• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.85-93
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• 2022

Purpose: Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a rare genetically heterogeneous disorder caused by genetic variants of the cohesin complex. However, the diverse genetic etiologies and their phenotypic correlations in Korean patients with CdLS are still largely unknown. Hence, this study aimed to clarify the clinical characteristics and genetic background of Korean patients with CdLS. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 15 unrelated patients (3 males and 12 females) genetically confirmed to have CdLS were retrospectively reviewed. All individuals were diagnosed with CdLS using target gene analysis, whole-exome sequencing, and/or chromosomal microarray analysis. The clinical score (CS) was calculated to assess disease severity. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 1.7 (range, 0.0-11.8) years, and median follow-up duration was 3.8 (range, 0.4-11.7) years. Eight (53.3%) patients showed classic phenotypes of CdLS, two (13.3%) showed non-classic phenotypes, and five (33.3%) had other phenotypes sharing limited signs of CdLS. Fifteen causative variants were identified: NIPBL in five (33.3%, including 3 males), SMC1A in three (20.0%), SMC3 in three (20.0%), and HDAC8 in four (26.7%) patients. The CS was significantly higher in the NIPBL group than in the non-NIPBL group (14.2±1.3 vs. 8.7±2.9, P<0.001). Conclusion: We identified the clinical and genetic heterogeneity of CdLS in Korean patients. Patients with variants of NIPBL had a more distinctive phenotype than those carrying variants of other cohesin complex genes (SMC1A, SMC3, and HDAC8). However, further studies are warranted to understand the pathogenesis of CdLS as a cohesinopathy and its genotype-phenotype correlations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.1198-1203
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• 2017

Hrr25, a casein kinase $1{\delta}/{\varepsilon}$ homolog in budding yeast, is essential to set up mono-orientation of sister kinetochores during meiosis. Hrr25 kinase activity coordinates sister chromatid cohesion via cohesin phosphorylation. Here, we investigated the prophase role of Hrr25 using the auxin-inducible degron system and by ectopic expression of Hrr25 during yeast meiosis. Hrr25 mediates nuclear division in meiosis I but does not affect DNA replication. We also found that initiation of meiotic double-strand breaks as well as joint molecule formation were normal in HRR25-deficient cells. Thus, Hrr25 is essential for termination of meiotic division but not homologous recombination.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제25권10호
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• pp.1768-1771
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• 2015

Human Fen1 protein (hFen1) plays an important role in Okazaki fragment processing by cleaving the flap structure at the junction between single-stranded (ss) DNA and doublestranded (ds) DNA, an intermediate formed during Okazaki fragment processing, resulting in ligatable nicked dsDNA. It was reported that hChlR1, a member of the cohesion establishment factor family, stimulates hFen1 nuclease activity regardless of its ATPase activity. In this study, we found that cohesion establishment factors cooperatively stimulate endonuclease activity of hFen1 in in vivo mimic condition, including replication protein-A-coated DNA and high salt. Our findings are helpful to explain how a DNA replication machinery larger than the cohesion complex goes through the cohesin ring structure on DNA during S phase in the cell cycle.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제25권7호
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• pp.1026-1035
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• 2015

Condensin is not only responsible for chromosome condensation, but is also involved in double-strand break (DSB) processing in the cell cycle. During meiosis, the condensin complex serves as a component of the meiotic chromosome axis, and mediates both proper assembly of the synaptonemal complex and DSB repair, in order to ensure proper homologous chromosome segregation. Here, we used the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to show that condensin participates in a variety of chromosome organization processes and exhibits crucial molecular functions that contribute to meiotic recombination during meiotic prophase I. We demonstrate that Ycs4 is required for efficient DSB formation and establishing homolog bias at the early stage of meiotic prophase I, which allows efficient formation of interhomolog recombination products. In the Ycs4 meiosis-specific allele (ycs4S), interhomolog products were formed at substantial levels, but with the same reduction in crossovers and noncrossovers. We further show that, in prophase chromosomal events, ycs4S relieved the defects in the progression of recombination interactions induced as a result of the absence of Rec8. These results suggest that condensin is a crucial coordinator of the recombination process and chromosome organization during meiosis.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권10호
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• pp.3005-3008
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• 2014

Human ChlR1 protein (hChlR1), a member of the cohesion establishment factor family, plays an important role in the segregation of sister chromatids for maintenance of genome integrity. We previously reported that hChlR1 interacts with hFen1 and stimulates its nuclease activity on the flap-structured DNA substrate covered with RPA. To elucidate the relationship between hChlR1 and Okazaki fragment processing, the effect of hChlR1 on in vitro nuclease activities of hFen1 and hDna2 was examined. Independent of ATPase activity, hChlR1 stimulated endonuclease activity of hFen1 but not that of hDna2. Our findings suggest that the acceleration of Okazaki fragment processing near cohesions may aid in reducing the size of the replication machinery, thereby facilitating its entry through the cohesin ring.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.24-27
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• 2018

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a rare, clinically and genetically heterogeneous, multi-system developmental disorder caused by mutations in genes that encode components of the cohesin complex. X-linked CdLS caused by an SMC1A mutation is an extremely rare disease characterized by phenotypes milder than those of classic CdLS. In the Republic of Korea, based on a literature review, one family with SMC1A-related CdLS with mild phenotypes has been genetically confirmed to date. In this study, we describe the clinical features of a Korean boy with a hemizygous novel missense mutation and his mother with a heterozygous mutation, i.e., c.2447G>A (p.Arg816His) in SMC1A, identified by multi-gene panel sequencing. The proband had a mild phenotype with typical facial features and his mother exhibited a mild, subclinical phenotype. This study expands the clinical spectrum of patients with X-linked CdLS caused by SMC1A variants. Moreover, these findings reinforce the notion that a dominant negative effect in a carrier female with a heterozygous mutation in SMC1A results in a phenotype milder than that in a male patient with the same mutation.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권2호
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• pp.102-107
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• 2023

Genome editing using CRISPR-associated technology is widely used to modify the genomes rapidly and efficiently on specific DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by Cas9 endonuclease. However, despite swift advance in Cas9 engineering, structural basis of Cas9-recognition and cleavage complex remains unclear. Proper assembly of this complex correlates to effective Cas9 activity, leading to high efficacy of genome editing events. Here, we develop a CRISPR/Cas9-RAD51 plasmid constitutively expressing RAD51, which can bind to single-stranded DNA for DSB repair. We show that the efficiency of CRISPR-mediated genome editing can be significantly improved by expressing RAD51, responsible for DSB repair via homologous recombination (HR), in both gene knock-out and knock-in processes. In cells with CRISPR/Cas9-RAD51 plasmid, expression of the target genes (cohesin SMC3 and GAPDH) was reduced by more than 1.9-fold compared to the CRISPR/Cas9 plasmid for knock-out of genes. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-RAD51 enhanced the knock-in efficiency of DsRed donor DNA. Thus, the CRISPR/Cas9-RAD51 system is useful for applications requiring precise and efficient genome edits not accessible to HR-deficient cell genome editing and for developing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout technology.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.140-145
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• 2016

다세포 생물의 유전자들은 발생 및 분화 그리고 조직 특이적으로 전사되며, 이러한 유전자 전사는 게놈 상에서 멀리 떨어져 존재하는 인핸서(enhancer) 부위에 의해 조절된다. 최근의 연구들은 활성화된 인핸서에서 RNA Polymerase II (Pol II)에 의해 noncoding RNA가 전사된다고 보고하고 있으며, 이들은 인핸서 RNA (eRNA)라 불리고 있다. eRNA는 인핸서 중심으로부터 양방향으로 합성되며, 5’ capping은 일어나지만, splicing이나 3’ tailing은 되지 않는다. eRNA의 전사는 전사 활성자의 결합에 의해 일어나며, 표적 유전자의 전사 수준과 비례하게 일어난다. 인위적으로 eRNA의 전사를 억제하거나 합성된 eRNA를 제거하면 표적 유전자의 전사는 억제된다. eRNA의 전사 과정은 인핸서 부분의 활성 히스톤 변형을 유도하며, 합성된 eRNA는 인핸서와 프로모터 사이의 크로마틴 고리 구조 형성을 매개한다. 또한 표적 유전자의 프로모터에 RNA Pol II를 모집하고 이들의 신장을 촉진하는 것도 eRNA의 역할로 보인다. 본 총설은 인핸서 유래 eRNA의 특징에 대해 살펴보고, eRNA의 합성 기작 및 표적 유전자의 전사 조절을 위한 eRNA의 역할을 정리해보고자 한다.