRNA 3'UTR was performed with human RNA-binding protein HuR, which interacts with AU-rich element (ARE) existing in the 3'UTR of many growth factors' and cytokines' mRNAs. Our results showed that the HOX11 mRNA 3'UTR can specifically bind with human HuR protein in vitro. This specific binding could be competed effectively by typical ARE containing RNA. After the deletion of the AU-rich region present in the HOX11 mRNA 3'UTR, the interaction of HOX11 mRNA 3'UTR with HuR protein was abolished. These findings suggest that HOX11 mRNA 3'UTR contains cis-acting element which shares similarity in the action pattern with RE-HuR interactions and may involve in the post-transcriptional regulation of the HOX11 gene.