• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2006

The interferon-induced, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent protein kinase PKR plays a key role in interferon-mediated host defense against viral infection, and is implicated in cellular transformation and apoptosis. We have isolated a cDNA of simian PKR encoding a product with 83% amino acid identity to the human homolog and showed that PKR expression is significantly attenuated in the Vero E6 African green monkey kidney cells devoid of type I interferon genes. A variant form of PKR lacking the exon 12 in the kinase domain is produced in these cells, presumably from an alternatively spliced transcript. Unlike wild type PKR, the variant protein named PKR-${\Delta}E12$ is incapable of auto-phosphorylation and phosphorylation of eIF2-${\alpha}$, indicating that the kinase sub-domains III and IV embedded in exon 12 are indispensable for catalytic function. PKR-${\Delta}E12$ had no dominant negative effect but was weakly phosphorylated in trans by wild type PKR.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.235-245
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• 1999

HIV-1 Tat, a strong transactivator, is essential for the HIV-1 replication and AIDS progression. The Tat function is markedly inhibited by human p53 anti-oncogene. However, the detail mechanism has not yet been clearly revealed. In our previous report, we have addressed that p53 is unlikely to interact directly with HIV-1 Tat. In the consecutive experiments, Tat-phosphorylation was found to increase in proportional to the amounts of transfected p53. This work was initiated to identify the signaling factor that is involved in the p53-mediated Tat suppression. Several protein kinases were tested for the phosphorylation of Tat, and we found that PKR is likely to be involved in the p53-mediated Tat suppression. PKR was co-immunoprecipitated by anti-Tat antibody in the Tat-expressing Jurkat cell lysates only when the cells were transfected by p53, indicating that PKR-Tat interaction depends on the p53 activity. The interaction seems to result in PKR-mediated Tat-phosphorylation. Tat function was not blocked by p53 when co-transfected trasiently with antisense-PKR. We have generated PKR-knock out Jurkat cell clone. The PKR defective Jurkat cells didn't show the p53-mediated Tat suppression. These data indicate that p53-mediated Tat suppression is strongly associated with PKR. PKR-mediated Tat phosphorylation experiments are now under investigation by kinase assay and co-immunoprecipitation in the presence or absence of p53.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.26-30
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• 2015

nc886 (=vtRNA2-1, pre-miR-886, or CBL3) is a newly identified non-coding RNA (ncRNA) that represses the activity of protein kinase R (PKR). nc886 is transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) and is intriguingly the first case of a Pol III gene whose expression is silenced by CpG DNA hypermethylation in several types of cancer. PKR is a sensor protein that recognizes evading viruses and induces apoptosis to eliminate infected cells. Like viral infection, nc886 silencing activates PKR and induces apoptosis. Thus, the significance of the nc886:PKR pathway in cancer is to sense and eliminate pre-malignant cells, which is analogous to PKR's role in cellular innate immunity. Beyond this tumor sensing role, nc886 plays a putative tumor suppressor role as supported by experimental evidence. Collectively, nc886 provides a novel example how epigenetic silencing of a ncRNA contributes to tumorigenesis by controlling the activity of its protein ligand.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.173-178
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• 1995

동물계에서 항바이러스와관련된 dsRNA 의존성 인산화 효소(PKR)의 유전자를 식물체에서 발현시킬 경우 PKR에 의한 단백질합성 및 식물바이러스의 증식조절 가능성에 대한 기초자료를 확보하기 위하여 사람에서 분리된 PKR cDNA를 Agrobacterium 방법에 의하여 연초식물체(Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi-nc)로 형질전환시켰다. HindIII/PstI처리에 의해 얻어지는 약 1.8kb의 phPKR cDNA절편을 일련의 유전자 조작 방법을 통하여 식물발현벡터인 pBI121에 도입하여, p12168을 재조합하였다. 이를 A. tumefaciens LBA 4404에 형질전환시켜 연초식물체형질 전환에 이용하였다. 2mg/l BA와 0.5mg/l NAA가 포함되고 100$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml의 kanamycin이 첨가된 MS배지에서 shooting시킨 후 phytohormone이 첨가되지 않은 MS배지상에서 rooting을 시켜 형질전환 연초식물체를 얻었으며, 형질전환식물체는 정상식물체와 유사한 생육양상을 나타내었다. 형질전환식물체의 유전자도입은 hPKR cDNA의 전사부여는 RT-PCR 방법에 의하여 확인되었다.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 1998

Column-purified double-stranded RNA binding factor (RBF) protein was tested for its binding affinity for the different forms of nucleic acids structure such as single-stranded(ss) and double-stranded(ds)RNA and ss- and dsDNA. The RBF protein was incubated with each of these nucleic acid structures in separate reactions and its comparative binding affnity was visualized by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The RBF protein bound to the dsRNA molecule to form a tight RNA:protein complex in agreement with previous studies, but not to the other nucleic acid molecules confirming its distinctive affinity for the dsRNA structure. In phosphorylation assay in vito, the purified RBF protein significantly inhibited the autophosphorylation of the PKR derived from not only human but mouse source in the presence of poly(I):poly(C). It is suggesting that PKR vs. RBF is similarly under a competitive interaction among different eukaryotic organisms during protein synthesis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.949-955
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• 2009

Mucosal epithelia sense external stress signals and transmit them to the intracellular cascade responses. Ribotoxic stress-producing chemicals such as deoxynivalenol (DON) or other trichothecene mycotoxins have been linked with gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases by Fusarium-contamination. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that DON evokes the epithelial sentinel signals of RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) and early growth response gene 1 (EGR-1), which together contribute to the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 8 (IL-8) in human intestinal epithelial cells. PKR suppression by the dominant negative PKR expression attenuated DON-stimulated interleukin-8 production. Moreover, 1L-8 transcriptional activation by DON was also reduced by PKR inhibition in the human intestinal epithelial cells. Treatment with the PKR inhibitor also suppressed EGR-1 promoter activity, mRNA and protein induction, although mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases such as extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK) 1/2, p38, c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (INK) were little affected or even enhanced in presence of a PKR inhibitor. These patterns were also compared in the EGR-1-suppressed cells, which showed much more suppressed production of 1L-8. All things taken into consideration, DON-activated sentinel signals of EGR-1 via PKR mediated interleukin-8 production in human intestinal epithelial cells, which provide insight into the possible general mechanism associated with mucosal inflammation as an intestinal toxic insult by ribotoxic trichothecene mycotoxins.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8339-8343
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• 2016

Background: To determine the outcome and cost saving by placing ultrasound guided surgical clips for tumor localization in patients undergoing neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross sectional analytical study was conducted at the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan from January to December 2014. A sample of 25 women fulfilling our selection criteria was taken. All patients came to our department for ultrasound guided core biopsy of suspicious breast lesions and clip placement in the index lesion prior to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. All the selected patients had biopsy proven breast cancer. Results: The mean age was $45{\pm}11.6years$. There were no complications seen after clip placement in terms of clip migration or hemorrhage. The cost of commercially available markers was approximately PKR 9,000 (US$ 90) and that of the surgical clip was PKR 900 (US$ 9). The cost of surgical clips in 25 patients was PKR 22,500 (US$ 225), when compared to the commercially available markers which may have incurred a cost of PKR 225,000 (US$ 2,250). The total cost saving for 25 patients was PKR 202,500 (US$ 2, 025), making it PKR 8100 (US$ 81) per patient. Conclusions: The results of our study show that ultrasound guided surgical clip placement in index lesions prior to neo-adjuvant therapy is a safe and cost effective method to identify tumor bed and response to treatment for further management.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1453-1458
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• 2006

PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase (PERK) is a type I transmembrane ER-resident protein containing a cytoplasmic catalytic domain with a Ser/Thr kinase activity, which is most closely related to the eukaryotic translation initiation factor-$2{\alpha}$ ($eIF2{\alpha}$) kinase PKR involved in the antiviral defense pathway by interferon. We cloned and expressed the PERK C-terminal kinase domain (cPERK) in Escherichia coli. Like PERK activation in cells under ER stress, wild-type cPERK underwent autophosphorylation when overexpressed in E. coli, whereas the cPERK(K621M) with a methionine substitution for the lysine at amino acid 621 lost the autophosphorylation activity. The activated form cPERK which was purified to near homogeneity, formed an oligomer and was able to trans-phosphorylate specifically its cellular substrate $eIF2{\alpha}$. Two-dimensional phosphoamino acids analysis revealed that phosphorylation of cPERK occurs at the Ser and Thr residues. The functionally active recombinant cPERK, and its inactive mutant should be useful for the analysis of biochemical functions of PERK and for the determination of their three-dimensional structures.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.213-228
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• 2023

We evaluated the transcriptional response of interferon (IFN)-related genes in rock bream iridovirus (RBIV)-infected rock bream under high-, low-, or no-mortality conditions induced by different stocking water temperatures. Under the high susceptibility condition (group A, water temperature 26℃, 100% mortality), only the Mx gene was expressed early, with prolonged expression, and with heavy viral loads of approximately 10⁶~10⁷ major capsid protein gene copies/μL from 4 to 10 days post infection (dpi). However, IRF1, IRF3, IRF8, STAT1, ISG15, PKR, Viperin, GVIN1, IFI44, and ISG56 were activated at later time points (8 dpi) and then quickly decreased (10 dpi). For the low susceptibility condition, the water temperature was set at 23℃ for 7 days (group B) and then reduced to 17℃. Group B exhibited a 28% mortality rate, in which persistent and effective antiviral responses were observed for long periods of time. In particular, at 20 and 22 dpi, when virus replication was peaked at approximately 10⁷/μL, the expressions of most of the IFN-related genes (IRF1, IRF3, IRF8, Mx, STAT1, ISG15, PKR, Viperin, GVIN1, IFI44, and ISG56) were significantly higher in group B than in the control group. Moreover, prolonged and higher levels of IRF3 (at least 30 dpi), IRF8 (at least 30 dpi), ISG15 (at least 30 dpi), PKR (at least 28 dpi), Viperin (at least 30 dpi), and IFI44 (at least 30 dpi) were also observed in the recovery stage of infection. Under the no-susceptibility condition at 17℃ (0% mortality), significantly elevated levels of IRF3, Mx, ISG15, and PKR were observed mostly until 20 dpi. The findings indicate that RBIV infection can induce an efficient IFN-mediated antiviral immune response in low- and no-susceptibility conditions. The findings could be valuable for effective control of viral pathogens in fish.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.234-240
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• 1996

A double-stranded RNA binding factor (RBF), characterized as an inhibitor of PKR kinase in our previous study, was evaluated for its RNA binding specificities by RNA gel electrophoretic mobility shift analysis and membrane filter binding assay, RBF displayed affinities for a broad range of RNAs including viral RNAs and synthetic RNAs consiting of stem and loop structures. GC-rich RNA stem helices as short as 11 bp are suggested to represent the minimal binding motif for RBF. RBF binding to all the natural RNAs tested was reversible by poly(I): poly(C) addition, but E. coli 5S RNA was inefficient.