• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.376-384
• /
• 2008

The glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is traditionally used as a marker for astrocytes of the brain, and more recently for the hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) of the liver. Several GFAP splice variants have been previously reported in the astrocytes of the CNS and in the non-myelinating Schwann cells of the PNS. In this study, we investigate whether GFAP splice variants are present in the HSCs and their expression as a function of HSCs activation. Furthermore, the regulation of these transcripts upon treatment with interferon gamma ($IFN-{\gamma}$) will be explored. Using semi-quan-titative RT-PCR and real-time PCR, we examine the expression and regulation of GFAP splice variants in HSCs as well as their respective half-life. We discover that most of the GFAP splice variants ($GFAP{\alpha}$, ${\beta}$, ${\delta}$, ${\varepsilon}$ and $\kappa$) found in the neural system are also expressed in quiescent and culture-activated primary HSCs. Interestingly, $GFAP{\alpha}$ is the predominant form in quiescent and culture-activated primary HSCs, while $GFAP{\beta}$, predominates in the SV40-immortalized activated HSC-T6. $GFAP{\delta}$, ${\varepsilon}$ and ${\kappa}$ have similar half-lives of 10 hours, while $GFAP{\beta}$ has a half-life of 17 hours. Treatment of HSC-T6 with $IFN-{\gamma}$ results in a significant 1.29-fold up-regulation of $GFAP{\alpha}$ whereas the level of the other transcripts remains unchanged. In summary, $GFAP{\alpha}$, ${\beta}$, ${\delta}$, ${\varepsilon}$ and $\kappa$ are present in HSCs. They are differentially regulated on the transcription level, implying a role of the 5' and 3' untranslated regions.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.137-141
• /
• 2008

Molecular cloning revealed the three isoforms($Ca_v3.1,\;Ca_v3.2,\;and\;Ca_v3.3$) of the T-type calcium channel subfamily. Expression studies exhibited their distinctive electrophysiological and pharmacological properties, accounting for diverse properties of T-type calcium channel currents previously characterized from isolated cells. However, electrophysiological properties of ion channels have shown to be more diversified by their splice variants. We here searched splice variants of rat $Ca_v3.1$ T-type channel by reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) to further explore diversity of $Ca_v3.1$. Interestingly, analyses of cloned RT-PCR products displayed that there were at least four splicing variants of rat $Ca_v3.1$ in the loop connecting repeats III and IV. Southern blot analyses indicated that the predominantly detected variant in brain was $Ca_v3.1a$(492 bp), which were rarely detected in most of peripheral tissues. Other two variants($Ca_v3.1c$, 546 bp; $Ca_v3.1d$, 525 bp) were detected in most of the tissues examined. The smallest isoform($Ca_v3.1b$, 471 bp) was rarely detected all the tissues. Electrophysiological characterization of the splicing variants indicated that the splice variants differ in inactivation kinetics and the voltage dependence of activation and inactivation as well.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2007

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women, and mutations in the BRCA1 gene produce increased susceptibility to these malignancies in certain families. In this study, the forward 1-13 exons of breast cancer associated gene BRCA1 were cloned from breast cancer cell line ZR-75-30 by RT-PCR method. Sequence analysis showed that nine BRCA1 splice forms were isolated and characterized, compared with wild-type BRCA1 gene, five splice forms of which were novel. These splice isoforms were produced from the molecular mechanism of 5' and 3' alternative splicing. All these splice forms deleting exon 11b and the locations of alternative splicing were focused on two parts:one was exons 2 and 3, and the other was exons 9 and 10. These splice forms accorded with GT-AG rule. Most these BRCA1 splice variants still kept the original reading frame. Western blot analysis indicated that some BRCA1 splice variants were expressed in ZR-75-30 cell line at the protein level. In addition, we confirmed the presence of these new transcripts of BRCA1 gene in MDA-MB-435S, K562, Hela, HLA, HIC, H9, Jurkat and human fetus samples by RT-PCR analysis. These results suggested that breast cancer associated gene BRCA1 may have unexpectedly a large number of splice variants. We hypothesized that alternative splicing of BRCA1 possibly plays a major role in the tumorigenesis of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Thus, the identification of cancer-specific splice forms will provide a novel source for the discovery of diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers and tumor antigens suitable as targets for therapeutic intervention.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.259-265
• /
• 2013

The anti-apoptotic effect of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) during unilateral testicular torsion and detorsion (TT/D) was established in our previous study. In mice, the smallest inhibitor of apoptosis, survivin, is alternatively spliced into three variants, each suggested to have a unique function. Here, we assessed how EGCG exerts its protective effect through the expression of the different survivin splice variants and determined its effect on the morphology of the seminiferous tubules during TT/D. Three mouse groups were used: sham, TT/D+vehicle and TT/D treated with EGCG. The expression of the survivin variants (140 and 40) and other apoptosis genes (p53, Bax and Bcl-2) was measured with semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Histological analysis was performed to assess DNA fragmentation, damage to spermatogenesis and morphometric changes in the seminiferous tubules. In the TT/D+vehicle group, survivin 140 expression was markedly decreased, whereas survivin 40 expression was not significantly different. In parallel, there was an increase in the mRNA level of p53 and the Bax to Bcl-2 ratio in support of apoptosis induction. Histological analyses revealed increased DNA fragmentation and increased damage to spermatogenesis associated with decreased seminiferous tubular diameter and decreased germinal epithelial cell thickness in the TT/D+vehicle group. These changes were reversed to almost sham levels upon EGCG treatment. Our data indicate that EGCG protects the testis from TT/D-induced damage by protecting the morphology of the seminiferous tubules and modulating survivin 140 expression.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.155-161
• /
• 2009

Mammal microsomal glutathione transferase 1 (MGST1) can conjugate many toxic or carcinogenic substances and depress oxidative stress. In this study, Chicken MGST1 and its variants were cloned for the first time and were composed of 956 or 944 nucleotides. The 12 nt deletion in the exon 2 did not alter the GT-AG rule and the ORFs for the two MGST1 variants were the same, which both comprised 465 nucletides and encoded a peptide with 155 amino acids. It was found that the two different splice variants identified using RT-PCR expressed in all three organs investigated of Dwarf Brown Chicken, namely liver, spleen and shell gland. Moreover, the expression level of MGST1 mRNA in the liver of Dwarf Brown chickens was the highest (p<0.01), and there were no significant differences between the spleen and the shell gland. These results provide a base for studying the biological function of Chicken MGST1.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.56-63
• /
• 2006

In order to evaluate the mechanism of cellulose hydrolysis, the complementary DNA encoding Glycoside Hydrolase Family (GHF)74 was cloned from Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Depending on the presence of Cellulose Binding Module (CBM), it can be classified as GHF74A or GHF74B. The GHF74A gene from P. chrysosporium (PcGHF74A) consists of 2163 bp encoding a protein of 721 amino acid residues. The PcGHF74A showed homology of 70~77% compared with the GHF74 from other filamentous fungi. The PcGHF74B, which contains CBM and is a member of family 1, was transcribed to various transcripts depending on the nature of carbon sources and their concentration. To study the possible presence of splice variants in GHF74B transcripts in P. chrysospoium, we carried out RT-PCR analysis using primers that designed based on the annotation data and sequenced data. Our result indicated that PcGHF74B was transcribed to several splicing variants in various culture conditions. Especially in the culture of 2% cellulose, three transcript products were observed. First transcript was presumed to be a full length ORF that contained 11th intron with stop codon at position 2562 bp. The second one consisted of 12 exons and 11 introns with stop codon at position 1187 bp with 7th exon. The shortest transcript consisted of 10 exons and 9 introns with stop codon at 910 bp in the 7th exon. These premature stop codon might prevent the synthesis of fully active GHF74 or contribute for the production of protein with distinct function depending on the ambient carbon sources.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.467-473
• /
• 2009

Our previous study suggested that OsBWMK1, a gene which encodes a member of the rice MAP kinase family, generates transcript variants which show distinct expression patterns in response to environmental stresses. The transcript variants are generated by alternative splicing and by use of alternative promoters. To test whether the two alternative promoters, pOsBWMK1L (promoter for the OsBWMK1L splice variant) and pOsBWMK1S (promoter for the OsBWMK1S splice variant), are biologically functional, we analyzed transgenic plants expressing GUS fusion constructs for each promoter. Both pOsBWMK1L and pOsBWMK1S are biologically active, although the activity of pOsBWMK1S is lower than that of pOsBWMK1L. Histochemical analysis revealed that pOsBWMK1L is constitutively active in most tissues at various developmental stages in rice and Arabidopsis, whereas pOsBWMK1S activity is spatially and temporally restricted. Furthermore, the expression of pOsBWMK1S::GUS was upregulated in response to hydrogen peroxide, a plant defense signaling molecule, in both plant species. These results suggest that the differential expression of OsBWMK1 splice variants is the result of alternative promoter usage and, moreover, that the mechanisms controlling OsBWMK1 gene expression are conserved in both monocot and dicot plants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.8
• /
• pp.1069-1077
• /
• 2009

Castration of male pig produces significant negative effects on skeletal muscle development. The androgen receptor (AR), two splice variants of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I Ea and MGF) and the myostatin gene may play important roles in this process. In the present study, the expression of AR, IGF-I Ea, MGF and myostatin genes in three skeletal muscles, the brachialis, longissimus and semitendinosus, were studied using real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Our experimental design used 14 pairs of male Landrace sire${\times}$Yorkshire dam piglets. The two piglets in each pair were full sibs, one of which was castrated at 21 d of age; the other remained intact. The study group was divided into subgroups of equal size. Animals in the first subgroup were slaughtered at 147 d and those of the second at 210 d of age. Carcass weight and lean meat yield were similar between boars and barrows at 147 d of age (p>0.05), whereas barrows had lower carcass weight and less lean meat yield at 210 d of age (p<0.05). Castration caused down-regulation of AR gene expression at both 147 and 210 d of age (p<0.05). The two splice variants of the IGF-I gene from porcine skeletal muscle were cloned using RT-PCR, and it was found that MGF differs from IGF-I Ea in having a 52-base insert in the last coding exon of the mRNA. Both splice variants were down-regulated by castration only at 210 d of age (p<0.05). No differences in expression of the myostatin gene were observed between boars and barrows at either 147 or 210 d of age (p>0.05). These results suggest that the downregulation of AR, IGF-I Ea and MGF gene expression following castration helps to explain the negative effect of castration on skeletal muscle development.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.188.1-188
• /
• 2000

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.79 no.2
• /
• pp.85-90
• /
• 2016

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer related death. Alterations in gene sequence, structure, and expression have an important role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. Fusion genes and alternative splicing of cancer-related genes have the potential to be oncogenic. In the current study, we performed RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to investigate potential fusion genes and alternative splicing in non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: RNA was isolated from lung tissues obtained from 86 subjects with lung cancer. The RNA samples from lung cancer and normal tissues were processed with RNA-seq using the HiSeq 2000 system. Fusion genes were evaluated using Defuse and ChimeraScan. Candidate fusion transcripts were validated by Sanger sequencing. Alternative splicing was analyzed using multivariate analysis of transcript sequencing and validated using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. Results: RNA-seq data identified oncogenic fusion genes EML4-ALK and SLC34A2-ROS1 in three of 86 normal-cancer paired samples. Nine distinct fusion transcripts were selected using DeFuse and ChimeraScan; of which, four fusion transcripts were validated by Sanger sequencing. In 33 squamous cell carcinoma, 29 tumor specific skipped exon events and six mutually exclusive exon events were identified. ITGB4 and PYCR1 were top genes that showed significant tumor specific splice variants. Conclusion: In conclusion, RNA-seq data identified novel potential fusion transcripts and splice variants. Further evaluation of their functional significance in the pathogenesis of lung cancer is required.