• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.267-271
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• 1997

Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is posulated to occur in granulosa cells in ovarian follicular atresia. bcl-2 gene serves as protector from apoptosis and, thus, is associated with increased cell survival. TRPM-2 gene expression has been implicated as a trigger of apoptosis in rat prostate, uterus and mammary gland. Our objective was to determine if bcl-2 and TRPM-2 are expressed in luteinized human GC and, therefore, have regulatory functions for apoptosis in GC. Human GC were obtained via oocyte retrival from the infertile patients stimulated with exogeneous gonadotropins while undergoing IVF. GC were isolated from follicular fluid using Percoll gradient centrifugation. The GC were further purified with anti-CD45 magnetic beads to remove contaminating WBC's. RT-PCR were performed to analyze the mRNA expression of bcl-2 and TRPM-2 in the GC. The PCR primers were designed to amplify a 195 bp fragment of bcl-2 and a 174 bp fragment of TRPM-2. The PCR products were electrophoresed on 4% agarose gel. Three separate experiments indicated that both bcl-2 and TRPM-2 are concurrently expressed in human GC. We cultured granulosa cells with FSH (1 ng/ml) for 1 day to investigate the relative changes of TRPM-2 mRNA level with RNAse protection assay. When we cultured GC with serum free medium for 1 day TRPM-2 mRNA level increased with 1.3 fold, however it was decreased 0.64 fold with FSH. Therefore we conclude that bcl-2 and TRPM-2 are concurrently expressed and that the interaction of their products may be involved in GC apoptosis. And TRPM-2 may be regulated with FSH.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.517-524
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• 2007

There were many different families of zinc finger proteins that contained multiple cysteine and/or histidine residues and used zinc to stabilize their folds. The classical C2H2 zinc finger proteins were the founding members of this superfamily and were among the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic genomes. C2H2 proteins typically contained several C2H2 fingers that made tandem contacts along the DNA. Here we reported a novel C2H2 type zinc finger gene, ZNF438, which encoded 828 amino acids that formed five zinc finger domains. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the ZNF438 was mapped to human chromosome 10p11.2 and shared 62% identity with rat and mouse homologues. RT-PCR analysis indicated that it was ubiquitously expressed in 18 human adult tissues. With immunofluorescence assay, it was shown that the exogenous Flag-tagged ZNF438 was located in nucleus of COS-7 cells. To further explore the function of ZNF438, we examined the transcriptional activity of ZNF438 protein by transfecting recombinant pM-ZNF438 into mammalian cells. The subsequent analysis based on the duel luciferase assay system showed that ZNF438 was a transcriptional repressor.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.401-409
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• 2006

Purpose : Human metapneumovirus(hMPV) is a respiratory viral pathogen that causes a wide spectrum of illnesses, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe bronchiolitis. The virus has been identified world widely, but so far it has not been published in Korea. Methods : We obtained clinical samples by nasopharyngeal aspiration from 218 children hospitalized due to acute lower respiratory tract infections at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Cheonan from October, 2004 to April, 2005. We designed specific primers from conserved region of fusion glycoprotein of hMPV. Total RNA was extracted and RT-PCR was performed, and single specific 423 bp product was obtained. The PCR product was confirmed to be fusion glycoprotein RNA by sequencing. Results : We detected hMPV in 15(6.9 percent) of the 218 hospitalized children. The infected children comprised nine boys and six girls; their mean age was 2.8 years(5 mo-12 yrs) and they were diagnosed with pneumonia(60 percent), bronchiolitis(33.3 percent), croup(6.6 percent). The number of cases of detected hMPV in Korea increased dramatically during the period from March to May 2005. Conclusion : hMPV is circulating in Korean children and is associated with respiratory tract infection. Additional studies are required to define the epidemiology and the extent of diseases in the general population caused by hMPV.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.138-147
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• 2019

Purpose: Several studies have shown that the oral cavity is a secondary location for Helicobacter pylori colonization and that H. pylori is associated with the severity of periodontitis. This study investigated whether H. pylori had an effect on the periodontium. We established an invasion model of a standard strain of H. pylori in human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLFs), and evaluated the effects of H. pylori on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Methods: Different concentrations of H. pylori were used to infect hPDLFs, with 6 hours of co-culture. The multiplicity of infection in the low- and high-concentration groups was 10:1 and 100:1, respectively. The Cell Counting Kit-8 method and Ki-67 immunofluorescence were used to detect cell proliferation. Flow cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and western blots were used to detect cell cycle progression. In the high-concentration group, the invasion of H. pylori was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results: It was found that H. pylori invaded the fibroblasts, with cytoplasmic localization. Analyses of cell proliferation and flow cytometry showed that H. pylori inhibited the proliferation of periodontal fibroblasts by causing G2 phase arrest. The inhibition of proliferation and G2 phase arrest were more obvious in the high-concentration group. In the low-concentration group, the G2 phase regulatory factors cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cell division cycle 25C (Cdc25C) were upregulated, while cyclin B1 was inhibited. However, in the high-concentration group, cyclin B1 was upregulated and CDK1 was inhibited. Furthermore, the deactivated states of tyrosine phosphorylation of CDK1 (CDK1-Y15) and serine phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Cdc25C-S216) were upregulated after H. pylori infection. Conclusions: In our model, H. pylori inhibited the proliferation of hPDLFs and exerted an invasive effect, causing G2 phase arrest via the Cdc25C/CDK1/cyclin B1 signaling cascade. Its inhibitory effect on proliferation was stronger in the high-concentration group.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.24-36
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• 2020

To solve social problems such as traffic accidents caused by human driver factors and to guarantee the convenience of movement, research on the commercialization of automated vehicles is being actively conducted worldwide. In automated driving levels 2 and 3, the driver must be ready to drive at any time as the automated driving system sometimes requires manual driving by the driver. The purpose of this research is to analyze the trends in global automated vehicle guidelines and prepare guidelines for the characteristics of human factors necessary for the control rights transition system of automated vehicles. To this end, we reviewed at the guidelines for automated vehicles in the US, Germany, and Japan; ISO international standards; domestic automated vehicle standards; and the EU AdaptiVe project. In addition, a guideline is presented that can be referenced and applied by organizations related to automated vehicle manufacturing and operation. It was developed by utilizing the results of our studies on the human factors affecting the guideline of control rights transition. As national laws and regulations and continuous technology development for commercialization of automated vehicles are in progress, further research into and the revision of guidelines for safe automated vehicle production and use should be continued.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2011

Swine influenza is an acute respiratory disease prevalent in pig-growing areas all around the world and plays the roles of an intermediate host to be transmitted to mammals including human beings through a genetic recombination with the avian influenza virus. Recognizing that people could be contracted with swine influenza, this study set out to investigate the seroprevalence of individual and multiple infections with two subtypes (H1N1 and H3N2) of the swine influenza virus in pig farms in the Gyeongnam region according to age, area, and season, as well as to provide basic data for the prevention and control of swine influenza. Used in the study were total 904 swine sera that were not vaccinated against the influenza gathered from the pig farms in the Gyeongnam region from November, 2009 to October, 2010. HerdChek SIV (H1N1, H3N2) ELISA kit (IDEXX Laboratories, USA) was used for antibody testing against swine influenza. The test results show that 370 sera (40.9%) were infected with either H1N1 or H3N2 with 37.3% (337 sera) being contracted with H1N1, 13.1% (118 sera) with H3N2, and 9.4% (85) with both H1N1 and H3N2.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 1990

The ability of many toxigenic fungi to invade and develop in a wide variety of raw ingredients of human diet renders human exposure to mycotoxing very difficult to avoid. Most of the energy-rich commodities, such as cereal grains, oil seeds, tree nuts, and dehydrated fruits, are susceptible to mycotoxin contamination. Mycotoxins therefare have been recognized as an important class of hazardous substances in the human food chain. Although human exposure to mycotoxins is largely through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact may also be significant under conditions other than consumption of foods. Human ingestion of mycotoxins is due to consumption of contaminated dietary ingredients and the edible tissues and products of domestic animals that have been exposed to mycotoxins in moldy feed. Large scale acute human mycotoxicoses, such as ergotism in France, alimentary toxic aleukia in Russia, yellow rice syndrome in Japan, endemic nephropathy in Balkan countries, and acute aflatoxin poisonings in India and Taiwan, have been well documented, indicating that mycotoxicosis is a global problem. In some incidents, hundreds of victims were killed and many more became seriously ill. The mycotoxins that have been implicated in the etiology of these human diseases include aflatoxins, citreoviridin, cyclopiazonic acid, ergot alkaloids, moniliformin, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes, tenuazonic acid, and zearalenone. Among these, aflatoxins have been also implicated in the etiology of human primary liver cancer in those high-incidence countries in Africa and southeast Asia. It is well recognized that cause-effect relationship between mycotoxins and human diseases is very difficult to establish, especially for the cancer connection. Careful risk assessment must be performed to determine whether a mycotoxin indeed warrants costly regulatory actions.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-103
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• 2009

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases as multi-copy members in the human genome. Their gene expression profiling could provide us with important insights into the pathogenic relationship between HERVs and cancer. In this study, we have evaluated the genomic structure and quantitatively determined the expression patterns in the env gene of a variety of HERV family members located on six specific loci by the RetroTector 10 program, as well as real-time RT-PCR amplification. The env gene transcripts evidenced significant differences in the human tumor/normal adjacent tissues (colon, liver, uterus, lung and testis). As compared to the adjacent normal tissues, high levels of expression were noted in testis tumor tissues for HERV-K, in liver and lung tumor tissues for HERV-R, in liver, lung, and testis tumor tissues for HERV-H, and in colon and liver tumor tissues for HERV-P. These data warrant further studies with larger groups of patients to develop biomarkers for specific human cancers.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2010

Objective : Ginseng is one of most widely used herbal medicine. Ginseng showed anti-metastasis activities. However, its molecular mechanisms of action are unknown. So we want to report the wild ginseng repress which plays key roles in neoplastic epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. Methods : Treatment of the human colorectal carcinoma LOVO cells and human gastric carcinoma SNU601 cells with the increased concentrations of cultivated wild ginseng extracts resulted in a gradual decrease in the AXIN2 gene expression. Results : Metastasis-suppressor genes, maspin and nm23 was not affected by the treatment of ginseng extracts in LOVO cells. Moreover, the mountain cultivated wild ginseng or mountain wild ginseng are similar in their inhibitory effects on the expression of AXIN2 gene, but are substantially stronger than cultivated ginseng. Conclusion : We described the novel mechanism of wild ginseng-induced anti-metastasis activity by repressing the expression of AXIN2 gene that plays key roles in epithelial-mesenchymal transition process.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.57-61
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• 1999

This study was designed to develope the antioxidative activity on oxidation of human low density lipoprotein(LDL) from marine microbials. Bacillus KS-96 producign antioxidant have been isolated and identified from seawater, Bacillus sp. KS-96. The optimal medium pH was 7.0 and incubation temperature was 30$^{\circ}C$. The antiosidant of potential substance produced extracellularly in the culture broth by Bacillus sp. KS-96 was obtained by elution of silica gel culumn chromatography with hexane, ethylacetate and water. The ethylacetate faction are shown at highest level of antioxidant activity using thiocyanate method among them. By IR, NMR, and GC/MS, antioxidant purified from ehtylacetate fraction was identified and named as 2,6-dimethoxyphenol. 2,6-dimethoxyphenol inhibited the metal mediated oxidation of human LDL at concentration of 50∼100 ${\mu}$g/mL in the presence of 5uM CuSO4 with macrophage or J774 cells.