• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.229-234
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• 2006

We have generated transgenic mice that expressed mouse extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in their skin. In particular, the expression plasmid DNA containing human keratin K14 promoter was used to direct the keratinocyte-specific transcription of the transgene. To compare intron-dependent and intron-independent gene expression, we constructed two vectors. The vector B, which contains the rabbit -globin intron 2, was not effective for mouse EC-SOD overexpression. The EC-SOD transcript was detected in the skin, as determined by Northern blot analysis. Furthermore, EC-SOD protein was detected in the skin tissue, as demonstrated by Western blot analysis. To evaluate the expression levels of EC-SOD in various tissues, we purified EC-SOD from the skin, lungs, brain, kidneys, livers, and spleen of transgenic mice and measured its activities. EC-SOD activities in the transgenic mice skin were approximately 7 fold higher than in wild-type mice. These results suggest that the mouse overexpressing vector not only induces keratinocyte-specific expression of EC-SOD, but also expresses successfully functional EC-SOD. Thus, these transgenic mice appeared to be useful for the expression of the EC-SOD gene and subsequent analysis of various skin changes, such as erythema, inflamation, photoaging, and skin tumors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.51-58
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• 2006

The purpose of this research presents a method to position and makes the structure for eco-corridors reasonably with collectable analysing results of various effects shown in mammals' road-kill at 429 points. Target animals of this research are Leopard cat, Siberian weasel, Raccoon dog, Korean hare, Eurasian red squirrel, Siberian chipmunk and Water deer. The results derived from the empirical analysis on the contents above are followed. First, according to the results as for Leopard cat road kill analysis, which is designated as Endangered Species Class II, the eco-corridor might be located at near village having stead food in order to decrease the frequencies of road-kill, because its road kill points were mainly collected at 4 lane hilly road with mountain-road-farm area geological type of. Second, because Siberian weasel's road kill was detected at 2 lane hilly road with mountain-road-stream geological type, the eco-corridor might be located at near a mill to decrease road-kill frequencies. Third, the road-kill frequency of Eurasian red squirrel can be reduced when the eco-corridor is located at the area across coniferous tree near 4 lane west sea freeway with mountain-road-mountain. Fourth, the road-kill of Raccoon dog can be reduced when the eco-corridor is located at 4 lane mountain road or hilly road with the geological type having farm land-road-mountain(stream). Fifth, Korean hare's road-kill can be reduced when the eco-corridor is located at grass land across ridge line of mountain, because wild rabbit road kill was happened at 4 lane mountain road or 2 lane mountain road(mountain-road-mountain). Sixth, As for Siberian chipmunk, the eco-corridor might be located at the side slope of mountain road at 2 lane mountain road under the speed of 60km/h with mountain-road-mountain. Seventh, For Water deer, the eco-corridor might be located at 4 lane hilly road with mountain-road-farm land. As for Common otter, Amur hedgehog, Yellow-throated marten, Weasel, it is difficult to specify the proper site of eco-corridor due to the lack of data. Eco-corridors for carnivores might be well located at 4 lane hilly road or 2 lane hilly road with mountain-road-farm land, and the track for herbivores might be well located as a overhead bridge on mountain-road-mountain type across mountains. In order to position eco-corridors for wildlife properly, we have to research animal's behavior with ecological background, and to consider the local uniqueness and regularly collect the empirical road-kill data in long term 3 to 5 year, which can be the foundation for the more suitable place of wild life eco-corridors.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.369-375
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• 1998

In our preliminary study to find antiviral or antitumor agents from Korean natural products, we found that the Shope fibroma virus (SFV) induced fibromas reaching maximum size at $5{\sim}6$ days with spontaneous disappearance at $15{\sim}20$ days after SFV intracutaneous inoculation into Korean domestic rabbits. However, the sizes of fibromas of rabbits at day 5 after virus inoculation were significantly different individually. Assuming that the variation of tumor size was due to either susceptibility or the preexisting antibodies against SFV in the Korean domestic rabbits, the rabbits were checked for the antibodies against SFV by IFAT using SFV infected RK13 cells. The antibody positive rate of normal Korean domestic rabbits was 32.8% and the sizes of the fibromas of the positive rabbits were significantly smaller than those of negative rabbits (p<0.0001). The fibroma sizes were dependent on the antibody titers of rabbits to SFV. The sizes of fibromas after inoculation of SFV into immunized rabbits were about one tenth of those by the first inoculation into normal rabbits. This is the first report on the antibody prevalence against SFV among normal Korean domestic rabbits and it suggest the existence of a wild fibroma virus or related virus in Korea.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2023

Background: Serotonin receptors can be divided into seven different families with various subtypes. The serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptor is one of the most abundant subtypes in animal brains. The expression of 5-HT1A receptors in the brain has been reported in various animals but has not been studied in horses. The 5-HT1A receptor functions related to emotions and behaviors, thus it is important to understand the functional effects and distribution of 5-HT1A receptors in horses to better understand horse behavior and its associated mechanism. Methods: Brain samples from seven different regions, which were the frontal, central, and posterior cerebral cortices, cerebellar cortex and medulla, thalamus, and hypothalamus, were collected from six horses. Western blot analysis was performed to validate the cross-reactivity of rabbit anti-5-HT1A receptor antibody in horse samples. Immunofluorescence was performed to evaluate the localization of 5-HT1A receptors in the brains. Results: The protein bands of 5-HT1A receptor appeared at approximately 50 kDa in the frontal, central, and posterior cerebral cortices, cerebellar cortex, thalamus, and hypothalamus. In contrast, no band was observed in the cerebellar medulla. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the cytoplasm of neurons in the cerebral cortices, thalamus, and hypothalamus were immunostained for 5-HT1A receptors. In the cerebellar cortex, 5-HT1A was localized in the cytoplasm of Purkinje cells. Conclusions: In conclusion, the study suggests that 5-HT and 5-HT1A receptor systems may play important roles in the central nervous system of horses, based on the widespread distribution of the receptors in the horse brain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1701-1710
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• 2017

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is the etiologic agent of classical swine fever, a highly contagious disease that causes significant economic losses to the swine industry. The lapinized C-strain, a widely used vaccine strain against CSFV, has low growth efficiency in cell culture, which limits the productivity in the vaccine industry. In this study, a recombinant virus derived from C-strain was constructed and subjected to continuous passaging in PK-15 cells with the goal of acquiring a high progeny virus yield. A cell-adapted virus variant, RecCpp80, had nearly 1,000-fold higher titer than its parent C-strain but lost the ability to induce fever in rabbits. Sequence analysis of cell-adapted RecC variants indicated that at least six nucleotide changes were fixed in RecCpp80. Further adaption of RecCpp80 variant in swine testicle cells led to a higher virus yield without additional mutations. Introduction of each of these residues into the wild-type RecC backbone showed that one mutation, M979R (T3310G), located in the C-terminal region of E2 might be closely related to the cell-adapted phenotype. Rabbit inoculation revealed that $RecCpp40_{+10}$ failed to induce fever in rabbits, whereas $RecCpp80_{+10}$ caused a fever response similar to the commercial C-strain vaccine. In conclusion, the C-strain can be adapted to cell culture by introducing specific mutations in its E2 protein. The mutations in RecCpp80 that led to the loss of fever response in rabbits require further investigation. Continuous passaging of the C-strain-based recombinant viruses in PK-15 cells could enhance its in vitro adaption. The non-synonymous mutations at 3310 and 3531 might play major roles in the enhanced capacity of general virus reproduction. Such findings may help design a modified C-strain for improved productivity of commercial vaccines at reduced production cost.