• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.265-290
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• 2023

Rare but serious thrombotic incidents in relation to thrombocytopenia, termed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), have been observed since the vaccine rollout, particularly among replication-defective adenoviral vector-based severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine recipients. Herein, we comprehensively reviewed and summarized reported studies of VITT following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination to determine its prevalence, clinical characteristics, as well as its management. A literature search up to October 1, 2021 using PubMed and SCOPUS identified a combined total of 720 articles. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guideline, after screening the titles and abstracts based on the eligibility criteria, the remaining 47 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 29 studies were included. Findings revealed that VITT cases are strongly related to viral vector-based vaccines, which are the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (95%) and the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine (4%), with much rarer reports involving messenger RNA-based vaccines such as the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (0.2%) and the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (0.2%). The most severe manifestation of VITT is cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with 317 cases (70.4%) and the earliest primary symptom in the majority of cases is headache. Intravenous immunoglobulin and non-heparin anticoagulant are the main therapeutic options for managing immune responses and thrombosis, respectively. As there is emerging knowledge on and refinement of the published guidelines regarding VITT, this review may assist the medical communities in early VITT recognition, understanding the clinical presentations, diagnostic criteria as well as its management, offering a window of opportunity to VITT patients. Further larger sample size trials could further elucidate the link and safety profile.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.159-161
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• 2003

The coat protein (CP) gene of Apple mosaic virus (ApMV), a member of the genus Ilarvirus, was selected for the design of virus-specific primers for amplification and molecular detection of the virus in cultivated apple. A combined assay of reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed with a single pair of ApMV-specific primers and crude nucleic acid extracts from virus-infected apple for rapid detection of the virus. The PCR product was verified by restriction mapping analysis and by sequence determination. The lowest concentration of template viral RNA required for detection was 100 fg. This indicates that the RT-PCR for detection of the virus is a 10$^3$times more sensitive, reproducible and time-saving method than the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The specificity of the primers was verified using other unrelated viral RNAs. No PCR product was observed when Cucumber mosaic virus (Cucumovirus) or a crude extract of healthy apple was used as a template in RT-PCR with the same primers. The PCR product (669 bp) of the CP gene of the virus was cloned into the plasmid vector and result-ant recombinant (pAPCP1) was selected for molecule of apple transformation to breed virus-resistant transgenic apple plants as the next step. This method can be useful for early stage screening of in vitro plantlet and genetic resources of resistant cultivar of apple plants.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3061-3063
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• 2016

Exploiting the immune system to abolish cancer growth via vaccination is a promising strategy but that is limited by many clinical issues. For DNA vaccines, viral vectors as a delivery system mediate a strong immune response due to their protein structure, which could afflect the cellular uptake of the genetic vector or even induce cytotoxic immune responses against transfected cells. Recently, synthetic DNA delivery systems have been developed and recommended as much easier and simple approaches for DNA delivery compared with viral vectors. These are based on the attraction of the positively charged cationic transfection reagents to negatively charged DNA molecules, which augments the cellular DNA uptake. In fact, there are three major cellular barriers which hinder successful DNA delivery systems: low uptake across the plasma membrane; inadequate release of DNA molecules with limited stability; and lack of nuclear targeting. Recently, a polysaccharide polymer produced by microalgae has been synthesized in a form of polymeric fiber material poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (p-GlcNAc). Due its unique properties, the F2 gel matrix was suggested as an effective delivery system for immune and gene vaccinations.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.662-668
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• 1998

Viruses belonging to the Hantavirus genus cause two acute severe illness in humans, i.e., Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome(HPS). Among them, Hantaan virus is one of the most important viruses causing HFRS. Recombinant expression vectors, pKK-NP and pET-NP, with Hantaan viral nucleocapsid gene were constructed, and used to transform Eschericia coli BL21(DE3). Stability of the vectors in the host strain, and effects of some environmental conditions on the expression of nucleocapsid gene were studied. Expression vector, pKK-NP, was very unstable, and the expression level of nucleocapsid gene was very low compared to that of pET-NP. BL21(pET-NP) produced about 100 mg of N protein per liter of culture broth. Induction time did not show any significant difference on the expression level of nucleocapsid gen and cell growth. BL21(pET-NP) culture at 35$^{\circ}C$ showed a little higher expression level than at 30$^{\circ}C$ during growth phase, but reached to the same level at stationary phase. Total expression level was proportional to supplemented glucose concentration of media up to 0.5% along with cell growth, but expression level per unit cell mass was inversely proportional to glucose concentration and maximal when glucose was not supplemented at all.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2011

Inefficiency of in vivo gene transfer using currently available vectors reflects a major hurdle in cancer gene therapy. Both viral and non-viral approaches have been described to improve gene transfer efficiency but suffer from a number of limitations. Here we tested an adenovirus carrying the small peptide ligand derived from heregulin${\beta}$ EGF-like domain onto fiber, the adenoviral capsid protein, to deliver transgene to ovarian cancer cells which overexpress ErbB, the cognate receptors for heregulin. The attachement of 53 amino acids to fiber didn't affect on the fiber's trimer structure that is critical for the viral entry to cells. The fiber-modified adenovirus can mediate entry and expression of a ${\beta}$-galactosidase into cancer cells in an increased efficiency compared the unmodified adenovirus. Particularly, the gene transfer efficiency was improved up to 5 times in OVCAR3 cells, an ovarian cancer cell line. Such transduction systems hold promise for delivering genes to ErbB receptor overexpressing cancer cells, and could be used for future cancer gene therapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1098-1105
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• 2017

Vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G) has been widely used for pseudotyping retroviral, lentiviral, and artificial viral vectors. The objective of this study was to establish a potential approach for large-scale production of VSV-G. To this end, VSV-G was cloned with an N-terminal His-tag into Pichia pastoris expression vector pPIC3.5K. Three clones ($Mut^s$) containing the VSV-G expression cassette were identified by PCR. All clones proliferated normally in expansion medium, whereas the proliferation was reduced significantly under induction conditions. VSV-G protein was detected in cell lysates by western blot analysis, and the highest expression level was observed at 96 h post induction. VSV-G could also be obtained from the condition medium of yeast protoplasts. Furthermore, VSV-G could be incorporated into Ad293 cells and was able to induce cell fusion, leading to the transfer of cytoplasmic protein. Finally, VSV-G-mediated DNA transfection was assayed by flow cytometry and luciferase measurement. Incubation of VSV-G lysate with the pGL3-control DNA complex increased the luciferase activity in Ad293 and HeLa cells by about 3-fold. Likewise, incubation of VSV-G lysate with the pCMV-DsRed DNA complex improved the transfection efficiency into Ad293 by 10% and into HeLa cells by about 1-fold. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that VSV-G could be produced from P. pastoris with biofunctionalities, demonstrating that large-scale production of the viral glycoprotein is feasible.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.145-180
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• 2017

Alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV) is a member of the genus Potexvirus which has been known for less than twenty years, and has been detected in Australasia, Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The natural host range to date includes species in at least twenty-four taxonomically diverse plant families, with species in at least four other families known to be infected experimentally. AltMV has been shown to differ from Potato virus X (PVX), the type member of the genus Potexvirus, in a number of ways, including the subcellular localization of the Triple Gene Block 3 (TGB3) protein and apparent absence of interactions between TGB3 and TGB2. Differences between AltMV variants have allowed identification of viral determinants of pathogenicity, and identification of residues involved in interactions with host proteins. Infectious clones of AltMV differing significantly in symptom severity and efficiency of RNA silencing suppression have been produced, suitable either for high level protein expression (with efficient RNA silencing suppression) or for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS; with weaker RNA silencing suppression), demonstrating a range of utility not available with most other plant viral vectors. The difference in silencing suppression efficiency was shown to be due to a single amino acid residue substitution in TGB1, and to differences in subcellular localization of TGB1 to the nucleus and nucleolus. The current state of knowledge of AltMV biology, including host range, strain differentiation, host interactions, and utility as a plant viral vector for both protein expression and VIGS are summarized.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2015

Transgenic animals have been widely used for developmental biology studies, as disease models, and even in industry such as transgenic bioreactor animals. For transgenic birds, quail has the great advantages of small body size, short generation time, and frequent egg production. To date, retroviral or lentiviral transduction has been used to generate transgenic quail for various purposes. However, the efficiency of transgenic offspring production with these methods is relatively low and viral vector usage has safety issues. Unfortunately, non-viral transgenesis has not been established in quail due to a deficiency of stem cell and germ cell culture systems. In this study, we established a direct in ovo lipofection method that could be used to create transgenic quail without germline-competent cells or viruses. To optimize the injection stage during embryo development, the liposome complex (containing piggyBacCMV-GFP and transposase plasmids) was introduced into an embryonic blood vessel at 50 hr, 55 hr or 60 hr. GFP expression was detected in various tissues (heart, kidney, liver and stomach) on day 12 of incubation under a fluorescence microscope. Additionally, GFP-positive cells were detected in the recipient embryonic gonads. In conclusion, the direct in ovo lipofection method with the piggyBac transposon could be an efficient and useful tool for generating transgenic quail.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.148-153
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• 1994

Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV), a member of the plant reoviridae fijivirus group, causes a serious damage for rice production in Korea. To characterize the RBSDV genome, virus particles were produced by feeding of planthopper (Laodelphax striatellus F.) carring RBSDV to maize plants for 2 days. In $30{\sim}40$ days after feeding, the viral particles were purified from the infected maize roots by using $10{\sim}40%$ sucrose gradient centrifugation. After treatment of 10% SDS to remove the viral coat proteins, ten viral double-stranded RNAs were resolved in agrose gel electrophoresis. Total dsRNA was then used to synthesize cDNA by reverse transcriptase and a cDNA library was constructed in the ${\lambda}gt11$ vector. The phages that contain RBSDV cDNA fragments were selected by hybridizing with the random-primed probe prepared from RBSDV dsRNAs. After subcloning of several cDNA fragments into the pUC19 plasmid vector, one clone (pRV3) was chosen for sequencing. The pRV3 clone was shown to be located on the RBSDV genome fragment No.3 by RNA gel-blot analysis. Sequence analysis of the clone revealed that the pRV3 contains two partial open reading frames.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.158-163
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• 2005

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a recently developed gene transcript suppression technique for characterizing the function of plant genes. However, efficient VIGS has only been studied in a few plant species. In order to extend the application of VIGS, we examined whether a VIGS vector based on TRV would produce recognizable phenotypes in soybean. Here, we report that VIGS using the Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) viral vector can be used in several soybean cultivars employing various agro-inoculation methods including leaf infiltration, spray inoculation, and agrodrench. cDNA fragments of the soybean phytoene desaturase(PDS) was inserted into TRV RNA-2 vector. By agrodrench, we successfully silenced the expression of PDS encoding gene in soybean. The silenced phenotype of PDS was invariably obvious 3 weeks after inoculation with the TRV-based vector. Real-time RT-PCR analyses showed that the endogenous level of GmPDS transcripts was dramatically reduced in the silenced leaf tissues. These observations confirm that the silenced phenotype is closely correlated with the pattern of tissue expression. The TRV-based VIGS using agrodrench can be applied to functional genomics in a soybean plants to study genes involved in a wide range of biological processes. To our knowledge, this is the first high frequency VIGS method in soybean plants.