• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.734-742
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• 2012

To compare RNA interference-mediated gene silencing technique and T-DNA integration for gene function analysis in Chinese cabbage, BrSAMS-knockout (KO) line and BrSAMS-knockdown (KD) line were used. The KO line had lost the function of a Brassica rapa S-adenosylmethionine synthetase (BrSAMS) gene by T-DNA insertion and the KD line had shown down-regulated BrSAMS genes' expression by dsRNA cleavage. From microarray results of the KO and KD lines, genes linked to SAMS such as sterol, sucrose, homogalacturonan biosynthesis and glutaredoxin-related protein, serine/threonine protein kinase, and gibberellin-responsive protein showed distinct differences in their expression levels. Even though one BrSAMS gene in the KO line was broken by T-DNA insertion, gene expression pattern of that line did not show remarkable differences compared to wild type control. However, the KD line obtained by RNAi technique showed prominent difference in its gene expression. Besides, change of polyamine and ethylene synthesis genes directly associated with BrSAMS was displayed much more in the KD line. In the microarray analysis of the KO line, BrSAMS function could not be clearly defined because of BrSAMS redundancy due to the genome triplication events in Brassicaceae. In conclusion, we supposed that gene knock-down method by RNAi silencing is more effective than knock-out method by T-DNA insertion for gene function analysis of polyploidy crops such as Chinese cabbage.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1634-1640
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• 2008

This study was focused on the screening of valuable genetic resources, such as promoters from metagenome, and describes a promoter trapping system with a bidirectional probe concept, which can select promoters or operons from various biological resources including metagenomic DNA. A pair of reporters, GFP and DsRed, facing the opposite direction without promoters, is an effective system that can function regardless of the direction of inserted promoters. The feasibility of this system was tested for the isolation of constitutively expressed promoters in E. coli from a soil metagenome, resulting in a potential pool of various promoters for practical application. The analyses of structural organization of the trapped genes demonstrated that constitutively expressible promoters in E. coli were broadly distributed within the metagenome, and suggested that some promoters were useful for the construction of expression vectors. Based on these observations, three constitutive promoters were employed in the expression vector system and their potentials for practical application were evaluated in terms of expression level, protein solubility, and effects on host growth.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1346-1352
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• 2006

We describe an effective method of microchip electrophoresis (ME) based on single strand conformation poly-morphism (SSCP) analysis to rapidly detect the point mutation, Leu72Met, in a human obesity gene. The 207-bp dsDNA in the Leu72Met region, an estimate of the child obesity DNA mutant, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and submitted to a conventional glass microchip analysis with a sieving matrix of 1.75% poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (Mr 1 300 000), 1.0% poly(ethyleneoxide) (Mr 600 000) and 5.0% w/w glycerol. When combined with base stacking (BS) with hydroxide ions, the SSCP-ME provided rapid analysis as well as sensitive detection. The detection sensitivity was effectively enhanced in the OH- concentration range of 0.01-0.025 M NaOH. The sensitivity and speed of this ME-based SSCP methodology for the rapid detection of Leu72Met point mutations makes this an attractive method for diagnosing childhood obesity in a clinical diagnostic laboratory.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.534-537
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• 2004

We produced twelve monoclonal antibodies(mAbs) against thyroglobulin and characterized the bindig profiles. Among them, three mAbs(TN-1, TN-2 and TN-3) were further characterized their binding specificities. TN-2 had a potent lupus anticoagulant activity and potentiated the anticoagulant effect of venom phospholipase A₂. he anticoagulant mechanism of TN-2 was elongation of the partial thromboplastin time and binding to phosphatidylserine which may have a pivot role in blood coagulation. And TN-2 was cross-reacted with ss-DNA and ds-DNA and had a characteristic of autoantibody. These results suggest that TN-2 may provide a useful tool for studying the correlation between autoimmune thyroiditis and its therapeutic effect.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2005

Chlorella viruses are large icosahedral, plaque-forming, dsDNA viruses that infect certain unicellular, chlorellalike green algae. The genomic DNA of over 300 kb contains many useful genes and promoters. Over 40 chlorella viruses have been isolated from fresh water in Korea since 1998. The viruses were amplified initially in chlorella strain NC64A, and pure isolates were obtained by repeated plaque isolation. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed similar but distinct protein patterns, both among the group of purified viruses and in comparison with the prototype chlorella virus PBCV-1. Digestions of the 330- to 350-kb genomic DNAs with 10 restriction enzymes revealed different restriction fragment patterns among the isolates. The tRNA-coding regions of 8 chlorella viruses were cloned and sequenced. These viruses contain 14-16 tRNA genes within a 1.2- to 2-kb region, except for the SS-1 isolate, which has a 1039-bp spacer in a cluster of 11 tRNA genes. Promoter regions of several early genes were isolated and their activities were analyzed in transformed chlorella. Some promoters showed stronger activity than commonly used CaMV 35S promoter and chlorella transformation vectors for heterologous protein are beings constructed using these promoters.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.391-401
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• 2008

Probiotics have emerged as a potential treatment modality for numerous gastrointestinal disorders, including IBD. However, few probiotics have undergone appropriate preclinical screening in vivo. Kefir is considered a probiotic, benefiting the host through its effects in the intestinal tract. Despite numerous studies examining the action of probiotics on the host organism, few have analyzed the effects on intestinal environment. We assessed the protective effect of kefir for three weeks before inducing colitis with 2% dextran sodium sulfate for five days. The DSS loads were similar in all DSS treatment group. The results of the experiment are as follows. Food intake and FER of experimental groups were not significantly different each other, but water consumption tended to be higher in all DSS treatment groups as compared with the normal control. And visual inspection of feces revealed mild diarrhea in rat given 2% DSS. The anti-inflammatory activity of kefir was determined by myeloperoxidase activity during the DSS treatment, and there was no significant difference in any group. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as a colonic lipid peroxidation were significantly lower in the kefir intake groups than in rats treated with 2% DSS alone. The DNA % in tail and tail moment values as a DNA damage level of the blood lymphocytes in kefir intake groups tended to be lower than 2% DSS treatment alone, especially tail lengths were significantly diminished. According to the colonic histopathological assay, there were a severe inflammation of lamina propria and submucosa and mild edema in mucosa and sub mucosa in DSS alone treated group. We found a slight regenerative change in kefir treatment groups. In our experiments, this means that ulcerative colitis related to oxidative injury might be prevented by kefir as a probiotic. Further studies of the potential benefits of kefir as a probiotic in inflammatory condition are encouraged.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.575-580
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• 2010

In this work, the electrophoretic motion of dsDNA molecule represented by a polymer through an artificial nano-pore in a membrane is simulated using the numerical method combining the lattice Boltzmann and Langevin molecular dynamic method. The polymer motion is represented by Langevin molecular dynamics technique while the fluid flow is taken into account by fluctuating lattice-Boltzmann method. The hydrodynamic interactions between the polymer and solvent in a confined space with a membrane having a hole are considered explicitly through the frictional and the random forces. The electric field intensity over the space is obtained from a finite difference method. Initially, the polymer is placed at one side of the space, and an electric field is applied to drive the polymer to the other side of the space through the nano-pore. In future, we plan to study the effect of the polymer size and the electric field on the electrophoretic velocity.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2006

An isolate of Peanut stunt virus (PSV) isolated from black locust tree (Robinia pseudo-acacia L.) showing severe mosaic and malformation symptoms, was designated as PSV-Rp. PSV-Rp was characterized by the tests of host range, physical properties, RNA and coat protein composition and RT-PCR analysis. Nucleotide sequences of the cucumoviruses CP genes were also used for identification and differentiation of PSV-Rp. Six plant species were used in the host range test of PSV-Rp. PSV-Rp could be differentiated from each Cucumovirus strain used as a control by symptoms of the plants. The physical properties of PSV-Rp virus were TIP $65^{\circ}C$, DEP $10^{-3}$, and LIP $2{\sim}3$ days. In dsRNA analysis, PSV-Rp consisted of four dsRNAs, but satellite RNA was not detected. Analysis of the coat proteins by SDS-PAGE showed one major protein band of about 31 kDa. RT-PCR using a part of Cucumovirus RNA3 specific primer amplified ${\sim}950bp$ DNA fragments from the crude sap of virus-infected black locust leaves. RFLP analysis of the RT-PCR product could differential PSV-RP from CMV The nucleotide sequence identity between the PSV-Rp CP and the TAV-P CP genes and the PS-V-RP CP and CMV-Y CP genes were 61.6% and 40.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the nucleotide sequence identity of the PSV-Rp CP gene was $70.9%{\sim}73.4%$ in comparison with those of PSV subgroup I (PSV-ER and PSV-J) and 67.3% with that of PSV subgroup II(PSV-W). Especially, the nucleotide sequence identity of PSV-Rp CP gene and that of PSV-Mi that was proposed recently as the type member of a novel PSV subgroup III was 92.4%.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.335-344
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• 2004

Interleukin-2 (IL-2), a glycoprotein mainly secreted by CD4+ T helper Iymphocytes, has been developed to use recombinant cytokine to augment the immune response against cancer since IL-2 not only stimulates T Iymphocytes but also enhances natural killer (NK) cell activity. In order to evaluate the immunological safety of recombinant mouse IL-2 (rmIL-2) in cancer therapy, renal cell carcinoma was established in the flank by s.c. injection of renca cell line. Tumor-bearing BALB/c mice were treated with I.p. injections with $2{\times}10^5$ Lu rmIL-2. Even though the tumor size was diminished, there were not significant recovery of body and relative lymphoid organ weights including thymic atrophy in rmIL-2 immunotherapy. Distribution ratios of T cell subsets in thymus were analysed using flow cytometry. Without regard to dosage of rmIL-2, the ratio of CD3+CD4-CD8- T cells was increased in accordance with survival of solid tumor but that of CD4+CD8+ T cells was decreased dramatically. Emergence of autoantibodies (ANA, anti-dsDNA, and anti-histone) in blood was measured after rmIL-2 treatment. The results showed that the levels of ANA and anti-dsDNA did not significantly changed, but the level of anti-histone was increased significantly owing to rmIL-2 therapy. These results indicate rmIL-2 immunotherapy is to induce the autoimmune potential, and the anti-histone measurement as a biomarker of autoimmunity is useful in cancer immunotherapy.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2014

We produced the transgenic silkworm that expressed the enhanced blue fluorescent protein (EBFP) in the cocoon of silkworms. The EBFP fusion protein, each with N- and C-terminal sequences of the fibroin H-chain, was designed to be secreted into the lumen of the posterior silk glands. The expression of the EBFP/H-chain fusion gene was regulated by the fibroin H-chain promoter. The use of the $3{\times}P3$-driven DsRed2 cDNA as a marker allowed us to rapidly distinguish transgenic silkworm. A mixture of the donor and helper vector was micro-injected into 300 eggs of silkworms, Baegokjam. We obtained 5 broods. The cocoon displayed blue fluorescence, proving that the fusion protein was present in the cocoon. Also, the presence of fusion proteins in cocoons was demonstrated by SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. Accordingly, we suggest that the EBFP fluorescence silk will enable the production of the silk-based biomaterials.