• BMB Reports
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• 제45권6호
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• pp.365-370
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• 2012

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA is often integrated into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although the relationship between HBV integration and HCC development has been widely studied, the role of HBV integration in HCC development is still not completely understood. In the present study, we constructed a pooled BAC library of 9 established cell lines derived from HCC patients with HBV infections. By amplifying viral genes and superpooling of BAC clones, we identified 2 clones harboring integrated HBV DNA. Screening of host-virus junctions by repeated sequencing revealed an HBV DNA integration site on chromosome 11q13 in the SNU-886 cell line. The structure and rearrangement of integrated HBV DNA were extensively analyzed. An inverted duplicated structure, with fusion of at least 2 HBV DNA molecules in opposite orientations, was identified in the region. The gene expression of cancer-related genes increased near the viral integration site in HCC cell line SNU-886.

• 한국어병학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.63-69
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• 2020

Fish culture is constantly threatened by various infectious diseases which are largely transmitted by water. Plasma technology is being used to sterilize polluted water in many industries. In this study, two bacterial pathogens Aeromonas salmonicida and Streptococcus iniae, and a virus (viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, VHSV) were subjected to plasma water that was produced by a corona discharge system. Growth of A. salmonicida was greatly inhibited from 10^5.61 CFU/ml in positive control to 10^3.51 CFU/ml in treated group by only 60 sec contact with plasma water. Similarly, S. iniae was inhibited from 10^5.85 CFU/ml to 10^3.40 CFU/ml. VHSV titer also decreased from 10^4.1 TCID₅₀/ml to 10^1.45 TCID₅₀/ml by the same treatment. Activation of water by the plasma was confirmed by the existence of ozone in the plasma water. These results suggest that plasma water could efficiently disinfect fish pathogens, possibly by the action of reactive oxygen species contained in the plasma water.

• 한국어병학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.97-101
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• 2020

Although aquaculture production rates grown over the years, aquatic animal diseases occur every year which causes substantial economic losses. When an aquatic animal is infected with an aquatic animal pathogen it is either incinerated or buried according to the aquatic life disease control act. Although these methods prevent the spread of disease, it is not environment friendly. Here, we developed an aquatic animal rendering equipment for disposal of fish waste which is environment-friendly and efficient. Also, fertilizer components of fish waste were evaluated value for recycling. The mobile rendering equipment was designed for field operation and/or high temperature and pressure system, oil and water separator, and shredding drying apparatus. During the experiment (July-2016 to November-2016), a total of 53,824 kg fish waste was collected, and 29,216 kg compost of rendering by-product was made. Also, compost made from viral (Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus) infected fish did not reflect any detectable pathogen. The concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter in the fish waste compost were 2.17%, 26.98%, and 92.44%, respectively. The results suggest that fish waste used in this study was decomposed efficiently as per the official standard for fertilizer product. This equipment can be useful for efficient inactivation of the aquatic animal pathogenic agents and recycling of the fish waste in an environment-friendly manner.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.172-177
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• 2020

Influenza viruses cause respiratory diseases in humans and animals with high morbidity and mortality rates. Conventional anti-influenza drugs are reported to exert side effects and newly emerging viral strains tend to develop resistance to these commonly used agents. Fritillaria thunbergii (FT) is traditionally used as an expectorant for controlling airway inflammatory disorders. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of FT extracts against influenza virus type A (H1N1) infection in vitro, in ovo, and in vivo. In the post-treatment assay, FT extracts showed high CC50 (7,500 ㎍/ml), indicating low toxicity, and exerted moderate antiviral effects compared to oseltamivir (SI 50.6 vs. 222) in vitro. Antiviral activity tests in ovo revealed strong inhibitory effects of both FT extract and oseltamivir against H1N1 replication in embryonated eggs. Notably, at a treatment concentration of 150 mg/kg, only half the group administered oseltamivir survived whereas the FT group showed 100% survival, clearly demonstrating the low toxicity of FT extracts. Consistent with these findings, FT-administered mice showed a higher survival rate with lower body weight reduction relative to the oseltamivir group upon treatment 24 h after viral infection. Our collective results suggest that FT extracts exert antiviral effects against influenza H1N1 virus without inducing toxicity in vitro, in ovo or in vivo, thereby supporting the potential utility of FT extract as a novel candidate therapeutic drug or supplement against influenza.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.153-159
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• 2002

Gene therapy is fundamentally a sophisticated drug delivery technology to cure a disease by the transfer of genetic material to modify living cells. In other words, the gene is used as a therapeutic drug much like a chemical compound is employed in chemotherapy. Currently almost 600 clinical trials are underway worldwide since the first clinical trials carried out in 1990 to treat adenosine deaminase deficiency using retroviral vectors. Despite the great progress still is there no gene therapy product being approved as a new drug. This is partly due to a lack of an ideal gene delivery system that is safe and can provide stable, optimal level production of the therapeutic proteins in the cell. This review covers the current status of several different biological and physico-chemical agents that are being developed as gene delivery vehicles. Although gene therapy promises great hopes toward the cure of a broad spectrum of genetic and acquired diseases, the success of gene therapy heavily asks for the development of vector systems for safe and efficient application in humans.

• 한국가금학회지
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.271-277
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• 2019

최근 산업동물에서도 동물복지의 관심이 높아짐에 따라 복지 사육방식을 채택한 농가의 수가 늘어나고 있다. 본 연구는 복지농장과 일반농장 간의 병원체 탐색 및 조류인플루엔자 방어율의 차이를 확인하고자 하였다. 복지농장 사육 육계와 산란계, 일반농장 사육 육계와 산란계에서 얻어진 샘플들을 이용하여 비교한 결과, 마이코플라즈마 검출에서는 사육형태간 차이를 확인할 수 없었으며, 저병원성 인플루엔자의 배출량도 초기를 제외하고는 차이를 확인할 수 없었다. 앞으로 국내에서 사육방식의 차이에 따른 지속적인 연구가 필요하다.

• 대한바이러스학회지
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.67-76
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• 1996

The methods that make Hantavirus grow consist of inoculation into the experimental animals and cultured cells. The cultured cells, such as Vero-E6 and A549 cells, have been usually used for isolation of the virus and the animals, such as mice and rats, are used for large scale preparation of the virus so far. Furthermore, the cell can be used to maintain the virus and assay the infectivity and the animals can be used for the experiment of viral pathogenicity and challenge for assessment of vaccine. Apodemus mice, the own natural host of the virus, has been used for challenge test of Hantaan virus. However it has been pointed out to difficult handling and breeding the animal in laboratory. Therefore, we attempted to establish a new animal model for challenge test at the time of isolation of Maaji virus which is a new hantavirus similar but distinct to Hantaan virus. In suckling hamster, the titer of Maaji virus and the lethality to mice of the virus were increased gradually in the titer and lethality through passage by intracerebral (IC) inoculation. We tried to re-adapt this brain virus to lung of weanling hamster. The brain passaged virus was inoculated into weanling hamster intramuscularly. Again, the titer of the virus in lung was also increased by continuous passage of this virus. This facts could regarded as adaptation to new environment in which the virus proliferates. To identity the virus passaged in hamster with Maaji virus, both of the virus passaged in hamster brain and lung were compared with Maaji virus (MAA-I) and Hantaan virus (HTN 76-118) by means of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and slingle strand conformation polymophism (SSCP). As a result, we conclude that Maaji virus could be adapted successfully to weanling hamster through this passage strategy. Utilizing this adapted Maaji virus strain, hamster model is able to be used for challenge test in hantaviral vaccinology and further experiments utilizing hamster system as a rather available and convenient lab animal are expected.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제23권6호
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• pp.539-547
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• 2020

Purpose: Pediatric acute liver failure (PALF) is a serious condition; however, data on PALF in developing countries are sparse, particularly concerning molecular diagnosis and liver transplantation (LT). This study aimed to determine the causes, outcomes, and prognostic factors of PALF. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children (age <15 years) with PALF diagnosed using the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases criteria at our center from 2011 to 2016. The collected data included laboratory results, complications, outcomes, and potential factors associated with death and LT. Results: We included a total of 27 patients, with a median age of 2 years (interquartile range, 3 months to 4 years). Viral infection was the most common etiology (n=8, 30%), predominantly dengue infection (n=4). A total of 16 patients (59%) died and 11 patients survived (3 patients with LT). The prognostic factors associated with death or LT requirement were grade IV hepatic encephalopathy (p<0.01), hypotension (p=0.02), gastrointestinal bleeding (p=0.03), increased intracranial pressure (p=0.04), and higher peak serum lactate level (p=0.01). Peak serum lactate ≥6 mmoL/L had a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 88% for predicting mortality or the necessity of LT. Conclusion: Viral infection was the most common cause of PALF. The mortality rate remained high, and a considerable number of patients required LT. In addition to several clinical factors, peak serum lactate could be a potential marker for predicting poor outcomes in PALF.

• 한국미생물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국미생물학회 2008년도 International Meeting of the Microbiological Society of Korea
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• pp.171-171
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• 2008

We monitored the occurrence of human enteric viruses in urban rivers by cell culture-PCR and RT-nested PCR. Water samples were collected monthly or semimonthly between May 2002 and March 2003 in four urban tributaries. Enteric viruses were detected by RT-nested PCR and cell culture-PCR based on a combination of Buffalo Green monkey kidney (BGMK) and A549 cell lines, followed by phylogenetic analysis of amplicons. By RT-nested PCR analysis, 45 (77.6%), 32 (55.2%), 32 (55.2%), 26 (44.8%), 12 (20.7%), 2 (3.4%), 4 (6.9%), and 4 (6.9%) of 58 samples showed positive results with adenoviruses, enteroviruses, noroviruses (NV) genogroup I (GI) and II (GII), reoviruses, hepatitis A viruses, rotaviruses and sapoviruses, respectively. Adenoviruses were most often detected and only eight (13.8%) samples were negative for adenoviruses and positive for other enteric viruses in the studied sites. Thirty-one (77.5%) of the 40 samples were positive for infectious adenoviruses and/or enteroviruses based on cell culture-PCR, and the frequency of positive samples grown on A549 and BGMK (65.0%) was higher than that grown on BGMK alone (47.5%). The occurrence of each enteric virus, except reoviruses and hepatitis A viruses was not statistically correlated with the water temperature and levels of fecal coliforms according to Binary logistic regression model. By sequence analysis, most strains of adenoviruses and enteroviruses detected in this study are similar to the causative agent of viral diseases in Korea and most NV GI- and GII-grouped strains were closely related to the reference strains from China and Japan, and GII/4-related strains had similar sequences to strains recognized as a worldwide epidemic outbreak. Our results suggested that monitoring human enteric viruses is necessary to improve microbial quality and cell culture-PCR using the combination of A549 and BGMK cells and the adenovirus detection by PCR could be useful for monitoring viral contamination in the aquatic environment.

• Mycobiology
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.61-66
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• 2006

Chestnut blight disease caused by Cryphonectria parasitica is widely distributed throughout chestnut tree plantations in Korea. We surveyed 65 sites located at 9 provinces in South Korea, and isolated 248 virulent and 3 hypovirulent strains of chestnut blight fungus. Hypovirulent strains had dsRNA virus in the cytoplasm, which is one of the typical characteristics of hypovirulent strains. In addition, they showed more characteristics of hypovirulent strains, i.e., suppressed conidiation, reduced pigmentation in colony color, and reduced phenol oxidase activity as well as reduced pathogenicity. Hypovirulent strains, KCPH-22, KCPH-135 and KCPH-136, had a genomic dsRNA band with the molecular weight of 12.7 kb, which is the L-dsRNA of CHV1. They also had a 2.7 kb defective dsRNA band. Single conidia isolated from hypovirulent strains were cultured and various phenotypes and absence of dsRNA bands were obtained from single conidial cultures, which means that hypovirulence transmission is unstable in asexual reproduction and variations in viral heredity by asexual reproduction. Biocontrol trial using hypovirulent strains was also carried out in the chestnut tree plantations, and canker expansion in the treated trees was stopped and healed by callus formation at the margin of the canker. These results show the potentials in successful biocontrol of chestnut blight if the vegetatively compatible hypovirulent strains could be directly used around the canker formed by compatible virulent strains.