• Molecules and Cells
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.151-161
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• 2017

Proper synaptic function in neural circuits requires precise pairings between correct pre- and post-synaptic partners. Errors in this process may underlie development of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Development of ASD can be influenced by genetic factors, including copy number variations (CNVs). In this study, we focused on a CNV occurring at the 16p11.2 locus in the human genome and investigated potential defects in synaptic connectivity caused by reduced activities of genes located in this region at Drosophila larval neuromuscular junctions, a well-established model synapse with stereotypic synaptic structures. A mutation of rolled, a Drosophila homolog of human mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 (MAPK3) at the 16p11.2 locus, caused ectopic innervation of axonal branches and their abnormal defasciculation. The specificity of these phenotypes was confirmed by expression of wild-type rolled in the mutant background. Albeit to a lesser extent, we also observed ectopic innervation patterns in mutants defective in Cdk2, Gq, and Gp93, all of which were expected to interact with Rolled MAPK3. A further genetic analysis in double heterozygous combinations revealed a synergistic interaction between rolled and Gp93. In addition, results from RT-qPCR analyses indicated consistently reduced rolled mRNA levels in Cdk2, Gq, and Gp93 mutants. Taken together, these data suggest a central role of MAPK3 in regulating the precise targeting of presynaptic axons to proper postsynaptic targets, a critical step that may be altered significantly in ASD.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 한국균학회 2018년도 춘계학술대회 및 임시총회
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• pp.11-11
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• 2018

Cryphonectria parasitica, chestnut blight fungus, has a characteristic of decreasing pathogenicity when infected with Cryphonectria hypovirus 1. C. parasitica is known to be one of the most representative model systems used to observe the interaction between viruses, plants and fungi. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which is well conserved in various organisms ranging from yeast to humans, functions in relaying phosphorylation-dependent signals within MAPK cascades to diverse cellular functions involved in the regulation of pheromone, cell wall integrity, and osmotolerance in filamentous fungi. Several genes in the MAPK pathway were revealed to be regulated by hypovirus, or to be involved in pathogenicity in C. parasitica. Among these pathways, the CWI pathway has aroused interest because CpBck1, an ortholog of yeast Bck1 (a CWI MAPKKK), was previously reported to be involved in cell wall integrity and sectorization. Interestingly, sporadic sectorization was observed in the CpBck1 mutant and sectored phenotypes were stably inherited in the progeny that were successively transferred from sectored mycelia. In this study, we analyzed the biological function of CpSlt2, downstream gene of CpBck1, to confirm whether the sectorization phenomenon occurred in the specific single gene or cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway. As results, the CpSlt2-null mutant exhibited marked changes in colonial growth, near absence of conidiation and aerial hyphae, abnormal pigmentation, CWI-related phenotypic defects, and dramatically impaired virulence. As cultivation of the mutant strains progressed, the majority of the colonies showed sporadic sectorization and mycelia from the sectored area stably maintained the sectored phenotype. These results suggest that the unique sectorization is CWI pathway-specific, though the components in the same CWI pathway have common and specific functions.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.570-583
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• 2023

Objective: Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) play critical roles in embryo development, and immune responses to infectious diseases. In this study, to investigate the roles of FGFs, we performed genome-wide identification, expression, and functional analyses of FGF family members in chickens. Methods: Chicken FGFs genes were identified and analyzed by using bioinformatics approach. Expression profiles and Hierarchical cluster analysis of the FGFs genes in different chicken tissues were obtained from the genome-wide RNA-seq. Results: A total of 20 FGF genes were identified in the chicken genome, which were classified into seven distinct groups (A-F) in the phylogenetic tree. Gene structure analysis revealed that members of the same clade had the same or similar exon-intron structure. Chromosome mapping suggested that FGF genes were widely dispersed across the chicken genome and were located on chromosomes 1, 4-6, 9-10, 13, 15, 28, and Z. In addition, the interactions among FGF proteins and between FGFs and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) proteins are limited, indicating that the remaining functions of FGF proteins should be further investigated in chickens. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis showed that FGF gene interacts with MAPK genes and are involved in stimulating signaling pathway and regulating immune responses. Furthermore, this study identified 15 differentially expressed genes (DEG) in 21 different growth stages during early chicken embryo development. RNA-sequencing data identified the DEG of FGFs on 1- and 3-days post infection in two indigenous Ri chicken lines infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 (HPAIV). Finally, all the genes examined through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and RNA-Seq analyses showed similar responses to HPAIV infection in indigenous Ri chicken lines (R² = 0.92-0.95, p<0.01). Conclusion: This study provides significant insights into the potential functions of FGFs in chickens, including the regulation of MAPK signaling pathways and the immune response of chickens to HPAIV infections.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• 제1권3호
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• pp.209-215
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• 2005

Recently, a large number of clinical experiments have shown that exposure of organic pollutants lead to various cancers through the abnormal cell growth. Environmental pollutants, such as 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachloro dibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are carcinogen and are known to cause the cognitive disability and motor dysfunction in the developing of brain. The effects of these pollutants on neurodevelopmental disorder is well established, but the underlying mechanism(s) and similarity of gene expression profiles in human brain tumors with organic pollutants still remain unclear. In this study, we first examined the gene expression profiles in glioblastomas compared with meningioma that are kinds of primary human brain tumor by using human cDNA microarray. The results of cDNA microarray analysis revealed that 26 genes were upregulated (Z-ratio>2.0) and 14 genes were downregulated (Z-ratio<-2.0) in glioblastoma compared with meningioma. From the altered gene patterns, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling related genes, such as MAP2K3, MAP3K11 and jun activated domain binding protein, and transcription factors, such as UTF2 and TF12, were upregulated in glioblastoma. Also, we tried to investigate the relation between important genes up- and down-regulated in giloblastoma and various organic pollutants. Therefore, the identification of changes in the patterns of gene expression may provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in human primary brain tumors and of the relation between gene expression profiles and organic pollutants in brain tissue.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권9호
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• pp.1349-1360
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• 2019

Chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, regarded as a major cause of extrinsic aging or photoaging characterized by wrinkle formation and skin dehydration, exerts adverse effects on skin by causing the overproduction of reactive oxygen species. Agastache rugosa Kuntze, known as Korean mint, possesses a wide spectrum of biological properties including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-atherosclerosis. Previous studies have reported that A. rugosa protected human keratinocytes against UVB irradiation by restoring the anti-oxidant defense system. However, the anti-photoaging effect of A. rugosa extract (ARE) in animal models has not yet been evaluated. ARE was orally administered to hairless mice at doses of 100 or 250 mg/kg/day along with UVB exposure for 12 weeks. ARE histologically improved UVB-induced wrinkle formation, epidermal thickening, erythema, and hyperpigmentation. In addition, ARE recovered skin moisture by improving skin hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Along with this, ARE increased hyaluronic acid levels by upregulating HA synthase genes. ARE markedly increased the density of collagen and the amounts of hydroxypoline via two pathways. First, ARE significantly downregulated the mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinases responsible for collagen degradation by inactivating the mitogen-activated protein kinase/activator protein 1 pathway. Second, ARE stimulated the transforming growth factor beta/Smad signaling, consequently raising the mRNA levels of collagen-related genes. In addition, ARE not only increased the mRNA expression of anti-oxidant enzymes but also decreased inflammatory cytokines by blocking the protein expression of nuclear factor kappa B. Collectively, our findings suggest that A. rugosa may be a potential preventive and therapeutic agent for photoaging.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.501-512
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• 2020

제주조릿대 잎은 항염, 해열 및 이뇨작용을 가지고 있어 위궤양, 목마름 및 토혈 치료를 위한 민간의약으로 사용되어 왔다. 본 저자들은 제주조리대 잎에서 분리한 피토케미칼 풍부 추출물(PRE)과 그 에틸아세테이트 분획물(EPRE)은 여러 위암 세포주에서 세포사멸을 유도하는 항암 효과가 있다고 보고한 바 있다. 본 연구는 EPRE의 세포사멸 유도 기전에 관여하는 분자표적들을 탐색하기 위하여 EPRE을 처리한 SNU-16 세포에서 mRNA와 microRNA (miRNA)의 프로파일 변화를 분석하였다. RNA sequencing 분석을 통해 총 2,875개의 차등적으로 발현되는 유전자들(DEGs)을 동정하였다. 유전자 온톨로지(GO)와 KEGG 경로 분석 결과, EPRE는 세포사멸, 유사 분열-활성화 단백질 키나제(MAPK) 및 염증 반응, 종양 괴사 인자(TNF) 신호 전달 및 암 경로에 관여하는 유전자들의 발현을 조절하는 것으로 나타났다. 단백질-단백질 상호 작용(PPI) 네트워크 분석으로 세포사멸 및 세포죽음과 관련된 유전자들 간의 상호작용들을 확인할 수 있었다. 그리고, miRNA sequencing 분석을 통해 총 27개의 차별적으로 발현되는 miRNAs (DEMs)를 동정하였다. GO와 KEGG 경로 분석 결과, EPRE는 세포주기, 세포사멸 및 tropomyosin-receptor-kinase (TRK) 수용체 신호 전달, 성장인자-β(TGF-β), 핵인자 κB (NF-κB) 및 암 경로에 관여하는 miRNAs의 발현을 조정하였다. 본 연구결과는 EPRE의 항암 효과의 근본적인 메커니즘에 대한 통찰력을 제공한다.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.73-81
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• 2023

본 연구에서는 어성초(Houttuynia cordata, HC) 와 야관문(Lespedeza cuneata, LC)의 열수 추출물과 메탄올 추출물의 순차적 유기용매 분획물을 제조하였다. LPS를 처리한 RAW264.7세포에서 HC와 LC의 열수 추출물과 메탄올 추출물의 유기용매 분획물의 항염증 활성을 연구하였다. 어성초와 야관문의 hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate 분획물의 처리에 의해 농도의존적으로 nitric oxide (NO) 생산을 저해하였으며, iNOS의 발현도 감소되었다. 이전 연구에서 HC와 LC의 메탄올 추출물의 ethyl acetate 분획물의 플라보노이드 함량을 분석하였다. 분석된 플라보노이드 중 HC와 LC에 공통적으로 함유된 apigenin을 선택하여 추가실험을 진행하였다. Apigenin은 세포 생존율에 영향을 주지 않으면서 NO 생산을 저해하였으며, iNOS와 COX-2의 단백질 발현도 억제하였다. 또한, apigenin은 p38 MAPK와 JNK의 인산화를 억제함으로써 항염증 활성을 가지는 것으로 생각된다. Apigenin 처리에 의해 차별적으로 발현되는 유전자 발현을 확인하기 위하여 RNA-seq 분석을 수행하였다. 발현이 감소된 유전자 중 4개의 cytokine 유전자(IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, CSF2)의 발현 감소를 정량적 real-time PCR을 통해 확인하였다. 종합적으로, 본 연구결과는 어성초와 야관문은 항염증 활성을 가지고 있으며, apigenin이 두 약용 작물의 항염증 활성을 담당하는 중요한 성분 중의 하나가 될 수 있다는 것을 제시한다.

• 한방재활의학과학회지
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.135-147
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• 2019

Objectives This study was performed to evaluate the effect of Pyrola japonica extract (NJ) and its principal constituent, homoarbutin (HA) on osteoclast differentiation and gene expression and bone resorption. The osteoclastogenesis and gene expression were determined in receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)-stimulated RAW264.7 cell. Methods In order to evaluate the effect of HA extracted from NJ on bone resorption, osteoclasts were used to be differentiated and formed by stimulating RAW264.7 cells with RANKL. Tartarate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) (+) polynuclear osteoclast formation ability was evaluated, and differentiation control genes including cathepsin K, matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9), and TRAP in osteoclast differentiation were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Immunoblotting was performed to measure the effect of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) factors on bone resorption, and the effect of osteoclasts on osteoclast differentiation was measured. Results Both NJ and high concentration of HA blocked RANKL-stimulated differentiation from RAW264.7 cell to TRAP-positive multinucleated cells. NJ reduced RANKL-induced expression of TRAP, cathepsin K. Both NJ and high concentration of HA inhibited RANKL-mediated expression of MMP-9, nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1, and cellular Jun-fos. NJ suppressed RANKL-stimulated expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and levels of interleukins. Both NJ and HA decreased bone resorption in osteoclast-induced bone pit formation model. Conclusions These results suggest that NJ and HA blocked bone resorption by decreasing RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis through down-regulation of genes for osteoclast differentiation.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.1-14
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• 2007

Background: It is generally accepted that skeletal muscle contraction is triggered by nerve impulse and intracellular $Ca^{2+}\;([Ca^{2+}]_i)$ released from intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ stores such as sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Specifically, this process, called excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling, takes place at intracellular junctions between the plasma membrane, the transverse (T) tubule L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channel (dihydropyridine-sensitive L-rype $Ca^{2+}$ channel, DHPR, also called tetrads), and the SR $Ca^{2+}$ release channel (ryanodine-sensitive $Ca^{2+}$ release channel, RyR, also called feet) of internal $Ca^{2+}$ stores in skeletal muscle cells. Furthermore, it has been reported that the $Ca^{2+-}$ dependent and -independent contraction determine the expression of skeletal muscle genes, thus providing a mechanism for tightly coupling the extent of muscle contraction to regulation of muscle plasticity-related excitation-transcription (E-T) coupling. Purpose: Expression and activity of plasticity-associated enzymes in gastrocnemius muscle strips have not been well studied, however. Methods: Therefore, in this study the expression and phosphorylation of E-C and E-T coupling-related mediators such as protein kinases, ROS(reactive oxygen species)- and apoptosis-related substances, and others in gastrocnemius muscles from rats was examined. Results: I found that expression and activity of MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases, ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and SAPK/JNK), apoptotic proteins (cleaved caspase-3, cytochrome c, Ref-1, Bad), small GTP-binding proteins (RhoA and Cdc42), actin-binding protein (cofilin), PKC (protein kinase C) and $Ca^{2+}$ channel (transient receptor potential channel 6, TRPC6) was observed in rat gastrocnemius muscle strips. Conclusion: These results suggest that MAPKs, ROS- and apoptosis-related enzymes, cytoskeleton-regulated proteins, and $Ca^{2+}$ channel may in part functionally import in E-C and E-T coupling from rat skeletal muscles.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제18권8호
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• pp.1023-1030
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• 2008

SIPK와 WIPK의 상위 단계 인산화 효소로 알려진 NtMEK2가 DEX 유도성 시스템에 의해 밝혀졌다. 이 NtMEK2 유전자가 지속적으로 활성화된 돌연변이체인 $NtMEK2^{DD}$의 발현은 SIPK와 WIPK를 활성화 시켜 주므로 과민감 반응과 같은 세포 괴사를 야기하는 것으로 나타나 NtMEK2-SIPK/WIPK 체계가 담배에서 방어 반응을 조절하고 있음을 알 수 있었다. 그러나 NtMEK2-SIPK/WIPK 체계에 의해서 조절 되는 하위 기질이나 방어관련 유전자들에 대한 연구는 아직 미비한 상태이다. 그래서 본 연구는 NtMEK2-SIPK/WIPK 체계에 매개되는 하위 유전자들을 분리하기 위하여 $NtMEK2^{DD}$ 형질전환 식물체를 이용해 ACP에 기초한 DDRT-PCR을 수행하였다. 그 결과 본 연구를 통해 처음으로 pI2-4, MTS2, SINA, CDM1, HRGP 및 DEG45를 포함해 여섯 개의 DEG들을 선발하였다. 이 유전자들의 발현은 $NtMEK2^{DD}$ 형질전환에서 다시 확인하였으며 특히 pI2-4, CDM1, HRGP의 유전자 발현은 다른 유전자들과 비교해 볼 때 살리실산과 담배모자이크바이러스에 강하게 반응하여 증폭됨을 알 수 있었다. 이러한 결과를 볼 때 NtMEK2-SIPK/WIPK 체계에 의해 조절되는 세 개의 유전자는 병저항성에 관여하고 있음을 제시한다 하겠다.