• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have changed the process of genetic diagnosis from a gene-by-gene approach to syndrome-based diagnostic gene panel sequencing (DPS), diagnostic exome sequencing (DES), and diagnostic genome sequencing (DGS). A priori information on the causative genes that might underlie a genetic condition is a prerequisite for genetic diagnosis before conducting clinical NGS tests. Theoretically, DPS, DES, and DGS do not require any information on specific candidate genes. Therefore, clinical NGS tests sometimes detect disease-related pathogenic variants in genes underlying different conditions from the initial diagnosis. These clinical NGS tests are expensive, but they can be a cost-effective approach for the rapid diagnosis of rare disorders with genetic heterogeneity, such as the glycogen storage disease, familial intrahepatic cholestasis, lysosomal storage disease, and primary immunodeficiency. In addition, DES or DGS may find novel genes that that were previously not linked to human diseases.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2022

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a single-gene disease caused by mutations in the neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 3 (NOTCH3) gene. The spectrum of clinical manifestations is broad, ranging from asymptomatic to typical ischemic stroke, and mainly depends on the location of the mutations. We describe the case of a 76-year-old female without apparent neurological deficits. However, brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed confluent lesions in the white matter. Direct sequencing of the NOTCH3 gene revealed a novel pathogenic mutation, c.811T>A, which results in a mild phenotype. Therefore, this report will expand the current knowledge in regards to the mutations that can cause CADASIL.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2006

Pasteurella multocida is a terrible veterinary pathogen that causes widespread infections in husbandry. To induce homologous and/or heterologous immunity against the infections, outer membrane protein Hs (OmpH) in the envelope of different strains of P. multocida are thought to be attractive vaccine candidates. Previously we cloned and characterized a gene for OmpH from pathogenic P. multocida (A : 3) (In Press, Korean J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2005, 33, December). The gene is composed of 1,047 nucleotides (nt) coding 348 amino acids (aa) with signal peptide of 20 aa. The truncated ompH, a gene without nt coding for the signal peptide, was generated using pRSET A to name "pRSET A/OmpH-F2". This truncated ompH was well expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Truncated OmpH was purified for induction of immunity against live pathogen of fowl cholera (P. multocida A : 3) in mice. Some $50{\mu}g$ of the purified polypeptide was intraperitoneally injected into mice two times with 10 day interval. Lethal dose ($25{\mu}l$) of live P. multocida A : 3 was determined by directly injecting the pathogen into wild mice (n = 25). To demonstrate the vaccine candidate of the truncated OmpH, the live pathogen ($25{\mu}l$) was challenged with the OmpH-immunized mouse group as well as positive & negative controls (n = 80). The results show that the truncated OmpH can be used for an effective vaccine production to prevent fowl cholera caused by pathogenic P. multocida (A : 3).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.1318-1331
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• 2018

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a major ingredient used in many food recipes in South Korea. Lettuce samples were collected during their maximum production period between April and July in order to investigate the microbiota of lettuce during different seasons. 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing was conducted using Illumina MiSeq, and real-time PCR was performed for quantification. The number of total bacterial was greater in lettuce collected in July than in that collected in April, albeit with reduced diversity. The bacterial compositions varied according to the site and season of sample collection. Potential pathogenic species such as Bacillus spp., Enterococcus casseliflavus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed season-specific differences. Results of the network co-occurrence analysis with core genera correlations showed characteristics of bacterial species in lettuce, and provided clues regarding the role of different microbes, including potential pathogens, in this microbiota. Although further studies are needed to determine the specific effects of regional and seasonal characteristics on the lettuce microbiota, our results imply that the 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing approach can be used to detect pathogenic bacteria in lettuce.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13.1-13.8
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• 2023

Importance of accurate molecular diagnosis and quantification of particular disease-related pathogenic microorganisms is highlighted as an introductory step to prevent and care for diseases. In this study, we designed a primer/probe set for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) targeting rgpA gene, known as the specific virulence factor of periodontitis-related pathogenic bacteria 'Porphyromonas gingivalis', and evaluated its diagnostic efficiency by detecting and quantifying relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis within saliva samples collected from clinical subjects. As a result of qRT-PCR, we confirmed that relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis was detected and quantified within all samples of positive control and periodontitis groups. On the contrary, negative results were confirmed in both negative control and healthy groups. Additionally, as a result of comparison with next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based 16S metagenome profiling data, we confirmed relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis, which was not identified on bacterial classification table created through 16S microbiome analysis, in qRT-PCR results. It showed that an approach to quantifying specific microorganisms by applying qRT-PCR method could solve microbial misclassification issues at species level of an NGS-based 16S microbiome study. In this respect, we suggest that P. gingivalis-specific primer/probe set introduced in present study has efficient applicability in various oral healthcare industries, including periodontitis-related microbial molecular diagnosis field.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.390-402
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• 2023

Salmonella are Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria commonly found in food animals such as poultry and swine and potentially constitute risks and threats to food safety and public health through transmissible virulence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Although there are previous studies in the Philippines regarding genotypic and phenotypic AMR in Salmonella, there are very few on virulence and their associations. Hence, this study collected 700 Salmonella isolates from swine samples in abattoirs and wet markets among four districts in Metro Manila and characterized their genotypic virulence and β-lactam AMR profiles. Gene frequency patterns and statistical associations between virulence and bla genes and comparisons based on location types (abattoirs and wet markets) and districts were also determined. High prevalence (>50%) of virulence genes was detected encompassing Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs) 1-5 suggesting their pathogenic potential, but none possessed plasmid-borne virulence genes spvR and spvC. For bla, bla_TEM was detected with high prevalence (>45%) and revealed significant associations to four SPI genes, namely, avrA, hilA, mgtC, and spi4R, which suggest high resistance potential particularly to β-lactam antibiotics and relationships with pathogenicity that remain mechanistically unestablished until now. Lastly, comparisons of location types and districts showed variations in gene prevalence suggesting effects from environmental factors throughout the swine production chain. This study provides vital data on the genotypic virulence and AMR of Salmonella from swine in abattoirs and wet markets that suggest their pathogenicity and resistance potential for policymakers to implement enforced surveillance and regulations for the improvement of the Philippine swine industry.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.99-109
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• 1999

Enteropathogenic Yersina enterocolitica is an important cause of human and animal disease. Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics currently used to identify Yersinia enterocolitica are not necessarily sufficient to differentiate pathogenic from non-pathogenic strains or to analyze the epidemiology of yersiniae at a molecular level. To improve the characterization of Yersinia enterocolitica, A total of 65 isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica were examined with bioserotyping, antibiotic susceptibilities, PFGE, PCR-ribotyping. Genomic DNA pattern generated by PFGE are highly specific for different strains of an organism and have significant value in epidemiologic investigations. The PFGE analysis of Not I-digested chromosomal DNA of Y. enterocolitica were performed with a CHEF Mapper(Bio-Rad, USA). Not I generated 19 restriction endonuclease digestion profiles(REDP). PCR-ribotyping, performed with primers complementry to conserved regions of 16S and 23S rRNA gene, generated 13 ribotypes. PCR-ribotyping can be considered a good technich for subtyping strains of Y.enterocolitica.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.434-440
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• 2007

The livestocks are sometimes infected with pathogenic microorganisms such as bird influenza, brucellosis, pig cholerae, and salmonella. However, it is difficult to predict the outcome of these diseases because the livestocks are mostly raised in the rural areas. Efficient systems for detecting and alerting the onset of livestock diseases are urgently required. In these studies, the fluorescent analysis method, luminescent analysis method, and frequently used gene amplification method (polymerase chain reaction) have been developed in order to detect the pathogenic microbes in the early stages of disease progression. By using these developed systems, damages due to the livestock diseases induced by microbes can be minimized. If we can detect livestock diseases in the early stage, the costs for diagnosis and treatment will be reduced, and the livestock can be quickly recovered.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.118-120
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• 2002

Genetic materials including DNA plasmid are effective delivery vehicle to express interesting gene efficiently and safely not to generate replication competent virus. Moreover, it has advantages to design a better vector and to simplify manufacturing and storage condition. To understand a possible pathogenic mechanism by a flavivirus, West Nile virus (WNV), WNV genome sequence was aligned to other pathogenic viral genome. Interestingly, WNV capsid (Cp) amino acid sequence has some homology to HIV-l Vpr protein. These proteins induce apoptosis in human cell lines as well as in vivo and cell cycle arrest. Therefore, DNA plasmid carrying apoptosis-inducing and cell cycle arresting viral proteins including a HIV-1 Vpr and a WNV Cp protein can be useful for anti-cancer therapeutic applications. This WNV Cp protein is an early expressed protein which can be a reasonable target antigen (Ag) for vaccine design. Immunization of a DNA construct encoding WNV Cp protein induces a strong Ag-specific humoral and Th1-type immune responses in animal. Therefore, DNA plasmid encoding apoptotic viral proteins can be useful tool for therapeutic and prophylactic applications.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.33-36
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• 2020

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with numerous causes that include genetic factors. Efforts to reveal the genetics of ALS have identified several candidate genes that are associated with familial and sporadic ALS. Here we report a Korean ALS patient who showed prominent upper motor-neuron-related symptoms with marked brain atrophy and neuropsychological deficits. The findings were highly suggestive of ALS in a patient with a likely pathogenic FIG4 variant.