• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.455-463
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• 2005

Resistance to isoniazid (INH), which is one of the most important drugs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis chemotherapy, has been associated with mutations in genes encoding the mycobacterial catalse-peroxidase (katG), the enoyl acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase (inhA), alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (ahpC), beta-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase (kasA), and NADH dehydrogenase (ndh). In this study, we examined INH-resistance related genes in 50 INH-resistant and 24 INH-susceptible isolates by PCR-sequence analysis. In brief, mutations at the katG gene were found at codon 315 alone (2/50), at codon 463 alone (19/50), and both at 315 and 463 (29/50). However, while mutations at codon 315 were only detected in INH-resistant isolates, mutations at codon 463 were also detected in INH-susceptible isolates indicating mutations at 463 alone do not seem to confer resistance to INH. Similar to the case of katG 463, some of inhA mutations were also found among INH-susceptible isolates. For example, whereas mutations at 8 upstream of the start codon (UPS) and 15 UPS of the inhA gene were detected only in INH-resistant isolates, mutations at 101, 115, and 125 UPS were detected only in INH-susceptible isolates. Many different kinds of mutations were detected in INH­resistant isolates at ahpC, oxyR gene, and intergenic region of the oxyR-ahpC genes. Howerver, the mutations were not found oxyR and the intergenic regions in INH-susceptible isolates. No mutations were found at either kasA or at ndh gene among INH-resistant isolates. In conclusion, some of mutations such as katG 315, inhA promotor region, and oxyR-ahpC seem to be strongly related to INH-resistance. Currently we are developing a molecular diagnostic method based on these results.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.247-253
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• 2010

Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) is one of the smallest viral pathogens infecting fruits, especially apple, and causes a significant damage to fruit trees. ASSVd usually induced the skin-dapple ring symptoms, but in 'Fuji' varieties, corked spot were occurred on the fruit skin in 2009. This new symptom will be of great helpful to diagnosis ASSVd in sight. ASSVd was surveyed in apple and pear from 2009 to 2010 in Korea, and ASSVd was identified in 20 out of 1,193 trees. The infection rate was 1.7%. To screen the infectivity of ASSVd among apple cultivars, real-time RT-PCR was applied followed by designing of ASSVd specific primers based on highly conserved regions of several ASSVd isolates including Korean isolate. NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (nad 5) gene, which is mRNA of the mitochondrial gene, was used for internal control. In this study, ASSVd infected apples were classified into 12 groups depending on different symptoms and symptom severity (scaring, rusting or malformation). Taken together, this study suggested that real-time PCR analysis was more sensitive to detect the low copy of ASSVd on early viroid infected apple skins than regular RT-PCR method.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.689-694
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• 2013

Opisthorchis viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis are parasites known to be carcinogenic and causative agents of cholangiocarcinoma in Asia. The standard method for diagnosis for those parasite infections is stool examination to detect parasite eggs. However, the method has low sensitivity, and eggs of O. viverrini and C. sinensis are difficult to distinguish from each other and from those of some other trematodes. Here, we report a multiplex real-time PCR coupled with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis for the differentiation of O. viverrini and C. sinensis eggs in fecal samples. Using 2 pairs of species-specific primers, DNA sequences from a portion of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (nad 2) gene, were amplified to generate 209 and 165 bp products for O. viverrini and C. sinensis, respectively. The distinct characteristics of HRM patterns were analyzed, and the melting temperatures peaked at $82.4{\pm}0.09^{\circ}C$ and $85.9{\pm}0.08^{\circ}C$ for O. viverrini and C. sinensis, respectively. This technique was able to detect as few as 1 egg of O. viverrini and 2 eggs of C. sinensis in a 150 mg fecal sample, which is equivalent to 7 and 14 eggs per gram of feces, respectively. The method is species-specific, rapid, simple, and does not require fluorescent probes or post-PCR processing for discrimination of eggs of the 2 species. It offers a new tool for differentiation and detection of Asian liver fluke infections in stool specimens.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 1983

Red cell glycolytic intermediates, metabolites and metabolic ratios were studied. Glycolytic intermediates were measured in neutralized perchloric acid extracts of red cell suspensions after 3 hr incubation at $37^{\circ}C$ in the presence and absence of saponin. Adenosine triphosphate(ATP), adenosine diphosphate(ADP), pyruvate and lactate were measured by enzymatic procedures involving stoichiometric oxidation or reduction of a pyridine nucleotide. Glucose was determined using glucose oxidase after zinc hydroxide extraction. The redox state was calculated from the lactate dehydrogenase equilibrium. Adenosine triphosphatase activity(ATPase) was measured by determining the amount of phosphate released from ATP by washed erythrocyte membranes(ghost) during 20 min. incubation. Both total hydrolysis and the amount of hydrolysis that occured in the presence of ouabain were measured. The second measurement yields Mg-ATPase and represents nonspecific ATPase activity of the membranes. The difference between total and Mg-ATPase activity can be attributed to Na-K-ATPase. For the measurement of sodium fluxes, human erythrocytes were preincubated in $^{22}Na$ for 3 hr at $37^{\circ}C$, washed and suspended in a tracer-free medium. The amount of $^{22}Na$ transported out of cells at any time was determined by analysis of supernatant samples taken at various time after addition of the labeled cells to isotope-free medium. The cells and medium were separated and the radioactivity appearing in the medium was measured. From the total radioactivity in the suspension and the radioactivity appearing in the medium at known time, the rate constant for sodium release was computed. The results are summarized as follows: 1) ATP and ATP/ADP were found to increase at every concentration of saponin tested whereas ADP declined at every cone. of saponin. The increase in pyruvate and lactate were observed at every cone, of saponin and thus $NAD^+/NADH$ computed from pyruvate/lactate also increased. Glucose utilization was stimulated by saponin. 2) $Na^+-K^+-ATPase$ activities showed a biphasic response to saponin, first increasing in lower concentration and then decreasing in higher concentration of saponin. 3) The efflux of sodium was significantly increased by saponin in the range of 5 to 10 mg%. The stimulatory effect of saponin on the rate constants for active(ouabain-sensitive) sodium efflux was inhibited by addition of ouabain.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.139-154
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• 2008

목적 : 홍화(紅花)는 활혈거어(活血祛瘀), 해독지통(解毒止痛)의 효능이 있어 관절염, 동맥경화(動脈硬化), 종양(腫瘍), 월경부조(月經不調), 뇌혈전(腦血栓)에 사용되어 왔다. 이에 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)의 분자생물학적 효능 분석을 하고자 Lipopolysaccharide(LPS)로 염증을 유발한 RAW 264.7 cell의 유전자(遺傳子) 발현(發顯)에 미치는 영향을 Microarray를 통하여 관찰하였다. 방법 : RAW cell을 배양하고 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)의 세포 독성을 확인한 후 (1) LPS, (2) 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液), (3) 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)과 LPS를 처치했을 때의 유전자 발현양상을 microarray를 이용하여 관찰하였다. 대조군에 비해 2배 이상 발현의 차이가 있는 경우를 유의한 것으로 보았다. 결과 : 8,170개의 유전자 중 (1) LPS를 처치하였을 경우 35개의 유전자에서 발현이 상승되었고, (2) 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)을 처치하였을 경우 11개의 유전자에서 발현이 상승되고 53개의 유전자에서 발현이 억제되었으며, (3) 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)과 LPS를 동시에 처치하였을 경우에는 47개의 유전자에서 발현이 상승되었고 11개의 유전자에서 발현이 억제되었다. LPS 자극으로 발현이 상승되었지만 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)을 처치할 때 발현이 억제되는 유전자는 SUMO1/sentrin specific protease 7(SENP7), Serine(or cysteine) proteinase inhibitor, clade B(ovalbumin), member 7(SERPINB7), M-phase phosphoprotein, mpp8(HSMPP8), Glycogenin 2(GYG2), InaD-like(Drosophila)(INADL), Copine III(CPNE3), Loss of heterozygosity, 11, chromosomal region 2, gene A(LOH11CR2A), Chromosome 9 open reading frame 33(SHC3), NADH dehydrogenase(ubiquinone) 1 beta subcomplex, 2, 8kDa(NDUFB2)로 9개가 있었다. 요약 : 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)이 LPS로 염증을 유발시킨 RAW 264.7 cell의 유전자 발현에 미치는 영향을 Microarray를 통해 분석하였다. 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)이 LPS로 발현을 항진시킨 35개의 유전자 중 9개를 효과적으로 억제하는 것을 확인하여 염증 치료 기전을 시사하는 유용한 자료를 얻을 수 있었으며 홍화약침액(紅花藥鍼液)이 발현을 항진시킨 유전자들을 통해 혈관생성과 종양억제 등 보다 넓은 범위에 대한 연구가 가능할 것으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.627-633
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• 2012

$Microbulbifer$ sp. AJ-3 was used to acquire the degrading products from $Capsosiphon$ $fulvescens$ (DPCF), which were investigated to determine its physiological activities. A crude enzyme extract from $Microbulbifer$ sp. AJ-3 hydrolyzes polysaccharide substrates such as agar, agarose, alginic acid, fucoidan, laminaran, starch, and chitin. Among them, agarose, laminaran, and alginic acid showed higher activities, especially alginic acid. The antioxidant activity of DPCF was measured by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activities and were about 32% and 93% at 2 mg/ml, respectively. In addition, the nitrite-scavenging activity of DPCF was about 82%, 53%, and 12% at pH levels of 1.2, 3.0, and 6.0, respectively. To determine the influence of DPCF on alcohol metabolism, the generating activity of reduced-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was measured. The facilitating rate of ADH activity by DPCF was 130% at 2 mg/ml. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity of DPCF was slightly increased in a dose-dependent manner and was about 28% at 2 mg/ml. These results indicated that the enzymatic products from DPCF have a strong antioxidant, nitrite scavenging, and alcohol metabolizing activity.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.377-384
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• 2012

The importance of biological resources has been gradually increasing, and mollusks have been utilized as main fishery resources in terrestrial ecosystems. But little is known about genomic and transcriptional analysis in mollusks. This is the first report on the transcriptomic profile of Meretrix lusoria. In this study, we constructed cDNA library and determined 542 of distinct EST sequences composed of 284 singletons and 95 contigs. At first, we identified 180 of EST sequences that have significant hits on protein sequences of the exclusive Mollusks database through BLASTX program and 343 of EST sequences that have significant hits on NCBI NR database. We also found that 211 of putative sequences through local BLAST (blastx, E < e-10) search against KOG database were classified into 16 functional categories. Some kinds of immune response related genes encoding allograft inflammatory factor 1 (AIF-1), B-cell translocation gene 1 (BTG1), C-type lectin A, thioester-containing protein and 26S proteasome regulatory complex were identified. To determine phylogenetic relationship, we identified partial sequences of four genes (COX1, COX2, 12S rRNA and NADH dehydrogenase) that significantly matched with the mitochondrial genomes of 3 species-Ml (Meretrix lusoria), Mp (Meretrix petechialis) and Mm (Meretrix meretrix). As a result, we found that there was a little bit of a difference between sequences of Korean isolates and other known isolates. This study will be useful to develop breeding technology and might also be helpful to establish a classification system.

• Korean Journal of Cleft Lip And Palate
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.47-56
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• 2009

The orbicularis oris muscle (OOM) is a very important muscle that originate from the second branchial arch and is innervated by the facial nerve. The aim of this study was to elucidate distribution types of two muscle fibers that composing OOM by using enzyme-histochemical examinations and tried to make a basis for a clinical application. The fresh frozen tissues from the superior and inferior portions of the OOM were taken from post mortem 65-year-old Korean male adult. Total five different sagittal sections were used on the midline of the philtrum, the middle portion of lower lip, the mouth corner, and each midlateral side of upper and lower mouth. We used enzyme-histochemical staining such as Periodic Acid-Schiff (PAS), Succinic Dehydrogenase (SDHase), reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide-Tetrazolium Reductase (NADH-TR), Adenosine Triphosphatase (ATPase) in pH 9.4, 4.6 and 4.3, and Modified Gomori Trichrome. There were about 30.24 % type 1 muscle fiber and 65.40 % type 2 muscle fiber in the midline of the philtrum (p < 0.05). Enzyme-histochemical staining is very useful and innovative method to elucidate characteristics of muscle fibers. We expect that chiloplasty and reconstruction of the lip portions for cleft lip patients, based on these results, are better to recovery function and aesthetic. However, we have some problems as an intramuscular variability and the inter-individual variation etc. Therefore we have to make progress these studies continuously to overcome these problems.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.903-908
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• 2004

Alternative initiation codon(AlC) has been reported in the mitochondrial genes in various mammalian species. We investigated the AlC of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase 2 gene(rntDNA ND2) in five pig breeds. Two kinds of initiation codons(ATA/ATf) showing different frequencies among tested pig breeds were used. While all Large White pigs had ATA as an initiator methionine codon, all Landrace pigs had ATf. The other breeds(Berkshire, Duroc and Hampshire) had both initiation codons with the ATA frequencies, 91.9, 21.3 and 60.00/0, respectively. In the previous reports, all Chinese indigenous pig breeds were identified to have unique initiation codon ATA. Although the effect of Ale on the translation of mtDNA ND2 has not been studied in this study, AlC patterns in mtDNA ND2 will contribute to the maternity test using molecular markers in pig breeding.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.93-97
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• 2020

The cestode Taenia hydatigena uses canids, primarily dogs, as definitive hosts, while the metacestode larval stage cysticercus infects a range of intermediate hosts, including domestic animals such as goats, sheep, and pigs. Cysticercosis due to T. hydatigena has large veterinary and economic drawbacks. Like other taeniids, e.g., Echinococcus, intraspecific variation is found among the members of the genus Taenia. In Africa, few studies are available on the epidemiology and distribution of T. hydatigena, and even fewer studies are available on its genetic variation. In this study, we molecularly identified 11 cysticerci from sheep in Sudan and demonstrated the genetic variation based on the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) mitochondrial genes. The isolates were correctly identified as T. hydatigena with more than 99% similarity to those in the GenBank database. Low diversity indices and insignificant neutrality indices were observed, with 3 and 2 haplotypes for the nad1 and cox1 genes, respectively. The results suggest the presence of unique T. hydatigena haplotypes in Sudan, as haplotypes with 100% similarity were not found in the GenBank database. With few available studies on the genetic variation of T. hydatigena in Africa, this report represents the first insights into the genetic variation of T. hydatigena in Sudan and constitutes useful data.