Site-specific mutagenesis of yeast 2-Cys peroxiredoxin improves heat or oxidative stress tolerance by enhancing its chaperone or peroxidase function

Hong, S. H.,Lee, S. S.,Chung, J. M.,Jung, H. s.,Singh, S.,Mondal, S.,Jang, H. H.,Cho, J. Y.,Bae, H. J.,Chung, B. Y. Springer Science + Business Media 2017 Protoplasma Vol.254 No.1

<P>Yeast peroxiredoxin II (yPrxII) is an antioxidant enzyme that plays a protective role against the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This enzyme consists of 196 amino acids containing 2-Cys Prx with highly conserved two active cysteine residues at positions 48 and 171. The yPrxII has dual enzymatic functions as a peroxidase and molecular chaperone. To understand the effect of additional cysteine residues on dual functions of yPrxII, S79C-yPrxII and S109C-yPrxII, the substitution of Ser with Cys residue at 79 and 109 positions, respectively, was generated. S109C-yPrxII and S79C-yPrxII showed 3.7- and 2.7-fold higher chaperone and peroxidase activity, respectively, than the wild type (WT). The improvement in enzyme activity was found to be closely associated with structural changes in proteins. S109C-yPrxII had increased beta-sheet in its secondary structure and formed high-molecular-weight (HMW) as well as low-molecular-weight (LMW) complexes, but S79C-yPrxII formed only LMW complexes. HMW complexes predominantly exhibited a chaperone function, and LMW complexes showed a peroxidase function. In addition, transgenic yeast cells over-expressing Cys-substituted yPrxII showed greater tolerance against heat and oxidative stress compared to WT-yPrxII.</P>

Prediction of stone-free status and complication rates after tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a comparative and retrospective study using three stone-scoring systems and preoperative parameters

Choi, S. W.,Bae, W. J.,Ha, U. S.,Hong, S. H.,Lee, J. Y.,Kim, S. W.,Cho, H. J. Springer Science + Business Media 2017 World journal of urology Vol.35 No.3

<P>To investigate the factors predictive of surgical outcomes of tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (TPCNL) and to compare the predictability and accuracy of the Guy's stone score, S.T.O.N.E. nephrolithometry, and CROES nomogram. We reviewed retrospectively the surgical outcomes recorded consecutively and imaging data of preoperative computed tomography scans of 141 patients who had undergone TPCNL from June 2012 to October 2015. Guy's, S.T.O.N.E., and CROES stone-scoring systems (SSSs) and other prognostic factors were assessed using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. The initial stone-free and complication rates after TPCNL were 78.7 (111/141) and 17.0 % (24/141). On univariate analysis, all three scoring systems were identified as significant factors in terms of stone-free rate (SFR). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the Guy's stone score and stone burden 385 mm(2) had significant correlations with stone-free status [odds ratios (OR) = 3.220, p = 0.001 and OR = 6.451, p = 0.002, respectively]. Guy's stone score (OR = 1.879, p = 0.013) was an independent risk factor for the development of complications. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the Guy's, S.T.O.N.E., and CROES SSSs and stone burden showed good results (0.821, 0.816, 0.820, and 0.800, respectively). Pairwise comparison of ROC curves showed that there was no significant difference between each final score and stone burden. Of the three scoring systems, Guy's stone score was the only significant predictive factor for SFR and complication rates after TPCNL in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. Stone burden was significantly associated with a postoperative stone-free status (SFS).</P>

Strategy for enhancing the solar-driven water splitting performance of TiO₂ nanorod arrays with thin Zn(O,S) passivated layer by atomic layer deposition

Shin, S.W.,Suryawanshi, M.P.,Hong, H.K.,Yun, G.,Lim, D.,Heo, J.,Kang, S.H.,Kim, J.H. Pergamon Press 2016 ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA Vol.219 No.-

An array of one dimensional (1D) TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanorods (TONRs) has been regarded as an attractive candidate for electrochemical energy conversion and as storage device due to its large surface area, effiective light scattering, and undisturbed charge transport pathway. However, the high defect/trap densities on surface of the nanostructured morphology and architecture may generally hinder the performance enhancement by providing electron-hole recombination sites. Hence, the surface passivation of nanoarchitectures based photoelectrodes has recently received much attention as an effective strategy to enhance the charge-separation and charge-transfer processes in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting devices. In particular, a coating layer with narrowing band gap materials can promote enhanced light harvesting in the UV-vis region as well as surface passivation, directly supplying a driving force for charge separation and charge transfer due to band alignment. In this paper, the surface of TONRs were passivated by 10 and 30nm thick Zn(O,S) layers with a relatively narrow band gap using an atomic layer deposition technique to modulate the thickness exactly. The 10nm Zn(O,S)/TONR array exhibits a significantly enhanced photocurrent density (J<SUB>sc</SUB>) of 5.94mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> at 1.23eV vs NHE and an incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 49% at 374nm compared with that of TONR arrays (J<SUB>sc</SUB> of 1.99mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> at 1.23eV vs NHE and an IPCE of 20% at 380nm). However, the PEC performance is worse in the 30nm Zn(O,S)/TONR arrays, showing a J<SUB>sc</SUB> of 3.09mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> at 1.23eV vs NHE and an IPCE of 29% at 374nm. To clearly demonstrate these PEC behaviors, the TONR and Zn(O,S)/TONR arrays were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), open circuit voltage decay (OCV) measurement, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The above mentioned characterizations indicate that the enhanced PEC performance of the 10nm Zn(O,S)/TONR array resulted from the (i) increased light harvesting in the UV-vis region, (ii) lower charge transfer resistance and (iii) high value of valence band offset (VBO, -1.44eV) and conduction band offset (CBO, -1.2eV) than those of the TONR. However, the deterioration of J<SUB>sc</SUB> in the 30nm Zn(O,S)/TONR array is attributed to the negative value of VBO (-0.13eV) and positive value of CBO (+0.27eV), as well as the higher charge transfer resistance to the electrolyte than that of the TONR arrays, despite of the improved light absorption in the visible region. The photocurrent densities of 10nm Zn(O,S)/TONR and 30nm Zn(O,S)/TONR photocathodes decay to 4.718mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> (5.90mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> at 0min) and 2.212mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> (3.03mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP> at 0min) after 90min, respectively, they retain of about~80% and 70% of its original values. These experimental results and discussions not only provide the physical insights into the surface passivation effect and band alignment but also can open a promising route to design the thin passivation layer having the narrowing band gap energy (1.0eV~2.5eV) on the 1D TiO<SUB>2</SUB> nanostructure for further enhanced performance and realization of a TiO<SUB>2</SUB> based PEC system.

Complete chloroplast genome sequences of Solanum commersonii and its application to chloroplast genotype in somatic hybrids with Solanum tuberosum

Cho, K. S.,Cheon, K. S.,Hong, S. Y.,Cho, J. H.,Im, J. S.,Mekapogu, M.,Yu, Y. S.,Park, T. H. Springer International 2016 Plant cell reports Vol. No.

<P>Chloroplast genome of Solanum commersonii and S olanum tuberosum were completely sequenced, and Indel markers were successfully applied to distinguish chlorotypes demonstrating the chloroplast genome was randomly distributed during protoplast fusion. Somatic hybridization has been widely employed for the introgression of resistance to several diseases from wild Solanum species to overcome sexual barriers in potato breeding. Solanum commersonii is a major resource used as a parent line in somatic hybridization to improve bacterial wilt resistance in interspecies transfer to cultivated potato (S. tuberosum). Here, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genomes of Lz3.2 (S. commersonii) and S. tuberosum (PT56), which were used to develop fusion products, then compared them with those of five members of the Solanaceae family, S. tuberosum, Capsicum annum, S. lycopersicum, S. bulbocastanum and S. nigrum and Coffea arabica as an out-group. We then developed Indel markers for application in chloroplast genotyping. The complete chloroplast genome of Lz3.2 is composed of 155,525 bp, which is larger than the PT56 genome with 155,296 bp. Gene content, order and orientation of the S. commersonii chloroplast genome were highly conserved with those of other Solanaceae species, and the phylogenetic tree revealed that S. commersonii is located within the same node of S. tuberosum. However, sequence alignment revealed nine Indels between S. commersonii and S. tuberosum in their chloroplast genomes, allowing two Indel markers to be developed. The markers could distinguish the two species and were successfully applied to chloroplast genotyping (chlorotype) in somatic hybrids and their progenies. The results obtained in this study confirmed the random distribution of the chloroplast genome during protoplast fusion and its maternal inheritance and can be applied to select proper plastid genotypes in potato breeding program.</P>

Comparison of 90‐day case‐fatality after ischemic stroke between two different stroke outcome registries using propensity score matching analysis

Yu, K‐,H.,Hong, K‐,S.,Lee, B‐,C.,Oh, M‐,S.,Cho, Y‐,J.,Koo, J‐,S.,Park, J‐,M.,Bae, H‐,J.,Han, M‐,K.,Ju, Y‐,S.,Kang, D‐,W.,Appelros, P. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 Acta neurologica Scandinavica Vol.123 No.5

<P>Yu K‐H, Hong K‐S, Lee B‐C, Oh M‐S, Cho Y‐J, Koo J‐S, Park J‐M, Bae H‐J, Han M‐K, Ju Y‐S, Kang D‐W, Appelros P, Norrving B, Terent A. Comparison of 90‐day case‐fatality after ischemic stroke between two different stroke outcome registries using propensity score matching analysis. 
Acta Neurol Scand: 2011: 123: 325–331. 
© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.</P><P><B>Background – </B> It has not been clarified whether the disparity in ischemic stroke outcome between populations is caused by ethnic and geographic differences or by variations in case mix. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis can overcome some analytical problems but is rarely used in stroke outcome research. This study was to compare the ischemic stroke case‐fatality between two PSM cohorts of Sweden and Korea.</P><P><B>Methods – </B> Prognostic variables related to baseline characteristics and stroke care were included in our PSM model. Then, we selected 7675 Swedish and 1220 Korean patients with ischemic stroke from each stroke registers and performed one‐to‐one matching based on propensity scores of each patient.</P><P><B>Results – </B> After PSM, all measured variables were well balanced in 1163 matched subjects, and the 90‐day case‐fatality was identical 6.2% (HR 0.997, 95%CI 0.905–1.099) in Sweden and Korea.</P><P><B>Conclusions – </B> No difference is found in the 90‐day case‐fatality in propensity score‐matched Swedish and Korean patients with ischemic stroke.</P>

Production of soluble truncated spike protein of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus from inclusion bodies of Escherichia coli through refolding

Piao, D.C.,Lee, Y.S.,Bok, J.D.,Cho, C.S.,Hong, Z.S.,Kang, S.K.,Choi, Y.J. Academic Press 2016 Protein expression and purification Vol.126 No.-

The emergence of highly pathogenic variant porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) strains, from 2013 to 2014, in North American and Asian countries have greatly threatened global swine industry. Therefore, development of effective vaccines against PEDV variant strains is urgently needed. Recently, it has been reported that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of S1 domain of PEDV spike protein is responsible for binding to the 5-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), a possible sugar co-receptor. Therefore, the NTD of S1 domain could be an attractive target for the development of subunit vaccines. In this study, the NTD spanning amino acid residues 25-229 (S25-229) of S1 domain of PEDV variant strain was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs). S25-229 IBs were solubilized in 20 mM sodium acetate (pH 4.5) buffer containing 8 M urea and 1 mM dithiothreitol with 95% yield. Solubilized S25-229 IBs were refolded by 10-fold flash dilution and purified by one-step cation exchange chromatography with >95% purity and 20% yield. The CD spectrum of S25-229 showed the characteristic pattern of alpha helical structure. In an indirect ELISA, purified S25-229 showed strong reactivity with mouse anti-PEDV sera. In addition, immunization of mice with 20 μg of purified S25-229 elicited highly potent serum IgG titers. Finally, mouse antisera against S25-229 showed immune reactivity with native PEDV S protein in an immunofluorescence assay. These results suggest that purified S25-229 may have potential to be used as a subunit vaccine against PEDV variant strains.

Phenological growth stages of <i>Brachypodium distachyon</i>: codification and description

HONG, S‐,Y,PARK, J‐,H,CHO, S‐,H,YANG, M‐,S,PARK, C‐,M Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 Weed research Vol.51 No.6

<P>H<SMALL>ong</SMALL> S‐Y, P<SMALL>ark</SMALL> J‐H, C<SMALL>ho</SMALL> S‐H, Y<SMALL>ang</SMALL> M‐S & P<SMALL>ark</SMALL> C‐M (2011). Phenological growth stages of <I>Brachypodium distachyon</I>: codification and description. <I>Weed Research</I><B>51</B>, 612–620.</P><P><B>Summary</B></P><P><I>Brachypodium distachyon</I> is being used as a new model monocotyledon for grass crop research and bioenergy grass biotechnology. With the recent completion of the full genome sequencing project, one of the next major challenges is to determine the functional activities of many genes. In an attempt to aid the rapid determination of gene function in crop plants, a high throughput phenotypic analysis system has been established through phenological analyses of a series of defined growth stages. The codification follows the BBCH (Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and CHemische Industrie) scale, a numerical system that differentiates between principal and secondary growth stages from seed germination to flower head emergence and seed ripening. We present here analyses of the phenological development stages of <I>B.?distachyon</I> to illustrate a methodological framework that can be used to identify and interpret phenotypic differences derived from genetic variations and environmental stress responses in this plant species. This scale may greatly contribute to the <I>B.?distachyon</I> research in the future, particularly to functional determination of genes that mediate biomass productivity. It may also serve as a suitable tool for defining the growth stages of other grass species.</P>

Distant metastatic lesions in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma : Clinical implications of radioiodine and FDG uptake

Hong, C. M.,Ahn, B.-C.,Jeong, S. Y.,Lee, S.-W.,Lee, J. Thieme (NuklearMedizin/NuclearMedicine) 2013 Nuklearmedizin. Nuclear medicine Vol.52 No.4

<B>Summary</B><P> Aim: Many investigators have reported an inverse relationship between iodine and glucose utilization of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) according to its degree of differentiation; however, not every DTC is compatible with this phenomenon. This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical implication of iodine and glucose uptake at distant metastatic lesions in DTC patients. Patients, methods: 64 DTC patients (women 47; mean age 49.9 ± 16.4 years) with distant metastasis who underwent post 131I treatment whole-body scan (RxWBS) and FDG PET/CT were included in the study. Radioiodine (RAI) and FDG uptake of metastatic lesions were evaluated. TSH stimulated serum thyroglobulin (s-Tg) were obtained. Results: 53 of 64 patients (82.8%) were RAI(+) group, and 37 patients (57.8%) were FDG(+) group. Patients in the RAI(-) group showed a higher rate of FDG uptake than RAI(+) group (100.0% vs. 49.1%, p = 0.002). Patients in the FDG(-) group showed a higher rate of RAI uptake than FDG(+) group (100.0% vs. 70.3%, p = 0.002). Patients with s-Tg < 100 ng/ml were frequently observed in the FDG(-)/RAI(+) group and the FDG(+)/ RAI(-) group (p = 0.023). And patients with s-Tg ≥ 500 ng/ml were more frequently observed in the FDG(+)/RAI(+) group, compared with the FDG(+)/RAI(-) group (p = 0.036). Reduced disease-specific survival (DSS) was observed in patients with RAI(-) (p = 0.003), FDG(+) (p = 0.006), SUVmax > 3.6 (p<0.001), and s-Tg > 75.8 ng/ml (p = 0.009). In multivariate analysis, only a SUVmax > 3.6 was significantly predictive of DSS (p = 0.006). Conclusion: An inverse relationship between RAI and FDG uptake, flip-flop phenomenon, was observed in patients with metastatic lesions of DTC. Reduced disease-specific survival was observed in patients with FDG(+), RAI(-) in metastatic lesions, or high s-Tg value.</P>

살모넬라의 Fimbrial Adhesion Group에 포함되는 Type 1 Fimbriae 유전자 분석

나훈택 ( Hun-taek Na ),정맹식 ( Maeng Sig Joung ),김홍선 ( Hong S. Kim ),이시경 ( Si Kyung Lee ),홍지애 ( J. A. Hong ),김수영 ( Soo Young Kim ) 한국자연치유학회 2017 Journal of Naturopathy Vol.6 No.1-2

본 연구에서는 살모넬라 표준균주 4종과 분리균주 2종을 대상으로 type 1 fimbriae 유전자 fimC, fimD, fimI, fimZ를 각각 비교한 결과 많은 아미노산 변이가 관찰되었다. S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 균주에서 가장 많은 14개의 아미노산 변이가 관찰되었다. 반면 S. typhimurium ATCC 13311 균주에서는 가장 적은 2개의 아미노산 변이가 관찰되었다. 그중에서 유전자 fimC와 fimZ에서는 아미노산 변이가 관찰되지 않았고, fimD와 fimI 유전자에서 Leu527→Pro, Ile130→Val으로 각각 아미노산 변이가 관찰되었다. In this study, a number of amino acid mutations were observed in the type 1 fimbriae genes fimC, fimD, fimI, and fimZ in four Salmonella reference strains and two isolates. S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 strain showed most numerous 14 amino acid variations. On the other hand S. typhimurium ATCC 13311 strain, the least two amino acid variants were observed. Among them, amino acid mutations were not observed in the genes fimC and fimZ, and in the fimD and fimI genes, amino acid variations were observed as Leu527→Pro, Ile130→Val.

Wall teichoic acid is an essential component of Staphylococcus aureus for the induction of human dendritic cell maturation

Hong, S.J.,Kim, S.K.,Ko, E.B.,Yun, C.H.,Han, S.H. Pergamon Press 2017 Molecular immunology Vol.81 No.-

<P>Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive pathogen that can cause chronic skin inflammation, pneumonia, and septic shock. The immunomodulatory functions of wall teichoic acid (WTA), a glycopolymer abundantly expressed on the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall, are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the role of WTA in the phenotypic and functional activation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) treated with ethanol-killed S. aureus. WTA-deficient S. aureus mutant (Delta tagO) exhibited attenuated binding and internalization to DCs compared to the wild-type. Delta tagO induced lower expression of maturation markers on and cytokines in DCs than the wild-type S. aureus. Furthermore, autologous human peripheral blood mononuclear cells cocultured with Delta tagO-treated DCs exhibited a marked reduction in T cell proliferative activity, the expression of activation markers, and the production of cytokines compared to the wild-type S. aureus-stimulated DCs. Collectively, these results suggest that WTA is an important cell wall component of S. aureus for the induction of DC maturation and activation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</P>