• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.493-501
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• 2005

Circadian rhythms, time on a scale of about 24 hours, are present in a number of organisms including animals, plants, and bacteria. The control of the biochemical, physiological and behavioral processes is regulated by endogenous clocks in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). At the core of this timing mechanism is molecular machinery that are present both in the brain and in the peripheral tissues throughout the body, and even in a single cultured cell. In this study, we performed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to figure out any correlation between protein expression patterns and the requirement of two canonical clock proteins, either mPER1 or mPER2, by comparing global protein expression profiles in livers from wildtype or mPer1/mPer2 double mutant mice. We could identify several differentially expressed protein candidates with respect to time and genotypes. Further analysis of these candidate proteins in detail in vivo will lead us to the better understanding of how circadian clock functions in mammals.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.184-184
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• 2003

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.122-132
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• 2004

The rapid development and characterization of the mouse genome sequence, coupled with comparative sequence analysis of human, has been paralleled by a reinforced enthusiasm for mouse functional genomics. The way to uncover the in vivo function of genes is to analyze the phenotypes of the mutant animals. From this standpoint, the mouse is a suitable and valuable model organism in the studies of functional genomics. Therefore, there have been enormous efforts to enrich the list of the mutant mice. Such a trend emphasizes the random mutagenesis, including ENU mutagenesis and gene-trap mutagenesis, to obtain a large stock of mutant mice. However, since various mutant alleles are needed to precisely characterize the role of a gene in vivo, mutations should be designed. The simplicity and utility of transgenic technology can satisfy this demand. The combination of RNA interference with transgenic technology will provide more opportunities for researchers. Nevertheless, gene targeting can solely define the in vivo function of a gene without a doubt. Thus, transgenesis and gene targeting will be the major strategies in the field of functional genomics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.184-184
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• 2003

ENU(ethylnitrosourea) mutagenesis has been carrying out since 1999 in Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Korea Research Institute Chemical of Technology (KRlCT). We have chosen BALB/c and C57BL/6 and screened for dominant and recessive mutants. Four hundred and twenty one males(GO) have been injected with ENU, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mg/kg body weight, twice, one week apart.(omitted)

• Toxicological Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2008

N-ethyl-N-nitrosoures (ENU) is effective in inducing hypermorphic mutation as well as hypomorphic and antimorphic mutations. Therefore, this mutagen is used to the production of mutant in the mice. In order to perform an effective ENU mutagenesis using BALB/cAnN mice, determination of optimal dosage and dosage regimen of ENU is necessary. And this study tried to develop a suitable screening method and searched for novel and various mutants as model animals in phenotypedriven ENU mutagenesis. We have carried out dosage regimen for mutagenizing dose of 200 mg/kg ENU in the BALB/c mice. Total screened mice were 30,133. As the results of Esaki and Cho's Phenotype Screening, we got 2,516 phenotypic and behavior abnormalities in $G_1,\;G_2\;and\;G_3$ mice. One hundred thirty five $G_1$ phenodeviants were tested for inheritance and 16 dominant mutants were discovered. Forty two recessive mutants were also found in tested 201 micropedigrees. Early-onset mutant mice included the dysmorphology of face, eye, tail, limb, skin, and foot and abnormal behavior like circling, swimming, head tossing, stiff-walking, high cholesterol level, and tremor etc. In this study we could effectively screen $G_3$ recessive mutants. The frequent and concise early-onset screening before weaning will be available for ENU mutagenesis.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.48-48
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• 2001

A new neurological mutant has been found in the ICR outbred strain mouse. Affected mice display profound deafness and a head-tossing and bidirectional circling behavior, showing an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. It was, therefore, named cir/Kr with the gene symbol cir. The auditory tests identified clearly the hearing loss of the cir mice when compared to wild type mice. Pathological studies confirmed the developmental defects in the middle ear, cochlea, cochlear nerve, and semicircular canal areas, which were correlated to the abnormal behavior observed in the cir mice. Thus, cir mice may be useful as a model for studying inner ear abnormalities and deafness. We have constructed a genetic linkage map by positioning 14 microsatellite markers across the (cir) region and intraspecific backcross between cir and C57BL/6J mice. The cir mouse harbors an autosomal recessive mutation on mouse chromosome 9. The cir gene was mapped to a region between D9Mit116 and D9Mit38 Estimated distances between cir and D9Mit116, and between cir and D9Mit38 are 0.7 and 0.2 cM, respectively. The gene in order was defines : centromere-D9Mit182-D9Mit51/D9Mit79/D9Mit310-D9Mit212/D9Mit184-D9Mit116-cir-D9Mit38-D9Mit20-D9Mit243-D9Mit16-D9Mit55/D9Mit125-D9Mit281. The mouse map location of the cir locus appears to be in a region homologous to human 3q21. Our present date suggest that the nearest flanking marker D9Mit38 provides a useful anchor for the isolation of the cir gene in a yeast artificial chromosome contig.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.275-284
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• 2006

The molecular components that generate and maintain circadian rhythms of physiology and behavior in mammals are present both in the brain (suprachiasmatic nucleus; SCN) and in peripheral tissues. Examination of mice with targeted disruptions of either mPer1 or mPer2 has shown that these two genes have key roles in the SCN circadian clock. Here we show that loss of the clock gene mPer2 affects forced locomotor performance in mice without altering muscle contractility. A proteomic analysis revealed that the anterior tibialis muscles of the mPer2 knockout mice had higher levels of glycolytic enzymes such as triose phosphate isomerase and enolase than those of either the wild type or mPer1 knockout mice. In addition, the level of expression of HSP90 in the mPer2 mutant mice was also significantly higher than in wildtype mice. These results suggest that the reduced locomotor endurance of the mPer2 knockout mice reflects a greater dependence on anaerobic metabolism under stress conditions, and that the two canonical clock genes, mPer1 and mPer2, play distinct roles in the physiology of skeletal muscle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.745-753
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• 2008

Gene-manipulated mice were discovered for the first time about a quarter century ago. Since then, numerous sophisticated technologies have been developed and applied to answer key questions about the fundamental roles of the genes of interest. Functional genomics can be characterized into gain-of-function and loss-of-function, which are called transgenic and knock-out studies, respectively. To make transgenic mice, the most widely used technique is the microinjection of transgene-containing vectors into the embryonic pronucleus. However, there are critical drawbacks: namely position effects, integration of unknown copies of a foreign gene, and instability of the foreign DNA within the host genome. To overcome these problems, the ROSA26 locus was used for the knock-in site of a transgene. Usage of this locus is discussed for the gain of function study as well as for several brilliant approaches such as conditional/inducible transgenic system, reproducible/inducible knockdown system, specific cell ablation by Cre-mediated expression of DTA, Cre-ERTM mice as a useful tool for temporal gene regulation, MORE mice as a germ line delete and site specific recombinase system. Techniques to make null mutant mice include complicated steps: vector design and construction, colony selection of embryonic stem (ES) cells, production of chimera mice, confirmation of germ line transmission, and so forth. It is tedious and labor intensive work and difficult to approach. Thus, it is not readily accessible by most researchers. In order to overcome such limitations, technical breakthroughs such as reporter knock-in and gene knock-out system, production of homozygous mutant ES cells from a single targeting vector, and production of mutant mice from tetraploid embryos are developed. With these upcoming progresses, it is important to consider how we could develop these systems further and expand to other animal models such as pigs and monkeys that have more physiological similarities to humans.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of the Perilla frutescens cv. Chookyoupjaso mutant water extract (PFWE) on gamma ray-induced oxidative stress in mice. Gamma-ray is one of the sources for inducing oxidative stress. The study was divided into 6 groups with 6 mice for each treatment. Groups I and II were treated with saline (vehicle) only, groups III, IV, V, and VI were pretreated with PFWE 10, 20, 50, $50mg\;kg^{-1}$ respectively for 2 weeks before gamma radiation. And then groups II, III, IV, V were irradiated. We found that the activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were increased and the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) were decreased by irradiation in mice. However, treatment of PFWE attenuated the activities of AST and ALT in a dose-dependent manner in irradiated mice. Furthermore, treatment of PFWE significantly increased the activities of SOD, GPx, and GR in a dose-dependent manner in irradiated mice, except for the CAT. Interestingly, the activities of GPx and GR were significantly increased by PFWE treatment. Taken together, PFWE could be effective in protecting on gamma ray-induced oxidative stress in mice.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.149-152
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• 1999

Transgenic mice models of Alzheimer's disease were produced by overexpressing APP(amyloid precursor protein) mutant and presenilin mutant genes using the promotors that induced neuronal expression. The neuropathologies, electrophysiological changes and behavioral changes that were demonstrated in these transgenic mice models were amyloid changes, gliotic changes, A-beta increases, deficit in LTP(long-term potentiation) and behavioral changes. Some or all of the above changes were found in each transgenic mice model. These models generally showed amyloid neuropathology but they usually lacked the neurofibrillary tangles. So, they can be regarded as partial models of Alzheimer's disease. The development of them is undoubtedly the great progress toward future research.