• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.261-265
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• 1993

A sopA protein (41K) encoded by plasmid pXX288 was observed in the cytoplasm, whereas a sopB protein (37K) encoded by plasmid pXX157 was observed in the membrane fraction. Most of the sopB protein was solubilized from the crude membrane by treatment with Sarkosyl, which suggested that the protein may be located in the inner membrane. The sopA protein was precipitated at the concentration of 30 to 60% ammonium sulfate. The sedimentation profile of the crude membrane fraction showed a little difference according to culture media used, and the sopB protein existed in all fractions of inner membrane. The DNA of plasmids, pXX157, pXX300, and pXX167 co-sedimented with inner membrane fraction.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.541-550
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• 2003

E2 glycoprotein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) comprises a surface of viral particle together with E1 glycoprotein, and is thought to be involved in the attachment of HCV viral particle to receptor (s) on the permissible cells including hepatocytes, B cells, T cells, and monocytes. We constructed a phage library expressing cellular proteins of hepatocytes on the phage surface, which turned out to be 8.8${\times}$$10^5$ cfu of diversity and carried inserts in 95% of library. We screened both cDNA phage library and 12-mer peptide library to identify the cellular proteins binding to E2 protein. Some intracellular proteins including tensin and membrane band 4.1 which are involved in signal transduction of survival and cytoskeleton organization, were selected from cDNA phage library through several rounds of panning and screening. On the contrary, membrane proteins such as CCR7, CKR-L2, and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor were identified through screening of peptide library. Phages expressing peptides corresponding to those membrane proteins were bound to E2 protein specifically as determined by neutralization of binding assay. Since it is well known that HCV can infect T cells as well as hepatocytes, we examined to see if E2 protein can bind to CCR7, a member of C-protein coupled receptor family expressed on T cells, using CCR7 transfected tells. Human CCR7 cDNA was cloned into pcDNA3.1(-) vector and transfected into human embryonic kidney cell, 293T, and expressed on the surface of the cell as shown by flow cytometer. Binding assay of E2 protein using CCR7 transfected cells indicated that E2 protein bound to CCR7 by dose-dependent mode, giving rise to the possibility that CCR7 might be a putative cellular receptor for HCV.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 2005

Ribosome-associated membrane protein 4 (RAMP4) is a membrane protein that exposes its N-terminal hydrophilic portion on the cytoplasmic side and spans the membrane close to the C-terminal end. RAMP4 has previously been reported to belong to the set of proteins that remains associated with membrane-bound ribosomes, and controls the glycosylation of major histocompatbility complex class II-associated invariant chain. RAMP4 also may be relative to the stabilization of membrane proteins in response to stress, with other components of translocon, and molecular chaperons in ER. Application of 5'-RACE technique with specially designed primer, we cloned a 715 bp cDNA fragment which contains a 195 bp ORF, termed RAMP4. The deduced protein has 64 amino acid residues and contains a putative transmembrane-spanning domain at the COOH terminus.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1412-1421
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• 2002

To examine the feasibility of using a sperm vector system for gene transfer, we have investigated the binding and the uptaking of foreign DNA into the sperm nucleus by PCR, in situ hybridization and LSC. We have also examined the transportation of exogenous DNA into oocytes by immunofluorescene via PCR. Sperm cells were incubated with DNA/liposome complexes (1:4 ratio) in fertilization medium with BSA or without BSA. In situ hybridization demonstrated that the transfection rate of sperm cells with and without BSA was 41 and 68% respectively, when the cells were treated with liposome/DNA complexes and 13% for DNA alone. LSC analysis showed that the binding of exogenous DNA was greatly reduced by DNase I treatment which digests DNA bound onto spermatozoa, suggesting that some of the DNA was internalized into the sperm membrane. To find out whether transfected DNA was internalized into sperm intracytomembrane, sperm DNA was amplified by inverse PCR. No PCR products were detected from sperm cells, indicating that the foreign DNA was simply bound onto the sperm membrane. To investigate transfer rates of exogenous DNA into oocytes via sperm cells, we used immunofluorescene method to follow the distribution of foreign DNA via spermatozoa: a few exogenous DNA was located in the cytoplasm of early embryos (13/60, 21.7% for DNA+/liposome+/BSA) and was not located in the pronucleus and/or nucleus. These results suggest that most of the transfected sperm cells could carry the foreign DNA into the egg by in vitro fertilization, but that the transferred DNA is degraded in the developing embryos without stable integration into the zygote genome. Therefore, we have directly injected with transfected sperm cell into oocyte cytoplasm and observed that some of the exogenous DNA was detected in preimplantation embryonic cytoplasm and expressed at preimplantation stages, suggesting that exogenous DNA in early zygote has their integrity. In this study, we have not identified a noble mechanism that interfering transportation of foreign DNA into zygote genome via spermatozoa. Our data, however, demonstrated that inverse PCR and immunofluorescene methods would be used as a new tool for follow-up of gene distribution in oocyte via sperm cells.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.96-101
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• 2018

The release of nanoscale membrane-bound vesicles is common in all three domains of life. These vesicles are involved in a variety of biological processes such as cell-to-cell communication, horizontal gene transfer, and substrate transport. Prokaryotes including bacteria and archaea release membrane vesicles (MVs) (20 to 400 nm in diameter) into their extracellular milieu. In spite of structural differences in cell envelope, both Gram-positive and negative bacteria produce MVs that contain the cell membrane of each bacterial species. Archaeal MVs characteristically show surface-layer encircling the vesicles. Filamentous fungi and yeasts as eukaryotic microbes produce bilayered exosomes that have varying electron density. Microbes also form intracellular vesicles and minicells that are similar to MVs and exosomes in shape. Electron and fluorescence microscopy could reveal the presence of DNA in MVs and exosomes. Given the biogenesis of extracellular vesicles from the donor cell, in situ high-resolution microscopy can provide insights on the structural mechanisms underlying the formation and release of microbial extracellular vesicles.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 2001

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is the most commonly used phthalate ester in polyvinyl chloride formulations including food packing and storage of human blood. DEHP is a well known as non-genotoxic carcinogen and endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). DEHP have shown all negative results in ICH-guildeline recommended standard genotoxicity test battery. In this study, to assess the clastogenic and DNA damaging effect in human-derived tissue specific cells, DEHP was treated in human derived MCE-7 cells, HepG2 cells, LNCap cells, BeWo cells, MCE-10A cells, and female peripheral blood cells using micronucleus assay and in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells up to $1.28$\times$10^{-2}$ M using Comet assay. The in vitro micronucleus assay is a mutagenicity test system for the detection of chemicals which induce the formation of small membrane bound DNA fragment i.e. micronuclei in the cytoplasm of interphase cells, originated from clastogenic and/or aneugenic mechanism. The single cell gel electrophoresis assay (Comet assay) is used to detect DNA strand-breaks and alkaline labile site. In our results, DEHP increased significantly and/or dose-depentently and time-dependently micronucleus frequency at the 6 and 24 hr without metabolic activation system only in MCE-7 cells. DEHP treated with 2 hrs in MCF-7 cells using Comet assay induced DNA damage dose-depentantly.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.253-258
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• 2004

DNA double-strand break (DSB) is a serious treat for the cells including mutations, chromosome rearrangements, and even cell death if not repaired or misrepaired. Ku heterodimer regulatory DNA binding subunits (Ku70/Ku80) bound to double strand DNA breaks are able to interact with 470-kDa DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), and the interaction is essential for DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) activity. The Ku80 mutants were designed to bind Ku70 but not DNA end binding activity and the peptides were treated in breast cancer cells for co-therapy strategy to see whether the targeted inhibition of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) activity sensitized breast cancer cells to ionizing irradiation or chemotherapy drug to develop a treatment of breast tumors by targeting proteins involved in damage-signaling pathway and/or DNA repair. We designed domains of Ku80 mutants, 26 residues of amino acids (HN-26) as a control peptide or 38 (HNI-38) residues of amino acids which contain domains of the membrane-translocation hydrophobic signal sequence and the nuclear localization sequence, but HNI-38 has additional twelve residues of peptide inhibitor region. We observed that the synthesized peptide (HNI-38) prevented DNA-PKcs from binding to Ku70/Ku80, resulting in inactivation of DNA-PK complex activity in breast cancer cells (MDA-465 and MDA-468). Consequently, the peptide treated cells exhibited poor to no DNA repair, and became highly sensitive to irradiation or chemotherapy drugs. The growth of breast cancer cells was also inhibited. These results demonstrate the possibility of synthetic peptide to apply breast cancer therapy to induce apoptosis of cancer cells.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.636-641
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• 1998

Digoxigenin (DIG) was used to prepare nucleic acid probe for the detection of RNA of potato leafroll virus (PLRV) in the potato leaf extracts. The 0.6 kb coat protein (CP) gene cDNA of PLRV in plasmid pSPT 18 vector was labeled with digoxigenin by in vitro run-off transcription and then used for cRNA probe. In the several buffers tested for increase the total RNA extraction efficiency AMES buffer was the most suitable for this detection method. The RNA extracts from potato leaves shown symptoms of PLRV were dot blotted onto nylon membrane and hybridized with labeled RNA probes. After hybridization, labeled RNA bound to PLRV RNA on membrane was detected with anti-digoxigenin alkaline phosphatase. 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-phosphate/nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) salt and CSPD were used as substrate for colorimetric and film exposure detection, respectively. These detection methods were very sensitive allowing for detection of 1/32 diluted total RNA extract from 100 mg leaf tissue.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.44 no.4 s.140
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• pp.303-312
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• 2006

Interactions between GRA proteins of dense granules in Toxoplasma gondii and host cell proteins were analyzed by yeast two-hybrid technique. The cMyc-GRA fusion proteins expressed from pGBKT7 plasmid in Y187 yeast were bound to host cell proteins from pGADT7-Rec-HeLa cDNA library transformed to AH109 yeast by mating method. By the selection procedures, a total of 939 colonies of the SD/-AHLT culture, 348 colonies of the $X-\alpha-gal$ positive and PCR, 157 colonies of the $X-\beta-gal$ assay were chosen for sequencing the cDNA and finally 90 colonies containing ORF were selected to analyze the interactions. GRA proteins interacted with a variety of host cell proteins such as enzymes, structural and functional proteins of organellar proteins of broad spectrum. Several specific bindings of each GRA protein to host proteins were discussed presumptively the role of GRA proteins after secreting into the parasitophorous vacuoles (PV) and the PV membrane in the parasitism of this parasite.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 1996

To investigate whether human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor devoid of the C-terminal two transmembrane helices retain its ligand binding activity and specificity, 5'780-bp DNA fragment of the receptor gene which encodes amino acid 1-260 of human $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor was subcloned into the bacterial fusion protein expression vector and expressed as a form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein in E. coli DH5$\alpha$. The receptor fusion protein was expressed as a membrane bound form which was verified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The fusion protein expressed in this study specifically bound $\beta$-adrenergic receptor ligand [$^3$H] Dihydroalprenolol. In saturation ligand binding assay, the $K_{d}$ value was 7.6 nM which was similar to that of intact $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor in normal animal tissue ( $K_{d}$=1~2 nM) and the $B_{max}$ value was 266 fmol/mg membrane protein. In competition binding assay, the order of binding affinity of various adrenergic receptor agonists to the fusion protein was isoproterenol》epinephrine norepinephrine, which was similar to that of intact receptor in normal animal tissue. These results suggest that N-terminal five transmembrane helices of the $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor be sufficient to determine the ligand binding activity and specificity, irrespective of the presence or absence of the C-terminal two transmembrane helices.s.s.s.