• 생명과학회지
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• 제22권11호
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• pp.1571-1586
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• 2012

지구상에는 약 5,400여 종의 포유동물이 있고 그 중 약 1,000여 종은 풀을 뜯어 먹고 사는 초식동물이다. 초식동물 중에서 약 250여 종이 반추동물로 알려져 있다. 반추동물인 소와 양은 반추위에서 주로 발효가 일어나지만 비반추동물인 돼지와 사람은 맹장과 결장, 직장에서 주로 발효가 일어난다. 반추위 미생물의 종류와 우점도 Bacteroidetes 51%, Firmicutes 43% 존재하며, 사람의 대장미생물의 우점도Firmicutes 65%, Bacteroidetes 25%로 존재한다. 풀의 세포벽 구성성분은 미생물에 의해 분해, 발효에 의해 SCFA (short chain fatty acid)를 생성하게 되고 acetate, propionate, butyrate 생성비율은 60:25:15이다. 장내 primary butyrate transporter인 MCT1(monocarboxylatetransports-1)에 의해서 흡수된 butyrate는 SCFA receptor GPR43과 GPR41을 활성화시킨다. Butyrate는 강력한 anti-tumorigenic 기능을 가지고 있다. Butyrate는 다양한 cancer cell에 효과를 나타내며 세포내의 기능 조절에 기여하고, 암세포사멸을 유도하는 특성이 있다. Butyrate는 caspase의 활성화, HDAC (histone deacetylase) 활성을 억제하여apoptosis를 유도하고, p53 발현증가로 cell cycle arrest와 apoptosis를 유도한다. SCFA의 항 염증작용으로는 장 상피세포에서 IL-8 발현 감소, NO합성과 NF-${\kappa}B$ (nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$)의 활성을 억제하여 염증으로 인한 암 발생을 억제한다. Butyrate는 장 점막의 생리적 기능을 유지하는데 중요한 역할을 하며 IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) 치료법으로 이용되고 있다.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.173-180
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• 1979

쥐를 48시간 굶긴 뒤에 위에 탄수화물 농도가 높은 먹이를 주거나 streptozotocin을 이용하여 당뇨병을 가지게 만든 쥐에 인슈린 주사를 주었을 때 쥐 간계포의 핵단백질중 가장 주요한 0.14M NaCl에 녹는 핵단백질, histones 그리고 페놀에 녹는 핵단백질의 분포 변화를 조사하고자 SDS gel 전기영동법을 이용하였다. 각 핵단백질 분획을 전기영동법으로 분리시킨 단백질의 상대량을 비교하였을 때 0.14M NaCl 추출물은 현저한 변화를 나타내었으나 histones과 페놀로 추출된 핵단백질 분획들은 분리된 단백질 상대량에 큰 변화가 없었다. 48시간 굶긴 쥐와 정상적으로 먹이를 준 쥐의 0.14M MaCl 추출 핵단백질 분획을 비교하였을때 분자량이 50,000 과 180,000 daltons 사이에 있는 적어도 5개의 핵단백질의 농도가 다른 핵단백질에 비교하여 크게 감소되었다. 반면 분자량이 36,000 daltons 단백질의 농도는 48시간 굶긴 쥐에게 다시 탄수화물 농도가 높은 먹이를 주었을 때 24시간 동안에 정상적으로 먹이를 준 쥐에서 관찰한 핵단백질 분포 양상과 비슷한 결과를 얻었다. 당뇨병을 가진 쥐에게 인슈린 주사를 준 쥐와 인슈린주사를 주지 않은 당뇨병 쥐의 0.14M NaCl추출 핵단백질 분획을 비교 조사한 결과는 굶은 쥐에게 탄수화물 농도가 높은 먹이를 준 다음에 얻은 뒤의 결과와 정상적으로 유사하였다. 여기서 얻은 실험결과들은 0.14M NaCl 추출 핵단백질 중에 있는 어떤 핵단백질의 분포 변화가 이미 알려진 인슈린 신호에 따라 조정되고 cytosol에 있는 지방합성에 관하는 효소(lipogenic enzymes)들의 유도에 관련된 세포핵 활성 조절에 영향을 끼치고 있음을 시사해 준다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제44권10호
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• pp.680-685
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• 2011

The AT-hook motif is a small DNA-binding protein motif that has been found in the high mobility group of non-histone chromosomal proteins. The Arabidopsis genome contains 29 genes encoding the AT-hook motif DNA-binding protein (AHL). Recent studies of Arabidopsis genes (AtAHLs) have revealed that they might play diverse functional roles during plant growth and development. In this report, we mined 20 AHL genes (OsAHLs) from the rice genome database using AtAHL genes as queries and characterized their molecular features. A phylogenetic tree revealed that OsAHL proteins can be classified into 2 evolutionary clades. Tissue expression pattern analysis revealed that all of the OsAHL genes might be functionally expressed genes with 3 distinct expression patterns. Nuclear localization analysis using transgenic Arabidopsis showed that several OsAHL proteins are exclusively localized in the nucleus, indicating that they may act as architectural transcription factors to regulate expression of their target genes during plant growth and development.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.362-372
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• 2018

High mobility group box 2 (HMGB2) is an abundant, chromatin-associated, non-histone protein involved in transcription, chromatin remodeling, and recombination. Recently, the HMGB2 gene was found to be significantly downregulated during senescence and shown to regulate the expression of senescent-associated secretory proteins. Here, we demonstrate that HMGB2 transcription is repressed by p21 during radiation-induced senescence through the ATM-p53-p21 DNA damage signaling cascade. The loss of p21 abolished the downregulation of HMGB2 caused by ionizing radiation, and the conditional induction of p21 was sufficient to repress the transcription of HMGB2. We also showed that the p21 protein binds to the HMGB2 promoter region, leading to sequestration of RNA polymerase and transcription factors E2F1, Sp1, and p300. In contrast, NF-Y, a CCAAT box-binding protein complex, is required for the expression of HMGB2, but NF-Y binding to the HMGB2 promoter was unaffected by either radiation or p21 induction. A proximity ligation assay results confirmed that the chromosome binding of E2F1 and Sp1 was inhibited by p21 induction. As HMGB2 have been shown to regulate premature senescence by IR, targeting the p21-mediated repression of HMGB2 could be a strategy to overcome the detrimental effects of radiation-induced senescence.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제13권8호
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• pp.466-473
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• 2013

유전자 염기서열의 직접적인 변화 대신 염기의 수정 또는 변형을 통해 유전자 발현이 조절되는 후성유전은 크게 DNA 메틸화(methylation), 히스톤 변형(modification), ncRNA(non-coding RNA)에 의해 제어가 가능하다. 본 연구에서는 후성유전을 이해하기 위해 노화 관련 유전자를 대상으로 데이터베이스를 구축하고, DNA 메틸화를 중심으로 후성 유전학적 특성을 분석하였다. 유전자의 upstream 부위와 프로모터(promoter) 부위에 있는 CpG island(CGI)에 메틸화가 될 경우 유전자 발현을 억제하기 때문에 CGI를 중심으로 전체 유전자 그룹과 노화 관련 유전자 그룹간의 분포도를 비교 분석하였다. 또한 메틸화와 관련된 CGI로부터 얻은 메틸화 관련 motif 패턴을 이용하여 노화 유전자와의 관계를 분석하였다. 노화 관련 유전자의 CGI 분포는 전사인자 결합자리의 분포와 일치하였다. 본 연구에서 제공하는 DNA 메틸화 중심의 후성유전학적 정보는 노화 관련 유전자의 조절과 노화를 이해하는데 도움이 될 것으로 사료된다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.331-339
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• 2020

Genetic modifications in noncoding regulatory regions are likely critical to human evolution. Human-accelerated noncoding elements are highly conserved noncoding regions among vertebrates but have large differences across humans, which implies human-specific regulatory potential. In this study, we found that human-accelerated noncoding elements were frequently coupled with DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs), together with monomethylated and trimethylated histone H3 lysine 4, which are active regulatory markers. This coupling was particularly pronounced in fetal brains relative to adult brains, non-brain fetal tissues, and embryonic stem cells. However, fetal brain DHSs were also specifically enriched in deeply conserved sequences, implying coexistence of universal maintenance and human-specific fitness in human brain development. We assessed whether this coexisting pattern was a general one by quantitatively measuring evolutionary rates of DHSs. As a result, fetal brain DHSs showed a mixed but distinct signature of regional conservation and outlier point acceleration as compared to other DHSs. This finding suggests that brain developmental sequences are selectively constrained in general, whereas specific nucleotides are under positive selection or constraint relaxation simultaneously. Hence, we hypothesize that human- or primate-specific changes to universally conserved regulatory codes of brain development may drive the accelerated, and most likely adaptive, evolution of the regulatory network of the human brain.

• 약학회지
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• 제35권6호
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• pp.473-482
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• 1991

Protein methylase II (S-adenosyl-L-methionine:protein carboxyl-O-methyltransferase; EC 2.1.1.24., PM II) was purified from chicken pancreas by subcellular fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, QAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography, Sephadex G-75 chromatography, and Sephadex G-75 rechromatography. The purified PM II gave a single band upon polyarcrylamide gel electrophoresis both in the presence of SDS and in Tris glycine buffer without SDS. The pI value of purified PM II was identified as 5.7 on isoelectric focusing gel. Properties and activities of PM II were studied and the following results were obtained. 1) PM II from chicken pancreas was purified approximately 221-fold with a yield of 1.3%. 2) The purified PM II appear constituted of a single polypeptide chain of a molecular weight 46,800 daltons. 3) Hemoglobin exhibited the highest of methyl-accepting activity among the substrates tested. 4) The purified PM II has a $K_m$ of $4.67{\times}10^{-6}M$ and a $V_{max}$ of 37.5 pmoles of $methyl-^{14}C/min./mg$ enzyme for $SAM^{-14}CH_3$ as methyl donor in the presence of histone type II-As. 5) It is found that S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine is a competitive inhibitor for PM II with $K_i$ value of $3.23{\times}10^{-5}M$.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제65권4호
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• pp.172-181
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• 2022

Pubertal onset is known to result from reactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which is controlled by complex interactions of genetic and nongenetic factors. Most cases of precocious puberty (PP) are diagnosed as central PP (CPP), defined as premature activation of the HPG axis. The cause of CPP in most girls is not identifiable and, thus, referred to as idiopathic CPP (ICPP), whereas boys are more likely to have an organic lesion in the brain. ICPP has a genetic background, as supported by studies showing that maternal age at menarche is associated with pubertal timing in their offspring. A gain of expression in the kisspeptin gene (KISS1), gain-of-function mutation in the kisspeptin receptor gene (KISS1R), loss-of-function mutation in makorin ring finger protein 3 (MKRN3), and loss-of-function mutations in the delta-like homolog 1 gene (DLK1) have been associated with ICPP. Other genes, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor subunit alpha-1 (GABRA1), lin-28 homolog B (LIN28B), neuropeptide Y (NPYR), tachykinin 3 (TAC3), and tachykinin receptor 3 (TACR3), have been implicated in the progression of ICPP, although their relationships require elucidation. Environmental and socioeconomic factors may also be correlated with ICPP. In the progression of CPP, epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications, and non-coding ribonucleic acids may mediate the relationship between genetic and environmental factors. CPP is correlated with short- and long-term adverse health outcomes, which forms the rationale for research focusing on understanding its genetic and nongenetic factors.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• 제52권6호
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• pp.437-454
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• 2022

Embryonic stem cells have been a popular research topic in regenerative medicine owing to their pluripotency and applicability. However, due to the difficulty in harvesting them and their low yield efficiency, advanced cell reprogramming technology has been introduced as an alternative. Dental stem cells have entered the spotlight due to their regenerative potential and their ability to be obtained from biological waste generated after dental treatment. Cell reprogramming, a process of reverting mature somatic cells into stem cells, and transdifferentiation, a direct conversion between different cell types without induction of a pluripotent state, have helped overcome the shortcomings of stem cells and raised interest in their regenerative potential. Furthermore, the potential of these cells to return to their original cell types due to their epigenetic memory has reinforced the need to control the epigenetic background for successful management of cellular differentiation. Herein, we discuss all available sources of dental stem cells, the procedures used to obtain these cells, and their ability to differentiate into the desired cells. We also introduce the concepts of cell reprogramming and transdifferentiation in terms of genetics and epigenetics, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA. Finally, we discuss a novel therapeutic avenue for using dental-derived cells as stem cells, and explain cell reprogramming and transdifferentiation, which are used in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.27-35
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the most primitive cells in spermatogenesis and are the only adult stem cells capable of passing on the genome of a given species to the next generation. SSCs are the only adult stem cells known to exhibit high Oct4 expression and can be induced to self-reprogram into pluripotent cells depending on culture conditions. Epigenetic modulation is well known to be involved in the induction of pluripotency of somatic cells. However, epigenetic modulation in self-reprogramming of SSCs into pluripotent cells has not been studied. Methods and Results: In this study, we examined the involvement of epigenetic modulation by assessing whether selfreprogramming of SSCs is enhanced by treatment with epigenetic modulators. We found that second-generation selective class I HDAC inhibitors increased SSC reprogramming efficiency, whereas non-selective HDAC inhibitors had no effect. Conclusions: We showed that pluripotent stem cells derived from adult SSCs by treatment with small molecules with epigenetic modulator functions exhibit pluripotency in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggest that the mechanism of SSC reprogramming by epigenetic modulator can be used for important applications in epigenetic reprogramming research.