• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
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• 2005.07b
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• pp.262-264
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• 2005

MicroRNA는 약 22 nucleotide 길이로, 세포질에서 유전자의 전사 후 조절 기능을 맡는 small RNA의 한 종류이다. MiRNA는 긴 전사체인 pri-miRNA에서 Drosha에 의해 절단 되어 핵 밖으로 나가 최종 Dicer에 의해 성숙된다. 하지만, 아직까지 이 효소들이 pri-miRNA를 잘라내는 3차 구조상의 메커니즘을 이해하지 못하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 완숙한 miRNA 이중나선이 약 2 회전을 이루게 된다는 정보를 바탕으로, Drosha가 붙는 miRNA stem구조의 dinucleotide step 파라미터를 유전 알고리즘을 이용하여 추정한다. 추정된 파라미터로부터 실제 miRNA들의 3차구조를 예측할 수 있으며, 3차 구조상의 Drosha의 절단 메커니즘을 이해하는데 도움을 줄 것이다.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.71-78
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• 2019

Objective : The purpose of the study was to identify expression profiling of miRNAs associated with cancers after treating allergen-removed Rhus Verniciflua Stokes and allergen-removed Rhus Verniciflua Stokes fumigaed Angelica gigas on leukemia cell lines. Methods : miRNA expression has been analyzed using miRNA array method through denaturation and hybridization after isolating the total RNA from leukemic cell line treated with 100 ㎍/㎖ of aRVS and aRVS-A each. Microarray expressions were interpreted as 'significant' on miRNAs when decreased less than 0.5 fold or increased more than 1.5 fold compared with the control group. Results : Among 158 miRNAs in total, 32 miRNAs were significantly presented in miRNAs expression. miRNA has been activated with a variety of genes for predicted targets, and the overexpressed miRNAs were categorized according to proliferation and metastasis of cancer in this study. The findings were reported that seven miRNAs (let-7b, miR-193a-5p, 296-3p, 26a, 22, 124a, 92b) showed significant expressions on proliferation and growth, seven miRNAs (miR-193a-5p, 26a, 200c, 183, 124a, 198, 210) presented meaningful expressions on invasion and metastasis, two miRNAs (let-7b, miR-210) were highly expressed on angiogenesis, five miRNAs (let-7b, miR-26a, 181d, 181c, 296-5p) related with apoptosis, and six miRNAs (let-7b, miR-200c, 183, 370, 124a, 191) were associated with prognosis of cancer and early diagnostic factors for cancer. Conclusion : The mechanism of miRNA takes a role in diagnosis, treatment, and prognotic factors for cancer as well. This study suggested that further detailed research on overexpression of specific miRNA should be carried out continuously in the future.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.308-313
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• 2008

In animals, microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) repress expression of protein coding genes by assembling distinct RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs). It has previously been shown that passenger-strand cleavage is the predominant mechanism when siRNA duplexes are loaded into Argonaute2 (Ago2)-containing RISC, while an unwinding bypass mechanism is favored for miRNA duplexes with mismatches. Here I present experimental data indicating that some mammalian miRNAs are assembled into Ago2-containing RISC by cleaving their corresponding miRNA star strands. This phenomenon may depend on the secondary structure near the scissile phosphate of the miRNA duplex. In addition, I show that ATP is not required for star-strand cleavage in this process. Taken together, the data here provide insight into the miRNA-loading mechanisms in mammals.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.375-381
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• 2016

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (~22 nucleotides) regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. By directing the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to bind specific target mRNAs, miRNA can repress target genes and affect various biological phenotypes. Functional miRNA target recognition is known to majorly attribute specificity to consecutive pairing with seed region (position 2-8) of miRNA. Recent advances in a transcriptome-wide method of mapping miRNA binding sites (Ago HITS-CLIP) elucidated that a large portion of miRNA-target interactions in vivo are mediated not only through the canonical "seed sites" but also via non-canonical sites (~15-80%), setting the stage to expand and determine their properties. Here we focus on recent findings from transcriptome-wide non-canonical miRNA-target interactions, specifically regarding "nucleation bulges" and "seed-like motifs". We also discuss insights from Ago HITS-CLIP data alongside structural and biochemical studies, which highlight putative mechanisms of miRNA target recognition, and the biological significance of these non-canonical sites mediating marginal repression.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.754-762
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• 2021

Background: Ginsenoside Rh2, a major saponin derivative in ginseng extract, is recognized for its anti-cancer activities. Compared to coding genes, studies on long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) that are regulated by Rh2 in cancer cells, especially on competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) are sparse. Methods: LncRNAs whose promoter DNA methylation level was significantly altered by Rh2 were screened from methylation array data. The effect of STXBP5-AS1, miR-4425, and RNF217 on the proliferation and apoptosis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells was monitored in the presence of Rh2 after deregulating the corresponding gene. The ceRNA relationship between STXBP5-AS1 and miR-4425 was examined by measuring the luciferase activity of a recombinant luciferase/STXBP5-AS1 plasmid construct in the presence of mimic miR-4425. Results: Inhibition of STXBP5-AS1 decreased apoptosis but stimulated growth of the MCF-7 cells, suggesting tumor-suppressive activity of the lncRNA. MiR-4425 was identified to have a binding site on STXBP5-AS1 and proven to be downregulated by STXBP5-AS1 as well as by Rh2. In contrast to STXBP5-AS1, miR-4425 showed pro-proliferation activity by inducing a decrease in apoptosis but increased growth of the MCF-7 cells. MiR-4425 decreased luciferase activity from the luciferase/STXBP5-AS1 construct by 26%. Screening the target genes of miR-4425 and Rh2 revealed that Rh2, STXBP5-AS1, and miR-4425 consistently regulated tumor suppressor RNF217 at both the RNA and protein level. Conclusion: LncRNA STXBP5-AS1 is upregulated by Rh2 via promoter hypomethylation and acts as a ceRNA, sponging the oncogenic miR-4425. Therefore, Rh2 controls the STXBP5-AS1/miR-4425/RNF217 axis to suppress breast cancer cell growth.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.1483-1490
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• 2019

Objective: To explore the molecular mechanisms of fat metabolism and deposition in pigs, an experiment was conducted to identify hepatic mRNAs and miRNAs expression and determine the potential interaction of them in two phenotypically extreme pig breeds. Methods: mRNA and miRNA profiling of liver from 70-day Jinhua (JH) and Landrace (LD) pigs were performed using RNA sequencing. Blood samples were taken to detect results of serum biochemistry. Bioinformatics analysis were applied to construct differentially expressed miRNA-mRNA network. Results: Serum total triiodothyronine and total thyroxine were significantly lower in Jinhua pigs, but the content of serum total cholesterol (TCH) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were strikingly higher. A total of 467 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 35 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs) were identified between JH and LD groups. Gene ontology analysis suggested that DEGs were involved in oxidation-reduction, lipid biosynthetic and lipid metabolism process. Interaction network of DEGs and DE miRNAs were constructed, according to target prediction results. Conclusion: We generated transcriptome and miRNAome profiles of liver from JH and LD pig breeds which represent distinguishing phenotypes of growth and metabolism. The potential miRNA-mRNA interaction networks may provide a comprehensive understanding in the mechanism of lipid metabolism. These results serve as a basis for further investigation on biological functions of miRNAs in the porcine liver.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
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• 2005.07b
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• pp.286-288
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• 2005

MicroRNA (miRNA)는 작은 크기의 RNA분자로서 동식물의 유전자 발현 과점을 직접적으로 조절하는 인자로 알려져 있다. MiRNA는 보통 목표 유전자의 3'-UTR 영역에 상보성을 갖고 결합함으로써 작용하며 특히 miRNA의 5'부분의 8 nt 정도가 seed로서 중요하다고 알려져 있다. 반면 최근의 연구에 따르면 seed 부분의 서열의 조성 및 양상이 변화함에 따라 특이도가 결정됨을 알 수 있지만 기존의 컴퓨터를 이용한 miRNA 목표 유전자 예측 방법들은 이러한 정보를 활용하지 못한다. 본 논문에서는 열역학적인 수치와 서열의 조성뿐 아니라 miRNA:mRNA pair의 위치에 기반한 정보들을 학습에 자질로서 포함하여 목표 유전자를 예측한다. 그 결과는 위치 기반 자질이 학습 성능 향상에 중요하게 기여함을 보여준다.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-41
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• 2011

The discovery of microRNA (miRNA) is one of the major scientific breakthroughs in recent years and has revolutionized current cell biology and medical science. miRNAs are small (19~25nt) noncoding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by targeting the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of specific messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for degradation of translation repression. Genetic ablation of the miRNA machinery, as well as loss or degradation of certain individual miRNAs, severely compromises immune development and response, and can lead to immune disorders. Several sophisticated regulatory mechanisms are used to maintain immune homeostasis. Regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for maintaining peripheral tolerance, preventing autoimmune diseases and limiting chronic inflammatory diseases. Recent publications have provided compelling evidence that miRNAs are highly expressed in Treg cells, that the expression of Foxp3 is controlled by miRNAs and that a range of miRNAs are involved in the regulation of immunity. A large number of studies have reported links between alterations of miRNA homeostasis and pathological conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as psychiatric and neurological diseases. Although it is still unclear how miRNA controls Treg cell development and function, recent studies certainly indicate that this topic will be the subject of further research. The specific circulating miRNA species may also be useful for the diagnosis, classification, prognosis of diseases and prediction of the therapeutic response. An explosive literature has focussed on the role of miRNA. In this review, I briefly summarize the current studies about the role of miRNAs in Treg cells and in the regulation of the innate and adaptive immune response. I also review the explosive current studies about clinical application of miRNA.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.138-148
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• 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small RNA molecules best known for their function in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Immunologically, miRNA regulates the differentiation and function of immune cells and its malfunction contributes to the development of various autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Over the last decade, accumulating researches provide evidence for the connection between dysregulated miRNA network and autoimmunity. Interruption of miRNA biogenesis machinery contributes to the abnormal T and B cell development and particularly a reduced suppressive function of regulatory T cells, leading to systemic autoimmune diseases. Additionally, multiple factors under autoimmune conditions interfere with miRNA generation via key miRNA processing enzymes, thus further skewing the miRNA expression profile. Indeed, several independent miRNA profiling studies reported significant differences between SLE patients and healthy controls. Despite the lack of a consistent expression pattern on individual dysregulated miRNAs in SLE among these studies, the aberrant expression of distinct groups of miRNAs causes overlapping functional outcomes including perturbed type I interferon signalling cascade, DNA hypomethylation and hyperactivation of T and B cells. The impact of specific miRNA-mediated regulation on function of major immune cells in lupus is also discussed. Although research on the clinical application of miRNAs is still immature, through an integrated approach with advances in next generation sequencing, novel tools in bioinformatics database analysis and new in vitro and in vivo models for functional evaluation, the diagnostic and therapeutic potentials of miRNAs may bring to fruition in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.53-58
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• 2006

MicroRNA (miRNA)는 약 22 nt의 작은 RNA 조각으로 이루어져 있으며 stem-loop 구조의 precursor 형태에서 최종적으로 만들어 진다. miRNA는 mRNA의 3‘UTR에 상보적으로 결합하여 유전자의 발현을 억제하거나 mRNA의 분해를 촉진한다. miRNA를 동정하기 위한 실험적인 방법은 조직 특이적인 발현, 적은 발현양 때문에 방법상 한계를 가지고 있다. 이러한 한계는 컴퓨터를 이용한 방법으로 어느 정도 해결될 수 있다. 하지만 miRNA의 서열상의 낮은 보존성은 homology를 기반으로 한 예측을 어렵게 한다. 또한 기계학습 방법인 support vector machine (SVM) 이나 naive bayes가 적용되었지만, 생물학적인 의미를 해석할 수 있는 generative model을 제시해 주지 못했다. 본 연구에서는 우수한 miRNA 예측을 보일 뿐만 아니라 학습된 모델로부터 생물학적인 지식을 얻을 수 있는 Bayesian network을 적용한다. 이를 위해서는 생물학적으로 의미 있는 특질들의 선택이 중요하다. 여기서는 position weighted matrix (PWM)과 Markov chain probability (MCP), Loop 크기, Bulge 수, spectrum, free energy profile 등을 특질로서 선택한 후 Information gain의 특질 선택법을 통해 예측에 기여도가 높은 특질 25개 와 27개를 최종적으로 선택하였다. 이로부터 Bayesian network을 학습한 후 miRNA의 예측 성능을 10 fold cross-validation으로 확인하였다. 그 결과 pre-/mature miRNA 각 각에 대한 예측 accuracy가 99.99% 100.00%를 보여, SVM이나 naive bayes 방법보다 높은 결과를 보였으며, 학습된 Bayesian network으로부터 이전 연구 결과와 일치하는 pre-miRNA 상의 의존관계를 분석할 수 있었다.