• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.583-589
• /
• 2007

The promoter region of pyrC (dihydroorotase) gene of Escherichia coli was shown to have Fur protein binding properties by gel retardation assay. In vivo regulation of the pyrC expression was studied by measuring dihydroorotase activity and ${\beta}$-galactosidase level in the $fur^+$ and $fur^-$ genetic background. The expression of chromosomal dihydroorotase activity and ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity of pyrC-lacZ fusion plasmid was repressed to about 30% and 17%, respectively in the $fur^+$ strain compared to those in the $fur^-$ strain. Divalent ions such as $Fe^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ were not required for the repression. PyrC expression was also reduced to one half by 1 mM uracil. The effect of uracil was independent on the fur gene.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.57-60
• /
• 2019

Axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT2) has most frequently been associated with mutations in the MFN2 gene. MFN2 encodes mitofusin 2, which is a mitochondrial fusion protein that plays an essential role in mitochondrial function. We report CMT2 in a Korean father and his son that manifested with gait difficulties and progressive atrophy of the lower legs. Molecular analysis revealed a novel heterozygous c.2096T>C (p.Leu699Pro) mutation in the exon 18 of MFN2 in both subjects. We suggest that this novel mutation in MFN2 is probably a pathogenic mutation for CMT2.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.225-230
• /
• 2010

In order to treat soil contaminated with high percentages of water and petroleum, the combined microwave and thermal desorption process was studied, which was composed of the consecutive connection of two pre-treatment processes. For the thickness of the contaminated soil layer on the transfer conveyor belt, the optimal total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal rate was studied with respect to the duration of microwave exposure in the consecutive process combined with thermal desorption. The TPH removal rate when the contaminated soil layer thickness was 1 cm at 6 kW of microwave power was 80%. The removals rates for 2 and 3 cm soil layer thicknesses were both 70%. Under identical experimental conditions, the TPH removal rate for the microwave pre-treatment, when considering the soil particle size, was over 70%. The lowest TPH removal rate was achieved with a particle diameter of 2.35 mm. For contaminated soil with 30% water content, 6 kW and a thermal desorption temperature of $600^{\circ}C$ were the optimal operational conditions for the removal of THP. However, considering the fuel consumption cost, 4 kW and a thermal desorption temperature of $300^{\circ}C$ would be the most economic conditions.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.152-156
• /
• 2021

Diplopia is a rare complication of spine surgery. The abducens nerve is one of the cranial nerves most commonly related to diplopia caused by traction injury. We report a case of a 71-year-old woman who presented with diplopia developing from abducens nerve palsy after C1-C2 fixation and fusion due to atlantoaxial subluxation with cord compression. As soon as we discovered the symptoms, we suspected excessive traction by the instrument and subsequently performed reoperation. Subsequently, the patient's symptoms improved. In other reported cases we reviewed, most were transient. However, we thought that our rapid response also helped the patient's fast recovery in this case. The mechanisms by which postoperative diplopia develops vary and, thus, remain unclear. We should pay attention to the fact that the condition is sometimes an indicator of an underlying, life-threatening condition. Therefore, all patients with postoperative diplopia should undergo thorough ophthalmological and neurological evaluations as well as careful observation by a multidisciplinary team.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.195-199
• /
• 1996

We have cloned several E. coli sfs genes which stimulate mal gene expression with $crp^{{\ast}1}$). One the genes (pPVC2) was sequenced and potential CRP binding site is located in the upstream of the putative promoter in the regulatory region. In order to investigate the regulation of the sfs1 gene by the cAMP-CRP complex, we have constructed the sfs-lacZ fusion gene in this research. The overall transcriptional stimulations of sfs1 gene in the presence cAMP were confirmed by ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activity and Western blot analysis of sfs1-lacZ fusion gene. Transcriptional regulation by cAMP-CRP was also confirmed by Northern blot analysis. End-labelled DNA of the DNA fragment in sfs1 regulation region were used for gel retardation assay to examine the CRP-DNA complex in the presence of cAMP. Results here indicate that CRP binding site in the regulatory region of sfs1 gene is positive regulator for the expression of sfs1 gene.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.741-748
• /
• 2004

The hepatitis C virus is associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinomas. Among the 10 polyproteins produced by the virus, no function has been clearly assigned to the non-structural 5A (NS5A) protein. This study was designed to identify the hepatocellular proteins that interact with NS5A of the HCV. Yeast two-hybrid experiments were performed with a human liver cDNA prey-library, using five different NS5A derivatives as baits, the full-length NS5A (NS5A-F, amino acid (aa) 1~447) and its four different derivatives, denoted as NS5A-A (aa 1~150), -B (aa 1~300), -C (aa 300~447) and D (aa 150~447). NS5A-F, NS5A-B and NS5A-C gave two, two and 10 candidate clones, respectively, including an AHNAK-related protein, the secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4), the N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1), the cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1 (CRABP-1), ferritin heavy chain (FTH1), translokin, tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2 (TACSTD2), phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI4K) and $centaurin{\delta}$ 2 ($CENT{\delta}2$). However, NS5A-A produced no candidates and NS5A-D was not suitable as bait due to transcriptional activity. Based on an in vitro binding assay, CRABP-1, PI4K, $CENT{\delta}2$ and two unknown fusion proteins with maltose binding protein (MBP), were confirmed to interact with the glutathione S-transferase (GST)/NS5A fusion protein. Furthermore, the interactions of CRABP-1, PI4K and $CENT{\delta}2$ were not related to the PXXP motif (class II), as judged by a domain analysis. While their biological relevance is under investigation, the results contribute to a better understanding of the possible role of NS5A in hepatocellular signaling pathways.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.147-160
• /
• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a high concentration of uremic toxins in their blood and often experience muscle atrophy. Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is a uremic toxin produced by tryptophan metabolism. Although an elevated IS level may induce muscle dysfunction, the effect of IS on physiological concentration has not been elucidated. Additionally, the effects of ursolic acid (UA) on muscle hypertrophy have been reported in healthy models; however, it is unclear whether UA ameliorates muscle dysfunction associated with chronic diseases, such as CKD. Thus, this study aimed to investigate whether UA can improve the IS-induced impairment of mitochondrial biogenesis. MATERIALS/METHODS: C2C12 cells were incubated with or without IS (0.1 mM) and UA (1 or 2 μM) to elucidate the physiological effect of UA on CKD-related mitochondrial dysfunction and its related mechanisms using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: IS suppressed the expression of differentiation marker genes without decreasing cell viability. IS decreased the mitochondrial DNA copy number and ATP levels by downregulating the genes pertaining to mitochondrial biogenesis (Ppargc1a, Nrf1, Tfam, Sirt1, and Mef2c), fusion (Mfn1 and Mfn2), oxidative phosphorylation (Cycs and Atp5b), and fatty acid oxidation (Pdk4, Acadm, Cpt1b, and Cd36). Furthermore, IS increased the intracellular mRNA and secretory protein levels of interleukin (IL)-6. Finally, UA ameliorated the IS-induced impairment in C2C12 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that UA improves the IS-induced impairment of mitochondrial biogenesis by affecting differentiation, ATP levels, and IL-6 secretion in C2C12 cells. Therefore, UA could be a novel therapeutic agent for CKD-induced muscle dysfunction.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.191-199
• /
• 2004

This study was conducted to examine in vitro development of porcine embryos constructed by the microinjection of cultured fetal fibroblast cells into porcine oocytes matured in vitro. Single fetal donor cells were deposited into the perivitelline space of enucleated oocytes, followed by electrical fusion and activation. Activated embryos were cultured in NCSU-23 medium supplemented with 5％ FBS, at 38.5$^{\circ}C$ for 6 to 8 days in 5％ $CO_2$ and air. In experiment 1, fusion rates of nuclear transfer embryos did not differ for fetal fibroblast cells incubated in 5％ FBS + NCSU-23 or 5％ FBS + TL Heaps medium, nor did fusion rates of donor cells differ between 1-8 hr incubation durations. Fusion rates for the four treatment subclasses ranged from 72.1％ to 78.0％. In experiment 2, Pre-synchronization in medium containing 0.1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m Hoechst 33342 an increase from 0 and 8 versus 15 h culture an increased percentage of porcine fibroblast cells in G2/M at the end of the synchronization period (12.4％, 17.5％ and 47.6％). Neither an increase in the concentration of H 33342 (0.2-1.6 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$) nor a longer exposure time (12h, 18h and 24h) increased the proportion of porcine G2/M fibroblasts. In experiment 3, fusion rates did not differ significantly far nuclear transfer embryos constructed using donor cells cultured in 5％ FBS + NCSU-23 medium for 1-2, 6-8 or 12-14 days (60.0％, 73.3％ and 62.5％), respectively. The cleavage rate for nuclear transplant embryos using fetal fibroblast cells cultured for 1-2 days was 44.0％, significantly less than 56.7％ and 50.0％. for 6-8 or 12-14 days duration of culture, respectively. In experiment 4, the proportions of nuclear transfer embryos that developed to the $\geq$2 cell and to the blastocyst stage were not affected significantly by culture medium (5％ FBS + NCSU-23 or 5％ FBS + TL-Heaps) or by $O_2$ concentration of the culture (5％ vs 10％). Rates of development to the $\geq$2 cell stage ranged from 65.9％ to 70.1％, and development rates to the blastocyst stage ranged from 9.8％ to 12.5％ for the four treatment subclasses. Developmental rate was highest for embryos cultured in 5％ FBS + NCSU-23 under a gas atmosphere of 5％ $O_2$ in air.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.293-299
• /
• 2007

Objective : Thoracoscopic spinal surgery provides minimally invasive approaches for effective vertebral decompression and reconstruction of the thoracic and thoracolumbar spine, while surgery related morbidity can be significantly lowered. This study analyzes clinical results of thoracoscopic spinal surgery performed at our institute. Methods : Twenty consecutive patients underwent video-assisted thoracosopic surgery (VATS) to treat various thoracic and thoracolumbar pathologies from April 2000 to July 2006. The lesions consisted of spinal trauma (13 cases), thoracic disc herniation (4 cases), tuberculous spondylitis (1 case), post-operative thoracolumbar kyphosis (1 case) and thoracic tumor (1 case). The level of operation included upper thoracic lesions (3 cases), midthoracic lesions (6 cases) and thoracolumbar lesions (11 cases). We classified the procedure into three groups: stand-alone thoracoscopic discectomy (3 cases), thoracoscopic fusion (11 cases) and video assisted mini-thoracotomy (6 cases). Results : Analysis on the Frankel performance scale in spinal trauma patients (13 cases), showed a total of 7 patients who had neurological impairment preoperatively : Grade D (2 cases), Grade C (2 cases), Grade B (1 case), and Grade A (2 cases). Four patients were neurologically improved postoperatively, two patients were improved from C to E, one improved from grade D to E and one improved from grade B to grade D. The preoperative Cobb's and kyphotic angle were measured in spinal trauma patients and were $18.9{\pm}4.4^{\circ}$ and $18.8{\pm}4.6^{\circ}$, respectively. Postoperatively, the angles showed statistically significant improvement, $15.1{\pm}3.7^{\circ}$ and $11.3{\pm}2.4^{\circ}$, respectively(P<0.001). Conclusion : Although VATS requires a steep learning curve, it is an effective and minimally invasive procedure which provides biomechanical stability in terms of anterior column decompression and reconstruction for anterior load bearing, and preservation of intercostal muscles and diaphragm.

• International Journal of Korean Welding Society
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.21-24
• /
• 2002

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the formation mechanisms of imperfections such as irregular humps, outer cavity and inner cavity in the laser fusion zone of diamond saw blade. Laser beam welding was conducted to join two parts of blade; mild steel shank and Fe-Co-Ni sintered tip. The variables were beam power and travel speed. The microstructure and elements distributions of specimens were analyzed with SEM, AES, EPMA and so on. It was found that these imperfections were responded to heat input. Irregular humps were reduced in 10.4∼l7.6kJ/m heat input range. However there were no clear evidences, which could explain the relations between humps formation and heat input. The number of outer cavity and inner cavity decreased as heat input was increased. Considering both possible defects formations mechanisms, it could be thought that outer cavity was caused by insufficient refill of keyhole, which was from rapid solidification of molten metal and fast molten metal flow to the rear keyhole wall at low heat input. More inner cavities were found near the interface of the fusion zone and sintered segment and in the bottom of the fusion zone. Inner cavity was mainly formed in the upper fusion zone at high heat input whereas was in the bottom at low heat input. Inner cavity was from trapping of coarsened preexist pores in the sintered tip and metal vapor due to rapid solidification of molten metal before the bubbles escaped.