• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.466-471
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• 2005

An Escherichia coli strain with high phytase activity was screened from pig excreta. The phytase gene, appA, was amplified by PCR technique. To obtain large amounts of appA phytase, the appA gene was subcloned into the baculovirus transfer vector pVL1393 under the control of the Polyhedrin promoter. The recombinant baculovirus harboring the appA gene was obtained after co-transfection and screening. The early $5^{th}$ instar larvae of silkworm were infected with the recombinant virus. Using this system, the appA phytase was overproduced up to 7,710 U per ml hemolymph. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed the baculovirus-derived appA phytase to be approximately 47 kDa in size. The optimal temperature and pH of the expressed phytase were $60^{\circ}C$ and pH 4.5, respectively. The enzymatic activity was increased by the presence of 1 mM $Ca^{2+}$, 1 mM $Mn^{2+}$, or $0.02\%$ Triton X-100.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2007

Programmed cell death was characterized in the silkworm thoracic ganglia TG1, TG2 and TG3 during postembryonic periods by TUNEL assay. Apoptotic cells were detected in the three TGs of all larval stages except for day-1, 2 1st instar larvae, in which no apoptotic cells were found. From day-7 5th larva, the numbers of apoptotic cells were dramatically increased and peaked on day-1 pupa and day-2 pupa and then abruptly decreased. Apoptotic cells finally disappeared in day-1 adult. In-vivo injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) into day-8 5th larva resulted in a striking decrease of apoptotic cells. Actinomycin D (Act D) or cycloheximide (CHX), injected into hemolymph of day-8 5th larva, resulted in a decrease of apoptotic cells in the three TGs. Injection of caspase-8 and -3 inhibitors also blocked cellular apoptosis. These results will provide valuable information for understanding of cellular changes in the three TGs during metamorphosis of the insect species.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.279-284
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• 2002

Flacherie symptom was found in the fifth instar larvae of silkworm, Bombyx mori. The bacterial pathogen was isolated from the hemolymph of the infected silkworm and identified. The isolated bacteria caused a significant flacherie pathogenicity to the fifth instar larvae of B. mori when $5{\times}10^{6}$ cfu (colony-forming unit) of the bacteria was injected into each larva. The infected larvae began to die at 6 days after injection and resulted in complete mortality at 10 days. The bacterium was identified as Staphylococcus gallinarum based on the morphological and physiological characteristics described in Bergey's manual. This identification was further supported by the characters of carbohydrate utility analyzed from a bacterial identification system ($MicroLog^{\circledR}$) and also by the molecular structure of 165-23S rDNA internal transcribed spaces. As an insecticidal action, S. gallinarum caused hemolymph septicemia by its cytotoxic effect on the hemocytes of B. mori.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.66-72
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• 2016

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have been widely used for production of various recombinant proteins such as cytokines and monoclonal antibodies. The cell aggregation and cell death in CHO cell culture directly affect cell viability, and productivity and quality of products. In this study, we investigated preventing effects of storage-protein 2 (SP2) derived from silkworm hemolymph on cell aggregation and cell death in CHO cell culture producing albuminerythropoietin (Alb-EPO). The viable cell density in the culture supplemented with 2 mg/mL SP2 was 1.71-fold higher than that in control culture. Increased titer of Alb-EPO was also found in the culture with SP2. Morphology of CHO cells in SP2 supplemented cultures did not differ from that of control. In addition, the cell aggregation rate of the SP2 cultures was reduced 20% compared to the control. Finally, we confirmed that the apoptosis was strongly suppressed by addition of SP2 in the cultures. These results clearly demonstrate that SP2 can be served as an effective supplement for enhancing titer of Alb-EPO via reducing cell aggregation and cell death.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2012

Cecropin is a well-studied antimicrobial peptide that play important role as key factor in insect humoral immunity. In this study, cecropin-like antimicrobial peptide was isolated and purified from the larval haemolymph of immune-challenged japanese oak silkworm, Antheraea yamamai. To isolate antimicrobial peptide, we separated and compared acidic extracted hemolymph protein bends between control and immune-challenged larvae using SDS-PAGE analysis. In the immune hemolymph extract, but not of non-immune hemolymph, we detected differential expressed peptide band with molecular mass 4,223.01 Da. To understand this peptide better, we successfully purified this peptide using cation exchange chromatography and gel permeation chromatography. Its N-terminal amino acid sequence obtained by Edman degradation evidenced a significant degree of identity with other lepidopteran cecropins. The purified A. yamamai cecropin-like peptide showed a broad spectrum of activity against fungi, Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2003

Cytokines represent an essential part of the innate immune response in mammals. Recently, several studies have reported the presence of cytokine-like activities and molecules in the invertebrates such as echinoderms, tunicates, mollusks and insects. In our serial study, we investigated presence of cytokines in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, infected with several immune inducers. Western blotting analysis using rabbit anti-human cytokines showed the presence of IL-6-like molecule in the hemolymph collected at 8 and 24 hrs after infection with peptidoglycan and oligodeoxynucleotide, and the molecular weight of the proteins was ∼45 kDa. We attempted to isolate the molecule by gel permeation HPLC, anion exchange chromatography, ultra centrifugation, and immuno-dot-blot assay, but until now the effort was not much successful yet. It, however, does not appear that the IL-6-like molecule in the silkworm larvae is a mere experimental artifact happened by Western blotting analysis. Instead, further experiment on this subject probably will provide us more fruitful result as detected in other invertebrates including insects.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.85-86
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• 2003

Apolipophorin III (apoLp-III) is a protypical exchangeable apolipoprotein that is abundant in hemolymph of many insect species. Its function lies in the stabilization of low-density lipophorin particles (LDLp) crossing the hemocoel in phases of high energy consumption to deliver lipids from the fat body to the flight muscle cells. But, recent studies with naive Galleria mellonella-apoLp-III gave first indications of an unexpected role of that protein in insect immune activation (Niere et al., 1999). (omitted)

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.20-27
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• 1985

This study was carried out to investigate the histological changes after the infection of nuclear and cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses(NPV, CPV) and the resistance to the viruses in various varieties of the silkworm fed on artificial diet. The results obtained were as follows; Among four varieties of silkworm tested, Jam 107$\times$Jam 108 was more resistant than the other varieties tested and Jam 119$\times$Jam 120 was the most resistant to CPV. In case of peroral infection with NPV, Jam 107$\times$Jam 108 showed lower mortality than the remained varieties in low concentration (104/ml). However, all varieties showed high mortality as the concentration of viruses was increased. With infection of CPV, the varieties showed high mortality at the concentration of 107 and 108/ml, while Jam 119$\times$Jam 120 showed the lowest mortality at virus concentration of 104/ml. The fat bodies, epidermal cells and tracheal epithelial cells showed high susceptibility to NPV to break the cells completely and liberate the debris to the body cavity. The CPV infected only the cylindrical cells of mid-gut and formed polyhedrons. In some cells, CPV was liberated to gastral cavity. In the electrophoretic pattern of hemolymph protein of silkworm larvae infected with NPV, bands were dimmed and disappeared as symptom aggravated after infection. Electrophoretic pattern of homolymph proteins of silkworm larvae infected with CPV showed no numerical difference at the later stage of infection, and one or two bands was observed along with lowering the concentrations.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2007

Lactoferrin, an ion-binding 80-kDa glycoprotein, has been suggested to have many biologic activities, such as facilitating ion absorption and having antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Several of these activities are likely to only be facilitated by human lactoferrin because they depend on the binding of human lactoferrin to specific receptor. To produce recombinant human lactoferrin to animal foods using transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori L, we have cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding for a human lactoferrin (HLf) from the mRNA in mammary tumor line (GI-101). As a result, the 2.5-kb fragment of HLf gene was cloned with pGEM-T vector and then this fragment was sequenced. In the nucleotide sequence analysis, single open reading frame of the 2,136-bp encoding for a polypeptide of 712 amino acid residues was detected. On the other hand, we constructed a recombinant plasmid(pPT-HLf), containing human lactoferrin gene for germ line transformation of the silkworm using a piggyBac transposon-derived vector. A nonautonomous helper plasmid encodes the piggyBac transposase. Approximately 6.7% of individuals in the G0 silkworms expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP). PCR analyses of GFP-positive silkworms (G0 and G1) revealed that independent insertions occurred frequently. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that the recombinant HLf expressed in hemolymph has the same molecular weight (80 kDa) as a native protein. On the basis of these experiments, expression of HLf in next generation of transgenic silkworm is now in process.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.20-30
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• 1987

In the hemolymph proteins of the silkworm reared with mulberry leaves and artificial diet, electrophoretic patterns of Storege Protein 1 (SP1) and Vitellogenin(VG), changes of relative concentration of SP1, JHA effects during the developmental stages, and estimation of the molecular weight of vitellin subunits were investigated in the present study. 1. Storage Protein 1 (SP1) showed female specificity from the middle stage of the fifth instar to the end of spinning stage in the silkworm reared with mulberry leaves and artificial diet. 2. Vitellogenin (VG) showed female specififcity just afrter pupation in the silkworm reared with mulberry leaves and artificial diet. 3. Storage Protein 2 (SP2) without female specificity was detected from the early stage of the fifth instar to the first or second day after pupation. 4. Vitellin was composed of two non-identical subunits (vitellin-heavy chain ; VTL-H, vitellinlight chain ; VTL-L) with mplecular weight of 186,000 and 41,000. Also, there were no differenes between the molecular weights of vitellin subunits obtained from silkworms reared with mulberry leaves and artificial diet. 5. Relative concentration of Storage Protein 1 (SP1) after topical application - 0.5, and 10$\mu\textrm{g}$ per body weight - JHA on the 60th hour of the fifth instar showed the highest increase with the treatment of 5$\mu\textrm{g}$ and a higher increase with the treatment of 10$\mu\textrm{g}$ compared with the control (no topical application of JHA).