• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.73-78
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• 2000

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cell lines, which derived from preimplantation embryo. These cells have been used as a vehicle of foreign DNA for production of transgenic mammals. this experiment was performed to examined the possible use of blastodermal cells derived from hen's egg for germline manipulation. Stage X blsdtodermal cells isolated from fertilized eggs were cultured in DMEM containing 15% fetal calf serum. Blastodermal cells wre co-cultured on the chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) or mouse embryonic fibroblast(MEF) cells. to examine the effects of growth factors on stem cell growth, bFGF and LIF were added. There was no significant difference in colony formation of putative ES cells between CEF and MEF as a feederlayer, but the addition of growth factors enhanced the proliferation and inhibited differentiation of blastodermal cells. To characterize the cell colonies as a putative ES cells, putative embryonic cell colonies were stained by periodic acid Schiffs (PAS) reagent. The putative ES cell colonies showed intensive positive reaction similar to the property of undifferentiated PGC upto 20days in vitro, but not in other cell types. this result demonstrates that PAS-positive cell colonies may be used for the study of establishment of chicken ES cell lines for the production of transgenic chicken.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1641-1646
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• 2004

The objective of this study was to generate transgenic mice expressing human resistin gene by using the tetraploidembryonic stem (ES) cell complementation method. Human resistin gene was amplified from human fetal liver cDNA library by PCR, cloned into $pCR^{(R)}$ 2.1 $TOPO^{(R)}$ vector and constructed in pCMV-Tag4C vector. Mammalian expression plasmid containing human resistin was transfected into D3-GL ES cells by Lipofectamine 2,000, and then after 10-12 days of transfection, the human resistin-expressing cells were selected with G418. In order to produce tetraploid embryos, blastomeres of diploid embryos at the two-cell stage were fused with two times of electric pulse using 60 V 30 $\mu$sec (fusion rate: 2,114/2,256, 93.5%) and cultured up to the blastocyst stage (development rate: 1,862/2,114, 94.6%). The selected 15-20 ES cells were injected into tetraploid blastocysts, and then transferred into the uteri of E 2.5 d pseudopregnant recipient mice. To investigate the gestation progress, two E 19.5 mused fetuses were recovered by Cesarean section of which one fetus was confirmed to contain human resistin gene by genomic DNA-PCR. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that tetraploid-ES mouse technology can be considered as a useful tool to produce transgenic mice for the rapid analysis of gene function in vivo.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.299-307
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• 1995

The goal of cell stem cell technology is to produce a viable and genetically normal animal. To achieve this goal various laboratories have followed 2 different pathways beginning with either the culture of 1) single or pooled ICMs grown with or without a feeder layer or 2) single or pooled 16-20 cell stage embryos grown with a feeder layer. Also, thus far embryonic cell cultures or lines have been established by several methods including loose suspension culture for short-term cultures and more commonly murine or bovine fibroblast feeder layers for long-term culture. Pluripotent lines have been derived from 16-cell through blastocyst inner cell mass stages. The efficiency of establishing cell lines and cell proliferation apper to be affected by the number of cells or embryos starting the line. Most attempts to produce offspring from long term STO cell feeder layer cultured ICM or morulae derived ES cells have resulted in pregnancy failure in the first trimester when ES cells were used in cuclear transfer or have failed to retain ES cells in the progeny produced by chimerization. The exception is 1 chimeric fetus from use of morula ES cells in the chimerization with early embryonic cells. There is much to be learned yet about ES cell culture requirements for maintenance of totipotency. If bovine ES cell lines loose imprinting pattern and totipotency with long-term culture and passage as suggested for mouse ES cells, we may be limited to the use of short-term cultures for multiplication of embryos and efficient production of transgenic animals. No bovine ES cell system has yet met all of the criteria indicated for a totipotent ES cell line.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate survival rates of vitrified mouse blastocysts in various vitrification solutions (cryoprotectants) and apparatuses. The mouse blastocysts were harvested from culture of mouse 2 cell embryo and were divided into three group (i) untreated (control); (ii) exposed to cryoprotectant agents; or (iii) cryopreserved by various vitrification apparatuses. Vitrification solutions are 40% ethylene glycol (EG) + 5.8 mg/mL ficoll + 0.5M sucrose (EFS solution), 3M glycerol + 3M EG (ES solution), 20% EG + 20% dimethyl sulfoxide (ED solution), 3M EG + 1.0 m sucrose (ES solution). Vitrification apparatuses consisted of 5 groups ; closed plastic straw (CPS), electron microscope (EM) grid, cryoloop, open pulled straw (OPS), and glass micropippete in plastic straw (GPS). The survival rates of control were 88.0%. The survival rates of exposed blastocysts in EFS, GE, ED, and ES solutions were 70.8%, 43.5% (P<0.01), 83.3% and 65.2%, respectively. The survival rates of vitrified blastocysts in CPS, EM grid, cryoloop, OPS and GPS were 56.5% (P< 0.01), 72.7%, 83.3%, 60.9% (P<0.05) and 54.2% (P<0.01), respectively. Among the vitrification solutions, the highest survival rate was seen in blastocysts vitrified in EG + DMSO (83.3%). The survival rate was not significantly different from that of the control (88%). Blastocysts cryopreserved with glycerol in all groups had an overall low survival rate of 43.5%. Survival rate of mouse blastocysts between vitrification apparatuses showed higher in cryoloop.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.76-76
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• 2003

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells can differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes with proper culture conditions and stimulants via embryo-like aggregates. We describe here the use of mouse embryonic stem (mES03) cells as a reproducible differentiation system for cardiomyocyte. mES03 cells growing in colonies were dissociated and allowed to re-aggregated in suspension [embryoid body (EB) formation〕. To induce cardiomyocytic differentiation, cells were exposed to 0.75% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) during EB formation for 4 days and then another 4 days without DMSO (4+/4-). Thus treated EB was plated onto gelatin-coated dishes for differentiation. Spontaneously contracting colonies which appeared in approximately 4~5 days upon differentiation were mechanically dissected, enzymatically dispersed, plated onto coverslips, and then incubated for another 48~72 hrs. By RT-PCR, robust expression of cardiac myosin heavy chain $\alpha$, cardiac muscle heavy polypeptide 7 $\beta$($\beta$-MHC), cardiac transcription factor GATA4, and skeletal muscle-specific $\alpha$$_1$-subunit of the L-type calcium channel ($\alpha$$_1$CaC $h_{sm}$ ) were detected as early as 8 days after EB formation, but message of cardiac muscle-specific $\alpha$$_1$-subunit of the L-type calcium channel ($\alpha$$_1$CaCh) were reveled at a low level. In contrast, expression of myosin light chain (MLC-2V) and atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) were not detected during EB formation for 8 days. However, a strong expression of the atrial-specific ANF gene was expressed from day 8 onward, which were remained constant in EB. (cardiac specialization and terminal differentiation stage). Electrophysiological examination of spontaneously contracting cells showed ventricle-like action potential 17 days after the EB formation. This study indicates that mES03 cell-derived cardiomyocytes via 4+/4- protocol displayed biochemical and electrophysiological properties of subpopulation of cardiomyocytes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1223-1229
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• 2013

Ursolic acid (UA) a bio-active ingredient found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, and it has potent antioxidant activity. However, the role of UA in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells is poorly understood. This study investigated the functional role of UA in regulating the development of mouse ES cells under hypoxia. Hypoxia did not exert a significant effect on the undifferentiated state of mouse ES cells. However, it induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and increased the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) production at 48 h of hypoxic exposure. Conversely, oxidative stress induced by hypoxia was significantly inhibited by UA ($30{\mu}M$) pretreatment. Hypoxia significantly decreased cell survival and the level of [$^3H$] thymidine incorporation, both of which recovered following pretreatment of UA. In addition, UA decreased the apoptotic effect of hypoxia by attenuating caspase-3 cleavage or by recovering cellular inhibition of the apoptotic protein (cIAP)-2 and Bcl-2 expression. We further found that UA decreased senescence-associated beta-galactosidase activity. We suggest that UA is a natural antioxidant and one of the functional modulators of hypoxia-induced survival, apoptosis, proliferation, and aging in mouse ES cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2009

In mammals, major progress has recently been made with the dissection of early embryonic cell specification, the isolation of stem cells from early embryos, and the production of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells. These studies have overcome long-standing species barriers for stem cell isolation, have revealed a deeper than expected similarity of embryo cell types across species, and have led to a better understanding of the lineage identities of embryo-derived stem cells, most notably of mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Thus, it has now become possible to propose a species-overarching classification of embryo stem cells, which are defined here as pre- to early post-implantation conceptus-derived stem cell types that maintain embryonic lineage identities in vitro. The present article gives an overview of these cells and discusses their relationships with each other and the conceptus. Consequently, it is debated whether further embryo stem cell types await isolation, and the study of the earliest extraembryonically committed stem cells is identified as a promising new research field.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.910-927
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• 2003

Transgenesis is a very powerful tool not only to help understanding the basics of life science but also to improve the efficiency of animal production. Since the first transgenic mouse was born in 1980, rapid development and wide application of this technique have been made in laboratory animals as well as in domestic animals. Although pronuclear injection is the most widely used method and nuclear transfer using somatic cells broadens the choice of making transgenic domestic animals, the demand for precise manipulation of the genome leads to the utilization of gene targeting. To make this technique possible, a pluripotent embryonic cell line such as embryonic stem (ES) cell is required to carry genetic mutation to further generations. However, ES cell, well established in mice, is not available in domestic animals even though many attempt to establish the cell line. An alternate source of pluripotent cells is embryonic germ (EG) cells derived from primordial germ cells (PGCs). To make gene targeting feasible in this cell line, a better culture system would help to minimize the unnecessary loss of cells in vitro. In this review, general methods to produce transgenic domestic animals will be mentioned. Also, it will focus on germ cell engineering and methods to improve the establishment of pluripotent embryonic cell lines in domestic animals.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.65-80
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• 2007

Purpose: This study is to examine anti-obesity effect and cytotoxicity of the long-term oral administration of Ephedra Sinica(Ma-hwang, ES) Methods: Using diet-induced obesity C57BL/6 mouse model, anti-obesity effect and DNA chip expression and cytotoxicity of the long-term oral administration of this herbal extract were investigated. Results: The herbal extract treated groups were arrested in weight increment only when they were lodged together. Such effects were abolished when they kept individually. ES fed mice behaved very rudely and violently. On the basis of histological studies of liver tissues and also in vitro cytotoxicity tests of the liver and kidney cell lines, no significant toxicity was found by 14 weeks of ES treatments. However, we found significant changes in gene expression profile in ES treated group by micro-array analysis. In case of ES group, up-regulated genes were 113 and down-regulated were 120. Some of lipid metabolism related genes also significantly changed in treatment groups. Conclusion: ES had effects of increasing the basal metabolic rate by stimulating the sympathetic nervous systems.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.84-95
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• 2014

Objective : Ephedra sinica (ES) has has been used as remedy of allergic diseases for a long time in Korea. In the present study, we investigated the anti-allergic effects of ES on experimental allergic asthma mouse model using ovalbumin (OVA). Methods : BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with 100 ug of OVA and 1 mg of aluminum potassium sulfate of 0.2 ml phosphate-buffered saline(PBS) intraperitoneally on day 1 and 15. mice were challenged on 3 consecutive days with 5% OVA and AHR was assessed 24 h after the last challenge. we examined the lung histology, airway hyper sensitivity, total inflammatory cell count in bronchoaveloar lavage fluid(BALF), Th2-associated cytokines production and IgE production. Results : ES potently inhibited the lung damage and the development of Penh. ES also reduced the number of BAL cells during OVA-induced allergic asthma. Furthermore, ES inhibited cytokines production such as IL-4, IL-13 productions, and IgE level of serum. Conclusion : These results suggest that ES may inhibit the production of IL-4, IL-13, IgE and infiltration of inflammatory cell and be beneficial oriental medicine for allergic asthma.