• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.430-437
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• 2012

Purpose: Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA; Morquio A syndrome) is rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS) deficiency. Only a few MPS IVA cases have been reported in the Korean literature; there is a paucity of research about clinical or radiologic findings for this disorder. Therefore, we studied clinical findings, radiological features, and genetic data of Korean MPS IVA patients for determining factors that may allow early diagnosis and that may thus improve the patients' quality of life. Method: MPS IVA was confirmed via assay for enzymatic activity of leukocytes in 10 patients. The GALNS gene was analyzed. Patients' charts were retrospectively reviewed for obtaining clinical features and evaluated for radiological skeletal surveys, echocardiography, pulmonary function test, and ophthalmologic test results. Result: Nine patients had severe clinical phenotype, and 1 had an intermediate phenotype, on the basis of clinical phenotype criteria. Radiologic findings indicated skeletal abnormalities in all patients, especially in the hips and extremities. Eight patients had an odontoid hypoplasia, and 1 showed mild atlantoaxial subluxation and cord myelopathy. Genetic analysis indicated 10 different GALNS mutations. Two mutations, c.451C>A and c.1000C>T, account for 37.5% (6/16) and 25% (4/16) of all mutations in this samples, respectively. Conclusion: An understanding of the clinical and radiological features involved in MPS IVA may allow early diagnosis of MPS IVA. Adequate evaluations and therapy in the early stages may improve the quality of life of patients suffering from skeletal abnormalities and may reduce life-threatening effects of atlantoaxial subluxation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.689-698
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• 2013

The production and characterization of an active recombinant N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS) in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) has been previously reported. In this study, the effect of the signal peptide (SP), inducer concentration, process scale, and operational mode (batch and semi-continuous) on GALNS production were evaluated. When native SP was presented, higher enzyme activity levels were observed in both soluble and inclusion bodies fractions, and its removal had a significant impact on enzyme activation. At shake scale, the optimal IPTG concentrations were 0.5 and 1.5 mM for the strains with and without SP, respectively, whereas at bench scale, the highest enzyme activities were observed with 1.5 mM IPTG for both strains. Noteworthy, enzyme activity in the culture media was only detected when SP was presented and the culture was carried out under semi-continuous mode. We showed for the first time that the mechanism that in prokaryotes recognizes the SP to mediate sulfatase activation can also recognize a eukaryotic SP, favoring the activation of the enzyme, and could also favor the secretion of the recombinant protein. These results offer significant information for scaling-up the production of human sulfatases in E. coli.

• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2017

Purpose: Mucopolysaccharidosis IV (MPS IV) is a disease characterized by deficient activity of N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS) causing excessive lysosomal storage of keratan sulfate (KS). The identification of the relevant disaccharide units of KS after keratanase II digestion followed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry detection (LC-MS/MS) is validated and applicable for the preliminary diagnosis of MPS IV. Methods: A total of 67 urine samples were collected and analyzed from 11 MPS IV patients comprising 10 MPS IVA and one MPS IVB patients, and 56 normal controls. Urinary glycosaminoglycan was first precipitated by the Alcian blue method followed by a digestion of keratanase II. The protonated species of the digested disaccharide products were detected by using multiple reaction monitoring experiment. Results: One particular disaccharide of KS was selected. The transition mass-to-charge (m/z) of the parent ion and its daughter ion after collision was $462.0{\rightarrow}97.0$, whereas the chondrosine used as an internal standard in this assay was m/z $353.9{\rightarrow}73.0$. The results corresponded well with the two-dimensional electrophoresis method. The quantities of urinary KS were significantly raised in confirmed MPS IV patients when comparing with those of normal controls ($170.2{\pm}81.1$ vs. $4.06{\pm}1.92{\mu}g/mL$). Conclusion: The LC-MS/MS method for MPS IVA determination is specific, sensitive, validated, and applicable for urinary KS quantification. This method can be used not only as a first-line biochemistry examination of MPS IVA, but also as an outcome survey after enzyme replacement therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-29
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• 1992

The major purpose of this paper is to examine two closely related issues. An attempt is made here to examine internationally high land price in Korea from the perspectives of market fundamentals (MF) and bubble theory, respectively. Another theoretical issue, whether land speculation can result in market failure, is also examined. It has been concluded that the primary causes for the rapid increases in land prices in Korea, could be found in the perspective of MF. (1) The financial intermediaries has been controlled by the government since 1960s. Real Interest rates in the commercial banks has been controlled at the level of zero or sometimes negative; scarce financial resources has been rationed by the government. The governmental control of the bands has also resirained the development of securities market. Money, which can not find the appropri opportunity for saving in financial market, moves to land market. (2) Socially created land value, based on rapid economic gorwth and big public investment, has been appropriated mainly by the private: The effective tax rate of land holding tax has been under 0.02 percent; Real Estate Capital Galns Tax has, in fact, affected few persons, mainly because examptions and preferential taxation have been widely permitted. (3) The government has ploaced severe limitations on rural-to-urban land conversion, although the demand for urban uses has repidly grown. All factors above caused the cyclical land speculation. This, in turn, created the myth that land prices will inevitably continue to rise. Based on the myth, the growing bubble in land price has been created. This is the secondary reason for high land price relative to income in Korea. It is also shown that it is possible that speculation in land results in market failure because land is fixed in quantity and can be used for production and speculation purposes simultaneously.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.293-305
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• 2020

The difference in the breeding programs and population history may have diversely shaped the genomes of Korean native cattle breeds. In the absence of phenotypic data, comparisons of breeds that have been subjected to different selective pressures can aid to identify genomic regions and genes controlling qualitative and complex traits. In this study to decipher genetic variation and identify evidence of divergent selection, 3 Korean cattle breeds were genotyped using the recently developed high-density GeneSeek Genomic Profiler F250 (GGP-F250) array. The three Korean cattle breeds clustered according to their coat color phenotypes and breeding programs. The Heugu breed reliably showed smaller effective population size at all generations considered. Across the autosomal chromosomes, 113 and 83 annotated genes were identified from Hanwoo-Chikso and Hanwoo-Heugu comparisons, respectively of which 16 genes were shared between the two pairwise comparisons. The most important signals of selection were detected on bovine chromosomes 14 (24.39-25.13 Mb) and 18 (13.34-15.07 Mb), containing genes related to body size, and coat color (XKR4, LYN, PLAG1, SDR16C5, TMEM68, CDH15, MC1R, and GALNS). Some of the candidate genes are also associated with meat quality traits (ACSF3, EIF2B1, BANP, APCDD1, and GALM) and harbor quantitative trait locus (QTL) for beef production traits. Further functional analysis revealed that the candidate genes (DBI, ACSF3, HINT2, GBA2, AGPAT5, SCAP, ELP6, APOB, and RBL1) were involved in gene ontology (GO) terms relevant to meat quality including fatty acid oxidation, biosynthesis, and lipid storage. Candidate genes previously known to affect beef production and quality traits could be used in the beef cattle selection strategies.