• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.529-538
• /
• 1998

In order to analyze the intracellu1ar localization of specific RNA components of ribonucleoproteins (RNP) in Xenopus oocytes, a modified protocol of whole-mount in situ Hybridization is presented in this paper, Mitochondria specific 12S rRNA probe was used to detect the amplification and distribution of mitochondria in various stages of the oocyte life cycle, and the results were found to be consistent with previously known distribution of mitochondria. The results with other specific probes (U1 and U3 small nuclear RNAs, and 5S RNA) also indicate that this procedure is generally effective in localizing RNAs in RNP complexes even inside organelles. In addition, the RNA component of RNase MRP, the RNP with endoribo-nuclease activity, localize to the nucleus in various stages of the oocyte life cycle. Some of MRP RNA, however, were found to be localized to the special population of mitochondria near the nucleus, especially in the active stage of mitochondrial amplification. It suggests dual localization of RNase MRP in the nucleus and mitochondria, which is consistent with the proposed roles of RNase MRP in mitochondrial DNA replication and in rRNA processing in the nucleolus.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.299-305
• /
• 1995

Cloning the gene encoding a dipeptide transporter is necessary for understanding the absorption mechanism of peptides and peptide-like drugs in the gastrointestinal tract. Functional expression of a dipeptide transporter after microinjection into Xenopus laevis oocytes was performed using the mRNA purified from human intestinal HT-29 cells. Fifty nanoliters of purified mRNA (1 mg/mL) were microinjected into healthy oocytes followed by incubation for 4 days in order to express a dipeptide transporter. Functional expression was determined by a uptake assay using 10 Ci/mL $[^3H]-glycylsarcosine$, a dipeptide substate of the transporter. Seasonal variability and batch-to-batch variability were greater in summer. The usage of beveled micropipettes improves viability of oocytes at 4 days after microinjection. Expression of a dipeptide transporter in oocytes after microinjection of mRNA obtained from HT-29 cells was significantly larger than those after microinjection of water or mRNA obtained from the rabbit intestine.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1184-1195
• /
• 2015

The zebrafish is an emerging vertebrate model organism in reproductive biology. The oocyte maturation of zebrafish is triggered by maturation inducing hormone (MIH, 17α,20β-Dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one). In almost all animals, the oocyte maturation is governed by activation of pre-MPF which consists of cyclinB and inactive Cdk1. In the oocyte of Xenopus and mice, the activity of Cdk1 is regulated in two ways, one is the interaction with cyclinB and the other is phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of T14/Y15 residues on the Cdk1 by Wee1 and Cdc25. Unlike Xenopus and mice that have a sufficient amount of pre-MPF, pre-MPF is absent in GV oocyte of most teleost including zebrafish. Therefore, the activation of MPF during zebrafish oocyte maturation might totally depend on de novo synthesis of cyclinB proteins. It is reported that the translation of maternal mRNA is regulated by combination of several RNA binding proteins such as CPEB, Dazl, Pum1/Pum2, and insulin-like growth factor2 mRNA-binding protein 3 in the zebrafish oocytes. However, the definitive mechanism of these proteins to regulate the translation of stored maternal mRNAs remains to be elucidated. Therefore, the investigation of the maturation process of the zebrafish oocyte will provide new information that can help identify the role of translational control in early vertebrate oocyte maturation.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
• /
• 1998.10b
• /
• pp.226.1-226
• /
• 1998

No Abstract, See Full Text

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.35-41
• /
• 1996

To find the substrate interacting site of the MCAT1, charged amino acid residues in the transmembrane domain were changed to opposite charged amino acids and studied the arginine uptake, gp70 binding, efflux and protein expression using the Xenopus oocyte expression method. Among the five mutants of MCAT1, the D403K showed the most interesting characteristics, which had normal gp70 binding but low arginine uptake function, that means the normal expression on the membrane but decreased transport function. All mutants except K211E showed decreased arginine efflux, and kinetic study showed decreased Vmax. Together, Clu(403) residue of MCAT1 may show the possible substrate interacting site in the transmembrane domain of MCAT1.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 2001.11a
• /
• pp.99-99
• /
• 2001

The acid-labile subunit (ALS) associates with insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I or -II and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) to form a 150-kD complex in the circulation. This complex is thought to regulate the serum IGFs by restricting them in the vascular system and promotes their endocrine actions. Little is known about how ALS binds to IGFBP3, which connects the IGFs to ALS. Xenopus oocyte was utilized to study the function of ALS in assembling IGFs into the ternary complexes. Xenopus oocyte was shown to correctly translate in vitro transcribed mRNAs of ALS and IGFBP3. IGFBP3 and ALS mRNAs were injected in mixture and their products were immunoprecipitated by antisera against ALS and IGFBP3. Contrary to the traditional reports that ALS interacts only with IGF-bound IGFBP3, this study shows that ALS is capable of forming a binary complex with IGFBP3 in the absence of IGF. When cross-linked by disuccinimidyl substrate, band representing ALS-IGFBP3 complex was evident on the PAGE. IGFBP3 movement was monitored according to the distribution between the hemispheres. Following a localized translation in the vegetal hemisphere, IGFBP3 was shown to remain in the vegetal half in the presence of ALS. Different from wild type IGFBP3, however, mutant IGFBP3 freely diffused into the animal half despite the presence of ALS. Taken together, this study suggests that ALS may play an important role in sequestering IGFBP3 polypeptides via the intermolecular aggregation. Studies using this heterologous model will lead to a better understanding of the IGFBP3 and ALS assembling into the ternary structure and circulating IGF system.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.250-256
• /
• 2004

Cordyceps possesses numerous health-promoting ingredients including hypoglycemic agents. The mechanism for the reduction of circulatory sugar content, however, is still not fully understand. In this study, 4-beta acetoxyscirpendiol (ASD) was purified from the methanolic extracts from fruiting bodies of Paecilomyces tenuipes. Na+/Glucose transporter-1 (SGLT-1) was expressed in the Xenopus oocytes. The effect of ASD on the oocyte expressed SGLT-1 was analyzed utilizing the voltage clamp and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DOG) uptake studies. ASD was shown to significantly inhibit SGLT-1 activity compared to the non-treated control in a dose- dependent manner. In the presense of its two derivatives (diacetoxyscirpenol or 15-acetoxyscirpendiol), SGLT-1 activity was greatly inhibited similarly as ASD. Between ASD derivatives, 15-acetoxyscirepenol showed inhibition equivalent to that of ASD while diacetoxyscirpenol did less degree of inhibition. Insummary , these results strongly indicate that ASD in P. tenuipes may serve as a functional substance in lowering blood sugar in the circulatory system. ASD and its derivatives can be utilized as inhibitors of SGLT-1.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.8-14
• /
• 2002

Cotinine, one of nicotine metabolites, has been blown to reduce 4-(methylnitro samino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone(NNK)- induced $O^{6}$MeG DNA adducts significantly in A/J mice when administered together with NNK. In order to examine the effects of phyto-extract mixture on the conversion of cotinine from nicotine, cellular and clinical experiments were carried out. When the phyto-extract mixture was added to culture media, human liver cells (FLCFR5) produced cotinine from nicotine 2~3 times compared to the control. The phyto-extract mixture which was microinjected into Xenopus oocyte along with nicotine showed the almost similar production of cotinine compared with the results of hepatic cell culture. In clinical test employing 17 to 20 healthy men, concentrations of urinary cotinine derived from smoking after taking photo-extract mixture increased up to 2 times compared to the control group. These results indicatethat the phyto-extract mixture can increase the metabolic efficiency of nicotine to cotinine, leading to the reduced formation of $O^{6}$MeG DNA adducts.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.365-368
• /
• 2008

Calcium entry through $Ca_v3.2Ca^{2+}$ channels plays essential roles for various physiological events including thalamic oscillation, muscle contraction, hormone secretion, and sperm acrosomal reaction. In this study, we examined how protein tyrosine phosphatases or protein tyrosine kinases affect $Ca_v3.2Ca^{2+}$ channels reconstituted in Xenopus oocytes. We found that $Ca_v3.2$ channel activity was reduced by 25% in response to phenylarsine oxide (tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor), whereas it was augmented by 19% in response to Tyr A47 or herbimycin A (tyrosine kinase inhibitors). However, other biophysical properties of $Ca_v3.2$ currents were not significantly changed by the drugs. These results imply that $Ca_v3.2$ channel activity is capable of being increased by activation of tyrosine phosphatases, but is decreased by activation of tyrosine kinases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.203-210
• /
• 2023

Taste is classified into five types, each of which has evolved to play its respective role in mammalian survival. Sour taste is one of the important ways to judge whether food has gone bad, and the sour taste receptor (PKD2L1) is the gene behind it. Here, we investigated whether ʟ-pyroglutamic acid interacts with sour taste receptors through electrophysiology and mutation experiments using Xenopus oocytes. R299 of hPKD2L1 was revealed to be involved in ʟ-pyroglutamic acid binding in a concentration-dependent manner. As a result, it is possible to objectify the change in signal intensity according to the concentration of ʟ-pyroglutamic acid, an active ingredient involved in the taste of kimchi, at the molecular level. Since the taste of other ingredients can also be measured with the method used in this experiment, it is expected that an objective database of taste can be created.