• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2015

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway is well known as a candidate pathway related to meat quality in mammals. In particular, there are many studies on the relationship between the PPAR signaling pathway and intramuscular fat. However, recent studies have demonstrated that genes in the PPAR signaling pathway are associated with carcass weight in cattle. Among 48 genes in the PPAR signaling pathway, 16 genes are related to the insulin that regulates the adipocyte glucose metabolism and thus affects body weight. Therefore, we conducted an investigation to try to identify candidate genes associated with the carcass weight and relationships between the expressions of these 16 genes in the loin muscle of Hanwoo (Korean cattle). From regression analysis, the three genes (ACSL6, FADS2, and ILK) showed significant effects with regard to carcass weight (p<0.05). Finally, we analyzed the common regulators of the significant genes from pathway analysis. The significant genes are regulated by insulin as well as D-glucose. These findings show that the differentially expressed genes are possible candidate genes associated with carcass weight in the longissimus muscle of Korean cattle.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1723-1727
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• 2008

Chlorella sp. CMS-1 strain was isolated from the outdoors cultivation pools in Culmansa Co., Ltd. This strain was found to be a rounded type of 3 ${\mu}m$. Phylogenetic analysis by the 18S rRNA sequencing using isolated strain is most similar to Chlorella sp. IFRPD 1018 gene at the level of nucleotide sequence identity at 99%. Accordingly, the isolated Chlorella strain was named as Chlorella sp. CMS-1 based on its morphological and phylogenetic properties. The concentrations of crude protein and fat were 59% and 0.01%, respectively. Major compositional amino acids (mg%) were glutamic acid 6.21, alanine 5.76, aspartic acid 5.44%, glycine 4.29%, and threonine 3.09% and major free amino acids (mg%) were ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) 7.13%, L-alanine 1.44%, L-glutamic acid 0.90, L-leucine 0.26% and L-glycine 0.20%. The concentrations of major minerals were P 2.25%, K 2.25%, Na 1.09%, Mg 0.63%, and Ca 0.28%.

• 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 Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.455-459
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• 2017

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are a group of small noncoding RNAs that modulate gene expression. Many studies, demonstrating altered expressions of specific miRNAs in diverse types of human neoplasia, suggested that they may play a key role in tumorigenesis. Recently, miRNA genes were found to be abnormally expressed in several types of cancer, including endometrial cancer. However, miR-23b and miR-203 expression in endometrial cancer has yet to be studied in Korea. As such, the purpose of this study was to analyze miR-23b and miR-203 expressions in endometrial cancer and to evaluate the relationship between miR-23b and miR-203 expressions. A retrospective study was carried out on the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of 42 endometrial cancer tissues using quantitative real-time PCR. In endometrial cancer tissues, miR-23b expression levels ($2.70{\pm}4.45$) were higher than miR-203 expression levels ($-2.34{\pm}4.08$). Endometrial cancer tissues showed an overexpression of miR-23b in 30 (71.4%) of the 42 endometrial cancer cases, whereas miR-203 was underexpressed in 29 (69.0%) of the 42 cases. There was a significant association between miR-23b and miR-203 expressions in endometrial cancer tissues (p=0.0005). These findings suggest that miR-23b and miR-203 expressions may be involved in endometrial carcinogenesis. More studies are needed to further define the relationship between miR-23b and miR-203 expressions and tissue-specific protein expression.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.288-291
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• 2012

Korean oak wilt disease caused by Raffaelea quercus-mongolicae is vectored by the ambrosia beetle Platypus koryoensis. To prevent the spread of the disease, the beetle infested oak tree had been cut into logs, covered with plastic vinyl, fumigated with a pesticide, and stored for three years on the site where the tree was cut. This study was carried out to get information on the fungi colonizing the fumigated oak wood. Wood disk samples collected from the fumigated oak logs at two locations in the Taejo Mountain, Cheonan city, were used for fungal isolation. A total of 99 filamentous fungal isolates were obtained from the wood disk samples. Hypocrea spp., Trichoderma spp. and Penicillium spp. were identified based on morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequence analysis of translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene and ITS rDNA region. Trichoderma was the major fungal group. R. quercus-mongolicae, and P. koryoensis were not detected from the fumigated oak wood. Our work provided evidence that after three years of storage, the fumigated oak wilt-diseased logs should be no longer harmful source of oak wilt disease transmission.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2015

We have examined the correlation between the physicochemical and microbiological environment variables for the different layers of oak forest soil in Mt. Gyeryong, Korea. The result shows that there is a high correlation in the environment variables between the soil parameters of the fermented (F) layer and humus (H) layer. In particular, the pH level in the F layer shows a high correlation with C and N, while the various organic acids of the H layer turns out to be closely correlated with soil bacteria density. As we evaluated phylogenetic characteristics of bacterial populations by DGGE analysis with DNA extracted. Total of 175 bands including 43 bands from litter (L) layer, 42 bands from F layer, 43 bands from H layer and 47 bands from rhizosphere (A) layer were selected as the major DGGE band of oak forest soil. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences, 175 DGGE bands were classified into 32 orders in 7 phylum. The heat map was analyzed in order to compare the quantity of the base sequences of each order and based on the clustering of the different layers of oak forest soil, the result confirms that the F layer and H layer belong to a different cluster from that of L layer and A layer. Furthermore, it also showed that approximately 50% of the total microbial population in different layers is ${\alpha}$-proteobacteria, which indicates that they belong to the dominant system group. In particular, Rhizobiales, Burkholderiales and Actinobacteriales were observed in all the seasons and layers of oak forest soil, which confirms that they are the indigenous soil bacterial community in oak forest soil.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.117-124
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• 2015

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an attractive tool in tissue engineering as they have the required potential to treat injured articular cartilage. UV-exposed DTOPV (S-triazine bridged p-phenylene vinylene) is a biocompatible and fluorescent polymer with a hydrophilic surface. Previous studies have demonstrated that the surface wettability and hydrophilicity play critical roles in regulating cell adhesion and proliferation. The objective of this study was to improve the potential of in vitro MSC differentiation into Chondrocytes using DTOPV. MSCs were cultured on two different substrates: (1) tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) as a reference and (2) UV-exposed and patterned DTOPV films. Chondrogenesis of MSCs was induced for two weeks on TCPS and DTOPV in the presence of an induction medium containing transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}3$. Interestingly, the MSCs on TCPS adhered and spread, while those on DTOPV tended to form aggregates within several days. The cells cultured on DTOPV for two weeks had a round morphology, with stronger Safranine O staining of the extracellular matrix than that of the cells cultured on TCPS. Also, Type II collagen gene was significantly expressed in cells induced on DTOPV. These results indicate that chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs proceeds more rapidly on DTOPV than on TCPS. Therefore, in cartilage tissue engineering, DTOPV could be used to induce effective chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.499-503
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• 2015

We investigated the anti-obesity effects of ethanolic extract (ID1216) of Polygonatum sibiricum rhizome and its potential underlying mechanism in an animal model. ID1216 treatment decreased body weight gain and white adipose tissue weight in the prevention study. The mRNA levels of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ coactivator-$1{\alpha}$ ($PGC1{\alpha}$), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\alpha}$ ($PPAR{\alpha}$) significantly increased in the epididymal white adipose tissue of ID1216-administered mice. The stimulation effects of ID1216 on these gene expressions were also observed in a cell-based assay using differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In addition, similar to orlistat, ID1216 treatment improved weight gain and reduced epididymal fat in the treatment model. These results suggest that ID1216 has potential as an anti-obesity agent by modulating the expression of genes related to thermogenesis, lipid metabolism and fatty acid oxidation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.746-753
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• 2017

In order to rapidly identify four drums species, Larimichthys polyactis, L. crocea, Atrobucca nibe, and Pseudotolithus elongates, a highly efficient and quick method has been developed using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with species-specific primers. Around 1.4 kbp of the mitochondrial COI gene sequences from the four drums species were aligned, and species-specific forward primers were designed, based on the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). The optimal conditions for PCR amplification were selected through cross-reactivity, using a gradient PCR method. The PCR results demonstrated species-specific amplification for each species at annealing temperatures between 50 and $62^{\circ}C$. Multiplex species-specific PCR (MSS-PCR) amplification reactions with four pairs of primers were performed for sixteen specimens of each species. MSS-PCR lead to a species-specific amplification of a 1,540 bp fragment in L. polyactis, 1,013 bp in A. nibe, 474 bp in L. crocea, and 182 bp in P. elongates, respectively. The four different sizes of each PCR product can be quickly and easily detected by single gel electrophoresis. The sensitivity of the MSS-PCR of the DNA was up to $0.1ng/{\mu}l$ as a starting concentration for the four different species tested. These results suggest that MSS-PCR, with species-specific primers based on SNP, can be a powerful tool in the rapid identification of the four drums species, L. polyactis, L. crocea, A. nibe, and P. elongates.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.278-288
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• 2014

Background: Panax ginseng Meyer is a traditional medicinal plant famous for its strong therapeutic effects and serves as an important herbal medicine. To understand and manipulate genes involved in secondary metabolic pathways including ginsenosides, transcriptome profiling of P. ginseng is essential. Methods: RNA-seq analysis of adventitious roots of two P. ginseng cultivars, Chunpoong (CP) and Cheongsun (CS), was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform. After transcripts were assembled, expression profiling was performed. Results: Assemblies were generated from ~85 million and ~77 million high-quality reads from CP and CS cultivars, respectively. A total of 35,527 and 27,716 transcripts were obtained from the CP and CS assemblies, respectively. Annotation of the transcriptomes showed that approximately 90% of the transcripts had significant matches in public databases.We identified several candidate genes involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis. In addition, a large number of transcripts (17%) with different gene ontology designations were uniquely detected in adventitious roots compared to normal ginseng roots. Conclusion: This study will provide a comprehensive insight into the transcriptome of ginseng adventitious roots, and a way for successful transcriptome analysis and profiling of resource plants with less genomic information. The transcriptome profiling data generated in this study are available in our newly created adventitious root transcriptome database (http://im-crop.snu.ac.kr/transdb/index.php) for public use.