• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.70-77
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• 2016

Transposable elements are one of major sources to cause genomic instability through various mechanisms including de novo insertion, insertion-mediated genomic deletion, and recombination-associated genomic deletion. Among them is Alu element which is the most abundant element, composing ~10% of the human genome. The element emerged in the primate genome 65 million years ago and has since propagated successfully in the human and non-human primate genomes. Alu element is a non-autonomous retrotransposon and therefore retrotransposed using L1-enzyme machinery. The 'master gene' model has been generally accepted to explain Alu element amplification in primate genomes. According to the model, different subfamilies of Alu elements are created by mutations on the master gene and most Alu elements are amplified from the hyperactive master genes. Alu element is frequently involved in genomic rearrangements in the human genome due to its abundance and sequence identity between them. The genomic rearrangements caused by Alu elements could lead to genetic disorders such as hereditary disease, blood disorder, and neurological disorder. In fact, Alu elements are associated with approximately 0.1% of human genetic disorders. The first part of this review discusses mechanisms of Alu amplification and diversity among different Alu subfamilies. The second part discusses the particular role of Alu elements in generating genomic rearrangements as well as human genetic disorders.

• BMB Reports
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• 제52권3호
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• pp.196-201
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• 2019

The Alu element, the most abundant transposable element, is transcribed to Alu RNA. We hypothesized that the PIWI protein regulates the expression of Alu RNA in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, where accumulated Alu RNA leads to macular degeneration. Alu transcription was induced in RPE cells treated with $H_2O_2$. At an early stage of oxidative stress, PIWIL4 was translocated into the nucleus; however, subsequently it was sequestered into cytoplasmic stress granules, resulting in the accumulation of Alu RNA. An elevated amount of Alu RNA was positively correlated with the disruption of the epithelial features of RPE via induction of mesenchymal transition. Therefore, we suggest that oxidative stress causes Alu RNA accumulation via PIWIL4 sequestration into the cytoplasmic stress granules.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.11-15
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• 2006

The aim of this study is to identify hRad21-binding sites in human chromosome, the core component of cohesin complex that held sister chromatids together. After chromatin immunoprecipitation with an hRad21 antibody, it was cloned the recovered DNA and sequenced 30 independent clones. Among them, 20 clones (67%) contained repetitive elements including short interspersed transposable elements (SINE or Alu elements), long terminal repeat (LTR) and long interspersed transposable elements (LINE), fourteen of these twenty (70%) repeats clones had Alu elements, which could be categorized as the old and the young Alu Subfamily, eleven of the fourteen (73%) Alu elements belonged to the old Alu Subfamily, and only three Alu elements were categorized as young Alu subfamily. There is no CpG island within these selected clones. Association of hRad21 with Alu was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation-PCR using conserved Alu primers. The primers were designed in the flanking region of Alu, and the specific Alu element was shown in the selected clone. From these experiments, it was demonstrated that hRad21 could bind to SINE, LTRs, and LINE as well as Alu.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.1028-1039
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• 2004

6500만년동안, Alu 서열은 RNA-중합효소 III에 의한 전사체를 통해 증폭해왔고, 영장류 게놈 내에 약 140만 복사의 수에 도달되었다. 그들은 가동성 인자 중에서 가장 큰 집단이며, 인간 게놈의 $10\%$를 구성한다. Alu 서열이 유전적으로 기능이 없다고 생각되었지만, 최근 많은 연구자들이 새로운 기능 및 질병과의 관련성을 증명해왔다 이들 Alu 서열은 삽입돌연변이, Alu-매개 재조합, 유전자 발현에 대해 유전자 전환 그리고 스플라이싱 사이트를 유발하고, 유전자 구조, 단백질 서열, 스플라이싱 모티프와 발현 양상에 영향을 준다. 우리는 Alu의 구조와 기원, 그들 패밀리의 컨센서스 서열, Alu의 진화와 분포 그리고 그들의 기능에 대하여 요약 정리하였다. 또한 영장류의 진화과정에 있어 질병과 관련하여 Alu 패밀리의 새로운 연구방향을 제시하였다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제38권11호
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• pp.950-958
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• 2015

BCS1L gene encodes mitochondrial protein and is a member of conserved AAA protein family. This gene is involved in the incorporation of Rieske FeS and Qcr10p into complex III of respiratory chain. In our previous study, AluYRa2-derived alternative transcript in rhesus monkey genome was identified. However, this transcript has not been reported in human genome. In present study, we conducted evolutionary analysis of AluYRa2-exonized transcript with various primate genomic DNAs and cDNAs from humans, rhesus monkeys, and crabeating monkeys. Remarkably, our results show that AluYRa2 element has only been integrated into genomes of Macaca species. This Macaca lineage-specific integration of AluYRa2 element led to exonization event in the first intron region of BCS1L gene by producing a conserved 3' splice site. Intriguingly, in rhesus and crabeating monkeys, more diverse transcript variants by alternative splicing (AS) events, including exon skipping and different 5' splice sites from humans, were identified. Alignment of amino acid sequences revealed that AluYRa2-exonized transcript has short N-terminal peptides. Therefore, AS events play a major role in the generation of various transcripts and proteins during primate evolution. In particular, lineage-specific integration of Alu elements and species-specific Alu-derived exonization events could be important sources of gene diversification in primates.

• 한국초전도ㆍ저온공학회논문지
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.9-12
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• 2005

We have constructed an RSFQ 4-bit Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) in a pipelined structure. An ALU is a core element of a computer processor that performs arithmetic and logic operation on the operands in computer instruction words. We have simulated the circuit by using Josephson circuit simulation tools. We used simulation tools of XIC, $WRspice^{TM}$, and Julia. To make the circuit work faster, we used a forward clocking scheme. This required a careful design of timing between clock and data pulses in ALU. The RSFQ 1-bit block of ALU used in constructing the 4-bit ALU was consisted of three DC current driven SFQ switches and a half-adder. By commutating output ports of the half adder, we could produce AND, OR, XOR, or ADD functions. The circuit size of the 4-bit ALU when fabricated was 3 mm x 1.5 mm, fitting in a 5 mm x 5mm chip. The fabricated 4-bit ALU operated correctly at 5 GHz clock frequency. The chip was tested at the liquid-helium temperature.

• 한국생물정보학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국생물정보시스템생물학회 2004년도 The 3rd Annual Conference for The Korean Society for Bioinformatics Association of Asian Societies for Bioinformatics 2004 Symposium
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• pp.77-85
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• 2004

A significant portion (about 8% in human genome) of mammalian mRNA sequences contains AU(Adenine and Uracil) rich elements or AREs at their 3' untranslated regions (UTR). These mRNA sequences are usually stable. ARE motifs are assorted into three classes. The importance of AREs in biology is that they make certain mRNA unstable. We analyzed the occurrences of AREs and Alu, and propose a possible mechanism on how human mRNA could acquire and keep A REs at its 3' UTR originated from Alu repeats. Interspersed in the human genome, Alu repeats occupy 5% of the 3' UTR of mRNA sequences. Alu has poly-adenine (poly-A) regions at the end that lead to poly -thymine (poly-T) regions at the end of its complementary Alu. It has been discovered that AREs are present at the poly -T regions. In the all ARE's classes, 27-40% of ARE repeats were found in the poly -T region of Alu with mismatch allowed within 10% of ARE's length from the 3' UTRs of the NCBI's reference m RNA sequence database. We report that Alu, which has been reported as a junk DNA element, is a source of AREs. We found that one third of AREs were derived from the poly -T regions of the complementary Alu.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.109-113
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• 2006

The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) is a core element of a computer processor that performs arithmetic and logic operations on the operands in computer instruction words. We have developed and tested an RSFQ multi-bit ALU constructed with half adder unit cells. To reduce the complexity of the ALU, We used half adder unit cells. The unit cells were constructed of one half adder and three de switches. The timing problem in the complex circuits has been a very important issue. We have calculated the delay time of all components in the circuit by using Josephson circuit simulation tools of XIC, $WRspice^{TM}$, and Julia. To make the circuit work faster, we used a forward clocking scheme. This required a careful design of timing between clock and data pulses in ALU. The designed ALU had limited operation functions of OR, AND, XOR, and ADD. It had a pipeline structure. The fabricated 1-bit, 2-bit, and 4-bit ALU circuits were tested at a few kilo-hertz clock frequency as well as a few tens giga-hertz clock frequency, respectively. For high-speed tests, we used an eye-diagram technique. Our 4-bit ALU operated correctly at up to 5 GHz clock frequency.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.104-107
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• 2005

We have developed and tested an RSFQ 4-bit Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) based on half adder cells and de switches. ALU is a core element of a computer processor that performs arithmetic and logic operations on the operands in computer instruction words. The designed ALU had limited operation functions of OR, AND, XOR, and ADD. It had a pipeline structure. We have simulated the circuit by using Josephson circuit simulation tools in order to reduce the timing problem, and confirmed the correct operation of the designed ALU. We used simulation tools of $XIC^{TM},\;WRspice^{TM}$, and Julia. The fabricated 4-bit ALU circuit had a size of $\3000{\ cal}um{\times}1500{\cal}$, and the chip size was $5{\cal} mm{\times}5{\cal}mm$. The test speeds were 1000 kHz and 5 GHz. For high-speed test, we used an eye-diagram technique. Our 4-bit ALU operated correctly up to 5 GHz clock frequency. The chip was tested at the liquid-helium temperature.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.9797-9800
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• 2014

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Alu elements are among the most prevalent repetitive sequences and constitute 11% of the human genome. Although Alu methylation has been evaluated in many types of cancer, few studies have examined the levels of this modification in serum from NPC patients. Objective: To compare the Alu methylation levels and patterns between serum from NPC patients and normal controls. Materials and Methods: Sera from 50 NPC patients and 140 controls were examined. Quantitative combined bisulfite restriction analysis-Alu (qCOBRA-Alu) was applied to measure Alu methylation levels and characterize Alu methylation patterns. Amplified products were classified into four patterns according to the methylation status of 2 CpG sites: hypermethylated (methylation at both loci), partially methylated (methylation of either of the two loci), and hypomethylated (unmethylated at both loci). Results: A comparison of normal control sera with NPC sera revealed that the latter presented a significantly lower methylation level (p=0.0002) and a significantly higher percentage of hypomethylated loci (p=0.0002). The sensitivity of the higher percentage of Alu hypomethyted loci for distinguishing NPC patients from normal controls was 96%. Conclusions: Alu elements in the circulating DNA of NPC patients are hypomethylated. Moreover, Alu hypomethylated loci may represent a potential biomarker for NPC screening.