• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6557-6562
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• 2013

Objective: Specific promoters could improve efficiency and ensure the safety of gene therapy. The aim of our study was to screen examples for lung cancer. Methods: The firefly luciferase gene was used as a reporter, and promoters based on serum markers of lung cancer were cloned. The activity and specificity of seven promoters, comprising CEACAM5 (carcinoembryonic antigen, CEA), GRP (Gastrin-Releasing Peptide), KRT19 (cytokeratin 19, KRT), SFTPB (surfactant protein B, SP-B), SERPINB3 (Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen, SCCA), SELP (Selectin P, Granule Membrane Protein 140kDa, Antigen CD62, GMP) and DKK1 (Dickkopf-1) promoters were compared in lung cancer cells to obtain cancer-specific examples with strong activity. Results: The CEACAM5, DKK1, GRP, SELP, KRT19, SERPINB3 and SFTPB promoters were cloned. Furthermore, we successfully constructed recombinant vector pGL-CEACAM5 (DKK1, GRP, SELP, KRT19, SERPINB3 and SFTPB) contained the target gene. After cells were transfectedwith recombinant plasmids, we found that the order of promoter activity from high to low was SERPINB3, DKK1, SFTPB, KRT19, CEACAM5, SELP and GRP and the order for promoters regarding specificity and high potential were SERPINB3, DKK1, SELP, SFTPB, CEACAM5, KRT19 and GRP. Conclusion: The approach adopted is feasible to screen for new tumour specific promoters with biomarkers. In addition, the screened lung-specific promoters might have potential for use in lung cancer targeted gene therapy research.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.637-641
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• 2002

Only one natural promoter that interacts with bacteriophage K11 RNA polymerase has so far been identified. To identify more, in the present study restriction fragments of the phage genome were individually assayed for transcription activity in vitro. The K11 genome was digested with two 4-bp-recognizing restriction enzymes, and the fragments cloned in pUC119 were assayed with purified K11 RNA polymerase. Eight K11 promoter-bearing fragments were isolated and sequenced. We report that the nine K11 promoter sequences (including the one previously identified) were highly homologous from -17 to +4, relative to the initiation site at +1. Interestingly, five had -10G and -8A, while the other four had -10A and -8C. The consensus sequences with the natural -10G/-8A and -10A/-8C, and their variants with -10G/-8C and -10A/-8A, showed nearly equal transcription activity, suggesting residues at -10 and -8 do not regulate promoter activity. Using hybridization methods, physical positions of the cloned promoter-bearing sequences were mapped on SalI-and KpnI-restriction maps of the K11 genome. The flanking sequences of six cloned K11 promoters were found to be orthologous with T7 or T3 genomic sequences.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2005

Chlorella viruses are large icosahedral, plaque-forming, dsDNA viruses that infect certain unicellular, chlorellalike green algae. The genomic DNA of over 300 kb contains many useful genes and promoters. Over 40 chlorella viruses have been isolated from fresh water in Korea since 1998. The viruses were amplified initially in chlorella strain NC64A, and pure isolates were obtained by repeated plaque isolation. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed similar but distinct protein patterns, both among the group of purified viruses and in comparison with the prototype chlorella virus PBCV-1. Digestions of the 330- to 350-kb genomic DNAs with 10 restriction enzymes revealed different restriction fragment patterns among the isolates. The tRNA-coding regions of 8 chlorella viruses were cloned and sequenced. These viruses contain 14-16 tRNA genes within a 1.2- to 2-kb region, except for the SS-1 isolate, which has a 1039-bp spacer in a cluster of 11 tRNA genes. Promoter regions of several early genes were isolated and their activities were analyzed in transformed chlorella. Some promoters showed stronger activity than commonly used CaMV 35S promoter and chlorella transformation vectors for heterologous protein are beings constructed using these promoters.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.242-252
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• 2012

Seed storage oils are essential resources for not only human and animal diets but also industrial applications. The primary goal of this study was to increase seed oil content through comparative analysis of two seed-specific promoters, AtFAE1 from Arabidopsis Fatty Acid Elongase 1 gene and BnNapin from Brassica napus seed storage protein gene. AtWRI1 and AtDGAT1 genes encoding an AP2-type transcription factor and a Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 enzyme, respectively, were expressed under the control of AtFAE1 and BnNapin promoters in Arabidopsis. The total seed oil content in all transgenic plants was increased by 8-11% compared with wild-type seeds. The increased level of oil content in AtWRI1 and AtDGAT1 transgenic lines under the control of both promoters was similar, although the activity of the BnNapin promoter is much stronger than that of AtFAE1 promoter in the mature stage of developing seeds where storage oil biosynthesis occurs at a maximum rate. This result demonstrates that the AtFAE1 promoter as well as the BnNapin promoter can be used to increase the seed oil content in transgenic plants.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 1990

To examine the effects of sequence variations near the transcriptional start site on the rate of formation of the open complexes at bacteriophage $\lambda P_{R}$ promoter, two mutant promoters were created by site-specific mutagenesis using synthetic oligonucleotides. Mutant I coatains changes at positions -3 and -4 from TT to CC, thus having a 6-bp long G/C stretch between -10 region and transciptional start site (+1). Mutant II has changes at positions -5 and -6 from GG to AA, thereby having a 9-bp long A/T stretch between positions -11 and -3. Selective filter binding assays were performed to measure the rate of formation of the open complexes between the wild-type or two mutant $P_{R}$ promoters on 664 bp fragments and E. coli RNA polymerase at two temperatures. At 37.deg.C, the wild-type and two mutants showed similar rates for the formation of open complex. The second order rate constant $k_{a}$ and $\tau _{int}$, as determined from the .tau.-plot analysis, were $(6.0\pm0.4)\times10^{6}M^{-1}sec^{-1}$ and $11\pm5$sec, respectively. At 18.deg.C, however, the wild-type and two mutant promoters showed differences in the kinetic parameters. k for the wild-type promoter was (2.2$\pm$0.1)\times 10^{6}M^{-1}sec^{-1}$ and $\tau _{int}$ was 76$\pm$sec. Mutant I and II exhibited differences mainly in the rate of isomerization ($\tau_{int,I}=91\pm$10 sec, int,II=34$\pm$ sec), whereas the second order rate constant $k_{a}$ was similar to the wild type value. This result implies that at $18^{\circ}C$, the isomerization rate is determined by both protein conformational change and DNA melting, which are separable kinetically according to the 3-step mechanism of Roe et al.(1984,1985), and that the base changes affected mainly the rate of DNA melting as predicted.lting as predicted.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.128-133
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• 2004

The secretion capacity of two E. coli strains (JM109 and AF1000) was evaluated through the expression of two human proinsulin fusion proteins using the translocation signal sequence from Staphylococcal protein A (SpA). Although a 7 to 11-fold difference in the expression levels was attained by the use of different promoters (SpA and malK promoters) and copy-number vectors (700 and 50 copies per cell), the maximum translocation rates for all the systems were around 140,000 amino acids $cell^{-1} min^{-1}$. Moreover, the secretion capacity was found to be independent of the size of the exiting peptide and its translational rate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1563-1570
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• 2010

To construct a highly sensitive detection system for endocrine disruptors (EDs), we have compared the activity of promoters with the n-alkane-inducible cytochrome P450 gene (ALK1), isocitrate lyase gene (ICL1), ribosomal protein S7 gene (RPS7), and the translation elongation factor-1${\alpha}$ gene (TEF1) for the heterologous gene in Yarrowia lipolytica. The promoters were introduced into the upstream of the lacZ or hERa reporter genes, respectively, and the activity was evaluated by ${\beta}$-galactosidase assay for lacZ and Western blot analysis for hER${\alpha}$. The expression analysis revealed that the ALK1 and ICL1 promoters were induced by n-decane and by EtOH, respectively. The constitutive promoter of RPS7 and TEF1 showed mostly a high level of expression in the presence of glucose and glycerol, respectively. In particular, the TEF1 promoter showed the highest ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity and a significant signal by Western blotting with the anti-estrogen receptor, compared with the other promoters. Moreover, the detection system was constructed with promoters linked to the upstream of the expression vector for the hER${\alpha}$ gene transformed into the Y. lipolytica with a chromosome-integrated lacZ reporter gene under the control of estrogen response elements (EREs). It was indicated that a combination of pTEF1p-hER${\alpha}$ and CXAU1-2XERE was the most effective system for the $E_2$-dependent induction of the ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity. This system showed the highest ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity at $10^{-6}\;M\;E_2$, and the activity could be detected at even the concentration of $10^{-10}\;M\;E_2$. As a result, we have constructed a strongly sensitive detection system with Y. lipolitica to evaluate recognized/suspected ED chemicals, such as natural/synthetic hormones, pesticides, and commercial chemicals. The results demonstrate the utility, sensitivity, and reproducibility of the system for identifying and characterizing environmental estrogens.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2014

Early growth response 1 (Egr1) is a zinc-finger transcription factor to direct second-wave gene expression leading to cell growth, differentiation and/or apoptosis. While it is well-known that Egr1 controls transcription of an array of targets in various cell types, downstream target gene(s) whose transcription is regulated by Egr1 in the uterus has not been identified yet. Thus, we have tried to identify a list of potential target genes of Egr1 in the uterus by performing multi-step in silico promoter analyses. Analyses of mRNA microarray data provided a cohort of genes (102 genes) which were differentially expressed (DEGs) in the uterus between Egr1(+/+) and Egr1(-/-) mice. In mice, the frequency of putative EGR1 binding sites (EBS) in the promoter of DEGs is significantly higher than that of randomly selected non-DEGs, although it is not correlated with expression levels of DEGs. Furthermore, EBS are considerably enriched within -500 bp of DEG's promoters. Comparative analyses for EBS of DEGs with the promoters of other species provided power to distinguish DEGs with higher probability as EGR1 direct target genes. Eleven EBS in the promoters of 9 genes among analyzed DEGs are conserved between various species including human. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that analyses of mRNA expression profiles followed by two-step in silico analyses could provide a list of putative Egr1 direct target genes in the uterus where any known direct target genes are yet reported for further functional studies.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2003

Starvation promoters can be utilized for in situ bioremediation and for the efficient bioprocessing. Previously we have cloned and characterized strong starvation promoters from envrionmentally relevant bacteria, Pseudomonas putida strains (Y. Kim, and A. Matin, J. Bacteriol. 177:1850-1859, 1995). Here we report the construction of the plasmid pYKS101 using one of the starvation promoters from P. putida MK1. The pYKS101 was found to be useful for a novel starvation promoter-driven gene expression system. Under this system, the target reporter gene, lacZ, was stably integrated into the chromosomal DNA of P. putida MK1. ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity was found to be four-fold higher upon carbon starvation than during exponential growth. The resultant recombinant strain is indigenous to the environment contaminated with various toxic materials, hence can be a good candidate for in situ bioremediation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 1975

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate physiologically the cause of the hastening germination of dormant Taxus cuspidata seeds by stratification. During the stratification the exchange of chemical substances such as sugar, protein, starch and fat were observed, and growth promoting and inhibiting substances were extracted and seperated from seeds by the conventional chromatographic method with coleoptile straight-growth test. An intensive investigation was made on the balance between the promoters and inhibitors. consequently, it was confirmed that germination of seeds was accelerated with exchange of chemical substances by stratification. The results obtained may be summarized as follows: 1. During the stratification growth promoters were increased and growth inhibitors were decreased rapidly in the endosperm of seeds. Thus, it was presumed that hastening germination was controlled by balace between the promoters and inhibitors from November to next March after a year's stratification. On the other hand growth promoters were almost constant and growth inhibitors were decreased rapidly in the seed coats, and it was presumed that hastening germination was influenced by exchange of inhibitors more than by that of promoters. 2. As a results of germination test of lettuce seeds, it was generalized that hastening germination was controlled by a decreased amount of growth inhibitors more than by an increased amount of promoters. 3. During the stratification sugar and crude protein contents were increased gradully with moisture content, while starch and crude fat were decreased in endosperm of seeds. So it was assumed that the exchange of these chemical substances was closely related to the germination of seeds.