• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.212-214
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• 2014

The synchondrosis between the dens and the body of axis normally fuses between 5 and 7 years of age. Until this age, synchondrosis fractures can occur in children. Most synchondrosis fractures are conventionally treated by external immobilization alone. We report a 10-year-old child with odontoid synchondrosis fracture who was treated by C1 lateral mass and C2 pars screw rod fixation with a successful outcome and discuss the possible reasons for occurrence of odontoid synchondrosis fracture in this older child as well as the indications for surgery in this condition.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.325-330
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• 1991

In order to develop yeast strains which can effectively produce ethanol from cellulosic hydrolyzates, protoplast fusion between Candida sp. KM-09-135 and Saccharomyces cweoisiue SM-07 was carried out and obtained the excellent fusant KMS-23. Fusant KMS-23 showed the optimal growth temperature and ethanol productivity at $37^{\circ}C$, and assimilated xylose, cellobiose, maltose and raffinose as fermentative sugars. Cell size of the fusant was about 1.2 times greater than that of KM-09-135 and 1.5 times SM-07. DNA content of fusant was 1.3 times higher than that of SM-07 and similar with KM-09-135. Fusant KMS-23 produced 2.57% (v/v) ethanol from saccharified wheat bran containing 6.44% (w/v) of reducing sugar, which was 1.3 times higher than parent strains under the same conditions.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.89-94
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• 2015

The shape and activity of mitochondria are tightly regulated by fusion and fission processes that are essential for maintaining normal cellular function. However, little is known about the involvement of mitochondrial dynamics in the development of the immune system. In this study, we demonstrate that mitochondrial dynamics play a role in the differentiation and migration of immature dendritic cells (imDCs). We show that mitochondrial elongation is induced during GM-CSF-stimulated differentiation of bone marrow progenitors to imDCs accompanied by upregulation of mitochondrial fusion proteins. These processes precede the changes in mitochondrial morphology and connectivity that occur during differentiation. Mfn2 and OPA1, but not Mfn1, are transcriptionally upregulated during differentiation; however, knockdown of Mfn2 and OPA1 does not induce any change in expression of CD11c, CDC80, or CD86. Notably, knockdown of Mfn2 or OPA1 by siRNA in imDCs significantly reduces CCR7 expression and CCL19-mediated migration. These results suggest that the mitochondrial fusion-related proteins Mfn2 and OPA1 are upregulated during bone marrow progenitor differentiation and promote the migration of imDCs by regulating the expression of CCR7.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.81-89
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• 2004

Tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$) and lymphotoxin-$\alpha$ (LT-$\alpha$, TNF-$\beta$) can initiate and perpetuate human diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). TNFs can be blocked by the use of soluble TNF receptors. However, since monomeric soluble receptors generally exhibit low affinity or function as agonists, the use of monomeric soluble receptors has been limited in the case of cytokines such as TNF-$\alpha$, TNF-$\alpha$, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-13, which have adapted to a multi component receptor system. For these reasons, very high-affinity inhibitors were created for the purpose of a TNFs antagonist to bind the TNFR and trigger cellular signal by using the multistep polymerase chain reaction method. First, recombinant simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were constructed from the cDNA sequences encoding the extracellular domain of the human p55 TNFR (CD120a) and the human p75 TNFR (CD120b), which were linked to hinge and constant regions of human $IgG_1$ heavy chain, respectively using complementary primers (CP) encoding the complementary sequences. Then, concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were constructed using recombinant PCR and a complementary primer base of recombinant simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins. For high level expression of recombinant fusion proteins, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were used with a retroviral expression system. The transfected cells produced the simple concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins capable of binding TNF and inactivating it. These soluble versions of simple concantameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins gave rise to multiple forms such as simple dimers and concatameric homodimers. Simple TNFR-1g fusion proteins were shown to have much more reduced TNF inhibitory activity than concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins. Concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins showed higher affinity than simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins in a receptor inhibitor binding assay (RIBA). Additionally, concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were shown to have a progressive effect as a TNF inhibitor compared to the simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins and conventional TNFR-Fc in cytotoxicity assays, and showed the same results for collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in mice in vivo.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.69-78
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of enzymatically modified stevia (EMS) on C2C12 cell-based model of dexamethasone (DEX)-induced muscle atrophy to provide baseline data for utilizing EMS in functional health products. C2C12 cells with DEX-induced muscle atrophy were treated with EMS (10, 50, and 100 ㎍/mL) for 24 h. C2C12 cells were treated with EMS and DEX to test their effects on cell viability and myotube formation (myotube diameter and fusion index), and analyze the expression of muscle strengthening or degrading protein markers. Schisandra chinensis Extract, a common functional ingredient, was used as a positive control. EMS did not show any cytotoxic effect at all treatment concentrations. Moreover, it exerted protective effects on C2C12 cell-based model of DEX-induced muscle atrophy at all concentrations. In addition, the positive effect of EMS on myotube formation was confirmed based on the measurement and comparison of the fusion index and myotube diameter when compared with myotubes treated with DEX alone. EMS treatment reduced the expression of muscle cell degradation-related proteins Fbx32 and MuRF1, and increased the expression of muscle strengthening and synthesis related proteins SIRT1 and pAkt/Akt. Thus, EMS is a potential ingredient for developing functional health foods and should be further evaluated in preclinical models.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.30-34
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• 1992

In order to obtain acetaminophen, a popular analgesic-antipyretic, through microbial p-hydroxylation and N-acetylation of aniline, various fungi and bacteria were secreened. Among them, Streptomyces species were chosen for strain improvement by the use of interspecific protoplast fusion technique. Two interspecific fused strains were developed between S. rimosus (N-cetylation function) and S. aureofaciens (p-hydroxylation function) and also between S. lividans and S. globisporus. For efficient protoplast fusion and cell wall regeneration, various conditions were examined. In a typical experiment of mixed S rimosus ($pro^- \;his^-$) and S. aureofaciens ($ilv^-$) protoplasts with 40% (w/v) polythylene glycol 3350 (PEG) for 3 min gave $8.3\times10^{-7}$ of fusion frequency. Treatment of mixed S. lividans (pant-) and S. globisporus (leu-) protoplasts with 50% (w/v) PEG for 3 min at $30^\circ{C}$ gave $1.2\times10^{-6}$ of frequency. Among the fused strains, up to 40-50% increase in p-hydroxylation power was observed. To investigate the possibility of plasmid involvement in p-hydroxylation power was observed. To investigate the possibility of plasmid involvement in p-hydroxylation of acetanilide, plasmid curing was attempted. We found that cells treated with acriflavine (at the frequency of 100%) and cells regenerated from protoplsts of S. auroefaciens (2% frequency) lost their p-hydroxylation function.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.319-327
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• 2011

This study investigated whether the addition of porcine sperm cytosolic factor (SCF) at fusion/activation affects in vitro development of porcine parthenogenetic(PA) and nuclear transfer (NT) embryos. To determine the optimum concentration of SCF, control group of oocytes was activated with 0.3M mannitol (1.0 mM $CaCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$), other three groups of oocytes were parthenogentically activated with the fusion medium (0.1mM $CaCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$) supplemented with 100, 200 or 300 ${\mu}$g/ml SCF, respectively. Matured oocytes were activated with two electric pulses (DC) of 1.2 kv/cm for 30 ${\mu}$sec. The activated embryos were cultured in PZM-3 under 5% $CO_2$ in air at $38.5^{\circ}C$ for 6 days. Oocytes activated in the presence of SCF showed a significantly higher blastocyst rate than control (p<0.05). Apoptosis rate was significantly lower in 100 ${\mu}$g/ml SCF group than other groups (p<0.05). Cdc2 kinase activity in control and SCF treatment group of oocytes was determined using MESACUP cdc2 kinase assay kit at 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min after activation. Cdc2 kinase activity was significantly decreased (p<0.05) in SCF group than MII oocytes or control within 5 min. For NT embryo production, reconstructed oocytes were fused in the fusion medium supplemented with 0.1 mM $CaCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$ (T1), 1.0 mM $CaCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$ (T2) and 0.1 mM $CaCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$ with 100 ${\mu}$g/ml SCF (T3). Fused embryos were cultured in PZM-3 under 5% $CO_2$ in air at $38.5^{\circ}C$ for 6 days. Developmental rate to blastocyst stage was significantly higher in T3 than other groups (23.0% vs. 13.5 to 15.2%) (p<0.05). Apoptosis rate was significantly lower in T3 than T1 or T2 (p<0.05). The relative abundance of Bax-${\alpha}$/Bcl-xl was significantly lower in in vivo or SCF group than that of control (p<0.05). Moreover, the expression of p53 and caspase3 mRNA was significantly lower in in vivo or SCF group than that of control (p<0.05). These results indicate that the addition of SCF at fusion/activation might improve in vitro development of porcine NT embryos through regulating cdc2 kinase level and expression of apoptosis related genes.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1101-1106
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• 2009

Multivalent and multi-specific antibodies can provide valuable tools for bio-medical research, diagnosis and therapy. In antigen-antibody interactions, the avidity of antibodies depends on the affinity and the number of binding sites.$^1$ As artificial multivalent antibody agents, single chain Fv-streptavidin fusion tetramer proteins $(scFv-SA)_4$ have been previously tested.$^{1,\;2}$ Although, the Fab domain is known to be more stable than scFv in animal models,$^{3,\;4}$ it has never been used to make a multivalent agent with a streptavidin fusion. In this study, we prepared tetra-valent $(Fab-cSA)_4$ by fusing Fab with core streptavidin (cSA). This molecule was made using inclusion body production, refolding and chromatography purification. Affinities of the Fab-cSA tetramer and a scFv-cSA tetramer to a cell surface antigen were compared by ELISA using biotin-HRP. The Fab-cSA tetramer showed higher binding avidity than the scFv-cSA tetramer. The higher binding avidity of the Fab-cSA tetramer demonstrates its potential as a therapeutic agent for target-specific antibody therapy.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.510-514
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• 2011

Photodissociation dynamics of allyl alcohol ($H_2C$=CH-$CH_2OH$) has been investigated at 205 - 213 nm along the UV absorption band by measuring rotationally-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectra of OH radicals. Observed energy partitioning of the available energy among products at all photon energies investigated was similar and the barrier energy for OH production is about 574.7 kJ/mol from the OH yield measurements. The potential energy surfaces for the $S_0$, $T_1$, and $S_1$ excited states along the dissociation coordinate were obtained by ab initio quantum chemical calculations. The observed energy partitioning was successfully modeled by the "barrier-impulsive model" with the reverse barrier and the geometry obtained by the calculated potential energy surfaces. The dissociation takes place on the $T_1$ excited state potential energy surface with an energy barrier in the exit channel and a large portion of the photon energy is distributed in the internal degrees of freedom of the polyatomic products.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 1992

The protoplast formation of Rhizoctonia solani in the fast growing anastomosis groups (AGs) 1 and 4, the intermediate AG-2 and AG-5, and the slow AG-3 yielded the most, moderate and the least in that order, respectively. Sclerotia formation varied with AGs. A high yield of protoplasts from AGs was obtained with a combined lytic enzyme system containing cellulase 'Onozuka' R-10, macerozyme R-10 and ${\beta}-glucuronidase$. When 3g (fresh weight) of 30 hr old mycelia was incubated for 3 hr at $32^{\circ}C$ with the enzyme mixture in 0.6 M mannitol, maximum protoplasts were obtained in the five AGs. A protoplast fusion between sclerotia forming AG-1 inactivated with heat and non-forming AG-5 was induced by polyethylene glycol and ${Ca}^{2+}$. Seven fusants obtained were based on characteristics of colony and sclerotium formation on culture plates. The fusants were confirmed by isozyme patterns of esterase and killing reaction between AG-1 and a fusant F1501.