• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.8 s.88
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• pp.1157-1165
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• 2007

VvMSA, a grapevine ASR which is highly inducible by sugar and abscisic acid signals was previously shown to be a transcription factor for a hexose transporter gene VvHT1. We isolated a cDNA clone, VlASR which is regulated temporally during the grape berry development by ACP RT-PCR (annealing control primer reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) and it proved identical to VvMSA. RT-PCR and real-time PCR analyses revealed that the VlASR gene was expressed in berries at fruit set and that its expression increased as berries aged but decreased at the late ripening stage. In order to understand the regulatory mechanism of the asr gene, a genomic fragment was cloned from grapevine. The genomic DNA was 1375 bp long and a sugar box (sucrose box 3 and sucrose responsive element 1) was identified in the 611 bp upstream region of the open reading frame. Analysis of the VlASR promoter::reporter gene fusion demonstrated that this promoter was expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis even without sucrose treatment. This result suggests that the ASR/VvHT1-mediated sugar/ABA signaling, previously reported in grapevine, may not function in Arabidopsis which has no ASR homologue.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.893-900
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• 2011

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) is one of the widely used biomarkers in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. It was initially identified in 1935 and is the most abundant phosphatase in the human prostate. PAP is a prostate-specific enzyme that is synthesized in prostate epithelial cells. It belongs to the acid phosphatase group that shows enzymatic activity in acidic conditions. PAP is abundant in prostatic fluid and is thought to have a role in fertilization and oligospermia. It also has a potential role in reducing chronic pain. But one of the most apparent functions of PAP is the dephosphorylation of macromolecules such as HER-2 and PI3P that are involved in the ERK1/2 and MAPK pathways, which in turn leads to inhibition of cell growth and tumorigenesis. Currently, clinical trials using PAP DNA vaccine are underway and FDA-approved immunotherapy using PAP is commercially available. Despite these clinically important aspects, molecular mechanisms underlying PAP regulation are not fully understood. The promoter region of PAP was reported to be regulated by NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-1, androgen and androgen receptors. Here, the features of PAP gene and protein structures together with the function, regulation and roles of PAP in prostate cancer are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2007

For the development of basic genetic materials for specific and effective therapeutic approach to suppress multiplication of hepatitis C virus (HCV), HCV internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-targeting hammerhead ribozyme which activity is allosterically regulated by HCV regulatory protein, NS5B RNA replicase, was developed. The ribozyme targeted most effectively to +382 nucleotide (nt) site of HCV IRES RNA. The allosteric ribozyme was designed to be composed of sequence of RNA aptamer to HCV NS5B, communication module sequence which can transfer structural transition for inducing ribozyme activity upon binding NS5B to the aptamer, and sequence of ribozyme targeting +382 nt of HCV IRES. Noticeably, we employed in vitro selection technology to identify the most appropriate communication module sequence which can induce ribozyme activity depending on the US5B protein. We demonstrated that the ribozyme was nonfunctional either in the absence of any proteins or in the presence of control bovine serum albumin. In sharp contrast, the allosteric ribozyme can induce activity of cleavage reaction with HCV IRES RNA in the presence of the HCV NS5B protein. This allosteric ribozyme can be used as lead compound for specific and effective anti-HCV agent, tool for highthroughput screening to isolate lead chemicals for HCV therapeutics, and ligand for biosensor system for HCV diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.677-682
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• 2009

ZnS:Mn/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs), were synthesized via a thermal decomposition reaction of organometallic precursors in a hot solvent mixture. The synthetic conditions of the quantum dots were monitored at various reaction temperatures for the core formation, while the shell formation temperature was fixed at 135$^{\circ}C$. The obtained colloidal nanocrystals at corresponding temperatures were characterized by UV-Vis, solution photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies, and further obtained powders were characterized by XRD, HR-TEM, and EDXS analyses. The synthetic temperature condition to obtain the best PL emission intensity for the core-shell QD was 135$^{\circ}C$, for both core and shell formation. At this temperature, solution PL spectrum showed a narrow emission peak at 583 nm with a relative PL quantum efficiency of 42.15%. In addition, the measured spherical particle sizes for the ZnS:Mn/ZnS nanocrystals via HR-TEM were in the range of 4.0 to 5.4 nm, while ellipsoidal particles were obtained at 150$^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.282-288
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• 2008

Tissue ischemia resulting from the constriction or obstruction of blood vessels leads to an illness that may affect many organs including the heart, brain, and legs. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the field of therapeutic angiogenesis and the new approaches are expected to cure those "no-option patients" who are unsuited to conventional therapies. Although single angiogenic growth factor may be successful in inducing angiogenesis, combination of multiple growth factors is increasingly sought these days to augment the therapeutic responses. This trend is proper in light of the fact that blood vessel formation is a complex and multi-step process that requires the actions of many different factors. To meet the growing need for functionally significant blood flow recovery in the ischemic tissues, a novel strategy that can provide concerted actions of multiple factors is required. One way to achieve such a goal is to use a transcription factor that can orchestrate the expression of multiple target genes in the ischemic region and thus induce significant level of angiogenesis. Here, a putative transcription factor, cardiac ankyrin repeat protein (CARP), was evaluated in adenoviral vector context for angiogenic activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The results indicated significant increase in proliferation, capillary-like structure formation, and induction of vascular endothelial growth factor, a typical angiogenic gene. Taken together, these results suggest that CARP represents itself as a novel target for therapeutic angiogenesis and warrants further investigation.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.158-163
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• 2009

In this study, we synthesized a series of dendritic polystyrene-b-linear poly (t-butyl acrylate) copolymers with well-defined molecular architectures. The hydroxyl group located at the focal point of the second generation dendron bearing polystyrene ($M_n$ = 1000 g/mol) peripheries was converted into amine group via the following stepwise reactions: 1) tosylatoin, 2) azidation, and 3) reduction. On the other hand, the linear poly (t-butyl acrylate)s were prepared by an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of t-butyl acrylate where benzyl 2-bromopropanoate and Cu(I)Br/PMDETA were used as initiator and catalyst, respectively. To convert the end group of prepared poly (t-butyl acrylate) s into carboxylic acid, a debenzylation was performed using Pd/C catalyst under $H_2$ atmosphere. In the final step, dendritic-linear block copolymers were obtained through a simple amide coupling reaction mediated by 4-(dimethylamino) pyridine(DMAP) and N,N'-diisopropylcarbodiimide(DIPC). The resulting diblock copolymers were shown to have well-defined molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions as supported by $^1H$-NMR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography(GPC).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.768-772
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• 2013

Layered mixed metal hydroxy double salts (HDS) with the formulas $(Cu_{0.75}Ni_{0.25})_2(OH)_3NO_3$ ((Cu, Ni)-HDS) and $Cu_2(OH)_3NO_3$ ((Cu, Cu)-HDS) were prepared via slow hydrolysis reactions of CuO with $Ni(NO_3)_2$ and $Cu(NO_3)_2$, respectively. The crystal structures, morphologies, bonding natures, and magnetic properties of (Cu, Ni)-HDS and (Cu, Cu)-HDS were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Even though (Cu, Ni)-HDS has a similar layered structure to that of (Cu, Cu)-HDS, the bonding nature of (Cu, Ni)-HDS is slightly different from that of (Cu, Cu)-HDS. Therefore, the magnetic properties of (Cu, Ni)-HDS are significantly different from those of (Cu, Cu)-HDS. The origin of the abnormal magnetic properties of (Cu, Ni)-HDS can be explained in terms of the bonding natures of the interlayer and intralayer structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.103-115
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• 2008

Hemodynamic shear stress, the dragging force generated by blood flow, is known as an anti-atherogenic factor. We tested whether lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KRS) will be utilized as an agent controlling shear-sensing systems. KRS was previously known to be secreted as a pro-inflammatory agent. Here we found that KRS inhibited various shear-stimulated signaling pathways. We further found that KRS binds to detergent-resistant membrane (DRM), indicating that KRS binding molecules exist in DRM, specialized regions of the plasma membrane. DRM plays important roles in a variety of cellular processes and consists of gangliosides, signaling molecules and cytoskeletons. We then determined that KRS was colocalized with integrins ${\alpha}4$, ${\alpha}5$ and $av{\beta}3$. In addition, KRS was shown to be associated with sialic acid, existing at the end of gangliosides. Interestingly, the adherent effect of KRS was inhibited by pretreatment with sialic acid. Moreover, treatment of endothelial cells with neuraminidase appeared to inhibit both the KRS adhesion to endothelial cells and shear-stimulated signaling. In conclusion, KRS is likely to be utilized as a vascular regulator.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1357-1359
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• 2009

Many researchers studied cell culturing on surfaces with chemical functional groups. Previously, we reported surface properties of plasma polymerized ethylenediamine (PPEDA) films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition with various plasma conditions. Surface properties of PPEDA films can be controlled by plasma power during deposition. In this work, to analyze correlation of cell adherence/proliferation with surface property, we cultured rat intestinal epithelial cells-18 on the PPEDA films deposited with various plasma powers. It was shown that as plasma power was decreased, density of cells cultured on the PPEDA film surface was increased. Our findings indicate that plasma power changed the amine density of the PPEDA film surface, resulting in density change of cells cultured on the PPEDA film surface.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.300-305
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• 2003

Intracellular expression of RNA decoys, such as TAR or RRE decoy, has been previously shown to protect immune cells from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication by inhibiting the binding of the HIV-1 regulatory protein to the authentic HIV RNA sequence. However, HIV-1 challenge experiments of primary human T cells, which express the RNA decoy, demonstrated that the cells were only transiently protected, and hence, more improved protocols for HIV-1 inhibition with the RNA decoys need to be developed. In this report, in order to develop a more effective RNA decoy, we analyzed and compared the ability of a series of RNA decoy derivatives in inhibiting HIV-1 replication in CEM cells. Using an improved tRNA cassette to express high levels of RNA decoy transcripts in cells, we found that co-expression of both TAR and RRE decoys, in the form of an aligned sequence in a single transcription cassette, much more potently blocked cells from HIV-1 than the expression of only one kind of RNA decoy. This observation will have an important implication for experiments involving optimization of clinical applications in RNA decoy-based gene therapy against HIV-1.