Genetic Analysis of Kallikrein-Kinin System in the Korean Hypertensives

Kang, ByungYong,Bae, Joon Seol,Lee, Kang Oh The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2004 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.8 No.1

The kallikrein-kinin system affects regulation of blood pressure, and genes encoding for the components of this system have been considered as good candidates for hypertension. To evaluate the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in this system and hypertension, we performed case-control studies using genetic markers in Korean normotensives and hypertensives, respectively. By association study, there was a marginal association with hypertension in AA genotype distribution of A1789G polymorphism in the hKLK1 gene (P=0.0754). Thus, this genetic polymorphism may weakly contribute to the susceptibility to hypertension in Koreans. We also observed that significant linkage disequilibrium exists among three polymorphic sites in the hKLK1 gene studied, suggesting that the three genetic polymorph isms can be useful as genetic markers in clinical association studies. Further studies using larger sample sizes and more genetic markers will be needed to clarify genetic influence of kallikrein-kinin system for hypertension.

Redox Regulation of Apoptosis before and after Cytochrome C Release

Chen, Quan,Crosby, Meredith,Almasan, Alex The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2003 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.7 No.1

Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is one of the most studied areas of modern biology. Apoptosis is a genetically regulated process, which plays an essential role in the development and homeostasis of higher organisms. Mitochondria, known to play a central role in regulating cellular metabolism, was found to be critical for regulating apoptosis induced under both physiological and pathological conditions. Mitochondria are a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) but they can also serve as its target during the apoptosis process. Release of apoptogenic factors from mitochondria, the best known of which is cytochrome c, leads to assembly of a large apoptosis-inducing complex called the apoptosome. Cysteine pretenses (called caspases) are recruited to this complex and, following their activation by proteolytic cleavage, activate other caspases, which in turn target for specific cleavage a large number of cellular proteins. The redox regulation of apoptosis during and after cytochrome c release is an area of intense investigation. This review summarizes what is known about the biological role of ROS and its targets in apoptosis with an emphasis on its intricate connections to mitochondria and the basic components of cell death.

Identification and Phylogeny of the Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-W LTR Family in Cancer Cells

Yi, Joo-Mi,Kim, Hwan-Mook,Kim, Heui-Soo The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2002 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.6 No.2

The long terminal repeats (LTRs) of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) have been found to be coexpressed with sequences of closely located genes. It has been suggested that the LTR elements have contributed to the structural change or genetic variation of human genome connected to various diseases and evolution. We examined the HERV-W LTR elements in various cancer cells (2F7, A43l , A549, HepG2, MIA-PaCa-2, PC-3, RT4, SiHa, U-937, and UO-31). Using genomic DNA from the cancer cells, we performed PCR amplification and identified twelve new HERV-W LTR elements. Those LTR elements showed a high degree of sequence similarity (88-99%) with HERV-W LTR (AF072500). A phylogenetic tree obtained by the neighbor-joining method revealed that HERV-W LTR elements could be mainly divided into two groups through evolutionary divergence. Three HERV-W LTR elements (RT4-2, A43l-1, and UO3l-2) belonged to Group 1, whereas nine LTR elements (2F7-2, A549-1, A549-3, HepG2-3, MP2-2, PC3-1, SiHa-8, SiHa-10, and U937-1) belonged to Group 11. Taken together, our new sequence data of the HERV-W LTR elements may contribute to an understanding of tissue-specific cancer by genomic instability of LTR integration.

The Pst 1 Polymorphism of the Human Apolipoprotein AI Gene in Korean Elite Athletes

Kang, Byung-Yong,Kim, Hyun-Hee,Lee, Kang-Oh The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2003 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.7 No.1

Serum lipid and lipoprotein levels are influenced by genetic factors, and exorcise increases the concentrations of cardio-protective parameters such as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and apolipoproteinAI (apoAI) in human serum. In the present study, we tested the effect of adaptation to endurance exercise on the association of a genetic polymorphism (Pst 1 RFLP) in the apoAI gene with these biochemical parameters. The genotype and allele frequencies for the Pst 1 RFLP were not significantly different between the elite athletes and sedentary controls (P>0.05). There were also no significant associations between the Pst 1 RFLP of the apoAI gene and the biochemical parameters in elite athletic group. Thus, our results suggest that the Pst 1 RFLP of the apoAI gene was not significantly associated with the serum apoAI and HDL-cholesterol concentrations as well as athletic performance in Koreans.

Single-cell PCR on protargol-impregnated euplotid ciliates: a combined approach of morphological and molecular taxonomy

Kim, Se-Joo,Choi, Joong-Ki,Ryu, Seong-Ho,Min, Gi-Sik The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2011 Animal cells and systems Vol.15 No.3

Ciliates are considered one of the most diverse protozoa and play significant roles in ecology. For successful taxonomic study of these microscopic eukaryotes, a staining procedure is necessary, due mainly to intrinsic difficulties in recognizing characteristics from living cells. Although molecular taxonomy has been used to resolve the ambiguities associated with traditional morphology-based taxonomy, extraction of genomic DNA from stained ciliate cells is not available yet. In the present study, we describe a method to extract genomic DNA from a single protargol-impregnated euplotid cell. By using $HgCl_2$ as a fixative and modulating the exposure time of bleach solution in the protargol impregnation, high-quality genomic DNA can successfully be extracted from a stained single cell with minimal loss of morphological integrity. This technique will contribute to the effectiveness of combined approaches of molecular and morphological taxonomy from single ciliate cells.

Taxonomic Notes on Some Korean Species of the Genus Ampelisca (Amphipoda, Ampeliscidae)

Kim, Young-Hyo,Eun, Ye,Lee, Kyung-Sook The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2004 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.8 No.4

While examining specimens collected in the shallow waters of Korea from 1995 to 2004, we found that Ampelisca bocki Dahl and A. naikaiensis Nagata were newly added to Korean fauna. We also provide description for A. brevicornis (Costa) based on materials collected from Korea. As a result, six species of Ampelisca are reported in Korea.

Determination of HLA-A*02 Alleles Using Nested PCR-SSP in Korean Population

Lee, Kyung-Ok,Heo, Jeong-Ho-Ho,Kim, Hye-Jin,Lee, Eun-Mi,Hong, Sung-Hoi,Kim, Yoon-Jung The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 1997 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.1 No.1

HLA-A2 is one of the most diversified HLA-class I antigen with 17 subtypes so far identified at the molecular level. HLA-A*02 subtyping has significant implications on the tissue typing for organ and bone marrow transplantations. Recently, DNA-based typing methods have been successfully applied to the elucidation of HLA gene polymorphisms. In the present study, HLA-A*O2 genotyping was established by using nested polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) and distribution of A*O2 alleles were determined in Korean individuals. Genomic DNA prepared from four B-lymphoblastoid cell lines and lymphocytes from serologically defined 48 HLA-A2 Korean individuals by phenol/chloroform extractions was typed. The results of the four B-lymphoblastoid cells were consistent with the previous data typed by PCR analysis. Five A*O2 alleles-A*0201, A*0203, A*0206, A*0207 and A*0210-were commonly observed in a total of 17 A*02 alleles. Of these, A*0207 (f=49.0%) was the most frequent allele in Korean population. A*0206 (f=28.3%) and A*0201 (f=17.0%) were also found frequently while A*0203 and A*0210 types were observed in less than 5%. In conclusion, the high level of discrimination for HLA-A*O2 alleles will prove useful and informative in the study of transplant survival, and may identify the importance of allelic differences not readily detectable by serology on host and donor compatibility.

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Kaloula borealis (Anura, Microhylidae) in Korea

Yang, Suh-Yung,Kim, Jong-Bum,Min, Mi-Sook,Suh, Jae-Hwa,Kang, Young-Jin The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2000 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.4 No.1

To assess the genetic diversity and population structure of Korean K. borealis, allozyme analysis was performed. The average genetic variability of Korean K. borealis populations was %P=13.2, Ho=0.048, and He=0.045. This value was the lowest in comparison with other Korean amphibian species studied. Also, the value was much lower than that of a reference population from Chinese K. borealis (%P=50, Ho=0.125, He=0.172). Wright's F-statistics showed that Korean K. borealis has distinctly low level of gene flow among regional populations (F$_{ST}$=0.339, Nm=0.487) in comparison with other Korean amphibian species studied. However, the average level of genetic divergence among Korean K. borealis populations was moderate (Nei's D=0.020). Therefore, it appeared that low levels of genetic diversity (He=0.045) and gene flow (Nm=0.487) among regional populations ave probably due to the results of decreasing population size and patchy distribution of this species in Korea.

Assicuation between Genetic Variation of the Insulin Receptor Gene and Essential Hypertension in the Korean Population

Kang, Byung-Yong,Kim, Ki-Tae,Eo, Hyun-Seon,Lee, Kyung-Ho,Hong, Sung-Soo,Shin, Jung-Hee,Lee, Chung-Choo The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2000 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.4 No.1

Essential hypertension is a multifactorial disease, and has been shown to be associated with insulin resistance. The relationship between the genetic variation of the insulin receptor (INSR) gene and essential hypertension In Korean population was investigated by the Nsi 1 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern of this gene. The observed genotype frequencies of INSR gene were not deviated from those expected for the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE), but a significant association was observed between essential hypertension and N1 allele of Nsi 1 RFLP at the INSR gene ($X^2$-test; P<0.05). Moreover, the frequency of N1 allele was significantly different between normotensives and essential hypertensives in subgroups that were not obese ($X^2$-test; P<0.05). These data suggest that the Nsil RFLP of INSR gene may be a useful genetic marker for essential hypertension in Korean population.

Description of Muricid Species (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) Collected from the Coastal Areas of South Korea

Choe, Byung-Lae,Park, Joong-Ki The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 1997 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.1 No.2

The muricid species collected from 49 localities (72 sites) of Korean coast were examined. The Korean muricid fauna was recognized as 26 species of 15 genera in consequence of the present study along with the reviews of the previous records. Among the species examined, 5 of Mancinella echinata (Blainville, 1832), Morula spinosa (A. Adams, 1853), Boreotrophon paucicostatus Habe and Ito, 1965, Boreotrophon cymatus Dall, 1902, and Boreotrophon alaskanus Dall, 1902 were not reported in the Korean fauna previously. Korean muricids are suggested as subtropical, temporal, and boreal species distributed throughout the coastal areas of Korea with their own ranges.