• The Zoological Society Korea : Newsletter
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.100.2-100
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• 1995

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1995.10b
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• pp.228.2-228
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• 1995

No Abstract, See Full Text

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1985

A series of observation on sperm penetration in urodele (Ambystoma mexicanum) eggs are reported. The whole sperm including the tail appears to penetrate the egg surface. It can be demonstrated that the Ambystoma mexicanum egg is typically polyspermic. Each sperm penetration point is marked by a distinct crater on the egg surface the so called sperm pit. Initially, no sign of disruption in the surface structure observed. Once sperm penetration was complete, the site of entry became covered with long microvilli.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Developmental Biology Conference
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• 1998.07a
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• pp.57-58
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• 1998

From the present study, following conclusions can be drawn: 1. lide in other species, axolotl FGF-8 is proposed to play a similar role in the early phase of limb development. However, the mechanism of its expression might be somewhat different from amniotes considering its characteristic mesenchymal expression. 2. In the regenerating axolotl limbs, Fgf-8 expression profile suggests that it is involved in wound gealing, dedifferentiation, and blastema formation. 3. Exoggenously supplied FGF-8 can accelerate blastema formation and concomitantly increase the Msx-1 expression level at the early stage of limb regeneration. Furthermore, it can partially substitute for nerve factor(s) as has been indicated by the induction of blastema formation in the denervated regenerates after FGF-8 application. 4. The unique expression feature of Fgf-8 in hte mesenechymal tissue of the regenerating axolotl limb might be casually related to its remarkable regeneration capacity of urodele.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.107-114
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• 1982

A combination of ultraviolet irradiation and egg rotation was applied to Korean frogs to study the mechanisms of the establishment of the dorsal-ventral polarity. Rotation of the uncleaved egg was capable of preventing the characteristic syndromes associated with UV irradiation. As well, brief rotation of the egg before cleavage relocates the site of dorsal lip to a novel location in the embryo at gastrula stage. That is, the dorsal lip appeared on the opposite side to gravity at the rotation of the egg. Above results were discussed with the informations obtained from other anuran and urodele species, and were interpreted in terms of regulating mechanisms for early embryogenesis.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.301-304
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• 2002

In our previous study, we have shown that Fgf-8 is expressed in the basal layer of the apical epithelial cap (AEC) and in the underlying thin layer of mesenchymal tissue of the regenerating limbs of Mexican axolotl, Amby-stoma mexicanum. Our present RT-PCR data also demonstrate that Fgf-8 transcript is localized both in the mesenchymal and epidermal tissues. To understand the effect of retinoic acid (RA) on the expression of Fgf-8 in the regenerating axolotl limbs, RA was injected intraperitoneally at the dediffer-entiation stage of limb regeneration. The RA treatment caused 8 change in the Fgf-8 expression profile of the regenerating limbs. In RA-treated limbs, duration of Fgf-8 expression was prolonged and a high level of expression was maintained during dedifferentiation and blastema formation stages. These results suggest that Fgf-8 is an important molecule in the process of pattern duplication of regenerating salamander limbs evoked by RA treatment.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 1998

The lysosomal acid hydrolases including lysosomal acid phosphatase (LAP) are believed to play an important role in intracellular and extracellular degradation. LAP was reported to increase its activity in dedifferentiation stage during urodele limb regeneration. In the paresent study, LAP localization in the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) limb regenerates was investigated by immunohistochemistry. LAP immunoreactivity with monoclonal antibody against Korean salamander (Hynobius leehii) LAP was observed mainly in the wound epidermis, blastema cells, muscle, and cartilage which were under dedifferentiation process in axolotl limb regenerates. Moreover, LAP immunoreactivity increased gradually during the early phase of lib regeneration and reached the peak level at dedifferentiation stage. However, as redifferentiation begans, LAP immunoreactivity decreased slowly to the basal level. Retinoic acid (RA) which is known to induce skeleton pattern duplication in regenerating urodele limb appears to enhance LAP immunoreactivity. In the RA-treate limg regenerates, LAP immunoreactivity was higher than in the normal regenerates. In addition, the LAP expression period was more extended in the RA treated regenerates than in the normal regenerates. These results suggest that RA is involved in the extension of dedifferentiation state in RA-treated limb regenerate.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 1996

Treatment of regenerating amphibian limbs with retinoic acid (RA) is known to induce paftern duplication, which is closely related to the extent of dedifferentiation. In the present study, the activities of trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like proteases are examined to delineate a possible role in the process of dedifferentiation in the regenerating limbs of urodeles, the Korean salamander (Hynobius leechii) and the Mexican axolod (Ambystoma mexicanum). Specifically, we were interested to know if there is any correlation between trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like protease activities and the state of dedifferentiation which is augmented by RA treatment. We were also interested in expoloring if there is any species-specific difference in the profile of enzyme activities during limb regeneration. The results showed that the activities of these two enzymes reached a peak level at dedifferentiation stage, and RA treatment caused elevation of their activities, especially in the case of trypsin-like protease. The increase of trypsin-like protease activity after RA treatment was pronounced in the Korean salamander, which might reflect a species-specific responsiveness to RA. The present results imply that trypsin and chymotrypsin or similar proteases may play an active role in the process of dedifferentiation in regenerating limbs, and that trypsin or trypsin-like eryrymes might be involved in the RA-evoked enhancement of dedifferentiation which precedes overt pattern duplication.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.267-268
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• 2002

A vertebrate retina is an organ belonging to the central nerve system (CNS), and is usually difficult to regenerate except at an embryonic stage in life. However, certain species of urodele amphibians, such as newts and salamanders, possess the ability to regenerate a functional retina from retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells even as adults. After surgical removal of neural retinas from adult newt eyes, the remaining RPE cells lose their pigment granules, transdifferentiate into retinal progenitor cells, which further differentiate into various retinal neurons, and then finally reform a functional neural network. To understand the molecular mechanisms of CNS regeneration, we attempted to investigate the genes expressing in regenerating newt retina. mRNAs were isolated from regenerating retinas at 18-19 days after the surgical removal of the normal retina, and a cDNA library (regenerating retinal cDNA library) were constructed. Our EST analysis of 112 clones in the regenerating cDNA library revealed that about 70% clones are closely related to the genes previously identified. About 40% clones are housekeeping genes, and about 15% clones encode proteins related to the regulation of gene expression and to the proliferation of the cells. Sequences similar to neural retina- and RPE-specific genes were not detected at all. These results led us to suppose that the regenerating retinal cells are in a state considerably different from those of neither neural retina nor RPE cells.