• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.464-474
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• 2021

Inflammation induced by metabolic syndromes, cancers, injuries, and sepsis can alter cellular metabolism by reducing mitochondrial function via oxidative stress, thereby resulting in neuropathy and muscle atrophy. In this study, we investigated whether butyrate, a short chain fatty acid produced by gut microbiota, could prevent mitochondrial dysfunction and muscle atrophy induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the C2C12 cell line. LPS-activated MAPK signaling pathways increased the levels of the mitochondrial fission signal, p-DRP1 (Ser616), and the muscle atrophy marker, atrogin 1. Interestingly, butyrate significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK and p38 and reduced the atrogin 1 level in LPS-treated C2C12 cells while increasing the phosphorylation of DRP1 (Ser637) and levels of mitofusin2, which are both mitochondrial fusion markers. Next, we investigated the effect of MAPK inhibitors, finding that butyrate had the same effect as JNK inhibition in C2C12 cells. Also, butyrate inhibited the LPS-induced expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), resulting in decreased PDHE1α phosphorylation and lactate production, suggesting that butyrate shifted glucose metabolism from aerobic glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation. Finally, we found that these effects of butyrate on LPS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction were caused by its antioxidant effects. Thus, our findings demonstrate that butyrate prevents LPS-induced muscle atrophy by improving mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic stress via the inhibition of JNK phosphorylation. Consequently, butyrate could be used to improve LPS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and myopathy in sepsis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.663-668
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• 2023

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory marker and risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanism through which CRP induces myocardial damage remains unclear. This study aimed to determine how CRP damages cardiomyocytes via the change of mitochondrial dynamics and whether survivin, an anti-apoptotic protein, exerts a cardioprotective effect in this process. We treated H9c2 cardiomyocytes with CRP and found increased intracellular ROS production and shortened mitochondrial length. CRP treatment phosphorylated ERK1/2 and promoted increased expression, phosphorylation, and translocation of DRP1, a mitochondrial fission-related protein, from the cytoplasm to the mitochondria. The expression of mitophagy proteins PINK1 and PARK2 was also increased by CRP. YAP, a transcriptional regulator of PINK1 and PARK2, was also increased by CRP. Knockdown of YAP prevented CRP-induced increases in DRP1, PINK1, and PARK2. Furthermore, CRP-induced changes in the expression of DRP1 and increases in YAP, PINK1, and PARK2 were inhibited by ERK1/2 inhibition, suggesting that ERK1/2 signaling is involved in CRP-induced mitochondrial fission. We treated H9c2 cardiomyocytes with a recombinant TAT-survivin protein before CRP treatment, which reduced CRP-induced ROS accumulation and reduced mitochondrial fission. CRP-induced activation of ERK1/2 and increases in the expression and activity of YAP and its downstream mitochondrial proteins were inhibited by TAT-survivin. This study shows that mitochondrial fission occurs during CRP-induced cardiomyocyte damage and that the ERK1/2-YAP axis is involved in this process, and identifies that survivin alters these mechanisms to prevent CRP-induced mitochondrial damage.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.101-106
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• 2006

The cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was examined in four abalone species to estimate its utility as a genetic marker using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The utility was evaluated in terms of genetic divergence and relationships among Haliotis discus hannai, H. rufescens, H. rubra, and H. midae in both hemispheres of the world. There was clear genetic divergence in the mtDNA COI region between all pairs of the four species. Moreover, relationships among the abalone species were reflected in their geographical distributions and morphological characteristics. Therefore, RFLP analysis of the mtDNA COI region is a suitable genetic marker for the estimation of genetic divergence and relationships among abalone species. However, it is not effective for the evaluation of genetic differences within abalone species.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 2007

A taxonomic study was carried out on the Perinereis nuntia species group of Korea by using morphological and molecular data (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I: mtCOI). Two species, P. mictodonta (Marenzeller, 1879) and P. wilsoni (Glasby and Hsieh, 2006), are recognized and redescribed. In this study, mtCOI gene showed a good resolution as molecular marker for species identification of the P. nuntia species group of Korea.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.384-396
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• 2014

Vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) are determined for many fungi to test for the ability of fungal isolates to undergo heterokaryon formation. In several fungal plant pathogens, isolates belonging to a VCG have been shown to share significantly higher genetic similarity than those of different VCGs. In this study we sought to examine the relationship between VCG and genetic similarity of an important cool season turfgrass pathogen, Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. Twenty-two S. homoeocarpa isolates from the Midwest and Eastern US, which were previously characterized in several studies, were all evaluated for VCG using an improved nit mutant assay. These isolates were also genotyped using 19 microsatellites developed from partial genome sequence of S. homoeocarpa. Additionally, partial sequences of mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase II and mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) rRNA, and the atp6-rns intergenic spacer, were generated for isolates from each nit mutant VCG to determine if mitochondrial haplotypes differed among VCGs. Of the 22 isolates screened, 15 were amenable to the nit mutant VCG assay and were grouped into six VCGs. The 19 microsatellites gave 57 alleles for this set. Unweighted pair group methods with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) tree of binary microsatellite data were used to produce a dendrogram of the isolate genotypes based on microsatellite alleles, which showed high genetic similarity of nit mutant VCGs. Analysis of molecular variance of microsatellite data demonstrates that the current nit mutant VCGs explain the microsatellite genotypic variation among isolates better than the previous nit mutant VCGs or the conventionally determined VCGs. Mitochondrial sequences were identical among all isolates, suggesting that this marker type may not be informative for US populations of S. homoeocarpa.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2011

Thais Roding, 1798, commonly known as rock-shell, is among the most frequently found gastropod genera worldwide on intertidal rocky shores including those of Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea. This group contains important species in many marine environmental studies but species-level taxonomy of the group is quite complicated due to the morphological variations in shell characters. This study examined the genetic variations and relationships among three Korean Thais species based on the partial nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cox1 gene fragments. Phylogenetic trees from different analytic methods (maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining, and maximum likelihood) showed that T. bronni and T. luteostoma are closely related, indicating the most recent common ancestry. The low sequence divergence found between T. luteostoma and T. bronni, ranging from 1.53% to 3.19%, also corroborates this idea. Further molecular survey using different molecular marker is required to fully understand a detailed picture of the origin for their low level of interspecific sequence divergence. Sequence comparisons among conspecific individuals revealed extensive sequence variations within the three species with maximum values of 2.43% in T. clavigera and 1.37% in both T. bronni and T. luteostoma. In addition, there is an unexpectedly high level of mitochondrial genotypic diversity within each of the three Korean Thais species. The high genetic diversity revealed in Korean Thais species is likely to reflect genetic diversity introduced from potential source populations with diverse geographic origins, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and a variety of different coastal regions in South China and Japan. Additional sequence analysis with comprehensive taxon sampling from unstudied potential source populations will be also needed to address the origin and key factors for the high level of genetic diversity discovered within the three Korean Thais species studied.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.94-99
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• 2003

Mitochondrial DNAs has been used frequently as genetic markers for the population genetic studies of salmonid fishes. Samples used in this experiment were chum salmons (Oncorhynchus keta) from Korea. We analyzed variation of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 gene (ND3) among 4 individuals of the Korea population. Genomic DNA was extracted from the liver of the chum salmon samples. Then, the ND3 gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) including the 3' region of cytochrome oxidase III gene (COIII) and the 5` region of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4L gene (ND4L). The size of the PCR product was 752 Up and the sequences showed some genetic variation among those four individuals. Genetic variations were observed in 7 sites as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Within the open reading frame of the ND3 gene which encodes 116 amino acids, 5 nucleotide substitutions were found. Both transitional and transversional changes occurred more frequently with transitional changes. Comparison of these sequences with the others of a Japanese chum salmon in GenBank showed 5 sites of SNPs. This study provided the basic information of SNP in ND3 gene among Korean chum salmons and demonstrated the possible use of the SNP data as a genetic marker.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.431-441
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• 2019

Background: The efficacy of ginseng, the representative product of Korea, and its chemical effects have been well investigated. The ginsenoside RG3 has been reported to exhibit apoptotic, anticancer, and antidepressant-like effects. Methods: In this report, the putative effect of RG3 on several cellular function including cell survival, differentiation, development and aging process were evaluated by monitoring each specific marker. Also, mitochondrial morphology and function were investigated in ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated normal human dermal fibroblast cells. Results: RG3 treatment increased the expression of extracellular matrix proteins, growth-associated immediate-early genes, and cell proliferation genes in UV-irradiated normal human dermal fibroblast cells. And, RG3 also resulted in enhanced expression of antioxidant proteins such as nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 and heme oxygenase-1. In addition, RG3 affects the morphology of UV-induced mitochondria and plays a role in protecting mitochondrial dysfunction. Conclusioin: RG3 restores mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and membrane potential via its antioxidant effects in skin cells damaged by UV irradiation, leading to an increase in proteins linked with the extracellular matrix, cell proliferation, and antioxidant activity.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.165-168
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• 2007

The nucleotide sequences of a male-specific marker sex determining region Y (SRY) gene and a mitochondrial cytochrome B (CYTB) gene were characterized and analyzed to establish a molecular method for identification of species and sex of Korean roe deer (Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus). Similarity search result of SRY sequences showed very similar result to those reported in Moose (Alces alces) and Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), both of which had 95.9% similarity in identity. CYTB genes were very similar to those reported in Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus pygargus) which had 98.6% similarity and not to European roe deer (C. capreolus), suggesting that the DNA samples tested were of Siberian roe deer lineage. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sex typing successfully discriminated between carcasses of male and female roe deer. Males had SRY band on agarose gels and females did not. The result of this molecular sex typing provided similar information with that obtained by genital organ observation. Therefore, this molecular method using male specific marker SRY and mitochondrial CYTB genes would be very useful for identification of the species and sex of the carcass remains of roe deer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1455-1460
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• 2018

Due to a rapidly expanding aging population, the incidence of degenerative bone disease has increased, and efforts to handle the issue using regenerative medicine have become more important. In order to control various bone diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, regenerative medicine utilizing adult stem cells has been extensively studied. And it is now clear that the mitochondrial energy metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, is important for the process of stem cell differentiation. Interestingly, a recent study reported that salicylate promotes mitochondrial biogenesis by regulating the expression of $PGC-1{\alpha}$ in murine cells. However, the possible effects of salicylate on osteogenic differentiation through increased mitochondrial biogenesis in stem cells remain unknown. Thus, here we investigated whether salicylate could influence osteogenic differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis of periosteum-derived mesenchymal stem cells (POMSCs). We found that salicylate treatments of POMSCs undergoing osteogenic differentiation increased the activity of alkaline phosphatase, a well-known early marker of bone cell differentiation. In addition, we observed that mitochondrial mass was increased by salicylate treatments in POMSCs. Together, these results indicate that salicylate can enhance osteogenic differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis in POMSCs. Therefore, the findings in this study suggest that small molecules augmenting mitochondrial function such as salicylate can be a novel modulator for osteogenic differentiation and regenerative medicine.