• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 1992

The effect of benzyladenine (BA) on lipid peroxidation and compositions of total insoluble proteins and chloroplast thylakoid protein from wheat primary leaves during senescence in the dark was studied. BA ($10^{-5}\;M$) treatment prevented conspicuously the loss of chlorophyll content and soluble and insoluble leaf protein contents in senescing wheat leaf segments during 4-day dark incubation. Under the BA treatment, especially, the level of insoluble protein was highly maintained than that of soluble protein. Also, the increase of malondialdehyde (MDA: the peroxidation product of membrane lipids) content was inhibited in the BA treated leaves. Three major polypeptide bands in quantity corresponding to 57, 26 and 12 KD molecular weight were clearly resolved with other minor bands by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in the insoluble protein fraction. The insoluble protein profiles of the control leaves showed a remarkable decrease in the intensity of the 57 and 12 KD band except for 26 KD band in the 72 h dark incubation. This loss during dark incubation was reduced by BA treatment. More than 20 polypeptides were resolved in the chloroplast thylakoid membrane fraction with the most prominent bands which are 59 and 57 KD ($\alpha\;and\;\beta$ subunit of coupling factor: CF) and 26 KD (apoprotein of LHCP). The changes in thylakoid protein profile during 72 h dark incubation showed the rapid degradation in control, but this degradation was prevented in quantity by BA treatment. The above results suggested that BA would inhibit the peroxidation of membrane lipids, thereby preventing the loss of membrane proteins which led to the maintenance of the membrane integrity including chloroplast thylakoid.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 2001

When mammalian oocytes undergo maturation, cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte exhibit remodeling of their structure known as cumulus expansion. Many molecules including hyaluronic acid participate in this remodeling. The present study aimed to investigate a possible existence of matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs) in the extracellular matrix(ECM) of human oocyte-cumulus complex. ECM was extracted from the human oocyte-cumulus complex. Gelatin gel zymogram of ECM exhibited 7 gelatinases having molecular weight of 300kDa, 240kDa, 200kDa, 180kDa, 116kDa, 97kDa, and 84kDa. This gelatinase profile was very different from that of ovarian mural granulosa cell extract or white blood cell extract, indicating that the oocyte-cumulus complex donating ECM was free from other than cumulus cells. When ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or 1', 10'-phenanthroline was added to the reaction buffer during zymographic development, almost gelatinase activities were abolished, suggesting that they were MMPs. Following incubation of ECM in the presence of aminophenylmercuric acetate, an activator of proMMPs, 4 gelatinases of 240kDa, 180kDa, 97kDa, and 84kDa disappeared with the concomitant appearance of 80kDa, 65kDa, and 60kDa gelatinases. Based upon these observation, it is suggested that ECM of the human oocyte-cumulus complex consists of gelatinases, presumed to be MMP-2 and MMP-9 isoforms.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.209-215
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• 2007

In order to develop a sensitive and reliable method for the species-specific molecular markers, PCR-RFLP assay of the mitochondrial DNA(mt DNA) 12S rRNA gene was exploited for the identification of the origin of animal meat species including cattle, pig, sheep, goat, horse, deer, chicken, duck and turkey. A specific primer pairs were designed, based on the nucleotide sequences of mt 12S rRNA gene, for the amplification of the highly conserved region in the gene of the animal species using PCR-RFLP technique. mt DNA was isolated from meat samples followed by DNA amplification using PCR with the specific primers. PCR amplification produced an approximately 455 bp fragment in each of these animal meats. To distinguish pleat species, the PCR amplicons were digested with restriction endonucleases Tsp5091 and MboI, respectively, which generates distinct RFLP profiles. The DNA profiles digested with Tsp5091 allowed the clear discrimination in the mammalian meat species and the DNA profiles digested with MboI in poultry meat species. Therefore, the PCR-RFLP profiles of mt 12S rRNA gene could be very useful to identify the origin of the raw materials in the raw meats as well as the processed meat products.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1801-1810
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• 2016

Recent discovery showing the presence of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the circulation sparked interest in their use as potential biomarkers. Our previous studies showed the diagnostic potential of miR-451 as a serological marker for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), miR-337-5p and miR-30b for non-inflammatory breast cancer (non-IBC). The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic values of circulating miRNAs by comparing the amounts of 12 circulating miRNAs in the serum of IBC and non-IBC from Tunisian breast cancer patients, and by determinating whether correlated pairs of miRNAs could provide useful information in the diagnosis of IBC and non-IBC patients. TaqMan qPCR was performed to detect circulating expression of miRNAs in serum of 20 IBC, 20 non-IBC and 20 healthy controls. Nonparametric rank Spearman rho correlation coefficient was used to examine the prognostic value of miRNAs and to assess the correlation profile between miRNAs expression. Further, a large number of miRNAs were highly correlated (rho>0.5) in both patients groups and controls. Also, the correlations profiles were different between IBC, non-IBC and healthy controls indicating important changes in molecular pathways in cancer cells. Our results showed that miR-335 was significantly overexpressed in premenopausal non-IBC patients; miR-24 was significantly overexpressed in non-IBC postmenopausal patients. Patients with previous parity had higher serum of miR-342-5p levels than those without. Furthermore, patients with HER2+ IBC present lower serum levels of miR-15a than patients with HER2-disease. Together, these results underline the potential of miRNAs to function as diagnostic and prognostic markers for IBC and non-IBC, with links to the menopausal state, Her2 status and parity.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2000

Vertical temperature distributions in muddy intertidal sediments near the Jebu Island on the west coast of Korea were obtained during the period of ebb tide which occurred in day time. The observations of mud temperature were made with thermistor embedded probe at 2cm interval for 18cm-layer of sediment for five different months of the year. Temporal changes in the vertical profile of the sediment temperature are strongly depend on the air temperature, the previous time of flood tide and the time of ebb tide. Heat exchanges in the surface layer (0-2 cm) in terms of magnitude and direction are greater than and opposite to those in the deeper sediment layer (8-12 cm), respectively and do not show any significant seasonal variations. In general, the surface layer gains heat while the deeper layer loses the heat. By using the 1-D diffusion equation temporal vertical profiles of the sediment temperature were obtained and were compared with the observed ones. The results show that in the sediment layer below 4 cm-depth the heat transport is predominantly by molecular diffusion. The average magnitude of heat flux into the sediment layer (0-18 cm) during the ebb tide when the mudflats were exposed in the middle of the day were between 4.1 and $28.9\;W/m^2$.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1851-1854
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• 2009

This study correlated changes in the plasma levels of estradiol-$17{\beta}$ (E2) with changes in the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and ovarian development during the annual reproductive cycle of the pike eel Muraenesox cinereus, collected at the Tongyung coast region. Ovarian maturity was classified based on histological observations; the perinucleolus stage (November to February), the oil droplet stage (March to April), the early vitellogenic stage (April to May) and the late vitellogenic stage (June to October). Seasonal changes in the GSI were correlated with water temperature and reflected the degree of ovarian maturity. Plasma E2 levels were correlated with changes in the GSI, which increased from April to a peak in July, and the levels remained comparatively high until October. These data indicated that changes in the GSI and plasma E2 levels are correlated with the annual ovarian activity of the pike eel. In this study, however, female pike eels were not collected during the spawning stage. Therefore, spawning of this species seemed to be closely related to its migration toward the deep sea of offshore.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.898-908
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• 2016

Despite recent groundbreaking advances in multiple myeloma (MM) treatment, most MM patients ultimately experience relapse, and the relapse biology is not entirely understood. To define altered gene expression in MM relapse, gene expression profiles were examined and compared among 16 MM patients grouped by 12 months progression-free survival (PFS) after autologous stem cell transplantation. To maximize the difference between prognostic groups, patients at each end of the PFS spectrum (the four with the shortest PFS and four with the longest PFS) were chosen for additional analyses. We discovered that integrin-${\alpha}8$ (ITGA8) is highly expressed in MM patients with early relapse. The integrin family is well known to be involved in MM progression; however, the role of integrin-${\alpha}8$ is largely unknown. We functionally overexpressed integrin-${\alpha}8$ in MM cell lines, and surprisingly, stemness features including $HIF1{\alpha}$, VEGF, OCT4, and Nanog, as well as epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related phenotypes, including N-cadherin, Slug, Snail and CXCR4, were induced. These, consequently, enhanced migration and invasion abilities, which are crucial to MM pathogenesis. Moreover, the gain of integrin-${\alpha}8$ expression mediated drug resistance against melphalan and bortezomib, which are the main therapeutic agents in MM. The cBioPortal genomic database revealed that ITGA8 have significant tendency to co-occur with PDGFRA and PDGFRB and their mRNA expression were up-regulated in ITGA8 overexpressed MM cells. In summary, integrin-${\alpha}8$, which was up-regulated in MM of early relapse, mediates EMT-like phenotype, enhancing migration and invasion; therefore, it could serve as a potential marker of MM relapse and be a new therapeutic target.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 1986

Fifty-one strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from various clinical specimens. Among them, 26 (51%) strains were gentamicin-resistant (Gm') and 25 (49%) were susceptible to gentamicin (Gm'). The frequencies of resistant strains to piperacillin (Pi), cefotaxime, moxalactam, cefoperazone (Cz), and amikacin (Ak) ranged from 21.6 to 31.4%, and $MIC_{50}$ of these drugs were lower than the critical concentrations of susceptibility and resistance. Thirty (58.8%) strains were multiply resistant to 12 or more drugs. All Gm' strains were multiply resistant to 12 or more drugs and one was resistant to all 18 drugs tested, while only four Gm' strains were multiply resistant to 12 drugs and the multiplicity of resistance of the other Gm' strains were less than 10 drugs. Resistance to Gm appeared to have a significant correlation with the resistance to tobramycin (Tb), Ak, Pi, and Cz. All Gm' strains were resistant to Tb and about 38.4 to 46.1% of them were resistant to Ak, Pi, and Cz. The incorporation of $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ ions in Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) did not influence the MICs of Gm, Tb, carbenicillin (Cb), Pi, and Cz as compared with the results obtained in MHA without these ions. Gm strains were studied on the combined effect of beta-lactam antibiotics and aminoglycosides by the methods of checkerboard and modified paper strip diffusion. Most Gm' strains showed significant synergistic effects by the FIC index between Ak and three beta-lactam antibiotics; Cb, Pi, and Cz, but these results did not in agreement the results obtained through the method of modified paper strip diffusion test. In order to know the nature of the drug resistance of P. aernginosa, the plasmid profile analysis was studied. Agarose gel electrophoresis of lysates processed by the method of Kado and Liu showed one or more plasmids in 22 (43.1%) strains. A group of 19 strains showed at least one band of plasmid and three strains two bands. The range of the molecular weight of plasmids was 3.8 to 243 Mdal. All strains carrying large plasmids larger than 200 Mdal were isolated from wound specimens. Three Gm' strains also harboured the plasm ids of 13 to 203 Mdal.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.285-294
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• 2005

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physico-chemical properties and flavor compounds of sausages with various levels and molecular weight (MWs) of chitosans, during storage at $4^{\circ}C$. Various MWs (Low: 1.5 kDa; Medium: $30{\sim}50$ kDa; High: 200 kDa) and two levels (0.3 and $0.6\%$) of chiosans were dissolved and measured the viscosity at $4^{\circ}C$, pH values were not affected (p>0.05) by either MWs or levels of chitosans. The addition or high MWs or chitosan into the pork salt soluble protein (SSP) increased the viscosity, whereas no differences were observed in low and medium MWs of chitosan. Textural profile analysis (TPA) was affected by the addition of medium or high MWs of chitosan. As a result, the addition of medium of chitosan increased the hardness, gumminess, chewiness, cohesiveness and springiness values, whereas increased level of chitosan didn't affect TPA values, except few cases. Approximately twenty-nine flavor compounds were identified in the low-fat and regular-fat sausages, however the addition of chitosans didn't impair the flavor composition of the sausages, These results indicated that the addition of chitosans didn't affect the flavor profiles, but affected the textural properties in the sausages, especially MWs higher than 30 kDa.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 2012

Antibiotic resistance in animal isolates of enterococci is a public health concern, because of the risk of transmission of antibiotic-resistant strains or resistance genes to humans through the food chain. This study investigated phenotypic and genotypic resistances profile of tetracycline in 245 $Enterococcus$ isolates from bovine milk. A total of 245 enterococci were isolated from 950 milk samples. The predominant strain was $E.$ $faecalis$ (n = 199, 81.2%) and $E.$ $faecium$ (n = 25, 10.2%). $E.$ $avium$ (n = 7, 2.9%), $E.$ $durans$ (n = 6, 2.5%), $E.$ $gallinarum$ (n = 4, 1.6%), and $E.$ $raffinosus$ (n = 4, 1.6%) were also isolated. Of the 245 enterococcal isolates 76.3% (n = 187) displayed tetracycline resistance (${\geq}16{\mu}g/ml$). Of the 187 tetracycline-resistant isolates, 83.4% (n = 156), 16.1% (n = 30), and 26.7% (n = 50) possessed the genes $tet$(M), $tet$(L), $tet$(S) respectively. While 3.2% (n = 6) of the tetracycline-resistant isolates possessed all three genes $tet$(M) + $tet$(L) + $tet$(S), 8.6% (n = 16), 16.0% (n = 30), and 2.7% (n = 5) of them possessed two genes $tet$(M) + $tet$(L), $tet$(M) + $tet$(S), and $tet$(L) + $tet$(S) respectively. The tetracycline resistance pattern investigated in this study was attributable mainly to the presence of $tet$(M).