• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.388-393
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• 2018

The activating transcription factor (ATF) 4 belongs to the ATF/CREB (cAMP Response Element Binding bZIP [Basic Leucine Zipper]) transcription factor family, and plays a central role in the UPR (Unfolded Protein Response) process in cells. The induction of ATF4 expression has previously been shown to increase the replication of HIV-1. However, the detailed mechanism underlying this effect and the factors involved in the regulation of ATF4 function are still unknown. Here, we demonstrate first that knocking out ATF4 using siRNA shows a strong negative effect on HIV-1 production, indicating that ATF4 is a functional positive cellular factor in HIV-1 production. To determine the mechanism by which ATF4 regulates the HIV-1 life cycle, we assessed the effect of the overexpression of wild type ATF4 and its various derivatives on HIV-1 LTR-mediated transcriptional activation and the production of HIV-1 particles. This effect was studied through co-transfection experiments with either reporter vectors or proviral DNA. We found that the N-terminal domains of ATF4 are involved in HIV-1 LTR-mediated transcriptional activation, and thus in HIV-1 production.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.345-350
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• 2009

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a proliferative non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis of multiple organs. This is a rare disease of unknown etiology with a high mortality. We present the case report of a 26-year-old man diagnosed with ECD. He was referred to our hospital with elevated levels of aminotransferases. Although the diagnosis was uncertain, the patient was lost to follow up at that time. One year later, the patient returned to the hospital with generalized edema. Although a specific bone lesion was not found, the patient was experiencing the following: glomerulonephritis, aplastic anemia, hepatitis, and lung involvement. A lung biopsy was performed: the immunohistochemical stain were positive for CD68 and negative for S-100 protein and CD1a. We diagnosed as the patient as havinf ECD. Approximately 50% of ECD cases present with extraskeletal involvement. ECD should be considered as part of the differential diagnosis when multiple organs are involved.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.186-193
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• 1992

Eosinophilic granuloma (histiocytosis $\times$) is an uncommon granulomatous disorder affecting the mononuclear phagocytic cell system caused by unknown etiology. When confined to the lungs, it is also known as pulmonary eosinophilic granuloma or pulmonary histiocytosis $\times$. After the first case was described in 1951 by Farinacci et ai, more 250 cases were reported in the English literature. However only 4 cases has been introduced in our country. We describe two additional cases. In both cases, open lung biopsies are performed for definite diagnosis and examined by immunohistochemical stain for S-100 protein and electron microscopy for ultrastructural identification of Birbeck granule.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1095-1101
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• 2016

Ginsenoside Rg1 is a natural compound with various efficacies and functions. It has beneficial effects on aging, diabetes, and immunity, as well as antioxidant and proliferative functions. However, its effect on porcine embryo development remains unknown. We investigated the effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on the in vitro development of preimplantation porcine embryos after parthenogenetic activation in high-oxygen conditions. Ginsenoside treatment did not affect cleavage or blastocyst formation rates, but did increase the total cell number and reduced the rate of apoptosis. In addition, it had no effect on the expression of four apoptosis-related genes (Bcl-2 homologous antagonist/killer, B-cell lymphoma-extra large, Caspase 3, and tumor protein p53) or two metabolism-related genes (mechanistic target of rapamycin, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B), but increased the expression of Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), indicating that it may increase glucose uptake. In summary, treatment with the appropriate concentration of ginsenoside Rg1 ($20{\mu}g/mL$) can increase glucose uptake, thereby improving the quality of embryos grown in high-oxygen conditions.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2013

Cathepsins are members of the multigene family of lysosomal cysteine proteinases and have regulated function in several life processes. The potential role of cathepsin F cysteine gene was expected as protease in the yolk processing mechanism during early developmental stage, but expression analysis was unknown after fertilization. The alignment analysis showed that amino acid sequence of cathepsin F from olive flounder liver expressed sequence tag (EST) homologous to cathepsin F of other known cathepsin F sequences with 87-98% identity. In this study, we examined the gene expression analysis of cathepsin F in various tissues at variety age flounder. Tissue distribution of the cathepsin F mRNA has been shown to be ubiquitous and constitutive pattern regardless of age in each group, although derived from cDNA library using liver sample. The mRNA level of cathepsin F more increased as developmental proceed during embryogenesis and early developmental stage, especially increased in the blastula, hatching stage and 3 days post hatching (dph). As a result, it may suggest that the proteolysis of yolk proteins (YPs) has been implicated as a mechanism for nutrient supply during early larval stages in olive flounder.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2009

Ligand-dependent or independent oligomerization of receptor protein tyrosine kinase (RPTK) is often an essential step for receptor activation and intracellular signaling. The novel oncogene with kinase-domain (NOK) is a unique RPTK that almost completely lacks an ectodomain, expresses intracellularly and activates constitutively. However, it is unknown whether NOK can form oligomer or what function oligomerization would have. In this study, two NOK deletion mutants were generated by either removing the ectodomain ($NOK{\Delta}ECD$) or including the endodomain (NOK-ICD). Co-immunoprecipitation demonstrated that the transmembrane (TM) domain of NOK was essential for its intermolecular interaction. The results further showed that NOK aggregated more closely as lower order oligomers (the dimer- and trimer-sized) than either deletion mutant did since NOK could be crosslinked by both Sulfo-EGS and formaldehyde, whereas either deletion mutant was only sensitive to Sulfo-EGS. Removing the NOK TM domain (NOK-ICD) not only markedly promoted higher order oligomerization, but also altered the subcellular localization of NOK and dramatically elevated the NOK-mediated constitutive activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Moreover, NOK-ICD but not NOK or $NOK{\Delta}ECD$ was co-localized with the upstream signaling molecule RAS on cell membrane. Thus, TM-mediated intermolecular contacting may be mainly responsible for the constitutive activation of NOK and contribute to the autoinhibitory effect on RAS/MAPK signaling.

• Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.3.1-3.16
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• 2011

Investigation of the genetic functions in complex biological systems is a challenging step in recent year. Hence, several valuable and interesting research projects have been developed with novel ideas to find out the unknown functions of genes or proteins. To validate the applicability of their novel ideas, various approaches are built up. To date, the most promising and commonly used approach for discovering the target proteins from biological system using small molecule is well known a forward chemical genetics which is considered to be more convenient than the classical genetics. Although, the forward chemical genetics consists of the three basic components, the target identification is the most challenging step to chemical biology researchers. Hence, the diverse target identification methods have been developed and adopted to disclose the small molecule bound protein. Herein, in this review, we briefly described the first two parts chemical toolbox and screening, and then the target identifications in forward chemical genetics are thoroughly described along with the illustrative real example case study. In the tabular form, the different biological active small molecules which are the successful examples of target identifications are accounted in this research review.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2008

The effect of obesity on the drug-metabolizing enzymes remains an important issue for clinician since obesity is a world wide epidemic problem. However, little is known about the effects of obesity on flavincontaining monooxygenase (FMO) production and activity. We show here for the first time that in vivo FMO activity determined by urinary ranitidine (RA) metabolites ratio in human, was higher in subjects with a high body mass index (BMI, kg/$m^2$, 21.97-30.32) than in those with an intermediate BMI (range 19.38-21.83). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between FMO activity and BMI in 209 subjects. In high fat diet-induced obese mice, we also observed that the hepatic expression of FMO (225% of lean mice) and the activity measured by the RA Noxidation rate ($513{\pm}58.1$ vs. $349{\pm}66.0$ pmol/hr per mg protein) were significantly higher than in lean mice fed a control diet. Unknown factors rather than leptin or insulin appeared to regulate the hepatic FMO production. Thus, FMO activity may be increased in obese or overweight individuals. Moreover, the regulation of FMO activity in subjects with morbid obesity, with or without complications and its clinical implications, should be investigated further.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1995.07a
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• pp.57-86
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• 1995

Molecular mapping of plant genomes has progressed rapidly since Bostein et al.(1980) introduced the idea of constructing linkage maps of human genome based on restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers. In recent years, the development of protein and DNA markers has stimulated interest for the new approaches to plant improvement. While classical maps based on morphological mutant markers have provided important insights into the plant genetics and cytology, the molecular maps based on molecular markers have a number of inherent advatages over classical genetic maps for the applications in genetic studies and/or breeding schemes. Isozymes and DNA markers are numerous, discrete, non-deleterious, codominant, and almost entirely free of environmental and epistatic interactions. For these reasons, they are widely used in constructing detailed linkage maps in a number of plant species. Plant breeders improve crops by selecting plants with desirable phenotypes. However a plant's phenotyes is often under genetic control, positioning at different "quantitative trait loci" (QTLs) together with environmental effects. Molecular maps provide a possible way to determine the effect of the individual gene that combines to produce a quantitative trait because the segregation of a large number of markers can be followed in a single genetic cross. Using market-assisted selection, plants that contain several favorable genes for the trait and do not contain unfavourable segments can be obtained during early breeding processes. Providing molecular maps are available, valuable data relevant to the taxonomic relationships and chromosome evolution can be accumulated by comparative mapping and also the structural relationships between linkage map and physical map can be identified by cDNA sequencing. After constructing high density maps, it will be possible to clone genes, whose products are unknown, such as semidwarf and disease resistance genes. However, much attention has to be paid to level-up the basic knowledge of genetics, physiology, biochemistry, plant pathology, entomology, microbiology, and so on. It must also be kept in mind that scientists in various fields will have to make another take off by intensive cooperation together for early integration and utilization of these newly emerging high-techs in practical breeding. breeding.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.285-290
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• 2011

Fusarium graminearum virus 2 (FgV2) infects Fusarium graminearum strain 98-8-60 and has at least five segments of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), denoted as dsRNA-1 to dsRNA-5. In this study, the genome of FgV2 was sequenced and its phylogenetic relationship with other mycoviruses was analyzed. The lengths of FgV2 dsRNAs 1-5 ranged from 2414 to 3580 base pairs (bp). The 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) are highly conserved, and each dsRNA segment had 78-105 and 84-306 bp of 5' and 3' UTRs, respectively. Each dsRNA segment contained a single open reading frame (ORF). Computer analysis of dsRNA-1 revealed a putative open reading frame (ORF) that shows high sequence identity with an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) containing eight conserved motifs. dsRNAs 2-5 also each contain one putative ORF coding for products of unknown function. The sequences of FgV2 dsRNA-2 and dsRNA-3 have significant sequence identity with Magnaporthe oryzae chrysovirus 1 (MoCV1) dsRNA-3 and -4, respectively. When compared to other dsRNA mycoviruses in a phylogenetic analysis of the putative RdRp protein, FgV2 was found to form a distinct virus clade with Aspergillus mycovirus 1816 and MoCV1 in the family Chrysoviridae.