• Development and Reproduction
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.253-261
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• 2007

Lactadherin is a glycoprotein of human milk fat globule membrane that binds to mucin and butyrophilin forming the protein complex. Especially, mucin and lactadherin in human milk efficiently protect infants with poor immune functions right after birth from infections by microorganisms and play important roles for their early survival, growth and development. Lactadherin inhibits the propagation and growth of rotavirus that is a global pathogen causing infants' diarrhea. Recently this protein was known to promote neovascularization and its deficiency related to develop Alzheimer's disease. In this study, the basic biochemical and physiological aspects of lactadherin were investigated. Messenger RNAs were isolated from mammary tissues from Korean women patients to clone a 1.2 kb cDNA and sequenced its DNA to determine its amino acid sequences. The cDNA was cloned to express its 43 kD protein in E. coli, which was confirmed by Western blot. The recombinant protein was purified and injected to 2 rabbits to raise antibodies against it. The semi-purified milk fat globule membrane proteins from Korean women was analyzed by Western blot using the rabbit antibody to give 70, 55, 46, 30 kD bands. Also several polymorphism and SNPs of lactadherin gene from Korean women were observed compared with those of Caucasian women.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2006

Breast cancer may be the consequence of free radical damage, which is partially caused by the excessive intake of dietary fat and imbalances in antioxidant scavenger system;. In this experiment, we examined! the effects of dietary peroxidizability index (PI) values on hepatic thiobmbituric acid reaction substances (TBARS) and antioxidant enzyme activities in rats treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[$\alpha$]anthracene (DMBA). Female Sprague-Dawley rats were used and 7,12-DMBA (20 mg/kg body weight) was gastrically intubated at seven weeks of age in order to induce mammary tumors (MT). The levels of dietary PI were 36, 81, 126 and 217 (LPI, MLPI, MHPI and HPI), while dietary polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids ratio was maintained at the same level (1.0). Fat used in the experiment was mixed with soybean oil, com oil, palm oil, perilla oil, sesame oil, fish oil, and beef tallow. Experimental diets were given for the following 20 weeks. We measured tumor numbers and weights, and then assayed the hepatic TBARS levels and antioxidant enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR). The incidence of Mr was the lowest in the MHPI group. The hepatic TBARS level was significantly raised with increasing dietary PI value. The hepatic SOD and GR activities were differed significantly by dietary PI value. The hepatic SOD activity was negatively correlated with dietary PI value and GR activity was the highest in the rats fed the MHPI diet. When the dietary P/S ratio is kept at 1.0, adequate dietary PI value (PI value of 126) may reduce the incidence and growth of Mr, but this benefit may be lost with higher dietary PI value. These results suggest that the awareness of dietary PI values may help to decrease breast cancer incidence and growth.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1644-1651
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• 2014

Transgenic animals have become important tools for the production of therapeutic proteins in the domestic animal. Production efficiencies of transgenic animals by conventional methods as microinjection and retrovirus vector methods are low, and the foreign gene expression levels are also low because of their random integration in the host genome. In this study, we investigated the homologous recombination on the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene locus using a knock-in vector for the ${\beta}$-casein gene locus. We developed the knock-in vector on the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene locus and isolated knock-in fibroblast for nuclear transfer. The knock-in vector consisted of the neomycin resistance gene (neo) as a positive selectable marker gene, diphtheria toxin-A gene as negative selection marker, and 5' arm and 3' arm from the porcine ${\beta}$-casein gene. The secretion of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was more easily detected in the cell culture media than it was by western blot analysis of cell extract of the HC11 mouse mammary epithelial cells transfected with EGFP knock-in vector. These results indicated that a knock-in system using ${\beta}$-casein gene induced high expression of transgene by the gene regulatory sequence of endogenous ${\beta}$-casein gene. These fibroblasts may be used to produce transgenic pigs for the production of therapeutic proteins via the mammary glands.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1638-1652
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• 2000

Prolific females require better nutrition and feeding practice because of larger litter size and the substantial decline in body fat. Life-time pig output will be compromised if body protein and fat are not properly managed. First litter females are especially vulnerable because they can loose ${\geq}15%$ of whole-body protein. Conservation of body protein mass during first lactation minimizes wean to estrus interval and increases second litter size (up to 1.2 pigs). The ability to influence litter-size by amino acid nutrition is a new dimension in our understanding. A P2 fat depth below 12 mm at farrow and below 10 mm at wean compromised wean to estrus interval (>2 d) and next litter size (0.5 to 1.5 pigs) in sows. It is now clear that a 'modest' excess of feed during the first 72 h of pregnancy decreases embryo viability so that the potential for an increased litter size at birth is not realized. The capacity for milk production by prolific young sows is 25% higher than the standard used previously (NRC, 1988). First litter females averaged 9.82 kg milk/d for a 21 d lactation. Second and third litter counterparts averaged 10.35 kg/d. Milk production was 95% of peak by 10 d of lactation and sows were in greatest negative energy and lysine balance during the first 6 d. Nearly 45% of the total loss in body protein occurred within the first 6 d, but this could reduced to 30-35% by using a more aggressive feeding strategy after parturition. There appear to be 2 phases in lactation for lysine need (d 2-12 vs 12-21). Feeding to the higher level alleviates the second litter size decline. The lysine requirement for lactation can be predicted with accuracy, but we are not able to predict the second limiting amino acid. Mammary uptake of valine relative to lysine and recent work with practical diets suggest that the recent NRC (1998) pattern is realistic and that threonine and valine could be co-limiting for corn-soy diets for prolific sows nursing 10-11 pigs. Empirical studies are needed to refine the ideal pattern so that synthetic lysine can be used with more confidence. Milk fat output for the elite sow is extraordinary and poses an unnecessarily high energetic cost. Methods that reduce mammary fat synthesis will benefit the sow and may enhance piglet growth.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.335-356
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• 1997

Injection of bovine growth hormone (bGH) to lactating dairy cows increases milk yield and yields of milk components including fat. It is generally believed that most of the anabolic effects derived from bGH in animal tissues are primarily mediated by IGF-1. IGF-1 is a strong anabolic peptide in the plasma of animals and exerts mitogenic and metabolic effects on target cells. Contrary to most protein hormones, the majority of IGF-1 in circulation is bound to the binding proteins (IGFBPs) which are known to be responsible for modifying the biological actions of IGF-1, thus making determinations of IGF-1 actions more difficult. On the other hand, fat is a major milk component and the greatest energy source in milk. Currently, the fat content of milk is one of the major criteria used in determining milk prices. It has been known that flavor and texture of dairy products are mainly affected by milk fat and its composition. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) is the rate limiting enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA for fatty acid synthesis in 1ipogenic tissues of animals including bovine lactating mammary glands. In addition to the short-tenn hormonal regulation of ACC by changes in the catalytic efficiency per enzyme molecule brought about by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the enzyme, the long-term hormonal regulation of ACC by changes in the number of enzyme molecules plays an essential role in control of ACC and lipogenesis. Insulin, at supraphysiological concentrations, binds to IGF-1 receptors, thereby mimicking the biological effects of IGF-1. The receptors for insulin and IGF-1 share structural and functional homology. Furthermore, epidermal growth factor increased ACC activity in rat hepatocytes and adipocytes. Therefore, it can be assumed that IGF-1 mediating bGH action may increase milk fat production by stimulation ACC with phosphorylation (short term) and/or increasing amounts of the enzyme proteins (long term). Consequently, the main purpose of this paper is to give the readers not only the galactopoietic effects of bGH, but also the insight of bGH action with regard to stimulating milk fat synthesis from the whole body to the molecular levels.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1777-1786
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• 2009

Thymosin ${\beta}4$, a small protein containing 43 amino acids, has multi-functional roles in cell physiology. It was first identified as a thymic maturation factor and recently has been shown to accelerate wound healing, hair growth, angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis. It was also reported to play a key role in developing organs, including the nervous system and heart. Thymosin ${\beta}4$ induces the expression of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), laminin-5, and other important biologically active genes. Using tissue microarray analysis, we investigated the expression patterns of thymosin ${\beta}4$ and VEGF in various normal human adult tissues. Thymosin ${\beta}4$ was highly expressed in the liver, pancreas, ductal epithelium of the salivary gland, and heart, and moderately expressed in the skin, lung, spleen, lymph node, thymus, ureter, and blood endothelial cells in both the lung and adrenal gland. The expression of VEGF generally co-localized with thymosin ${\beta}4$ and VEGF was highly expressed in the pancreas, ureter, mammary gland, liver, esophagus, and blood endothelial cells in both the lung and adrenal gland. These results suggest that thymosin ${\beta}4$ plays an important role in the function of various organs and since the expression pattern of thymosin ${\beta}4$ co-localized with VEGF, part of that function may be to induce or maintain angiogenesis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 1998

Purpose : The relationship between environmental PH on the radiation induced-apoptosis in SCK mammary adenocarcinoma cells and cell cycle dependence was investigated. Material and Methods : Mammary adenocarcinoma cells of A/J mice(SCK cells) in exponential growth phase were irradiated with a $l37^Cs$ irradiator at room temperature. The cells were irradiated 1 hour after the media was replaced with fresh media at a different pHs. After incubation at $37^{\circ}C$ for 0-48 h, the extent of apoptosis was determined using agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry. The progression of cells through the cell cycle after irradiation in different pHs was also determined with flow cytometry. Bssults : The induction of apoptosis by irradiation in pH 6.6 medium was markedly less than that in pH 7.5 medium. When the cells were irradiated and maintained in pH 7.5 medium, the percentage of cells in $G_2/M$ phase rapidly increased to about $70\%$ at 12 h after an exposure to 120y and returned to control level by 36 h. The percentage of cells in G1 phase decreased as the percentage of cells in $G_2/M$ increased. On the other hand, in pH 6.6 medium the percentage of cells in G2/M phases gradually increased to about $45\%$ at 24 h after 12Gy irradiation and then slowly recessed and consequently, as much as $30-35\%$ of the cells were still in the Ga/M phase 48 h after irradiation. The percentage of cells in G1 phase then increased as the Ga/M arrest began to recede. The radiation-induced Ga/M arrest in PH 0.0 medium lasted markedly longer than that in pH 7.5 medium. Conclusion : Radiation-induced apoptosis in SCK tumor cells are reversely suppressed in an acidic environment. Radiation-induced Ga/M arrest is prolonged in an acidic environment indicating that the suppression of radiation-induced apoptosis and prolongation of radiation-induced Ga/M arrest in an acidic environment are related.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.25-40
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• 2013

Objectives: The object of this study was to observe the in vitro antibacterial effects of five single(Pulsatillae Radix, Patrinae Radix, Sanguisorbae Radix, Sophorae Flos, and Sophorae Radix) aqueous herbal extracts, traditionally used for treating various gynecological diseases including mastitis in Korea, against Staphylococcus aureus. Methods: Antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus of aqueous extracts of Pulsatillae Radix, PatrinaeRadix, Sanguisorbae Radix, Sophorae Flos, and Sophorae Radix were detected using standard agar microdilution methods. In addition, the effects on the bacterial growth curve were also monitored at Minimal Incubation Concentration(MIC) and $MIC{\times}2$ levels. The effects on the intracellular killing and bacterial invasion of individual test materials were also observed using murine macrophage(Raw 264.7) and human mammary gland carcinoma cell(MCF-7). Results: MIC of aqueous extracts of Pulsatillae Radix, Patrinae Radix, Sanguisorbae Radix, Sophorae Flos, and Sophorae Radix against Staphylococcus aureus were detected as $0.215{\pm}0.107$ mg/ml, $0.273{\pm}0.107$ mg/ml, $0.469{\pm}0.297$ mg/ml, $11.850{\pm}8.406$ mg/ml, and $0.664{\pm}0.546$ mg/ml, respectively. MIC of Ciprofloxacin was detected as $0.469{\pm}0.297{\mu}g/ml$ at same conditions. In addition, all five single aqueous herbal extracts were also showed marked dosage-dependent inhibition of bacterial growth. The effects of intracellular killing with Raw 264.7 and inhibition of bacterial invasion with MCF-7 cells were detected, in the order of Sophorae Flos, Pulsatillae Radix, Patrinae Radix, Sanguisorbae Radix and Sophorae Radix aqueous extracts in the present study. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study suggest that all five single aqueous herbal extracts showed antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus and they also showed dosage-dependent inhibitory effects on the bacterial growth. They showed the significant intracellular killing and inhibition of bacterial invasion effects. It means, all five single aqueous herbal extracts may show potent anti-infectious effects against Staphylococcus aureus for mastitis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4113-4117
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• 2012

Breast cancer is a prevalent heterogeneous malignant disease. Gene expression profiling by DNA microarray can classify breast tumors into five different molecular subtypes: luminal A, luminal B, HER-2, basal and normal-like which have differing prognosis. Recently it has been shown that immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2), can divide tumors to main subtypes: luminal A (ER+; PR+/-; HER-2-), luminal B (ER+;PR+/-; HER-2+), basal-like (ER-;PR-;HER2-) and Her2+ (ER-; PR-; HER-2+). Some subtypes such as basal-like subtype have been characterized by poor prognosis and reduced overall survival. Due to the importance of the ER signaling pathway in mammary cell proliferation; it appears that epigenetic changes in the $ER{\alpha}$ gene as a central component of this pathway, may contribute to prognostic prediction. Thus this study aimed to clarify the correlation of different IHC-based subtypes of breast tumors with $ER{\alpha}$ methylation in Iranian breast cancer patients. For this purpose one hundred fresh breast tumors obtained by surgical resection underwent DNA extraction for assessment of their ER methylation status by methylation specific PCR (MSP). These tumors were classified into main subtypes according to IHC markers and data were collected on pathological features of the patients. $ER{\alpha}$ methylation was found in 25 of 28 (89.3%) basal tumors, 21 of 24 (87.5%) Her2+ tumors, 18 of 34 (52.9%) luminal A tumors and 7 of 14 (50%) luminal B tumors. A strong correlation was found between $ER{\alpha}$ methylation and poor prognosis tumor subtypes (basal and Her2+) in patients (P<0.001). Our findings show that $ER{\alpha}$ methylation is correlated with poor prognosis subtypes of breast tumors in Iranian patients and may play an important role in pathogenesis of the more aggressive breast tumors.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2006

In order to generate transgenic goats expressing human growth hormone (hGH) in their mammary glands, goat ${\beta}-Casein/hGH$ hybrid gene was introduced into goat zygotes by pronuclear microinjection. DNA-injected embryos were transferred to the oviduct of recipients at 2-cell stage or to the uterus at morula/blastocyst stage after cultivation in glutathione-supplemented mSOF medium in vitro. Pregnancy and survival rate were not significantly different between 2-cell embryos and morula/blastocysts transferred to oviduct and uterus, respectively. One transgenic female goat was generated from 153 embryos survived from DNA injection. Southern blot analysis revealed that the transgenic goat harbored single-copy transgene with a partial deletion in its sequences. Despite of the partial sequence deletion, the transgene was successfully expressed hGH at the level of $72.1{\pm}15.1{\mu}g/ml$ in milk throughout lactation period, suggesting that the sequence deletion had occurred in non-essential part of the transgene for the transgene expression. Unfortunately, however, the transgene was not transmitted to her offspring during three successive breeding seasons. These results demonstrated that goat ${\beta}-casein/hGH$ gene was integrated into the transgenic goat genome in a mosaic fashion with a partial sequence deletion, which could result in a low level expression of hGH and a failure of transgene transmission.