• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.143-153
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• 2010

Purpose: Recently, massive proteinuria has been observed in some transplant patients after switching cyclosporine A (CsA) to sirolimus. To evaluate the pathogenesis of sirolimus-associated proteinuria, we investigated the early changes in slit diaphragm molecules by various administrative conditions of sirolimus and CsA. Methods: In vitro-Mouse podocytes were incubated with buffer (C), sirolimus ($10\;{\mu}g/mL$) after CsA ($10\;{\mu}g/mL$) (C-S), sirolimus only (S) and CsA and sirolimus simultaneously (C+S) for 12, 24, and 48 hours. In vivo- twenty four SPF female Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups buffer (C), sirolimus after 2 weeks of CsA (C-S), sirolimus only (S) and CsA and sirolimus simultaneously (C+S). All groups were treated by intraperitoneal injection every other day for 4 weeks (CsA: 25 mg/kg, sirolimus: 0.5 mg/kg). The changes in mRNA of slit diaphragm molecules were examined by RT-PCR. Results: The mRNA of nephrin was significantly decreased in group C-S and C+S in vitro. In vivo, the mRNA of nephrin in all groups using sirolimus and the mRNA of podocin in group C-S and C+S were decreased. Microscopically, group C-S and C+S showed small vacuolization and calcification in proximal tubular epithelial cells. Immunohistochemistry using nephrin and podocin antibodies did not show remarkable decrease of staining along the glomerular capillaries. Electron-microscopically, focal fusion of foot processes was seen in group C-S and C+S. Conclusion: This study suggests the decrease of slit diaphragm molecules (nephrin and podocin) in podocyte may be one of the causes of sirolimus associated proteinuria, and podocyte injury by sirolimus may need a primary hit by CsA to develop the proteinuria.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.71-75
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• 2006

We analyzed the phylogenic relationships of 23 partial 18S rDNA sequences of 22 species (1 species has 2 strains) belonging to Sarcorptiforms include 4 new sequences, using several tools. Although geographic distributions are quite far from, sequence similarity of two strains of Dermatophygoides pteronyssinus isolated from Japan and New Zealand were very high. This result suggests that mite migration by animals including human occurred in the two continents. We investigated the Endeostigmata taxonomic relationship between the Prostigmata and Oribatida subgroups using small fragments (340-400 bp) of their 185 rDNA sequences. But Endeostigmata was not grouped with Oribatida or Prostigmata. In conclusion, it is first reported phylogenic relationship for classified mites included in Sarcoptiformes using 185 rDNA sequence analysis and its system is a very powerful tool for classification of mites.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.900-905
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• 2009

We analyzed succession of the bacterial communities during composting of animal manure in three individual facilities. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) targeting for the bacterial 16S rRNA gene were used to clarify the changes of bacterial community throughout each composting process. Our study revealed that the bacterial community structures differed during the composting process. The bacterial community in composting of facility A showed little change throughout the process. In the compost sample from facility B, its community had a small shift as the temperature increased. In compost from facility C, the temperature dynamically changed; it was shown that various bacterial communities appeared and disappeared as follows: in the initial phase, the members of phylum Bacteroidetes dominated; in the thermophilic phase, some bacteria belonging to phylum Firmicutes increased; towards the end, the community structure consisted of three phyla, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. This study provides some information about the bacterial community actually present in field-scale composting with animal manure.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2010

HP1423 (Y1423_HELPY) is a conserved hypothetical protein from H. pylori strain 26695. However, Sequence Blast result indicates that HP1423 belongs to S4 (PF01479) superfamily. According to Pfam database, the S4 domain is a small domain consisting of 60-65 amino acid residues, that probably mediates binding to RNA. In this study, we report the sequence-specific backbone resonance assignment of HP1423, which has 84 amino acid residues. We could assign unambiguously about 88% of all $^{1}H_{N}$, $^{15}N$, $^{13}C_{\alpha}$, $^{13}C_{\beta}$ and $^{13}C=O$ resonances. We could not detect the resonances from residues 15-20, and disappearance of these peaks seems to be related with the intermediate-conformational exchange. These assigned NMR peaks of HP1423 can be used for studying the role of protein dynamics in millisecond timescale, and Protein-RNA binding.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.175-184
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• 2017

Cholera toxin (CT) is an ADP-ribosylating bacterial exotoxin that has been used as an adjuvant in animal studies of oral immunization. The mechanisms of mucosal immunogenicity and adjuvanticity of CT remain to be established. In this study, we investigated the role of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), which participates in the induction of immune tolerance, in CT-mediated breakdown of oral tolerance. When IDO-deficient ($IDO^{-/-}$) mice and their littermates were given oral ovalbumin, significant changes in antibody responses, footpad swelling and $CD4^+$ T cell proliferation were not observed in $IDO^{-/-}$ mice. Feeding of CT decreased IDO expression in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and Peyer's patch (PP). CT-induced downregulation of IDO expression was reversed by inhibitors of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$), pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and p50 small interfering RNA. IDO expression was downregulated by the NF-${\kappa}B$ inducers lipopolysaccharide and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$. CT dampened IDO activity and mRNA expression in dendritic cells from MLN and PP. These data indicate that CT disrupts oral tolerance by activating NF-${\kappa}B$, which in turn downregulates IDO expression. This study betters the understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying CT-mediated abrogation of oral tolerance.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.688-694
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• 2007

To evaluate the human risk of long-term intake of genetically modified (GM) rice, we carried out RT-PCR of housekeeping genes. Housekeeping genes, which show highly uniform expression in living organisms during various stages of development and under different environmental conditions, were normalized by RT-PCR. We assessed the expression of 10 common housekeeping genes (18s rRNA, 25S rRNA, UBC, UBQ5, UBQ10, ACT11, GAPDH, eEF-$1{\alpha}$, ${\beta}$-TUB, GAPDH, ${\beta}$-actin, B2m, G6pd2, Gyk, Gus, Hprt, Cyclophlin A, Tfrc, ${\alpha}$-tubulin and RPL13A) in the liver, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, kidney and spleen of mice fed GM or non-GM rice. We found no significant differences in the expression of housekeeping genes between the two groups of mice.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.424-437
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• 2018

The incidence of freshwater algal bloom has been increasing globally in recent years and poses a major threat to environmental health. Cyanobacteria are the major component of the bloom forming community that must be monitored frequently. Their morphological identities, however, have remained elusive, due to their small size in cells and morphological resemblances among species. We have analyzed molecular diversity and seasonal changes of cyanobacteria in Paldang Reservoir, Korea, using morphological and 16S rRNA pyrosequencing methods. Samples were collected at monthly intervals from the reservoir March-December 2012. In total, 40 phylotypes of cyanobacteria were identified after comparing 49,131 pyrosequence reads. Cyanobacterial genera such as Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Microcystis and Synechocystis were predominantly present in samples. However, the majority of cyanobacterial sequences (65.9%) identified in this study were of uncultured origins, not detected morphologically. Relative abundance of cyanobacterial sequences was observed as high in August, with no occurrence in March and December. These results suggested that pyrosequencing approach may reveal cyanobacterial diversity undetected morphologically, and may be used as reference for studying and monitoring cyanobacterial communities in aquatic environments.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.515-522
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• 2021

Jeotgal is a salty and fermented traditional Korean fish sauce. Unlike most other previous studies that investigated samples purchased from retail markets, this study focused on samples of jeotgal with traceable history to Yeonggwang, a timehonored fishing village in Korea. Three jeotgal samples, which were made from small yellow croakers, largehead hairtail, and miscellaneous fish, were selected based on information obtained from interviews with local craftsmen and literature reviews. Bacterial community profiles of the three jeotgal samples were investigated to identify indicator (and potentially core) bacteria for jeotgal ripening. The 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomic analysis revealed that the dominant phyla and classes, (Gammaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Bacilli, and Clostridia) of the three different jeotgal were identical, albeit with different composition ratios. Diversification was evident beginning at the order level. Interestingly, each dominant order was mainly comprised of single members even at the genus level. The dominant genera included Halomonas, Tetragenococcus, Halanaerobium, Pseudomonas, Massilia, and Lentibacillus. This observed genus-level heterogeneity suggests that there are diverse bacterial signatures in jeotgal and that these can be used as indicators for jeotgal ripening and/or as starters to increase its sensory quality and functionality.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.53-58
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• 2013

Seven individuals (16.1~29.1 mm in length) which were estimated with fishes of genus Abudefduf were collected in Seogwipo, Jeju Island in the summer of 2011 and 2012. Among them, five individuals (20.8~29.1 mm SL) are similar to Abudefduf notatus, based on morphological characters such as yellow transverse band on the body, one small black spot on the base of the pectoral fin, and yellow caudal fin. On the other hand, two individuals (16.1 mm, 17.0 mm SL) differ from them in several light transverse bands and transparent rays of all fins except for pelvic fin, and anterior transparent head with only one (16.1 mm). According to the results of molecular analyses of 578 base pairs of mtDNA 16S rRNA sequences, these individuals correspond to A. notatus adult, with a high bootstrap value of 95% (genetic distance, d=0.002). Therefore, this study shows that the individuals more than 20.8 mm similar to adult body color but the 16.1 mm individual differs to that of adult. We confirm that this species changes to body color during their early life stages. This result regards as a survival strategy to protect themselves against their predator during their early life stages.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.249-254
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• 2016

Molecular detection methods such as RT-PCR for detecting breast cancer-associated gene expression in the peripheral blood have the potential to modify breast cancer (BC) staging and therapy. In this regard, we evaluated the potential of erb-B2 molecular marker in BC detection and analyzed the expression of erb-B2 mRNA in the peripheral blood and fresh tissue samples of 50 pretreated female BC patients and 50 healthy females by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) method. We also assessed the correlation of erb-B2 mRNA marker positivity in peripheral blood and tumor tissue samples with clinical and pathological factors in BC patients in order to evaluate its prognostic value. It was shown that there is a significant difference between healthy females and BC patients with expression of the erb-B2 molecular marker (p<0.01). A significant difference between the expression of erb-B2 in the peripheral blood and tissue samples of BC patients (p<0.01) and the frequency of circulating erb-B2 mRNA expression in peripheral blood and in tissue was detected by RT-PCR. No correlation was found between erb-B2 mRNA expression in blood or tumor tissue samples and lymph node, tumor grade, tumor stage, tumor size, patient's age, ki67, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PGR), P53, and HER-2 status. However, in a small subset of 31 BC patients we found that expression of erb-B2 in peripheral blood or in both peripheral blood and tumor tissue was directly correlated with lympho-vascular invasion and perineural invasion as poor prognostic features. The highest rates of erb-B2 expression in peripheral blood or tumor tissue were in the ER and PR negative and HER-2 positive group. This study suggests that the application of the RT-PCR and immunohistochemical methods for erb-B2 molecular marker detection would provide a higher detection rate, especially in early stage BC.