• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권8호
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• pp.1316-1323
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• 2019

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a newly emerging coronavirus which is zoonotic from bats and camels. Its infection in humans can be fatal especially in patients with preexisting conditions due to smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Among the 25 proteins encoded by MERS-CoV, 5 accessory proteins seem to be involved in viral evasion of the host immune responses. Here we report that ORF4a, ORF4b, and ORF8b proteins, alone or in combination, effectively antagonize nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) activation. Interestingly, the inhibition of $NF-{\kappa}B$ by MERS-CoV accessory proteins was mostly at the level of pattern recognition receptors: melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5). ORF4a and ORF4b additively inhibit MDA5-mediated activation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ while that of retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 (RIG-I) is largely not perturbed. Of note, ORF8b was found to be a novel antagonist of MDA5-mediated $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation. In addition, ORF8b also strongly inhibits Tank-binding kinase 1 (TBK1)-mediated induction of $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling. Taken together, MERS-CoV accessory proteins are involved in viral escape of $NF-{\kappa}B$-mediated antiviral immune responses.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권6호
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• pp.867-874
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• 2021

Epalrestat (EPS) is a brain penetrant aldose reductase inhibitor, an approved drug currently used for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. At near-plasma concentration, EPS induces glutathione biosynthesis, which in turn reduces oxidative stress in the neuronal cells. In this study, we found that EPS reduces neurodegeneration by inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative injury, mitochondrial membrane damage, apoptosis and tauopathy. EPS treatment up to 50 µM did not show any toxic effect on SH-SY5Y cell line (neuroblastoma cells). However, we observed toxic effect at a concentration of 100 µM and above. At 50 µM concentration, EPS showed better antioxidant activity against H₂O₂ (100 µM)-induced cytotoxicity, ROS formation and mitochondrial membrane damage in retinoic acid-differentiated SH-SY5Y cell line. Furthermore, our study revealed that 50 µM of EPS concentration reduced the glycogen synthase kinase-3 β (GSK3-β) expression and total tau protein level in H₂O₂ (100 µM)-treated cells. Findings from this study confirms the therapeutic efficacy of EPS on regulating Alzheimer's disease (AD) by regulating GSK3-β and total tau proteins phosphorylation, which helped to restore the cellular viability. This process could also reduce toxic fibrillary tangle formation and disease progression of AD. Therefore, it is our view that an optimal concentration of EPS therapy could decrease AD pathology by reducing tau phosphorylation through regulating the expression level of GSK3-β.

• BMB Reports
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• 제55권3호
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• pp.142-147
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• 2022

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been utilized as a promising source in regenerative medicine. However, the risk of teratoma formation that comes with residual undifferentiated PSCs in differentiated cell populations is most concerning in the clinical use of PSC derivatives. Here, we report that a monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting PSCs could distinguish undifferentiated PSCs, with potential teratoma-forming activity, from differentiated PSC progeny. A panel of hybridomas generated from mouse immunization with H9 human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) was screened for ESC-specific binding using flow cytometry. A novel mAb, K312, was selected considering its high stem cell-binding activity, and this mAb could bind to several human induced pluripotent stem cells and PSC lines. Cell-binding activity of K312 was markedly decreased as hESCs were differentiated into embryoid bodies or by retinoic acid treatment. In addition, a cell population negatively isolated from undifferentiated or differentiated H9 hESCs via K312 targeting showed a significantly reduced expression of pluripotency markers, including Oct4 and Nanog. Furthermore, K312-based depletion of pluripotent cells from differentiated PSC progeny completely prevented teratoma formation. Therefore, our findings suggest that K312 is utilizable in improving stem cell transplantation safety by specifically distinguishing residual undifferentiated PSCs.

• 한국가금학회지
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.299-304
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• 2013

닭에서 기도 상피세포는 호흡기 관련 질병 연구에 있어 제한된 외부 환경 및 조건하에 동물 생체 외 실험을 진행할 수 있다는 점에서 중요한 연구재료로써 이용될 수 있다. 최근에 쥐, 인간, 햄스터 등에서 상피세포의 1차 배양 방법이 확립되었으며, 닭에서도 초기 바이러스 감염 경로 기관에 대한 병독성을 진단하고, 감염 메커니즘을 규명하기 위해서 기도 상피세포 배양 방법의 확립이 절실히 요구되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 20일령 병아리의 기도 내 상피세포층에서 기도 상피세포를 분리하였으며, 분리된 기도 상피세포의 1차 배양을 수행하였을 때 전형적인 기도 상피세포의 형태인 섬모를 관찰할 수 있었고, 15일에서 20일 이상 배양 시에도 그 형태를 유지할 수 있다는 사실을 확인하였다. 또한 상피세포 마커 유전자(retinoic acid responder, FGF-binding protein, virus activating protease(VAP))를 이용하여 배양된 기도 상피세포에서 기도 상피세포 특이적인 유전자가 섬유아세포주에 비하여 높게 발현한다는 사실을 확인하였다. 마지막으로 1차 배양된 기도 상피세포의 ND 바이러스 감수성을 알아보기 위하여 각각 0.1 MOI와 1 MOI의 ND 바이러스를 1차 배양된 기도 상피세포에 체외 감염시켰을 때, 12.6%와 48.2%의 감염율을 보였다. 또한 섬유아세포주에 1 MOI의 ND 바이러스를 감염시켰을 때 13.5% 감열율을 보여, 1차 배양된 기도 상피세포가 ND 바이러스에 3배 이상 높은 바이러스 감수성을 나타내는 결과를 확인하였다. 그러므로 본 연구는 향후 닭에서 바이러스성 호흡기 질환의 감염 경로 및 메커니즘을 연구하고, 나아가 질병의 예방 및 치료에 있어서 중요한 기초자료로써 이용할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제64권4호
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• pp.285-292
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• 2008

연구배경: 악성 흉수가 있는 환자는 예후가 좋지 않아 이를 감별하는 것은 임상적으로 중요한 일이다. 하지만 흉수 내 세포진 검사가 음성일 경우 진단이 쉽지 않다. 따라서 본 연구는 흉수 탈락 세포에서 추출한 DNA에서 종양억제 유전자로 알려진 retinoic acid receptor b2 (RARB2)와 p16 유전자의 과메틸화 측정이 악성 흉수 진단에 도움이 될 수 있을지를 확인하기 위하여 실시하였다. 방법: 43명의 환자에서 흉수를 천자하여 흉수 내 탈락 세포에서 메틸화 특이 PCR 방법으로 RARB2와 p16 유전자의 과메틸화를 측정하고, 이를 흉막 생검 및 흉수 세포진 검사법과 비교하였다. 결과: 43명의 환자 중 17명은 폐렴, 결핵에 의한 양성 흉수 환자였고, 26명은 흉막 침범 폐암 환자였다. 17명의 양성 흉수에서는 흡연 유무와 상관없이 RARB2와 p16 유전자의 과메틸화가 관찰되지 않았다. 26명의 악성 흉수에서 과메틸화는 각각 14명, 5명에서 관찰되었으며, 두 유전자 중 어느 한 쪽이라도 과메틸화가 생긴 경우는 15명이었다. 흉막 생검, 흉수 내 세포진 검사, RARB2 단독, p16 단독, 두 유전자 동시 측정 과메틸화 검사의 민감도는 각각 73.1%, 53.8%, 53.8%, 19.2%, 57.7%이었고, 음성 예측도는 각각 70.8%, 58.6%, 58.6%, 44.7%, 60.7%로서 두 유전자를 동시에 검사할 때의 민감도와 음성 예측도는 흉막 생검보다는 낮았지만, 흉수 내 세포진 검사보다는 높았다. 또, 소세포암에서 p16를 이용한 민감도가 14.3%로 떨어져서 조직 유형에 따른 차이를 보였다. 결론: 본 연구 결과에서 p16과 RARB2 유전자의 과메틸화의 발견은 악성 흉수를 양성과 감별하는데 높은 특이도를 보였고, 민감도 역시 흉수 내 세포진 검사보다 높은 방법이었다. 폐암의 세포 유형에 따른 분자 생물학적 병리를 이해하고 적절한 유전자를 선정한다면 이런 결과는 더욱 향상될 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.19-27
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• 2004

Objective: This study was to examine the in vitro neural cell differentiation patterns of human embryonic stem (hES) cells following treatment of various neurotrophic factors [basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), retinoic acid (RA), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-$\alpha$], particulary in dopaminergic neuron formation. Methods: The hES cells were induced to differentiate by bFGF and RA. Group I) In bFGF induction method, embryoid bodies (EBs, for 4 days) derived from hES were plated onto gelatin dish, selected for 8 days in ITSFn medium and expanded at the presence of bFGF (10 ng/ml) for another 6 days followed by a final differentiation in N2 medium for 7, 14 and 21 days. Group II) For RA induction, EBs were exposed of RA ($10^{-6}M$) for 4 days and allowed to differentiate in N2 medium for 7, 14 and 21 days. Group III) To examine the effects of additional neurotrophic factors, bFGF or RA induced cells were exposed to either BDNF (10 ng/ml) or TGF-$\alpha$ (10 ng/ml) during the 21 days of final differentiation. Neuron differentiation and dopamine secretion were examined by indirect immunocytochemistry and HPLC, respectively. Results: The bFGF or RA treated hES cells were resulted in similar neural cell differentiation patterns at the terminal differentiation stage, specifically, 75% neurons and 11% glial cells. Additionally, treatment of hES cells with BDNF or TGF-$\alpha$ during the terminal differentiation stage led to significantly increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression of a dopaminergic neuron marker, compared to control (p<0.05). In contrast, no effect was observed on the rate of mature neuron (NF-200) or glutamic acid decarboxylase-positive neurons. Immunocytochemistry and HPLC analyses revealed the higher levels of TH expression (20.3%) and dopamine secretion (265.5 $\pm$ 62.8 pmol/mg) in bFGF and TGF-sequentially treated hES cells than those in $\alpha$ RA or BDNF treated hES cells. Conclusion: These results indicate that the generation of dopamine secretory neurons from in vitro differentiated hES cells can be improved by TGF-$\alpha$ addition in the bFGF induction protocol.

• 대한한방소아과학회지
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.39-74
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• 2002

Recently, increased attention has been paid to the growth of the height of children and adolescents. To accelerate growth, velvet antlers are typically used in Oriental medicine. The present study investigated the effects of velvet antlers of velvet antlers on bone growth using the cell line of Human Osteosarcoma (Hos), derived from the bone-generating cells essential to bone growth. In order to give certain stress to this Hos, the medium contained 1% FBS was used for culturing for Hos cell instead of 10% in control. In this condition of which the proliferation had been significantly decreased, the ethanol extract of upper part of velvet antlers was added, As a result, the cells proliferation rate was significantly increased. Using Oligonucleotide DNA microarray, comparison and analyses were done to see what kind of specific genes would be differentially expressed. The result showed that as opposed to the control group, the stressed group indicated a decrease in the expressions of 6 kinds of genes such as, Id1, retinoid X receptor(RXRB) and 14-3-3 epsilon, etc. The velvet antler treated group, as opposed to the control group, showed a decreased in the expressions of 8 kinds of genes such as Id1, etc. and an increase in the expressions of 24 kinds of genes. The number of genes that showed differences in the velvet antler treated group compared with the stressed group was 7 the expression of 1 kind of gene was decreased, and the expressions of 6 kinds of genes were increased. Considering the mechanism by which velvet antlers affected the growth of osteoblast through reviewing the functions of these genes, the following results were attained. The constraint in the proliferation of Hos cells resulting from the medium contained 1% FBS seems to be caused by three important factors: 1) the decrease of the expression of 14-3-3 epsilon involved in the signal transduction and metabolism of growth, 2) the decrease of the expression of Id1 gene involved in the metabolism of bone formation, and 3) the decreased of expression of RXRB gene involved in the metabolism of retinoci acid. It is suggested that the improvement of the cell proliferating effects by velvet antler treatment, in stressed condition si mediated by increment of 6 genes particularly 14-3-3 epsilon, RXRB, and IGF2, with are the crucial factors for the cell growth and differentiation, metabolism of retinoic acid and osteoblast proliferation, respectively.

• 한국수정란이식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국수정란이식학회 2002년도 국제심포지엄
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• pp.95-95
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• 2002

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells can be induced to differentiate into tyrosine hydroxylase expressing (TH+) cells that may serve as an alternative for cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). To examine in vitro differentiation of hES (MB03, registered in NIH) cells into TH+ cells, hES cells were induced to differentiate according to the 4-/4+ protocol using retinoic acid (RA), ascorbic acid (AA), and/or lithium chloride (LiCl) followed by culture in N2 medium for 14 days, during which time the differentiation occurs. Immunocytochemical stainings of the cells revealed that approximately 21.1% of cells treated with RA plus AA expressed TH protein that is higher than the ratio of TH+ cells seen in any other treatment groups (RA, RA+LiCl or RA+AA+LiCl). In order to see the differentiation pattern in vivo and the ability of in vitro differentiation-induced cells in easing symptomatic motor function of PD animal model, cells (2 $\times$ 10$^{5}$ cells/2${mu}ell$) undergone 4-/4+ protocol using RA plus AA without any further treatment were transplanted into unilateral striatum of MPTP-lesioned PD animal model (C57BL/6). Following the surgery, motor behavior of the animals was examined by measuring the retention time on an accelerating rotar-rod far next 10 weeks. No significant differences in retention time of the animals were noticed until 2 weeks post-graft; however, it increased markedly at 6 weeks and 10 weeks time point after the surgery. Immunohistochemical studies confirmed that a reasonable number of TH+ cells were found at the graft site as well as other remote sites, showing the migrating nature of embryonic stem cells. These results suggest that in viかo differentiated hES cells relieve symptomatic motor behavior of PD animal model and should be considered as a promising alternative for the treatment of PD.

• BMB Reports
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.741-748
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• 2004

The hepatitis C virus is associated with the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinomas. Among the 10 polyproteins produced by the virus, no function has been clearly assigned to the non-structural 5A (NS5A) protein. This study was designed to identify the hepatocellular proteins that interact with NS5A of the HCV. Yeast two-hybrid experiments were performed with a human liver cDNA prey-library, using five different NS5A derivatives as baits, the full-length NS5A (NS5A-F, amino acid (aa) 1~447) and its four different derivatives, denoted as NS5A-A (aa 1~150), -B (aa 1~300), -C (aa 300~447) and D (aa 150~447). NS5A-F, NS5A-B and NS5A-C gave two, two and 10 candidate clones, respectively, including an AHNAK-related protein, the secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4), the N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1), the cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1 (CRABP-1), ferritin heavy chain (FTH1), translokin, tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2 (TACSTD2), phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI4K) and $centaurin{\delta}$ 2 ($CENT{\delta}2$). However, NS5A-A produced no candidates and NS5A-D was not suitable as bait due to transcriptional activity. Based on an in vitro binding assay, CRABP-1, PI4K, $CENT{\delta}2$ and two unknown fusion proteins with maltose binding protein (MBP), were confirmed to interact with the glutathione S-transferase (GST)/NS5A fusion protein. Furthermore, the interactions of CRABP-1, PI4K and $CENT{\delta}2$ were not related to the PXXP motif (class II), as judged by a domain analysis. While their biological relevance is under investigation, the results contribute to a better understanding of the possible role of NS5A in hepatocellular signaling pathways.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제34권6호
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• pp.975-984
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• 2021

Objective: Inbreeding depression of reproduction is a major concern in the conservation of native chicken genetic resources. Here, based on the successful development of strongly inbred (Sinb) and weakly inbred (Winb) Langshan chickens, we aimed to evaluate inbreeding effects on reproductive traits and identify candidate genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens. Methods: A two-sample t-test was performed to estimate the differences in phenotypic values of reproductive traits between Sinb and Winb chicken groups. Three healthy chickens with reproductive trait values around the group mean values were selected from each of the groups. Differences in ovarian and hypothalamus transcriptomes between the two groups of chickens were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Results: The Sinb chicken group showed an obvious inbreeding depression in reproduction, especially for traits of age at the first egg and egg number at 300 days (p<0.01). Furthermore, 68 and 618 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the hypothalamus and ovary between the two chicken groups, respectively. In the hypothalamus, DEGs were mainly enriched in the pathways related to vitamin metabolism, signal transduction and development of the reproductive system, such as the riboflavin metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathways, including stimulated by retinoic acid 6, serpin family F member 1, secreted frizzled related protein 2, Wnt family member 6, and frizzled class receptor 4 genes. In the ovary, DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways associated with basic metabolism, including amino acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycosaminoglycan degradation. A series of key DEGs involved in folate biosynthesis (gamma-glutamyl hydrolase, guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1), oocyte meiosis and ovarian function (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1, structural maintenance of chromosomes 1B, and speedy/RINGO cell cycle regulator family member A), spermatogenesis and male fertility (prostaglandin D2 synthase 21 kDa), Mov10 RISC complex RNA helicase like 1, and deuterosome assembly protein 1) were identified, and these may play important roles in inbreeding depression in reproduction. Conclusion: The results improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying inbreeding depression in chicken reproduction and provide a theoretical basis for the conservation of species resources.