• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제25권1호
• /
• pp.131-137
• /
• 2008

Crk-associated substrate (CAS) is a focal adhesion protein that is involved in integrin signaling and cell migration. CAS deficiency reduces the migration and spreading of cells, both of which are processes mediated by Rac activation. We examined the functions of v-Crk, the oncogene product of the CT10 virus p47gag-crk, which affects cell migration and spreading, membrane ruffling, and Rac activation in CAS-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (CAS-/- MEFs). CAS-/- MEFs showed less spreading than did CAS+/+ MEFs, but spreading was recovered in mutant cells that expressed v-Crk (CAS-/-v-Crk MEF). We observed that the reduction in spreading was linked to the formation of membrane ruffles, which were accompanied by Rac activation. In CAS-/- MEFs, Rac activity was significantly reduced, and Rac was not localized to the membrane. In contrast, Rac was active and localized to the membrane in CAS-/-v-Crk MEFs. Lamellipodia protrusion and ruffle retraction velocities were both reduced in CAS-/- MEFs, but not in CAS-/-v-Crk MEFs. We also found that microinjection of anti-gag antibodies inhibited the migration of CAS-/-v-Crk MEFs. These findings indicate that v-Crk controls cell migration and membrane dynamics by activating Rac in CAS-deficient MEFs.

• 한국약용작물학회지
• /
• 제10권4호
• /
• pp.237-242
• /
• 2002

It was found that the purified extract from A. gigas Nakai (polysaccharide, M.W., 25 kD) controled differentiating human ES cells. Its optimal supplementation concentration was decided as 0.8 $({\mu}g/ml)$ to efficiently control the differentiation. It also enhanced the cell growth, compared to the control. However, most widely used and commercially available differentiating agent, Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) negatively affected on the cell growth even though it controls the differentiation of ES cells, down to 40-50 % based on morphological observation and telomerase activity. It was presumed that the extract first affected on cell membrane and resulted in controlling signal system, then amplify gene expression of telomere, which enhanced the telomerase activity up to three times compared to the control. LIF only increased the enzyme activity up to two times. It was confirmed that the extract from A. gigas Nakai could be used for substituting currently used differentiation controlling agent, LIF from animal resources as a cheap plant resource and not affecting the cell growth. It can broaden the application of the plants not only to functional foods and their substitutes but also to fine chemicals and most cutting-edge biopharmaceutical medicine.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• 제9권4호
• /
• pp.161-172
• /
• 2011

Angiogenesis is regulated by a large number of molecules and complex signaling mechanisms. The G protein $G{\alpha}_{13}$ is a part of this signaling mechanism as an endothelial cell movement regulator. Gene expression analysis of $G{\alpha}_{13}$ knockout mouse embryos was carried out to identify the role of $G{\alpha}_{13}$ in angiogenesis signaling during embryonic development. Hypoxia-inducible response factors including those acting as regulators of angiogenesis were over expressed, while genes related to the cell cycle, DNA replication, protein modification and cell-cell dissociation were under expressed. Functional annotation and network analysis indicate that $G{\alpha}_{13}{^{-/-}}$ embryonic mice were exposed to hypoxic conditions. The present analysis of the time course highlighted the significantly high levels of disorder in the development of the cardiovascular system. The data suggested that hypoxia-inducible factors including those associated with angiogenesis and abnormalities related to endothelial cell division contributed to the developmental failure of $G{\alpha}_{13}$ knockout mouse embryos.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• 제35권4호
• /
• pp.343-351
• /
• 2019

Many in vitro developmental toxicity assays have been proposed over several decades. Since the late 1980s, we have made intermittent attempts to introduce in vitro assays as screening tests for developmental toxicity of inhouse candidate products. Two cell-based assays which were developed two decades apart were intensively studied. One was an assay of inhibitory effects on mouse ascites tumor cell attachment to a concanavalin A-coated plastic sheet surface (MOT assay), which we studied in the early days of assay development. The other was an assay of inhibitory effects on the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cell to beating heart cells (EST assay), which we assessed more recently. We evaluated the suitability of the assays for screening in-house candidates. The concordance rates with in vivo developmental toxicity were at the 60% level. The EST assay classified chemicals that inhibited cell proliferation as embryo-toxic. Both assays had a significant false positive rate. The assays were generally considered unsuitable for screening the developmental toxicity of our candidate compounds. Recent test systems adopt advanced technologies. Despite such evolution of materials and methods, the concordance rates of the EST and MOT systems were similar. This may suggest that the fundamental predictivity of in vitro developmental toxicity assays has remained basically unchanged for decades. To improve their predictivity, in vitro developmental toxicity assays should be strictly based on elucidated pathogenetic mechanisms of developmental toxicity.

• 한국수정란이식학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국수정란이식학회 2006년도 The 6th Intermational Symposium on Developmental Biotechnology
• /
• pp.47-48
• /
• 2006

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
• /
• 제15권1호
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 2011

In the present study, embryoid bodies (EBs) obtained from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were induced to differentiate into germ lineage cells by treatment with bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) and retinoic acid (RA). The results were compared to the results for embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and multipotent spermatogonial stem cells (mSSCs) and quantified using immunocytochemical analysis of germ cell-specific markers (integrin-${\alpha}6$, GFR-${\alpha}1$, CD90/Thy1), fluorescence activating cell sorting (FACS), and real time-RT-PCR. We show that the highest levels of germ cell marker-expressing cells were obtained from groups treated with 10 ng/$m{\ell}$ BMP4 or 0.01 ${\mu}M$ RA. In the BMP4-treated group, GFR-${\alpha}1$ and CD90/Thy-1 were highly expressed in the EBs of iPSCs and ESCs compared to EBs of mSSCs. The expression of Nanog was much lower in iPSCs compared to ESCs and mSSCs. In the RA treated group, the level of GFR-${\alpha}1$ and CD90/Thy-1 expression in the EBs of mSSCs Induced pluripotent stem cells, Mouse embryonic stem cells, Multipotent spermatogonial stem cells, Germ cell lineage, Differentiation potential. was much higher than the levels found in the EBs of iPSCs and similar to the levels found in the EBs of ESCs. FACS analysis using integrin-${\alpha}6$, GFR-${\alpha}1$, CD90/Thy1 and immunocytochemistry using GFR-${\alpha}1$ antibody showed similar gene expression results. Therefore our results show that iPSC has the potential to differentiate into germ cells and suggest that a protocol optimizing germ cell induction from iPSC should be developed because of their potential usefulness in clinical applications requiring patient-specific cells.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• 제31권3호
• /
• pp.215-220
• /
• 2007

본 연구는 소 배반포의 내부 세포괴로부터 다능성(pluripotency)을 지닌 배아 줄기 세포(embryonic stem cell) 또는 그 유사 세포를 분리 및 배양함으로써 줄기 세포 관련 분야의 기반 기술을 확립하고자 하였다. 소 체외수정란을 $10{\sim}12$일간 체외배양하여 생산된 부화 배반포를 세포분열이 불활성화된 생쥐 태아 섬유아 세포(mouse embryonic fibroblast, MEF) 위에서 배양하여 콜로니 형성을 유도하였으며, 이들로부터 내부 세포괴 유래의 형태를 지닌 것만을 광학현미경 하에서 물리적으로 분리하여 약 $5{\sim}7$일 간격으로 계대배양을 실시하였다. 이러한 방법을 통하여 배아 줄기 유사 세포의 특성을 40계대 이상 유지하는 2개의 세포주를 확립하였다. 각각의 세포주들은 높은 alkaline phosphatase(AP) 활성을 지니고 있었으며, 형광 면역 염색법과 PCR 기법을 사용하여 Oct-4, Nanog, STAT3, SSEA3 및 SSEA4의 발현을 관찰할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과를 종합하여 볼 때, 본 연구에서는 소 배반포로부터 배아 줄기 세포주를 확립하는 제반 기술이 확립되었다고 판단되며, 향후 관련 분야 연구에 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

• 한국수정란이식학회지
• /
• 제25권2호
• /
• pp.103-110
• /
• 2010

The first morphogenetic event of preimplantation development, compaction, was required efficient production of porcine embryos in vitro. Compaction of the porcine embryo, which takes place at post 4-cell stage, is dependent upon the adhesion molecule E-cadherin. The E-cadherin through ${\beta}$-catenin contributes to stable cell-cell adhesion. Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) signaling was found to support the integrity of E-cadherin based cell contacts. In this study, we traced the effects of ROCK-1 on early embryonic development and structural integrity of blastocysts in pigs. Then, in order to gain new insights into the process of compaction, we also examined whether ROCK-1 signaling is involved in the regulation of the compaction mediated by E-cadherin of cellular adhesion molecules. As a result, real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of ROCK-1 mRNA was presented throughout porcine preimplantation stages, but not expressed as consistent levels. Thus, we investigated the blastocyst formation of porcine embryos treated with LPA and Y27632. Blastocysts formation and their qualities in LPA treated group increased significantly compared to those in the Y27632-treated group (p < 0.05). Then, to determine whether ROCK-1 associates embryonic compaction, we explored the effect of activator and/or inhibitor of ROCK-1 on compaction of embryos in pigs. The rate of compacted morula in LPA treated group was increased compared to that in the Y27632-treated group (39.7 vs 12.0%). Furthermore, we investigated the localization and expression pattern of E-cadherin at 4-cell stage porcine embryos in both LPA- and Y27632-treated groups by immunocytochemical analysis and Western blot analysis. The expression of E-cadherin was increased in LPA-treated group compared to that in the Y27632-treated group. The localization of E-cadherin in LPA-treated group was enriched in part of blastomere contacts compared to that Y27632-treated group. ROCK-1 as a crucial mediator of embryo compaction may plays an important role in regulating compaction through E-cadherin of the cell adhesion during the porcine preimplantation embryo. We concluded that ROCK-1 gene may affect the developmental potential of porcine blastocysts through regulating embryonic compaction.

• 한국발생생물학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국발생생물학회 2005년도 제5회 발생공학 국제심포지엄 및 학술대회
• /
• pp.55-56
• /
• 2005

• 한국동물번식학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국동물번식학회 2002년도 춘계학술발표대회 발표논문초록집
• /
• pp.85-85
• /
• 2002

As an effort to direct differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hES, MB03) to dopamine-producing neuronal cells, we expressed Nurr-l in hES and examined the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) after bFGF induction. To introduce Nurr-l, hES cells were maintained in humidified chamber with 5% CO₂ and 95% air in DMEM/Fl2 supplemented with FBS (10%), penicillin (100U/㎖), and streptomycin (100㎍/㎖). (omitted)