• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.65-74
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• 2004

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) is a heterogeneous group of inherited muscle disorders caused by the mutations of different genes encoding muscle proteins. In the past, when the molecular diagnostic techniques were not available, the subtypes of muscular dystrophies were classified by the pattern of muscle weakness and the mode of inheritance, and LGMD had been considered as a 'waste basket' of muscular dystrophy because many unrelated heterogeneous cases with 'limb-girdle' weakness were put into the category of LGMD. With the advent of molecular genetics at the end of the last century, it has been known that there are many subtypes of LGMD caused by the mutation of different genes, and now, LGMD is classified according to the results of the linkage analysis and the genes or proteins affected. Only small proportion (probably less than 10%) of LGMD is dominantly inherited, and autosomal dominant LGMD (AD-LGMD) consists of six subtypes (LGMD1A to 1F) so far. In autosomal recessive LGMD (AR-LGMD), more than 10 subtypes (LGMD2A to 2J) have been linked and most of the causative genes have been identified. Among AR-LGMDs, LGMD2A (calpain 3 deficiency), 2B (dysferlin deficiency), and sarcoglycanopathy (LGMD2C-2F) are major subtypes. The defective proteins in LGMDs are components of nuclear envelope, cytosol, sarcomere, or sarcolemma, and seem to play a different role in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy. It is notable that many causative genes of LGMDs are also responsible for other categories of muscular dystrophy or diseases affecting other tissue. However, by which mechanism they produce such a broad phenotypic variability is still unknown. The identification of mutation in the relevant gene is confirmative for the diagnosis, and is essential for genetic counseling and antenatal diagnosis of LGMD. Because many different genes are responsible for LGMD, differentiation of subtypes using immunohistochemistry and western blotting is the essential step toward the detection of mutation. For the effective research and medical care of the patients with muscular dystrophy in Korea, a research center with a medical facility supported by the government seems to be needed.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.200-203
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• 2007

C형 Niemann-Pick병은 NPC1 및 NPC2 유전자의 돌연변이로 인해 발생하는 질환으로 상염색체 열성으로 유전되며 신생아 간염과 간비비대, 이후 안구의 수직운동 마비, 조화운동불능, 구음장애, 근육긴장이상, 경련 등 서서히 진행하는 신경학적 이상을 보이게 된다. 환아는 7개월 된 여아로 출생 후부터 황달과 간비비대가 지속되어 리소솜성 축적질환을 의심하였고 시행한 골수검사상 거품형태의 조직구가 관찰되어 Niemann-Pick병을 진단하였다. 신생아 황달, 간비비대 등 환아의 임상양상을 고려했을 때 C형 Nimann-Pick병이 의심되었고 확진을 위해 시행한 NPC1 유전자 검사에서 c.451_452del (p.Ser151TrpfsX18) 및 새로운 돌연변이인 c.1757+3_6del의 이형접합체임을 확인하여 질환을 확진 하였다.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.378-384
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• 2011

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), a member of genus Begomovirus, was isolated in Korea in 2008. We sequenced and analyzed the DNA-A of 51 TYLCV isolates from Korea, and 13 of the TYLCV isolates were selected as type representatives of TYLCV from six Korean provinces. The 13 TYLCV isolates were classified into Korea Group 1 (KG1, nine isolates) and Korea Group 2 (KG2, four isolates) based on the results of phylogenetic analysis and genome size (2774 and 2781 nucleotides, respectively). A recombination detection program 3 (RDP3) revealed two recombinations between the TYLCV Korea isolates and other TYLCV isolates [Thailand (AF206674), Iran (AJ132711), and Israel (X76319)]. TYLCV Jeju isolate was characterized by two recombination events (E1 and E2) caused by the presence of E1 in ORF V1 and C3, which may seem to be the mutations of the high nucleotide transversion and transition rate. Collectively, our results suggest that the occurrence of nucleotide transversions and transitions in TYLCV DNA-A might have induced novel recombination events within the TYLCV Korea isolates.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.143-148
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• 2014

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a dominantly inherited connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding fibrillin-1 (FBN1) and is characterized by aortic dilatation and dissection, which is the primary cause of death in untreated MFS patients. However, disease progression-associated changes in gene expression in the aortic lesions of MFS patients remained unknown. Using a mouse model of MFS, FBN1 hypomorphic mouse (mgR/mgR), we characterized the aortic gene expression profiles during the progression of the MFS. Homozygous mgR mice exhibited MFS-like phenotypic features, such as fragmentation of elastic fibers throughout the vessel wall and were graded into mgR1-4 based on the pathological severity in aortic walls. Comparative gene expression profiling of WT and four mgR mice using microarrays revealed that the changes in the transcriptome were a direct reflection of the severity of aortic pathological features. Gene ontology analysis showed that genes related to oxidation/reduction, myofibril assembly, cytoskeleton organization, and cell adhesion were differentially expressed in the mgR mice. Further analysis of differentially expressed genes identified several candidate genes whose known roles were suggestive of their involvement in the progressive destruction of aorta during MFS. This study is the first genome-wide analysis of the aortic gene expression profiles associated with the progression of MFS. Our findings provide valuable information regarding the molecular pathogenesis during MFS progression and contribute to the development of new biomarkers as well as improved therapeutic strategies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권7호
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• pp.3073-3077
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• 2015

Background: TP53 mutations are the most common genetic alterations in human cancers. There are also several polymorphisms in both exons and introns of TP53 that may influence its anti-tumor functions and increase the risk of cancer development. Associations of the TP53 intron 6 G13964C polymorphism with increased risk of development of several cancers have been investigated in numerous studies, but the results were controversial and conflicting. In this study, we aimed to investigate the probable association of this polymorphism with risk of both thyroid and breast cancers among the Iranian-Azeri population. Materials and Methods: We performed two separate case control studies on associations of the intron 6 polymorphism with two different kinds of cancer. In one case-control study, a total of 75 patients with thyroid carcinoma and 180 controls were analyzed and the other study included 170 patients with breast cancer and 135 healthy women. The intron 6 genotype was determined by RFLP-PCR and the SPSS 16 program was applied for data analysis. Results: For thyroid cancer, the frequencies of GG genotype were 96.0% in patients and 93.3% in controls. The GC genotype had a frequency of 4.0 % in patients and 6.7% in controls. In the study on breast cancer, the frequency of GG and GC genotypes in patients were 95.3% and 4.7%, respectively. In breast related control group, the frequency of GG genotype was 93.3 % and the frequency of GC genotype was 6.7%. None of the cases and controls had the CC genotype. Conclusions: There was no significant association between the TP53 intron 6 G13964C polymorphism and risk of development of both thyroid and breast cancer in Iranian-Azeri patients.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.19-25
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• 2015

Osteocytes may function as mechanotransducers by regulating local osteoclastogenesis. Reduced availability of oxygen, i.e. hypoxia, could occur during disuse, bone development, and fracture. Receptor activator of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ ligand (RANKL) is an osteoblast/stromal cell derived essential factor for osteoclastogenesis. The hypoxia induced osteoclastogenesis via increased RANKL expression in osteoblasts was demonstrated. Hypoxic regulation of gene expression generally involves activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) transcription pathway. In the present study, we investigated whether hypoxia regulates RANKL expression in murine osteocytes and HIF-$1{\alpha}$ mediates hypoxia-induced RANKL expression by transactivating RANKL promoter, to elucidate the role of osteocyte in osteoclastogenesis in the context of hypoxic condition. The expression levels of RANKL mRNA and protein, as well as hypoxia inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ (HIF-$1{\alpha}$) protein, were significantly increased in hypoxic condition in MLO-Y4s. Constitutively active HIF-$1{\alpha}$ alone significantly increased the levels of RANKL expression in MLO-Y4s under normoxic conditions, whereas dominant negative HIF-$1{\alpha}$ blocked hypoxia-induced RANKL expression. To further explore to find if HIF-$1{\alpha}$ directly regulates RANKL transcription, a luciferase reporter assay was conducted. Hypoxia significantly increased RANKL promoter activity, whereas mutations of putative HIF-$1{\alpha}$ binding elements in RANKL promoter prevented this hypoxia-induced RANKL promoter activity in MLO-Y4s. These results suggest that HIF-$1{\alpha}$ mediates hypoxia-induced up-regulation of RANKL expression, and that in osteocytes of mechanically unloaded bone, hypoxia enhances osteoclastogenesis, at least in part, via an increased RANKL expression in osteocytes.

• BMB Reports
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• 제42권6호
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• pp.315-323
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• 2009

In order to elucidate ultimate biological function of the genome, the model animal system carrying mutations is indispensable. Recently, large-scale mutagenesis projects have been launched in various species. Especially, the mouse is considered to be an ideal model to human because it is a mammalian species accompanied with well-established genetic as well as embryonic technologies. In 1990', large-scale mouse mutagenesis projects firstly initiated with a potent chemical mutagen, N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) by the phenotype-driven approach or forward genetics. The knockout mouse mutagenesis projects with trapping/conditional mutagenesis have then followed as Phase II since 2006 by the gene-driven approach or reverse genetics. Recently, the next-generation gene targeting system has also become available to the research community, which allows us to establish and analyze mutant mice carrying an allelic series of base substitutions in target genes as another reverse genetics. Overall trends in the large-scale mouse mutagenesis will be reviewed in this article particularly focusing on the new advancement of the next-generation gene targeting system. The drastic expansion of the mutant mouse resources altogether will enhance the systematic understanding of the life. The construction of the mutant mouse resources developed by the forward and reverse genetic mutagenesis is just the beginning of the annotation of mammalian genome. They provide basic infrastructure to understand the molecular mechanism of the gene and genome and will contribute to not only basic researches but also applied sciences such as human disease modelling, genomic medicine and personalized medicine.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.365-381
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• 2009

The chloroplast DNA sequences of Megaleranthis saniculifolia, an endemic and monotypic endangered plant species, were completed in this study (GenBank FJ597983). The genome is 159,924 bp in length. It harbors a pair of IR regions consisting of 26,608 bp each. The lengths of the LSC and SSC regions are 88,326 bp and 18,382 bp, respectively. The structural organizations, gene and intron contents, gene orders, AT contents, codon usages, and transcription units of the Megaleranthis chloroplast genome are similar to those of typical land plant cp DNAs. However, the detailed features of Megaleranthis chloroplast genomes are substantially different from that of Ranunculus, which belongs to the same family, the Ranunculaceae. First, the Megaleranthis cp DNA was 4,797 bp longer than that of Ranunculus due to an expanded IR region into the SSC region and duplicated sequence elements in several spacer regions of the Megaleranthis cp genome. Second, the chloroplast genomes of Megaleranthis and Ranunculus evidence 5.6% sequence divergence in the coding regions, 8.9% sequence divergence in the intron regions, and 18.7% sequence divergence in the intergenic spacer regions, respectively. In both the coding and noncoding regions, average nucleotide substitution rates differed markedly, depending on the genome position. Our data strongly implicate the positional effects of the evolutionary modes of chloroplast genes. The genes evidencing higher levels of base substitutions also have higher incidences of indel mutations and low Ka/Ks ratios. A total of 54 simple sequence repeat loci were identified from the Megaleranthis cp genome. The existence of rich cp SSR loci in the Megaleranthis cp genome provides a rare opportunity to study the population genetic structures of this endangered species. Our phylogenetic trees based on the two independent markers, the nuclear ITS and chloroplast MatK sequences, strongly support the inclusion of the Megaleranthis to the Trollius. Therefore, our molecular trees support Ohwi's original treatment of Megaleranthis saniculifolia to Trollius chosenensis Ohwi.

• 대한두경부종양학회지
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.3-10
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• 2002

Background: The molecular pathogenesis of hereditary medullary thyroid carcinoma is well known to be associated with germ-line mutation in the RET proto-oncogene and sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma has been shown to carry somatic RET mutation especially in exon 13 and 16. The aim of this study is to evaluate the genetic background in the pathogenesis of the sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma which shows extremely high incidence in Korea. Materials and Methods: Direct DNA sequencing for RET exon 13 and 16, as well as immunohistochemistrical assay for a monoclonal RET antibody were performed from 20 cases of archival tissues of medullary thyroid carcinoma. Results: Monoclonal RET antibody with C-terminal epitope showed comparatively stronger expression in tumor cells than in normal tissues and immunoreactive area in the tumor was $66.0{\pm}40.1%$. Direct sequencing of RET exon 13 revealed 4 cases of mis-sense mutations in Codon 778, Codon 767, and both in Codon 768 and 778. One case showed a silent mutation (ACG-ACT) in RET exon 16 (Codon 926). Conclusions: The strong RET immunoreactivity of medullary thyroid carcinoma may suggest that there could be a genetic alteration in oncoprotein level. RET proto-oncogene mutation may be involved in the evolutional process of medullary thyroid carcinoma in the aspect of molecular basis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제18권5호
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• pp.734-740
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• 2005

The blood samples were collected from dairy cows at the same milking stage. The single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) method was used to analyze for polymorphism at the 5'flanking region of the hsp70 gene. The mRNA expression levels of HSP70, HSF1, Bcl-2 and Bax-$\alpha$ at different daily-mean-temperature were analyzed by relative quantitative RTPCR. The DNA content, cell phase and the ratio of apoptosis of lymphocytes in peripheral blood of dairy cattle at different daily-meantemperature were determined by FCM. The PCR-SSCP products of primer pair 1 showed polymorphisms and could be divided into four genotypes: aa, ab, ac, cc, with the cis-acting element (CCAAT box) included. Mutations in the hsp70 5'flanking region (468-752 bp) had different effects on mRNA expression of HSP70, HSF1, Bcl-2 and Bax-$\alpha$. The ac genotypic cows showed higher expressions of HSP70mRNA, HSF1mRNA and Bcl-2mRNA/Bax-$\alpha$mRNA and lower ratio of apoptosis. These mutation sites can be used as molecular genetic markers to assist selection for anti-heat stress cows.