• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2017

Regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotype plays an essential role in many cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, we provide evidence that $kr{\ddot{u}}ppel$-like factor 8 (KLF8) is essential for tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}$ ($TNF{\alpha}$)-induced phenotypic conversion of VSMC obtained from thoracic aorta from 4-week-old SD rats. Stimulation of the contractile phenotype of VSMCs with $TNF{\alpha}$ significantly reduced the VSMC marker gene expression and KLF8. The gene expression of KLF8 was blocked by $TNF{\alpha}$ stimulation in an ERK-dependent manner. The promoter region of KLF8 contained putative Sp1, KLF4, and $NF{\kappa}B$ binding sites. Myocardin significantly enhanced the promoter activity of KLF4 and KLF8. The ectopic expression of KLF4 strongly enhanced the promoter activity of KLF8. Moreover, silencing of Akt1 significantly attenuated the promoter activity of KLF8; conversely, the overexpression of Akt1 significantly enhanced the promoter activity of KLF8. The promoter activity of SMA, $SM22{\alpha}$, and KLF8 was significantly elevated in the contractile phenotype of VSMCs. The ectopic expression of KLF8 markedly enhanced the expression of SMA and $SM22{\alpha}$ concomitant with morphological changes. The overexpression of KLF8 stimulated the promoter activity of SMA. Stimulation of VSMCs with $TNF{\alpha}$ enhanced the expression of KLF5, and the promoter activity of KLF5 was markedly suppressed by KLF8 ectopic expression. Finally, the overexpression of KLF5 suppressed the promoter activity of SMA and $SM22{\alpha}$, thereby reduced the contractility in response to the stimulation of angiotensin II. These results suggest that cross-regulation of KLF family of transcription factors plays an essential role in the VSMC phenotype.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.375-390
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the expression ofIGF-I, considered as the mediator of action of estrogen, and IGF-IA and IGF-IB, alternative slicing form of IGF-I, using $17{\beta}-estradiol$ in MC3T3-E1 cells. We observed the effect on type I collagen and osteopontin gene expression and DNA synthetic activity of MC3T3-E1 cells, added by estrogen, IGF-I and combination and the interactionon proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. The results were as follows :RT-PCR experiment for observing timedependantIGF-I gene expression patternshowed IGF-IA and IB gene expression in both of control and test group. In these IGF-IA gene expression was appeared predominantly. In control, IGF-I geneexpression level was maintained until 24hr and then decreased gradually. In testgroup, IGF-I gene expression level increased as time goes by. Experiment measuring DNA synthetic activity, as it is added by $17{\beta}-estradiol$, IGF-I and combination, showed that first day , there was the tendency of more increase of synthetic activity in all test group than control but no statical significance(P>0.05), and third day, there was more increase of DNA synthetic activity in $17{\beta}-estradiol$ group and combination group and it was statically significant. (P<0.005) Experiment for observing type I collagen gene expression pattern showed more increase of expression in $17{\beta}-estradiol$ group than control and no significant difference in IGF-I group and combination group. Experiment for observing osteopontin gene expression pattern showed no significant difference in control and test group. In conclusion, $17{\beta}-estradiol$ in MC3T3- E1 cells increased IGF-I gene and DNA synthetic activity simultaneously, therefore it appeared that IGF-I is related to the action of estrogen. Combination treatment of IGF-I and $17{\beta}-estradiol$ has effect on cell proliferation but this effect is lower than IGF-I or $17{\beta}-estradiol$ alone. However, combination treatment has not great effect on type I collagen or osteopontin gene expression thus little effect of cell differentiation.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.207-212
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• 2002

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) is the enzyme that controls no devo fatty acid biogynthesis, and this enzyme catalyzes the carboxylation pathway of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene expression was regulated by nutritional and hormonal status. The present study was performed to identify the regulation mechanism of ACC gene promoter I. The fragments of ACC promoter I -1.2-kb region wert recombined to pGL3-Basic vector with luciferase as a reporter gene. The primary hepatocytes from the rat were used to investigate the hormonal regulation of ACC promoter I activity. ACC PI (-1.2)/Luc plasmid was trtransferred into primary hepatocytes using lipofectin. Activity of luciferase was increased two-fold by 10-9M, three-fold by 10-8M, 10-6M, 3.5-fold by 10-6M, and 4.5-fold by 10-7M insulin treatment, respectively. In the presence of dexamethasone (1 $\mu$M), the effects of insulin increased about 1.5-fold, showing the additional effects of dexamethasone. Moreover, the activity of luciferase increased with insulin+dexamethasone, insulin+T3, dexamethasone+T3, and dexamethasone+insulin+T3 treatment approximately 6-, 4-, 6.5-, and 10-fold, respectively. Therefore it can be postulated that 1) these hormones coordinately regulate acetyl-CoA caroxylase gene expression via regulation of promoter activity, 2) the -1.2-kb region of ACC promoter I may have the response element sequences for insulin, dexamethasone, and T3.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.267-273
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• 1993

Promoters of the chlorophyll a/b bidning protein genes, cab1, and cab2, of Arabidopsis thaliana were studied for their functions in differential expression during greening of etiolated shoots. The etiolated shoots were derived from leaves of transgenic tobacco plants with the cab-CAT (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) translational fusions, and CAT activity was measured to monitor the activities of the cab promoters. Cab1 promoter activity increased rapidly and showed saturation after about 24 hours of greening, but that of cab2 increased with about 2 day-lag period and showed saturation after 6 days. Cab1 promoter activity was more sensitive to levulinic acid (LA) compared with cab2 activity. Cab2 promoter activity was inhibited more sensitively by chloramphynicol (CAP) than by inhibitors of Chl formation. Cab1 promoter activity was, however, inhibited less sensitively by CAP than by LA. The treatment of abscisic acid (ABA) did not block Chl synthesis so significantly as LA treatment did, and cab2 promoter activity was much less sensitive to ABA compared with that of cab1. These results suggest that cab1 expression is strongly related with Chl formation, possibly with $\delta$-aminolevulinic acid accumulation, and cab2 expression is suppressed more by the blockage of translation of Chl a-apoproteins than by the blockage of Chl a accumulation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.196-205
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• 2020

In this study, the acidic lipase from Aspergillus niger (ANL) was homologously expressed in A. niger. The expression of ANL was significantly improved by the expression of the native ANL with the introns, the addition of the Kozak sequence and the optimization of the signal sequences. When the cDNA sequence of ANL fused with the glaA signal was expressed under the gpdA promoter in A. niger, no lipase activity could be detected. We then tried to improve the expression by using the full-length ANL gene containing three introns, and the lipase activity in the supernatant reached 75.80 U/ml, probably as a result of a more stable mRNA structure. The expression was further improved to 100.60 U/ml by introducing a Kozak sequence around the start codon due to a higher translation efficiency. Finally, the effects of three signal sequences including the cbhI signal, the ANL signal and the glaA signal on the lipase expression were evaluated. The transformant with the cbhI signal showed the highest lipase activity (314.67 U/ml), which was 1.90-fold and 3.13-fold higher than those with the ANL signal and the glaA signal, respectively. The acidic lipase was characterized and its highest activity was detected at pH 3.0 and a temperature of 45℃. These results provided promising strategies for the production of the acidic lipase from A. niger.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.122-131
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• 1995

Five human cancer cell lines (HeLa S3, Hep 3B, KATO III, Hs 683, HeLa MR) and one human normal cell line (WI-38) were examined cell viability, northern blot analysis, western blot analysis, and in situ hybridization for the expression $O_{6}$ -methylguanine-DNAmethyltransferase (MGMT), which can repair $O_{6}$ -methylguanine produced in DNA by alkylating agents. In cell viability test, the lethal sensitivities of each strain against anti-tumor drug N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)- N-nitrosourea (BCNU) were counted, and both BCNU treated and untreated cell extracts were examined for their MGMT inducibility by RNA dot blot analysis. Cell lines did not show MGMT induction by BCNU pretreatment. Tlle MGMT activity was assayed by measuring the $^3$H radioactivity transferred from the substrate DNA containing [methyl-$^3$H)-O$_{6}$ -methylguanine to acceptor molecules in the cell extracts. Extracts from the majority of tumor strains and normal cells contained substantial MGMT activity of varying degree, while the known Mer$^{[-10]}$ cell (lacked or severely depleted in MGMT activity) Hela MR, and Hs 683 (proved to be Mer$^{[-10]}$ ) were much more sensitive to BCNU than the rest of tumor strains, as measured by cell viability test. Overall results above, KATO III showed the highest expression level of MGMT among the strains examined. Furthermore, with all the tumor and normal strains tested, a good correlation was observed between MGMT expression and cellular resistance to BCNU. The varying levels of expression of MGMT in human cancer cells found in this study should provide a molecular basis for MGMT expression among tumor strains from different tissue origin, the information of antitumor agents selection for chemotherapy of cancers.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.306-312
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• 2012

Resveratrol (trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) has received considerable attention recently for the potential neuroprotective effects in neurodegenerative disorders where heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) represent promising therapeutic targets. Resveratrol has been known to increase HO-1 expression and SIRT1 activity. In this study, the effects of resveratrol and trans-3,5,4'-trimethoxystilbene (TMS), a resveratrol derivative, on cytotoxicity caused by glutamate-induced oxidative stress, HO-1 expression, and SIRT1 activation have been investigated by using murine hippocampal HT22 cells, which have been widely used as an in vitro model for investigating glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. Resveratrol protected HT22 neuronal cells from glutamate-induced cytotoxicity and increased HO-1 expression as well as SIRT1 activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Cytoprotection afforded by resveratrol was partially reversed by the specific inhibition of HO-1 expression by HO-1 small interfering RNA and the nonspecific blockage of HO-1 activity by tin protoporphyrin IX, but not by SIRT1 inhibitors. Surprisingly, TMS, a resveratrol derivative with methoxyl groups in lieu of the hydroxyl groups, and trans-stilbene, a non-hydroxylated analog, failed to protect HT22 cells from glutamate-induced cytotoxicity and to increase HO-1 expression and SIRT1 activity. Taken together, our findings suggest that the cytoprotective effect of resveratrol was at least in part associated with HO-1 expression but not with SIRT1 activation and, importantly, that the presence of hydroxyl groups on the benzene rings of resveratrol appears to be necessary for cytoprotection against glutamate-induced oxidative stress, HO-1 expression, and SIRT1 activation in HT22 neuronal cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.10
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• pp.572-577
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• 2016

The short gastrulation (sog) shadow enhancer directs early and late sog expression in the neurogenic ectoderm and the ventral midline of the developing Drosophila embryo, respectively. Here, evidence is presented that the sog primary enhancer also has both activities, with the late enhancer activity dependent on the early activity. Computational analyses showed that the sog primary enhancer contains five Dorsal (Dl)-, four Zelda (Zld)-, three Bicoid (Bcd)-, and no Single-minded (Sim)-binding sites. In contrast to many ventral midline enhancers, the primary enhancer can direct lacZ expression in the ventral midline as well as in the neurogenic ectoderm without a canonical Simbinding site. Intriguingly, the impaired transcriptional synergy between Dl and either Zld or Bcd led to aberrant and abolished lacZ expression in the neurogenic ectoderm and in the ventral midline, respectively. These findings suggest that the two enhancer activities of the sog primary enhancer are functionally consolidated and geographically inseparable.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.574-579
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• 2014

A lysozyme gene from breast of Tibetan sheep was successfully expressed by secretion using a-factor signal sequence in the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris GS115. An expression yield and specific activity greater than 500 mg/L and 4,000 U/mg was obtained. Results at optimal pH and temperature showed recombinant lysozyme has higher lytic activity at pH 6.5 and $45^{\circ}C$. This study demonstrates the successful expression of recombinant lysozyme using the eukaryotic host organism P. pastoris paving the way for protein engineering. Additionally, this study shows the feasibility of subsequent industrial manufacture of the enzyme with this expression system together with a high purity scheme for easy high-yield purification.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.966-971
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• 2009

Peroxidase from Coprinus cinereus (CiP) has attracted attention for its high specific activity and broad substrate spectrum compared with other peroxidases. In this study, the functional expression of this peroxidase was successfully achieved in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The expression level of CiP was increased by varying the microbial hosts and the expression promoters. Since a signal sequence, such as the alpha mating factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was placed preceding the cDNA of the CiP coding gene, expressed recombinant CiP (rCiP) was secreted into the culture broth. The Mut Pichia pastoris host showed a 3-fold higher peroxidase activity, as well as 2-fold higher growth rate, compared with the $Mut^s $ Pichia pastoris host. Furthermore, the AOX1 promoter facilitated a 5-fold higher expression of rCiP than did the GAP promoter.