• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.448-450
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• 2002

DNA samples extracted from Japanese cypress leaf tissues contain isopropyl alcohol-precipitable, high molecular weight compounds, which interfere ELISA for cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD). Removal of the compounds is achieved by DEAE ion-exchange column chromatography and improves the ELISA responses of the DNA. When extracting DNA repeatedly from the same leaf tissues, the DNA samples show CPD responses which increase with the order in sequential extraction, and hence for a reliable detennination of DNA lesion a thorough extraction of DNA is required. Clearing these two problems it was demonstrated that CPD level was slightly higher in the leaves of trees growing under full sunlight than in those growing under UBV -cut sunlight.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.879-881
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• 2008

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.162-165
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• 2002

Rice is widely cultivated in various regions throughout Asia. Over a five-year period, we investigated the effects of supplemental UVB radiation on the growth and yield of Japanese rice cultivars in the field. The findings of that study indicated that supplemental UVB radiation has inhibitory effects on the growth and grain development. Furthermore, we investigated the sensitivity to UVB radiation of rice cultivars of 5 Asian rice ecotypes, and found that rice cultivars vary widely in UVB sensitivity. The aim of our study is improving UVB resistance in plants by bioengineering or breeding programs. In order to make it, there is need to find the molecular origin of the sensitivity to UVB. Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) is major UV-induced DNA lesions. Plants possess two mechanisms to cope with such DNA damage. The first is the accumulation of UV-absorbing compounds. Our previous data showed that the steady-state CPD levels in leaves of rice grown under chronic radiation in any culture were not so greatly influenced by the increased UV-absorbing compounds content, although there was a significant positive correlation between the CPD levels induced by challenge UVB exposure and the UV-absorbing compounds content. The other is the repair of DNA damage. Photorepair is the major pathway in plants for repairing CPD. We found that the sensitivity to UVB could seriously correlate with the low ability in CPD photorepair in rice plants. These results suggest that photo lyase might be an excellent candidate for restoration by way of selective breeding or engineering in rice.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.29-34
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• 2004

Reduction in stratospheric ozone layer increases the amount of ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB: 280-320 nm) that reaches the earth ’ s surface. UVB radiationcan damage plants, resulting in decrease in growth and productivity. UVB-augmentation studies have indicated that the sensitivity to UVB radiation in plants varies among the species and cultivars. However. there are no definitive answers for the mechanisms of UVB-resistance in higher plants and for bioengineering design and development of UVB-tolerant plants. We have been studying physiological and biochemical aspects of the effects of UVB radiation on growth and yield of rice COryza sativa LJ. aiming to clarify the mechanism of resistance to UVB radiationin rice. At this meeting. weintroduce our research as followed: (1) supplementary UVB radiation has inhibitory effects on the growth. yield and grain development of rice; (2) UVB sensitivity of rice varies widely among cultivars; (3) among Japanese rice cultivars. Sasanishiki. a leading variety in northeast Japan. is more resistant to UVB. while Norin 1. a progenitor of Sasanishiki. is less resistant; (4)UV-sensitive Norin 1 cultivar is deficient in photorepair of UVB-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD). and this deficiency results from one amino acid residue alteration of CPD photolyase. These results suggest that spontaneously occurring mutation in CPD photolyase gene could lead to difference in UVB sensitivity in rice. and that CPD photolyase might be a useful target for improving UVB-sensitivity in rice by selective breeding or bioengineering of UVB-tolerant rice.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.329-331
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• 2002

There is a difference in the inhibitory effects to supplemental UVB (wavelengths 280 to 320 nm) among Japanese rice (Oryza sativa L.), the cultivar Norin I is less resistant while the cultivar Sasanishiki is resistant. UVB induces photodamage in DNA. Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) is a major UV-induced DNA lesion. Photorepair, which is mediated by photolyase, is the major pathway in plants for repairing CPD. We have analyzed CPD induction and repair in Sasanishiki and its close relative Norin I using alkaline agarose gel electrophoresis. Norin I is deficient in CPD photoreactivation and excision, thus UV sensitivity correlates with deficient dimer repair [I]. The photorepair deficiency in Norin I results from a functionally altered photolyase with a photoflash analysis [2]. In this paper, we examined the UVB-sensitivity of several other UV-sensitive and -resistant cultivars and found that the CPD photolyase activity was deficient in UV-sensitive ones. It was also evident that there was a variation in the deduced amino acid sequences of CPD photolyases of the UV-sensitive and -resistant cultivars, whereas each deduced amino acid sequence of the UV-sensitive cultivars and of the UV-resistant ones was the same. These results suggest that the difference in the CPD photolyases of UV-sensitive and -resistant rice might be due to the structural alteration of CPD photolyase.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1731-1732
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• 2006

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.479-481
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• 2002

UV-induced DNA damage causes cell killing and mutations leading to carcinogenesis. In normal human cells, UV damage such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and primidine-prymidone (6-4) photoproducts are mainly repaired by nucleotide excision repair mechanism. The molecular processes have been well characterized recently. To know the influence of mitochondrial genome on the nucleotide excision repair mechanism against CPDs, we comparatively examined the production of CPDs by UVC irradiation and their repair kinetics in human cells completely lacking mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the parental HeLa S cells. Whole DNA extracted from the cells exposed to UVC was treated with T4-endonuclease V to break the phosphodiester bond adjacent to CPDs. The DNA was electrophoresed in a denaturing agarose gel, which was visualized by ethidium bromide staining. The relative amount of CPDs was determined by image analysis using NIH Image software. MtDNA- less (rho-O) cells were apparently more sensitive to UVC than HeLa S cells, while the level of induction of CPDs in rho-O and HeLa cells was comparable. The repair of CPDs was less efficient in rho-O cells compared with HeLa cells. The residual amount of CPDs after 24-h repair was larger in rho-O cells than in HeLa cells where more than 90 % of CPDs were repaired by then. The non-repaired CPDs would lead to apoptosis in rho-O cells. These results suggest that mitochondrial genome may contribute to some ATP-dependent steps in nucletide excision repair by supplying sufficient ATP which is generated through a respiratory chain in mitochondria.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.186-189
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• 2002

Many of the adverse effects of solar UV exposure appear to be directly attributable to damage to epidermal DNA. In particular, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) may initiate mutagenic changes as well as induce signal transduction responses that lead to a loss of skin immune surveillance and micro-destruction of skin structure. Our approach is to reverse the DNA damage using prokaryotic DNA repair enzymes delivered into skin using specially engineered liposomes. T4 endonuclease V encapsulated in liposomes (T4N5 liposome lotion) enhanced DNA repair by shifting repair of CPD from the nucleotide excision to the base excision repair pathway. Following topical application to humans, increased repair limited UV-induction of cytokines, many of which are immunosuppressive. In a recent clinical study, topical treatment of UV-irradiated human skin with T4N5 liposome lotion reduced the suppression of the nickel sulfate contact hypersensitivity response. Similarly, the photoreactivating enzyme enhances repair by directly reversing CPDs after absorbing activating light. Here also treatment of UV-irradiated human skin with photoreactivating enzyme in liposomes and photoreactivating light restored the response to the contact allergen nickel sulfate. These findings confirm in humans the observation in mice that UV induced suppression of contact hypersensitivity is caused in part by CPDs. We have tested the ability of T4N5 liposome lotion to prevent UV-induced skin cancer in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), who have an elevated incidence of skin cancer resulting from a genetic defect in DNA repair. Daily use of the lotion for one year in a group of 20 XP patients reduced the average number of actinic keratoses by 68% and basal cell cancers by 30% compared to 9 patients in the placebo control group. Delivery of DNA repair enzymes to skin is a promising new approach to photoprotection.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2014

We investigated the effects of extracts from Rubus coreanus (RC) and Artemisia princeps var. orientalis (AP) on DNA damage response in ultraviolet B (UVB)-exposed HaCaT cells. Cell activity upon treatment for 24 h with RC or AP alone was similar to or greater than that of the nontreated control. When UVB-exposed cells were postincubated for 24 h in medium containing RC or AP, cell activity increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Nuclear fragmentation analysis showed that postincubation with RC or AP decreased UVB-induced apoptosis by about 20% and 15%, respectively, of that in cells postincubated with growth medium. When UVB-exposed cells were postincubated for 24 h in medium containing RC or AP, the level of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer decreased in a concentration- dependent manner. Western blot analysis showed that treatment of cells not exposed to UVB with RC or AP alone did not significantly change the levels of phospho-p53 and GADD45 protein. Interestingly, when UVB-exposed cells were postincubated for 24 h in medium containing RC or AP, phospho-p53 and GADD45 levels decreased in a concentration dependent manner. Our results suggest that RC and AP extract assist the survival of UVB-exposed cells in parallel with a decrease in levels of UVB-induced DNA damage and damage-response proteins, such as p53 and GADD45.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.182-185
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• 2002

There are 3 UV DNA repair endonuclease activities in mammalian cells that cleave UV -irradiated DNA. Interestingly, mammalian UV endonuclease III with MW of 26.7kD has a lyase activity on AP sites. It also cleaves the phosphodiester bond within a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer. Genomic analysis of human repair endonuclease III gene revealed that this gene has 100% sequence identity with ribosomal protein S3 (rpS3). Therefore, rpS3 seems to function both in translation and in DNA repair. This gene of about 6.1 kb contains 6 introns and 7 exons, and the first and fifth introns of human rpS3 gene contain functional U15 small nucleolar (sno) RNAs which appear to be involved in ribosome assembly. It is to be noted that the column profile of the endonuclease activity of rpS3 appears to be altered in Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) group D cells compared to normal cells indicating that this protein is involved in XP disease as well. XP is a human disease characterized by high sensitivity of skin by UV- or sun-light irradiation and by high frequency of developing skin cancers. We also report here that rpS3 protein is involved in other cellular functions.