• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.161-165
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• 2019

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and has high rates of metastasis. Transforming growth factor beta-inducible protein (TGFBI) is an extracellular matrix component involved in tumour growth and metastasis. However, the exact role of TGFBI in NSCLC remains controversial. Gene silencing via DNA methylation of the promoter region is common in lung tumorigenesis and could thus be used for the development of molecular biomarkers. We analysed the methylation status of the TGFBI promoter in 138 NSCLC specimens via methylation-specific PCR and evaluated the correlation between TGFBI methylation and patient survival. TGFBI promoter methylation was detected in 25 (18.1%) of the tumours and was demonstrated to be associated with gene silencing. We observed no statistical correlation between TGFBI methylation and clinicopathological characteristics. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that TGFBI methylation is significantly associated with poor survival outcomes in adenocarcinoma cases (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.88, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-6.99, P = 0.019), but not in squamous cell cases. Our findings suggest that methylation in the TGFBI promoter may be associated with pathogenesis of NSCLC and can be used as a predictive marker for lung adenocarcinoma prognosis. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.137-148
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• 2019

In search of an effective biological control agent against the tomato pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, rhizospheric soil samples were collected from eight agro-ecological zones of Bangladesh. Among the bacteria isolated from soil, 24 isolates were randomly selected and evaluated for their antagonistic activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. The two promising antagonistic isolates were identified as Brevundimonas olei and Bacillus methylotrophicus based on morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics. These two isolates were evaluated for their biocontrol activity and growth promotion of two tomato cultivars (cv. Pusa Rubi and Ratan) for two consecutive years. Treatment of Pusa Rubi and Ratan seeds with B. olei prior to inoculation of pathogen caused 44.99% and 41.91% disease inhibition respectively compared to the untreated but pathogen-inoculated control plants. However, treatment of Pusa Rubi and Ratan seeds with B. methylotrophicus caused 24.99% and 39.20% disease inhibition respectively. Furthermore, both the isolates enhanced the growth of tomato plants. The study revealed that these indigenous bacterial isolates can be used as an effective biocontrol agent against Fusarium wilt of tomato.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1184-1192
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• 2019

The influenza A virus is a highly infectious respiratory pathogen that sickens many people with respiratory disease annually. To prevent outbreaks of this viral infection, an understanding of the characteristics of virus-host interaction and development of an anti-viral agent is urgently needed. The influenza A virus can infect mammalian species including humans, pigs, horses and seals. Furthermore, this virus can switch hosts and form a novel lineage. This so-called zoonotic infection provides an opportunity for virus adaptation to the new host and leads to pandemics. Most influenza A viruses express proteins that antagonize the antiviral defense of the host cell. The non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of the influenza A virus is the most important viral regulatory factor controlling cellular processes to modulate host cell gene expression and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated antiviral response. This review focuses on the influenza A virus NS1 protein and outlines current issues including the life cycle of the influenza A virus, structural characterization of the influenza A virus NS1, interaction between NS1 and host immune response factor, and design of inhibitors resistant to the influenza A virus.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.341-350
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• 2017

The relationship of in vitro starch digestibility and gel strength was investigated at various concentrations (10-30%) of rice cultivars with different amylose contents (27.9, 17.9, and 5.2%). As the rice flour concentration increased, predicted glycemic index decreased, but gel strength increased regardless of amylose contents. Gel strength correlated strongly with amylose content, whereas in vitro starch digestibility was more highly affected by rice flour concentration than by amylose contents. Moreover, the impact of degree of gelatinization on in vitro starch digestibility of high amylose rice was also examined in terms of structural features and rheological properties. The digestion rate of fully gelatinized flour was 1.7 times higher than that of native flour, while the disrupted structure with a different gelatinization degree during starch digestion was visually demonstrated through the X-ray diffraction and molecular distribution analysis. The rice flour changed from an A-type to a V-type pattern and showed difference in crystalline melting. The low molecular weight distribution increased with increasing degree of gelatinization during starch digestion. The apparent viscosity also increased with degree of gelatinization. These results demonstrated that the starch digestibility of rice was more affected by concentration than by amylose content, as well as by the degree of gelatinization due to structural difference.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.499-503
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• 2020

Clubroot symptoms were frequently observed on the roots of Baecheongchae plants grown in vinyl greenhouses of a farmer located in Yangpyeong area of Korea during a disease survey in June 2019. The incidence of diseased Baecheongchae plants ranged from 30 to 90% in the vinyl greenhouses investigated. Many resting spores were found in the tissue of root galls collected. The resting spores were hyaline and spherical and measured 2.5-4.2 ㎛ in diameter. Three inoculum suspensions of resting spores prepared from the root galls were inoculated to the roots of healthy Baecheongchae plants. All the inoculum suspensions caused clubroot symptoms to appear on the roots of the inoculated Baecheongchae plants. The symptoms on the roots induced by artificial inoculation were similar to those observed in the plants of the vinyl greenhouses during the disease survey. Resting spores of the pathogen were recovered from the root galls of the inoculated plants. Three root gall isolates obtained from the inoculated plants were used for molecular identification. Comparing the isolates to the Plasmodiophora brassicae strains in GenBank, the amplification products demonstrated 100% similarity with the internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) sequences. The clubroot pathogen was identified as P. brassicae according to its morphological, pathological, and molecular characteristics. This is the first report of P. brassicae causing clubroot in Baecheongchae.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.33-40
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• 2020

A sturdy on the adhesion properties of solid propellants, liners, and insulation was carried out according to the types of barrier coats. A barrier coats were used to prevent migration of the plasticizer or curative between the propellant/liner/insulation, and the barrier coat was selected out of Isocyanates with different molecular weight and number of -NCO in one molecule. As a result, it was found that the more the -NCO group and the larger molecular weight, the stronger adhesion. In addition, as a result of experiments about effects of the pot life after applying the barrier coat on bond strength, the adhesion strength was shown to increase as the pot life was short.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.299-303
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• 2021

The ascidian Halocynthia aurantium (sea peach), a marine invertebrate, belongs to the same genus of the phylum Chordata along with the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi (sea pineapple), which is one of the model animals in the field of developmental biology. The characteristics of development and reproduction of H. aurantium are not yet known in detail. In order to find out the spawning period of H. aurantium, we investigated development of the gonads during the annual reproductive cycle. Testis and ovary were both in the bisexual gonads (ovotestes) of H. aurantium, which is a hermaphrodite like H. roretzi. In H. aurantium, the right gonad was longer and slightly larger than the left gonad throughout the year. In each gonad, the number of the testis gonoducts was slightly higher than that of the ovary gonoducts. These features were similarly observed in H. roretzi. However, the number of the testis gonoducts and the ovary gonoducts in each gonad of H. aurantium was about half that of H. roretzi. The gonads of H. aurantium contracted during the winter and summer seasons. The gonads decreased to the smallest size around February, and then started to increase again in March. The gonads were most developed in September of the year. Therefore, it is estimated that the spawning of H. aurantium begins around this period.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2022

Alteration of the mGluR5 density is closely related to various brain diseases including schizophrenia, depression, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, mGluR5 is considered as a valuable imaging biomarker for brain disease and many radiopharmaceuticals have been developed so far. Among them, [¹⁸F]FPEB has favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics, and this is the most frequently used radiopharmaceutical for preclinical and clinical studies. In the present study, we want to introduce the optimized radiosynthetic method for the routine production of [¹⁸F]FPEB using a GE TRACERlabTM FXFN pro module. In addition, the entire process was monitored with a webcam to solve the problems arising from the synthetic process. As a result, [¹⁸F]FPEB was prepared by nucleophilic substitution from its nitro- precursor at 120℃ for 20 min in dimethyl sulfoxide. Radiochemical yield was 13.7 ± 5.1% (decay-corrected, n = 91) with the molar activity of 84 ± 17 GBq/µmol at the end of synthesis. The radiochemical purity was determined to be above 96%. The manufactured [¹⁸F]FPEB injection for quality controls were carried out in accordance with an KIRAMS approved protocol, as per ICH and USP guidelines.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2022

The Japanese amberjack Seriolae quinqueradiata is one of the most consumed fish species among the Koreans. However, information regarding parasitic infection in Japanese amberjack is scarce. This study described the morphological and molecular characteristics of a species of philometrid nematode, Philometroides seriolae, which was recovered from Japanese amberjack. This fish was caught in the sea of Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea (Korea). Six P. seriolae (Nematoda: Philometridae) were recovered from 2 Japanese amberjacks. These parasites were subgravid female which were 325-420 mm long and 2.95-3.27 mm wide. Furthermore, they had typical papillae distributed on their body surface with 14 papillae at the apical view. Sequence analysis of the small subunits of ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) showed high sequence identity (99.8%, 1,607/1,611-bp) with that of P. seriolae (GenBank accession no. FJ155811). This nematode species has been newly added to the Korean nematode fauna.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.70-75
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• 2023

Dent disease is a rare inherited kidney tubulopathy caused by mutations in either the CLCN5 (Dent disease 1) or OCRL1 (Dent disease 2) genes, and which is often underdiagnosed in practice. A diagnosis is clinically suspected in patients with low-molecular-weight proteinuria, hypercalciuria, and one of the following: hematuria, nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, hypophosphatemia, or chronic kidney disease. Inheritance is X-linked recessive, meaning, these symptoms are generally only found in males; female carriers may have mild phenotypes. Genetic testing is only a method to confirm the diagnosis, approximately 25% to 35% of patients have neither the CLCN5 nor OCRL1 pathogenic variants (Dent disease 3), making diagnosis more challenging. The genotype-phenotype correlations are not evident with the limited clinical data available. As with many other genetic diseases, the management of patients with Dent disease concentrates on symptom relief rather than any causative process. The current treatments are mainly supportive to reduce hypercalciuria and prevent nephrolithiasis. Chronic kidney disease progresses to end-stage between the ages of the third to fifth decades in 30% to 80% of affected males. In this review, we aimed to summarize the literature on Dent disease and reveal the clinical characteristics and molecular basis of Korean patients with Dent disease.