• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5137-5142
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• 2014

Adriamycin (ADR) is an important chemotherapeutic agent frequently used in treatment of breast cancer. However, resistance to ADR results in treatment failure in many patients. Recent studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) may play an important role in such drug-resistance. In the present study, microRNA-452 (miR-452) was found to be significantly down-regulated in adriamycin-resistant MCF-7 cells (MCF-7/ADR) compared with the parental MCF-7 cells by miRNA microarray and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). MiR-452 mimics and inhibitors partially changed the adriamycin-resistance of breast cancer cells, as also confirmed by apoptosis assay. In exploring the potential mechanisms of miR-452 in the adriamycin-resistance of breast cancer cells, bioinformatics analysis, RT-qPCR and Western blotting showed that dysregulation of miR-452 played an important role in the acquired adriamycin-resistance of breast cancer, maybe at least in part via targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R).

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2018

Strawberry Fusarium wilt disease, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae, is the most devastating disease in strawberry production. The pathogen produces chlamydospores which tolerate against harsh environment, fungicide and survive for decades in soil. Development of detection and quantification techniques are regarded significantly in many soilborne pathogens to prevent damage from diseases. In this study, we improved specific-quantitative primers for F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae to reveal correlation between the pathogen density and the disease severity. Standard curve $r^2$ value of the specific-quantitative primers for qRT-PCR and meting curve were over 0.99 and $80.5^{\circ}C$, respectively. Over pathogen $10^5cfu/g$ of soil was required to cause the disease in both lab and field conditions. With the minimum density to develop the wilt disease, the pathogen affected near 60% in nursery plantation. A biological control microbe agent and soil solarization reduced the pathogen population 2-fold and 1.5-fold in soil, respectively. The developed F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae specific qRT-PCR protocol may contribute to evaluating soil healthiness and appropriate decision making to control the disease.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.148-155
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• 2011

Our previous sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the Korean Rice stripe virus (RSV) suggested possible genetic reassortment of RNA segments, but whether this RNA variation contributed to the recent RSV outbreaks in Korea is yet unclear. To further clarify these RSV-RNA segment variations, we developed a reverse transcription-polymerase reaction/restriction enzyme (RT-PCR/RE) analysis-based method. We identified five REs, including DraI, EcoR1, NdeI/AseI, and SpeI, that could differentiate RSV RNA 1-4 subtypes, respectively. Our RT-PCR/RE results provided a clear pattern of RNA reassortment, i.e., different groups of isolates having their RNA segments derived from two to three different RSV ancestors, such as from Eastern and Southwestern Chinese or Japanese M and T isolates. We also found that the migratory small brown planthopper from Eastern China caught by aerial net traps that possesses RSV-RNA3 genotypes corresponds mainly to Eastern China, with a few for Southwestern China based on RT-PCR/RE, sequence and phylogenetic analyses, indicating that RSV populations in Eastern China may also have strong RNA variation. The development of an RE analysisbased method proved a useful epidemiological tool for rapid genotyping and identification of mixed infections by RSV strain and by different subtype.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.336-342
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• 2006

Real time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was used to quantify the expression of the botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) gene (cntA) by normalization with the expression of 16S rRNA. The method were confirmed by monitoring the mRNA levels of cntA during growth in five type A strains. In all but one of the strains the expression of cntA mRNA was maximal in the late exponential phase, and approximately 35-fold greater than in the early exponential phase. The concentration of the extracellular BoNT/A complex detected by ELISA was highest in stationary phase. Sodium nitrite and sorbic acid completely inhibited growth at 20 ppm and $4mg\;ml^{-1}$, respectively. CntA expression became lower in proportion to the concentration of sorbic acid, and this reduction was confirmed by mouse bioassay. Our results show that real time RT-PCR can be used to quantify levels of C. botulinum type A neurotoxin transcripts and to assess the effects of food additives on botulinal risk.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2009

Sequencing analysis of a 5-kb DNA fragment from Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439 revealed the presence of one 3.1-kb open reading frame(ORF), designated as afsR-sv. The deduced product of afsR-sv(1,056 aa) was found to have high homology with the global regulatory protein AfsR. Homology-based analysis showed that aftR-sv represents a transcriptional activator belonging to the Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory protein(SARP) family that includes an N-terminal SARP domain containing a bacterial transcriptional activation domain(BTAD), an NB-ARC domain, and a C-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat domain. Gene expression analysis by reverse transcriptase PCR(RT-PCR) demonstrated the activation of transcription of genes belonging to pikromycin production, when aftR-sv was overexpressed in S. venezuelae. Heterologous expression of the aftR-sv in different Streptomyces strains resulted in increased production of the respective antibiotics, suggesting that afsR-sv is a positive regulator of antibiotics biosynthesis.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.149-156
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• 2020

We developed a simple and rapid method for detecting vancomycin resistance genes, such as vanA and vanB, using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). To identify not only vancomycin resistance genes, but also the genus Enterococcus, primers were designed for vanA, vanB, and 16S rRNA. Screening for vancomycin susceptibility in Enterococcus was performed using Etest (bioMérieux Inc). The results of the LAMP assay were compared to those of real-time RT-PCR. The optimal conditions for the LAMP assay were 65℃ for 60 min. The detection limits of the LAMP assay for vanA, and vanB were 2 × 10² copies/reaction. Compared to RT-PCR, the sensitivities and specificities of LAMP for 16S rRNA, vanA, and vanB were 100/100%, 100/100%, and 100/100%, respectively. The vanA genotype-vanB phenotype accounted for 57.5% (46/80) of the vancomycin-resistant Enterococci samples collected from 2016 to 2019. In conclusion, the LAMP assay developed in this study showed high sensitivity and specificity for vancomycin-resistant genes. Moreover, due to the simplicity and rapidity of the LAMP assay, its use can be very useful in clinical microbiology laboratories.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2013

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is one of the major extracellular matrix components in skin. The HA content is reported to decline with age, which may contribute to decrease in skin moisture, wrinkle formation and the decrease in elasticity of the skin. Among the family of HA synthase genes (HAS-1, 2, 3) identified so far, HAS-2 plays crucial roles in the regulation of HA synthesis in human skin fibroblasts. In this study, we elucidated the effects of ferulic acid isolated from Cnidium officinale on HA production. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR showed that ferulic acid increased mRNA level of HAS-2 gene and ELISA assay also revealed that ferulic acid increased HA production in human skin fibroblasts. Our study suggests that ferulic acid might prevent age-dependent skin deteriorations such as wrinkles, dryness and elasticity decrease, all of which could be ascribed to the reduction of the HA content in human skin.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.963-968
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• 2013

Objective: To study the effect of the antagomiR-27a inhibitor on glioblastoma cells. Methods: The miR-27a expression level in specimens of human glioblastoma and normal human brain tissues excised during decompression for traumatic brain injury was assessed using qRT-PCR; The predicted target gene of miR-27a was screened out through bioinformatics databases, and the predicted gene was verified using genetic report assays; the effect of antagomiR-27a on the invasion and proliferation of glioma cells was analyzed using MTT assays and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) labeling. A xenograft glioblastoma model in BALB-c nude mice was established to detect the effect of antagomiR-27a on tumour growth. Results: qRT-PCR results showed that miR-27a significantly increased in specimens from glioblastoma comparing with normal human brain tissues. Th miR-27a inhibitor significantly suppressed invasion and proliferation of glioblastoma cells. FOXO3a was verified as a new target of miR-27a by Western blotting and reporter analyzes. Tumor growth in vivo was suppressed by administration of the miR-27a inhibitor. Conclusion: MiR-27a may be up-regulated in human glioblastoma, and antagomiR-27a could inhibit the proliferation and invasion ability of glioblastoma cells.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.423-432
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• 2013

Zi geese (Anser anser domestica) belong to the white geese and are excellent layers with a superior feed-to-egg conversion ratio. Quantitative gene expression analysis, such as Real-time qRT-PCR, will provide a good understanding of ovarian function during egg-laying and consequently improve egg production. However, we still don't know what reference genes in geese, which show stable expression, should be used for such quantitative analysis. In order to reveal such reference genes, the stability of seven genes were tested in five tissues of Zi geese. Methodology/Principal Findings: The relative transcription levels of genes encoding hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase 1 (HPRT1), ${\beta}$-actin (ACTB), ${\beta}$-tubulin (TUB), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GADPH), succinate dehydrogenase flavoprotein (SDH), 28S rRNA (28S) and 18S rRNA (18S) have been quantified in heart, liver, kidney, muscle and ovary in Zi geese respectively at different developmental stages (1 d, 2, 4, 6 and 8 months). The expression stability of these genes was analyzed using geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper software. Conclusions: The expression of 28S in heart, GAPDH in liver and ovary, ACTB in kidney and HPRT1 in muscle are the most stable genes as identified by the three different analysis methods. Thus, these genes are recommended for use as candidate reference genes to compare mRNA transcription in various developmental stages of geese.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.595-602
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• 2005

A one-step real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay in combination with automated RNA extraction was evaluated for routine testing of HCV RNA in the laboratory. Specific primers and probes were developed to detect 302 bp on 5'-UTR of HCV RNA. The assay was able to quantitate a dynamic linear range of $10^7-10^1$ HCV RNA copies/reaction ($R^2=0.997$). The synthetic HCV RNA standard of $1.84{\pm}0.1\;(mean{\pm}SD)$ copies developed in this study corresponded to 1 international unit (IU) of WHO International Standard for HCV RNA (96/790 I). The detection limit of the assay was 3 RNA copies/reaction (81 IU/ml) in plasma samples. The assay was comparable to the Amplicor HCV Monitor (Monitor) assay with correlation coefficient r=0.985, but was more sensitive than the Monitor assay. The assay could be completed within 3 h from RNA extraction to detection and data analysis for up to 32 samples. It allowed rapid RNA extraction, detection, and quantitation of HCV RNA in plasma samples. The method provided sufficient sensitivity and reproducibility and proved to be fast and labor-saving, so that it was suitable for high throughput HCV RNA test.