• BMB Reports
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.201-207
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• 2016

The CRISPR-Cas system has emerged as a fascinating and important genome editing tool. It is now widely used in biology, biotechnology, and biomedical research in both academic and industrial settings. To improve the specificity and efficiency of Cas nucleases and to extend the applications of these systems for other areas of research, an understanding of their precise working mechanisms is crucial. In this review, we summarize current studies on the molecular structures and dynamic functions of type I and type II Cas nucleases, with a focus on target DNA searching and cleavage processes as revealed by single-molecule observations.

• BMB Reports
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• 제51권2호
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• pp.65-72
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• 2018

The endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is a newly recognized, fundamental biological process involved in development and tissue regeneration, as well as pathological processes such as the complications of diabetes, fibrosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The EndMT process is tightly controlled by diverse signaling networks, similar to the epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of this network, with the capacity to target multiple messenger RNAs involved in the EndMT process as well as in the regulation of disease progression. Thus, it is highly important to understand the molecular basis of miRNA control of EndMT. This review highlights the current fund of knowledge regarding the known links between miRNAs and the EndMT process, with a focus on the mechanism that regulates associated signaling pathways and discusses the potential for the EndMT as a therapeutic target to treat many diseases.

• 한국분무공학회지
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2006

The present study is focused on the small scale turbulent mixing processes in the scalar Held. In order to deal with molecular mixing in turbulent flow, the linear eddy model is addressed. In each realization, the molecular mixing term is implemented deterministically, and turbulent stirring is represented by a sequence of instantaneous, statistically independent rearrangement event called by triplet map. The LEM approach is applied with relatively simple conditions. The characteristics of scalar mixing and PDF profiles are addressed in detail.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제31권9호
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• pp.2607-2612
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• 2010

Human tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) is a valuable thrombolytic agent used to successfully treat acute myocardial infarction, thromboembolic stroke, peripheral arterial occlusion, and venous thromboembolism. Recombinant tPA is accumulated as an inactive form in inclusion bodies of E. coli and is refolded in vitro, which is accompanied by extensive aggregation. In the present study, a tPA protease domain was expressed in an active soluble form in the cytosol of E. coli Rosetta-gami cells, which allowed disulfide bond formation and supplied the tRNA molecules required for six rarely used codons in E. coli. This strategy increased the amount of soluble protease domain protein and avoided the cumbersome refolding process. The purified protease domain not only degraded tPA substrate peptides but also formed a covalently bound complex with plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, as does full-length tPA. Soluble expression and purification of tPA domains may aid in functional analyses of this multi-domain protein, which has been implicated in many physiological and pathological processes.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국지하수토양환경학회 2003년도 추계학술발표회
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• pp.123-127
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• 2003

Changes in pyrene partitioning due to mineral surface adsorptive fractionation processes of humic substances (HS) were examined in model environmental systems. For purified Aldrich humic acid(PAHA), carbon-normalized pyrene binding coefficients ( $K_{oc}$ ) for the residual (i.e., nonadsorbed and dissolved) PAHA components were different from the original dissolved PAHA $K_{oc}$ , value prior to contact with mineral suspensions. A positive correlation between the extent of pyrene binding and weight-average molecular weight (M $W_{w}$) of residual PAHA components was observed, which appeared to be unaffected by the specific mineral adsorbents use and fractionation mechanisms. A similar positive correlation was not observed with the adsorbed PAHA components, suggesting that conformational changes occurred for the mineral-associated components upon adsorption. Nonlinear pyrene sorption to mineral-associated PAHA was observed, and the degree of nonlinearity is hypothesized to be dependent on adsorptive fractionation effects and/or structural rearrangement of the adsorbed PAHA components.s.

• BMB Reports
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• 제29권5호
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• pp.474-480
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• 1996

We present a study of evolutionary changes in expression of actin genes among closely related sea urchin species that exhibit different modes of early development. For this purpose, polyclonal antisera raised against peptides from the carboxyl terminus of the HeCyI cytoskeletal actin of Heliocidaris erythrogramma were used. H. erythrogramma is a direct developing sea urchin that proceeds from embryonic to adult stages without an intervening feeding larval stage. Expression patterns of the CyI actin isoform were compared with those of Heliocidaris tuberculata and to a related sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, which both produce a feeding pluteus larval stage. The CyI actin of all three species is expressed in the same cell types. However, its expression patterns have been changed with reorganization of early cell lineage differentiation, which is apparent among the three species. Thus. evolutionary changes in CyI actin gene expression patterns are correlated with not only phylogenetic relationship, but developmental mode. The implication of this observation is that evolutionary changes in expression patterns of histospecific genes may underlie the emergence of novel developmental processes.

• BMB Reports
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• 제44권5호
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• pp.291-297
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• 2011

Aging is one of the most complicated biological processes in all species. A number of different model organisms from yeast to monkeys have been studied to understand the aging process. Until recently, many different age-related genes and age-regulating cellular pathways, such as insulin/IGF-1-like signal, mitochondrial dysfunction, Sir2 pathway, have been identified through classical genetic studies. Parallel to genetic approaches, genome-wide approaches have provided valuable insights for the understanding of molecular mechanisms occurring during aging. Gene expression profiling analysis can measure the transcriptional alteration of multiple genes in a genome simultaneously and is widely used to elucidate the mechanisms of complex biological pathways. Here, current global gene expression profiling studies on normal aging and age-related genetic/environmental interventions in widely-used model organisms are briefly reviewed.

• BMB Reports
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• 제41권6호
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• pp.435-443
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• 2008

Post-translational modifiers can alter the function of proteins in many different ways. The conjugation of ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiqutin-like modifiers (Ubls) to proteins has been shown to be especially crucial in regulating a variety of cellular processes including the cell cycle, growth control, quality control, localization and many more. It is a highly dynamic process and involves a number of enzymes called E1, E2 and E3. Ub and Ubls are removed from the target proteins by deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) or Ubl-specific proteases (ULPs), thereby deconjugation can act as an additional level of control over the ubiquitin-conjugation system. In addition, DUBs and ULPs are responsible for activating Ub and Ubls from their inactive corresponding precursor forms. Here we review recent progress in molecular details of these deconjugating enzymes of Ubls.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권4호
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• pp.164-174
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• 2017

Mitochondria are cytosolic organelles essential for generating energy and maintaining cell homeostasis. Despite their critical function, the handful of proteins expressed by the mitochondrial genome is insufficient to maintain mitochondrial structure or activity. Accordingly, mitochondrial metabolism is fully dependent on factors encoded by the nuclear DNA, including many proteins synthesized in the cytosol and imported into mitochondria via established mechanisms. However, there is growing evidence that mammalian mitochondria can also import cytosolic noncoding RNA via poorly understood processes. Here, we summarize our knowledge of mitochondrial RNA, discuss recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms and functional impact of RNA import into mitochondria, and identify rising challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.75-80
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• 2009

The cyclic environmental conditions brought about by the 24 h rotation of the earth have allowed the evolution of endogenous circadian clocks that control the temporal alignment of behaviour and physiology, including the uptake and processing of nutrients. Both metabolic and circadian regulatory systems are built upon a complex feedback network connecting centres of the central nervous system and different peripheral tissues. Emerging evidence suggests that circadian clock function is closely linked to metabolic homeostasis and that rhythm disruption can contribute to the development of metabolic disease. At the same time, metabolic processes feed back into the circadian clock, affecting clock gene expression and timing of behaviour. In this review, we summarize the experimental evidence for this bimodal interaction, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms mediating this exchange, and outline the implications for clock-based and metabolic diseases.