• 미생물학회지
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.215-221
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• 2009

대장균에서 비천연 아미노산을 단백질 생합성시 특정 위치에 삽입하는 방법의 하나로 amber suppressor tRNA와 여기에 비천연 아미노산을 특이적으로 결합할 수 있는 변형된 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase 쌍을 이용한다. 이러한 기술의 개발을 위해 필요한 여러 요소 중 하나는 이러한 시스템이 대장균에서 얼마나 잘 작동하는지를 확인할 수 있는 in vivo 보고시스템을 설정하는 것이다. 본 논문에서는 $\beta$-galactosidase 유전자의 N-말단에 amber 코돈을 삽입한 보고유전자를 제작하였으며, 이를 대장균(DH10B)의 chromosomal DNA에 삽입하여 DH10B(Tn:lacZam) 균주를 개발하였다. Genomic PCR과 Southern blot 분석을 통하여 lacZ amber 유전자가 대장균의 염색체에 삽입된 것을 확인하였으며, DH10B(Tn:lacZam)은 amber suppression을 유도할 수 있는 벡터가 형질 전환될 경우만 $\beta$-galactosidase 활성을 나타냈다. DH10B(Tn:lacZam)에 효모균의 amber suppressor $tRNA^{Tyr}$와 Tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase 쌍을 동시에 발현하는 벡터를 형질전환하였을 때, amber suppression에 의해서 $\beta$-galactosidase 활성이 나타났다. 하지만 이 활성은 대장균의 amber suppressor $tRNA^{Gln}$를 발현하는 pSupE2를 형질전환하였을 때와 비교 하여 매우 낮은 $\beta$-galactosidase 활성을 나타냈다. 이러한 결과는 DH10B(Tn:lacZam) 균주가 $\beta$-galactosidase 활성을 통하여 정성 및 정량적으로 in vivo amber suppression 활성을 비교 분석할 수 있는 특성을 가졌음을 나타낸다.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제50권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2014

생명체에서 비천연 아미노산을 단백질의 특정 위치에 삽입하는 방법으로 orthogonal suppressor tRNA와 여기에 비천연 아미노산을 특이적으로 결합시킬 수 있는 유전자 변형된 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS)가 활용되고 있다. 이 기술개발을 위해서는 돌연변이를 유발한 ARS library로부터 비천연 아미노산만을 특이적으로 결합시킬 수 있는 변형된 ARS를 탐색하기 위한 선별시스템이 필요하다. 본 논문에서는 대장균에서 작용하는 2단계로 구성된 새로운 선별시스템을 개발하였다. 먼저 양성선별 시스템은 27번 잔기를 amber 코돈으로 치환한 Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase 유전자로 구성되어 있으며, 이유전자의 amber suppression에 의해 chloramphenicol 배지에서 생존함에 따라 활성을 나타내는 ARS를 최고 $9.0{\times}10^5$배로 농축할 수 있었다. 반면 음성선별 시스템은 대장균의 Topoisomerase II의 기능을 억제하는 단백질을 암호화하는 control of cell death B (ccdB) 유전자의 N-말단 앞에 3개의 amber 코돈을 삽입하여 제작하였다. 이 음성선별 시스템을 가진 대장균에 orthogonal pair인 Saccharomyces cerevisiae tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (Scc TyrRS)와 amber suppressor tRNA를 형질전환하면 amber suppression으로 CcdB가 발현되어 대장균의 성장이 억제되는 것을 확인하였으며, 천연 아미노산에 대한 특이성을 가진 ARS를 효과적으로 제거하는 것을 관찰하였다. 따라서, 양성선별 및 음성선별 시스템을 순차적으로 거침으로써 무작위적으로 아미노산에 대한 특이성을 변형시킨 ARS 라이브러리로부터 비천연 아미노산을 suppressor tRNA에 특이적으로 결합하는 유전자 변형 ARS를 탐색하는데 유용하게 사용될 수 있을 것이다.

• Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.10.1-10.12
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• 2012

Introduction: We investigated frameshift suppressor tRNAs previously reported to use five-base anticodon-codon interactions in order to provide a collection of frameshift suppressor tRNAs to the synthetic biology community and to develop modular frameshift suppressor logic devices for use in synthetic biology applications. Results and Discussion: We adapted eleven previously described frameshift suppressor tRNAs to the BioBrick cloning format, and built three genetic logic circuits to detect frameshift suppression. The three circuits employed three different mechanisms: direct frameshift suppression of reporter gene mutations, frameshift suppression leading to positive feedback via quorum sensing, and enzymatic amplification of frameshift suppression signals. In the course of testing frameshift suppressor logic, we uncovered unexpected behavior in the frameshift suppressor tRNAs. The results led us to posit a four-base binding hypothesis for the frameshift suppressor tRNA interactions with mRNA as an alternative to the published five-base binding model. Conclusion and Prospects: The published five-base anticodon/codon rule explained only 17 of the 58 frameshift suppression experiments we conducted. Our deduced four-base binding rule successfully explained 56 out of our 58 frameshift suppression results. In the process of applying biological knowledge about frameshift suppressor tRNAs to the engineering application of frameshift suppressor logic, we discovered new biological knowledge. This knowledge leads to a redesign of the original engineering application and encourages new ones. Our study reinforces the concept that synthetic biology is often a winding path from science to engineering and back again; scientific investigations spark engineering applications, the implementation of which suggests new scientific investigations.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.344-347
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• 2003

Unnatural amino acid S-(2-nitrobenzyl)cysteine was incorporated into human erythropoietin by using a programmed suppression of nonsense codon in a cell-free protein synthesis system. Several controlling factors affecting the operational efficiency of the suppression were investigated and optimized. The amount of suppressor tRNA and the concentration of $Mg^2+$ were crucial not only for the efficiency but also for the control of the exact suppression. In addition, some general optimization factor are reported in order to improve the efficiency in an unnatural amino acid mutagenesis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.388-394
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• 2009

The cytokines which is produced by allergen-specific T helper (Th) cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Asthma is caused by exaggerated T-helper 2 (Th2)-based immune responses. It is suggested that controlling such Th2-based response is necessary for asthma therapy. The current therapies for asthma focus primarily on control of symptoms and suppression of inflammation, without affecting the underlying cause. So, we examined that anti-asthmatic drugs might have play a certain role in Th2/Th1 balance. Splenocytes isolated from ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice cultured with anti-asthmatic drugs. It is well known that Th2 and Th1 immune responses can balance one another, as Th2 mediators suppress Th1 responses and Th1 mediators similarly inhibit Th2 responses. But salmeterol inhibits both of Th1 and Th2 mediators, which salmeterol is a suppressor of immune responses not only a suppressor of Th2-based immune responses. Aminophylline is a weak suppressor of immune responses. But ipratropium and cromoglycate don't have any suppressor effect to Th2-driven responses. They only have suppressor effect to Th1 immune responses. Salmeterol, ipratropium, aminophylline, and cromoglycate augmented mRNA levels of CRTH2, EP2, and IP2 receptors in OVA-sensitized splenocytes. It is well known that the up-regulation of CRTH2 - $PGD_2$ receptor - results in restraint of eosinophil recruitment and that the increment of IP and EP2 - $PGI_2$ and $PGE_2$ receptor, respectively - may induce the accumulation of cAMP that decrease the effector function of T cells. Moreover salmeterol and cromoglycate increase the mRNA expression of $PGD_2$ synthase. These findings indicate that anti-asthma agents may alleviate the immunological responses that cause the asthmatic diseases.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제9권6호
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• pp.209-235
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• 2009

There has been an explosion of literature focusing on the role of regulatory T (Treg) cells in cancer immunity. It is becoming increasingly clear that Treg cells play an active and significant role in the progression of cancer, and have an important role in suppressing tumor-specific immunity. Thus, there is a clear rationale for developing clinical strategies to diminish their regulatory influences, with the ultimate goal of augmenting antitimor immunity. Therefore, manipulation of Treg cells represent new strategies for cancer treatment. In this Review, I will summarize and review the explosive recent studies demonstrating that Treg cells are increased in patients with malignancies and restoration of antitumor immunity in mice and humans by depletion or reduction of Treg cells. In addition, I will discuss both the prognostic value of Treg cells in tumor progression in tumor-bearing hosts and the rationale for strategies for therapeutic vaccination and immunotherapeutic targeting of Treg cells with drugs and microRNA.

• BMB Reports
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• 제41권10호
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• pp.739-744
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• 2008

Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) is a positive strand RNA virus that infects mainly Cruciferae plants. In this study, the TYMV genome was modified by inserting an extra subgenomic RNA promoter and a multiple cloning site. This modified TYMV was introduced into Nicotiana benthamiana using a Agrobacterium-mediated T-DNA transfer system (agroinfiltration). When a gene encoding $\beta$-glucuronidase or green fluorescent protein was expressed using this modified TYMV as a vector, replication of the recombinant viruses, especially the virus containing $\beta$-glucuronidase gene, was severely inhibited. The suppression of replication was reduced by co-expression of viral silencing suppressor genes, such as tombusviral p19, closteroviral p21 or potyviral HC-Pro. As expected, two subgenomic RNAs were produced from the recombinant TYMV, where the larger one contained the foreign gene. An RNase protection assay revealed that the recombinant subgenomic RNA was encapsidated as efficiently as the genuine subgenomic RNA.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제11권1호
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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.

• BMB Reports
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• 제57권7호
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• pp.318-323
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• 2024

Regulation of cell fate and lung cell differentiation is associated with Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARS)-interacting multifunctional protein 2 (AIMP2), which acts as a non-enzymatic component required for the multi-tRNA synthetase complex. In response to DNA damage, a component of AIMP2 separates from the multi-tRNA synthetase complex, binds to p53, and prevents its degradation by MDM2, inducing apoptosis. Additionally, AIMP2 reduces proliferation in TGF-β and Wnt pathways, while enhancing apoptotic signaling induced by tumor necrosis factor-α. Given the crucial role of these pathways in tumorigenesis, AIMP2 is expected to function as a broad-spectrum tumor suppressor. The full-length AIMP2 transcript consists of four exons, with a small section of the pre-mRNA undergoing alternative splicing to produce a variant (AIMP2-DX2) lacking the second exon. AIMP2-DX2 binds to FBP, TRAF2, and p53 similarly to AIMP2, but competes with AIMP2 for binding to these target proteins, thereby impairing its tumor-suppressive activity. AIMP2-DX2 is specifically expressed in a diverse range of cancer cells, including breast cancer, liver cancer, bone cancer, and stomach cancer. There is growing interest in AIMP2-DX2 as a promising biomarker for prognosis and diagnosis, with AIMP2-DX2 inhibition attracting significant interest as a potentially effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of lung, ovarian, prostate, and nasopharyngeal cancers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.3757-3760
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• 2013

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs (18-25 nucleotides) that post-transcriptionally modulate gene expression by negatively regulating the stability or translational efficiency of their target mRNAs. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro effects of miR-485 mimics in breast carcinoma T47D cells. Forty-eight hours after T47D cells were transfected with miR-485 mimics, an MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay was utilized to determine the effects on cell viability. Colony formation and cell migration assays were adopted to determine whether miR-485 affects the proliferation rates and cell migration of breast carcinoma T47D cells. Our results showed that ectopic expression of miR-485 resulted in a significant decrease in cell growth, cell colony formation, and cell migration. These findings suggest that miR-485 might play an important role in breast cancer by suppressing cell proliferation and migration.