• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.68-71
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• 1999

To illustrate the action mechanism of pencycuron on Rhizoctonia solani, two experiments were conducted including the comparison of amino acids of $\beta$-tubulin between R-C (sensitive isolate) and Rh-131 (non-sensitive isolate), and the inhibitory effect of pencycuron on tubulin assembly in vitro. Both $\beta$-tubulin genes of R-C and Rh-131 proved to have 1,582 nucleotides encoding a protein of 445 amino acids, showing 98% homology in amino acid sequences between them. It was found that codons at 103, 236, and 267 for lysine (AGG), valine (GTC) and isoleucine (ATT) in R-C were replaced by codons for methionine (ATG), isoleucine (ATT) and methionine (ATG) in Rh-131, respectively. No inhibitory effect of pencycuron on the tubulin assembly was observed. It suggests that pencycuron may have no direct inhibitory effects on the assembly of tubulin at least in vitro.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.218-225
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• 2007

In Arabidopsis thaliana, the microtubule-associated protein AtMAP65-1 shows various functions on microtubule dynamics and organizations. However, it is still an open question about whether AtMAP65-1 binds to tubulin dimers and how it regulates microtubule dynamics. In present study, the tubulin-binding activity of AtMAP65-1 was investigated. Pull-down and co-sedimentation exp eriments demonstrated that AtMAP65-1 bound to tubulin dimers,at a molar ratio of 1 : 1. Cross-linking experiments showed that AtMAP65-1 bound to tubulin dimers by interacting with $\alpha$-tubulin of the tubulin heterodimer. Interfering the bundling effect of AtMAP65-1 by addition of salt and monitoring the tubulin assembly, the experiment results indicated that AtMAP65-1 promoted tubulin assembly by interacting with tubulin dimers. In addition, five truncated versions of AtMAP65-1, namely AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$N339 (amino acids 340-587); AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$N494 (amino acids 495-587); AtMAP65-1 340-494 (amino acids 340-494); AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$C495 (amino acids 1-494) and AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$C340 (amino acids 1-339), were tested for their binding activities and roles in tubulin polymerization in vitro. Four (AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$N339, $\Delta$N494, AtMAP65-1 340-494 and $\Delta$C495) from the five truncated proteins were able to co-sediment with microtubules, and three (AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$N339, $\Delta$N494 and AtMAP65-1 340-494) of them could bind to tubulin dimers in vitro. Among the three truncated proteins, AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$N339 showed the greatest activity to promote tubulin polymerization, AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$N494 exhibited almost the same activity as the full length protein in promoting tubulin assembly, and AtMAP65-1 340-494 had minor activity to promote tubulin assembly. On the contrast, AtMAP65-1 $\Delta$C495, which bound to microtubules but not to tubulin dimers, did not affect tubulin assembly. Our study suggested that AtMAP65-1 might promote tubulin assembly by binding to tubulin dimers in vivo.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.885-891
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• 2018

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) toxin A is known to cause acute gut inflammation in humans and animals by triggering cytoskeletal disorganization in gut epithelial cells. In human colonocytes, toxin A blocks microtubule assembly by directly increasing the enzymatic activity of histone deacetylase-6 (HDAC-6), a tubulin-specific deacetylase, thereby markedly decreasing tubulin acetylation, which is essential for microtubule assembly. Microtubule assembly dysfunction-associated alterations (i.e., toxin A-exposed gut epithelial cells) are believed to trigger barrier dysfunction and gut inflammation downstream. We recently showed that potassium acetate blocked toxin A-induced microtubule disassembly by inhibiting HDAC-6. Herein, we tested whether acetic acid (AA), another small acetyl residue-containing agent, could block toxin A-induced tubulin deacetylation and subsequent microtubule assembly. Our results revealed that AA treatment increased tubulin acetylation and enhanced microtubule assembly in an HT29 human colonocyte cell line. AA also clearly increased tubulin acetylation in murine colonic explants. Interestingly, the AA treatment also alleviated toxin A-induced tubulin deacetylation and microtubule disassembly, and MTT assays revealed that AA reduced toxin A-induced cell toxicity. Collectively, these results suggest that AA can block the ability of toxin A to cause microtubule disassembly-triggered cytoskeletal disorganization by blocking toxin A-mediated deacetylation of tubulin.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 2002

The water extract from the root bark of Cortex Mori (CM, Morus alba L.: Sangbaikpi), a mulberry tree, has been known in Chinese traditional medicine to have antiphlogistic, diuretic, and expectorant properties. In this study, the cytotoxicity of CM against tumor cells and its mechanism was examined . CM exhibited cytotoxic activity on K-562, B38O human leukemia cells and B16 mouse melanoma cells at concentrations of > 1 mg/ml. A DNA fragmentation, PARP cleavage, and nuclear condensation assay showed that those cells exposed to CM underwent apoptosis. The water extract of Scutellarie Radix (SR) was used as a negative control and showed no cytotoxicity in those cells. The flow cytometric profiles of the CM-treated cells were also indicative of apoptosis. However, they did not appear to exert the G1 arrest, which is observed in other tubulin inhibitor agents such as vincristine, taxol. The protein-binding test using Biacore and a microtubule assembly-disassembly assay provided evidence showing that CM bound to the tubulins resulting in 3 markets inhibition of the assembly, but not the disassembly of microtubules. The possible nonspecific effect of the CM extract could be excluded due to the results using SR, which did not affect the assembly process. Overall, the water extract of CM induces apoptosis of tumor cells by inhibiting microtubule assembly.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2002.06a
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• pp.51-51
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• 2002

Despite of importance of integrated events of nucleus and microtubule remodeling in nuclear transferred embryos with somatic cells, little information is available on this subject. In this study we compared chromatin, r-tubulin and microtubule organization in porcine oocytes following somatic cell nuclear transfer and parthenogenetically activation in order to clarify nuclear remodeling process and to demonstrate centrosome inheritance during nuclear transfer. (omitted)

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2010

We investigated the microtubule dynamics, including the inheritance of donor centrosomes and the mitotic spindle assembly occurring during the first mitosis of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos in pigs. SCNT embryos were fixed 15 min and 1 h after fusion in order to assess the inheritance pattern of the donor centrosome. The distribution and dynamic of the centrosome and microtubule during the first mitotic phase of SCNT embryos were also evaluated. The frequency of embryos evidencing $\gamma$-tubulin spots (centrosome) was 93.2% in the SCNT embryos 15 min after fusion. In the majority of the SCNT embryos (61.5%), however, no centrosome was observed 1 h after fusion. The frequency of the embryos with no or abnormal mitotic spindles 20 h after fusion was 19.6%. The $\gamma$-tubulin spots were detected near the nuclei of somatic cells regardless of cell cycle phase, whereas $\gamma$-tubulin spots in the SCNT embryos were observed only during the inter-anaphase transition. These results showed that the donor centrosome is inherited into the SCNT embryos, but failed to assemble the normal mitotic spindles during first mitotic phase in some SCNT embryos.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.693-699
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• 2016

Clostridium difficile toxin A is known to cause deacetylation of tubulin proteins, which blocks microtubule formation and triggers barrier dysfunction in the gut. Based on our previous finding that the Clostridium difficile toxin A-dependent activation of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC-6) is responsible for tubulin deacetylation and subsequent microtubule disassembly, we herein examined the possible effect of potassium acetate (PA; whose acetyl group prevents the binding of tubulin to HDAC-6) as a competitive/false substrate. Our results revealed that PA inhibited toxin A-induced deacetylation of tubulin and recovered toxin A-induced microtubule disassembly. In addition, PA treatment significantly decreased the production of IL-6 (a marker of inflamed tissue) in the toxin A-induced mouse enteritis model. An in vitro HDAC assay revealed that PA directly inhibited HDAC-6-mediated tubulin deacetylation, indicating that PA acted as a false substrate for HDAC-6. These results collectively indicate that PA treatment inhibits HDAC-6, thereby reducing the cytotoxicity and inflammatory responses caused by C. difficile toxin A.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.89.2-89.2
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• 2001

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.307-316
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• 2015

Beginning from the recognition of FtsZ as a bacterial tubulin homolog in the early 1990s, many bacterial cytoskeletal elements have been identified, including homologs to the major eukaryotic cytoskeletal elements (tubulin, actin, and intermediate filament) and the elements unique in prokaryotes (ParA/MinD family and bactofilins). The discovery and functional characterization of the bacterial cytoskeleton have revolutionized our understanding of bacterial cells, revealing their elaborate and dynamic subcellular organization. As in eukaryotic systems, the bacterial cytoskeleton participates in cell division, cell morphogenesis, DNA segregation, and other important cellular processes. However, in accordance with the vast difference between bacterial and eukaryotic cells, many bacterial cytoskeletal proteins play distinct roles from their eukaryotic counterparts; for example, control of cell wall synthesis for cell division and morphogenesis. This review is aimed at providing an overview of the bacterial cytoskeleton, and discussing the roles and assembly dynamics of bacterial cytoskeletal proteins in more detail in relation to their most widely conserved functions, DNA segregation and coordination of cell wall synthesis.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.231-237
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to elucidate the dynamics of microtubules in post-ovulatory aging in vivo and in vitro of mouse oocytes. The fresh ovulated oocytes were obtained from oviducts of superovulated female ICR mice at 16 hours after hCG injection. The post-ovulatory aged oocytes were collected at 24 and 48 hours after hCG injection from in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Immunocytochemistry was performed on ${\beta}$-tubulin and acetylated ${\alpha}$-tubulin. The microtubules were localized in the spindle assembly, which was barrel-shaped or slightly pointed at its poles and located peripherally in the fresh ovulated oocytes. The frequency of misaligned metaphase chromosomes were significantly increased in post-ovulatory aged oocytes after 48 hours of hCG injection. The spindle length and width of post-ovulatory aged oocytes were significantly different from those of fresh ovulated oocytes, respectively. The staining intensity of acetylated ${\alpha}$-tubulin showed stronger in post-ovulatory aged oocytes than that in the fresh ovulated oocytes. In the aged oocytes, the spindles had moved towards the center of the oocytes from their original peripheral position and elongated, compared with the fresh ovulated oocytes. Microtubule organizing centers were formed and observed in the cytoplasm of the aged oocytes. On the contrary, it was not observed in the fresh ovulated oocytes. The alteration of spindle formation and chromosomes alignment substantiates the poor development and the increase of disorders from the post-ovulatory aged oocytes. It might be important to fertilize on time in ovulated oocytes for the developmental competence of embryos with normal karyotypes.