• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.39.1-39.8
• /
• 2021

Tamoxifen (TAM) is an anticancer drug used to treat estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. However, its ER-independent cytotoxic and antifungal activities have prompted debates on its mechanism of action. To achieve a better understanding of the ER-independent antifungal action mechanisms of TAM, we systematically identified TAM-sensitive genes through microarray screening of the heterozygous gene deletion library in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe). Secondary confirmation was followed by a spotting assay, finally yielding 13 TAM-sensitive genes under the drug-induced haploinsufficient condition. For these 13 TAM-sensitive genes, we conducted a comparative analysis of their Gene Ontology (GO) 'biological process' terms identified from other genome-wide screenings of the budding yeast deletion library and the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Several TAM-sensitive genes overlapped between the yeast strains and MCF7 in GO terms including 'cell cycle' (cdc2, rik1, pas1, and leo1), 'signaling' (sck2, oga1, and cki3), and 'vesicle-mediated transport' (SPCC126.08c, vps54, sec72, and tvp15), suggesting their roles in the ER-independent cytotoxic effects of TAM. We recently reported that the cki3 gene with the 'signaling' GO term was related to the ER-independent antifungal action mechanisms of TAM in yeast. In this study, we report that haploinsufficiency of the essential vps54 gene, which encodes the GARP complex subunit, significantly aggravated TAM sensitivity and led to an enlarged vesicle structure in comparison with the SP286 control strain. These results strongly suggest that the vesicle-mediated transport process might be another action mechanism of the ER-independent antifungal or cytotoxic effects of TAM.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.145-155
• /
• 2023

Background and Objectives: Embryologically, mesodermal development is closely related to the development of various organs such as muscles, blood vessels, and hearts, which are the main organs that make up the body. However, treatment for mesoderm developmental disorders caused by congenital or acquired factors has so far relied on surgery and drug treatment for symptom relief, and more fundamentally, treatment for mesoderm developmental disorders is needed. Methods and Results: In our study, microRNA (miRNA), which plays an important role in the mesoderm development process, was identified and the developmental function was evaluated. miRNAs consist of small nucleotides, which act as transcription factors that bind to the 3' untranslated region and suppressed target gene expression. We constructed the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) knockout cell line and analyzed the function and characteristics of miR-5739, which plays an important role in mesoderm lineage. miR-5739 acts as a transcription factor targeting SMA, Brachyury T, Hand1, which controls muscle proliferation and differentiation, and KDR gene, which regulates vessel formation in vitro. In vivo results suggest a role in regulating muscle proliferation and differentiation. Gene ontology analysis confirmed that the miR-5739 is closely related to genes that regulate muscle and vessel proliferation and differentiation. Importantly, abnormal expression of miR-5739 was detected in somatic cells derived from patients with congenital muscle disease. Conclusions: Our study demonstrate that miR-5739 gene function significantly affects transcriptional circuits that regulate muscle and vascular differentiation during embryonic development.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.16-24
• /
• 2016

A new strain of Pseudomonas sp. was isolated from mercury (Hg)-contaminated sites in Taiwan. This bacterium removed more than 80% of Hg present in the culture medium at 12 h incubation and was chosen for further analysis of the molecular mechanisms of Hg tolerance/removal abilities in this Pseudomonas sp. We used RNA-seq, one of the next-generation sequencing methods, to investigate the transcriptomic responses of the Pseudomonas sp. exposed to 60 mg/L of Hg²⁺. We de novo assembled 4,963 contigs, of which 10,533 up-regulated genes and 5,451 down-regulated genes were found to be regulated by Hg. The 40 genes most altered in expression levels were associated with tolerance to Hg stress and metabolism. Functional analysis showed that some Hg-tolerant genes were related to the mer operon, sulfate uptake and assimilation, the enzymatic antioxidant system, the HSP gene family, chaperones, and metal transporters. The transcriptome were analyzed further with Gene Ontology (GO) and Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COGs) of proteins and showed diverse biological functions and metabolic pathways under Hg stress.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.330-337
• /
• 2013

Rice stripe virus (RSV), the type member of the genus Tenuivirus, transmits by the feeding behavior of small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus. To investigate the interactions between the virus and vector insect, total RNA was extracted from RSV-viruliferous SBPH (RVLS) and non-viruliferous SBPH (NVLS) adults to construct expressed sequence tag databases for comparative transcriptome analysis. Over 30 million bases were sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing to construct 1,538 and 953 of isotigs from the mRNA of RVLS and NVLS, respectively. The gene ontology (GO) analysis demonstrated that both libraries have similar GO structures, however, the gene expression pattern analysis revealed that 17.8% and 16.8% of isotigs were up- and down-regulated significantly in the RVLS, respectively. These RSV-dependently regulated genes possibly have important roles in the physiology of SBPH, transmission of RSV, and RSV and SBPH interaction.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.21-30
• /
• 2011

Panax ginseng root has been used as a major source of ginsenoside throughout the history of oriental medicine. In recent years, scientists have found that all of its biomass, including embryogenic calli and flower buds can contain similar active ingredients with pharmacological functions. In this study, transcriptome analyses were used to identify different gene expressions from embryogenic calli and fl ower buds. In total, 6,226 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained from cDNA libraries of P. ginseng. Insilico analysis was conducted to annotate the putative sequences using gene ontology functional analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes orthology biochemical analysis, and interproscan protein functional domain analysis. From the obtained results, genes responsible for growth, pathogenicity, pigments, ginsenoside pathway, and development were discussed. Almost 83.3% of the EST sequence was annotated using one-dimensional insilico analysis.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.131-138
• /
• 2011

Some computational approaches are needed for clarifying RNAi sequences, because it takes much time and endeavor that almost of RNAi sequences are verified by experimental data. Incorrectness of RNAi mechanism and other unaware factors in organism system are frequently faced with questions regarding potential use of RNAi as therapeutic applications. Our massive parallelized pair alignment scoring between dsRNA in Genebank and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in Caenorhabditis elegans Genome Sequencing Projects revealed that this provides a useful tool for the prediction of RNAi induced cosuppression details for practical use. This pair alignment scoring method using high performance computing exhibited some possibility that numerous unwanted gene silencing and cosuppression exist even at high matching scores each other. The classifying the relative higher matching score of them based on GO (Gene Ontology) system could present mapping dsRNA of C. elegans and functional roles in an applied system. Our prediction also exhibited that more than 78% of the predicted co-suppressible genes are located in the ribosomal spot of C. elegans.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.44 no.10
• /
• pp.746-757
• /
• 2021

Plant somatic cells can be reprogrammed into a pluripotent cell mass, called callus, which can be subsequently used for de novo shoot regeneration through a two-step in vitro tissue culture method. MET1-dependent CG methylation has been implicated in plant regeneration in Arabidopsis, because the met1-3 mutant exhibits increased shoot regeneration compared with the wild-type. To understand the role of MET1 in de novo shoot regeneration, we compared the genome-wide DNA methylomes and transcriptomes of wildtype and met1-3 callus and leaf. The CG methylation patterns were largely unchanged during leaf-to-callus transition, suggesting that the altered regeneration phenotype of met1-3 was caused by the constitutively hypomethylated genes, independent of the tissue type. In particular, MET1-dependent CG methylation was observed at the blue light receptor genes, CRYPTOCHROME 1 (CRY1) and CRY2, which reduced their expression. Coexpression network analysis revealed that the CRY1 gene was closely linked to cytokinin signaling genes. Consistently, functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes in met1-3 showed that gene ontology terms related to light and hormone signaling were overrepresented. Overall, our findings indicate that MET1-dependent repression of light and cytokinin signaling influences plant regeneration capacity and shoot identity establishment.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.4.1-4.9
• /
• 2021

Lip and oral cavity cancer, which can occur in any part of the mouth, is the 11th most common type of cancer worldwide. The major obstacles to patients' survival are the poor prognosis, lack of specific biomarkers, and expensive therapeutic alternatives. This study aimed to identify the main genes and pathways associated with lip and oral cavity carcinoma using network analysis and to analyze its molecular mechanism and prognostic significance further. In this study, 472 genes causing lip and oral cavity carcinoma were retrieved from the DisGeNET database. A protein-protein interaction network was developed for network analysis using the STRING database. VEGFA, IL6, MAPK3, INS, TNF, MAPK8, MMP9, CXCL8, EGF, and PTGS2 were recognized as network hub genes using the maximum clique centrality algorithm available in cytoHubba, and nine potential drug candidates (ranibizumab, siltuximab, sulindac, pomalidomide, dexrazoxane, endostatin, pamidronic acid, cetuximab, and apricoxib) for lip and oral cavity cancer were identified from the DGIdb database. Gene enrichment analysis was also performed to identify the gene ontology categorization of cellular components, biological processes, molecular functions, and biological pathways. The genes identified in this study could furnish a new understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and provide more reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment of lip and oral cavity cancer.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.139-144
• /
• 2019

Breast cancer (BRC) is the most invasive cancer in women. Although the survival rate of BRC is gradually increasing due to improved screening systems, development of novel therapeutic targets for inhibition of BRC proliferation, metastasis and recurrence have been constantly needed. Thus, in this study, we identified overexpression of SETDB1 (SET Domain Bifurcated 1), a histone methyltransferase, in RNA-seq data of BRC derived from TCGA portal. In Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, cell migration-related GO terms were enriched, and we confirmed down-regulation of cell migration/invasion and alteration of EMT /MET markers after knockdown of SETDB1. Moreover, gene network analysis showed that SMAD7 expression is regulated by SETDB1 levels, indicating that up-regulation of SMAD7 by SETDB1 knockdown inhibited BRC metastasis. Therefore, development of SETDB1 inhibitors and functional studies may help develop more effective clinical guidelines for BRC treatment.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.16.1-16.14
• /
• 2021

Even in the current age of advanced medicine, the prognosis of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) remains abysmal. Molecular mechanisms responsible for the initiation and progression of MPM are still largely not understood. Adopting an integrated bioinformatics approach, this study aims to identify the key genes and pathways responsible for MPM. Genes that are differentially expressed in MPM in comparison with the peritoneum of healthy controls have been identified by analyzing a microarray gene expression dataset. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses of these differentially expressed genes (DEG) were conducted to gain a better insight. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the proteins encoded by the DEGs was constructed using STRING and hub genes were detected analyzing this network. Next, the transcription factors and miRNAs that have possible regulatory roles on the hub genes were detected. Finally, survival analyses based on the hub genes were conducted using the GEPIA2 web server. Six hundred six genes were found to be differentially expressed in MPM; 133 are upregulated and 473 are downregulated. Analyzing the STRING generated PPI network, six dense modules and 12 hub genes were identified. Fifteen transcription factors and 10 miRNAs were identified to have the most extensive regulatory functions on the DEGs. Through bioinformatics analyses, this work provides an insight into the potential genes and pathways involved in MPM.