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.

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.

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.

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.

Molecular DNA Systematic Analyses of East Asian Mammals: Sequence Variation of Cytochrome b Gene and Control Region of Mitochondrial DNA of Common Otter, Lutra lutra lutra L. (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Korea

Koh, Hung-Sun,Yoo, Mi-Hyeon,Lee, Bae-Geun,Park, Jeong-Gyu The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2004 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.8 No.3

Sequences of cytochrome b gene and control region of mitochondrial DNA from Korean common otters (Lutra lutra lutra L.) were examined to provide the genetic information for the conservation of this subspecies. Two haplotypes and one haplotype were revealed in cytochrome b gene and control region, respectively. The available sequences of European common otter (L. l. lutra) from GenBank were compared together with those of Korean common otter in order to determine the degree of sequence variation between them. In cytochrome b gene sequences, two haplotypes from Korea and two haplotypes of Europe showed differences in 12 of 1,045 sites. The Tamura-Nei nucleotide distances between two European haplotypes was 0.10% and those between two Korean haplotypes was also 0.10%, but those between Korean haplotypes and European ones ranged from 0.96% to 1.16%. In the control region, one Korean haplotype and seven European ones showed differences in seven of 300 sites; the Tamura-Nei distances among seven European haplotypes were 0.34% to 1.01%, but those between Korean haplotype and European ones ranged from 1.01% to 1.69%. Although further molecular and morphological studies with specimens from eastern Asia including Amur region and northeast China are needed, it is possible that the Korean common otter might be closer or identical to the far-eastern Asian common otter, L. l. amurensis Dybowski.

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.

Human G-Protein ${\beta}3$ Subunit C825T Polymorphism is Associated with Serum Total Cholesterol and LDL-Cholesterol Levels in Koreans

Kang, Byung-Yong,Kang, Chin-Yang,Lee, Kang-Oh The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2005 Integrative biosciences Vol.9 No.2

Essential hypertension results from the complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. A C825T polymorphism of the gene encoding G-protein ${\beta}3$ subunit (GNB3), associated with enhanced G-protein coupled signaling and increased $Na^+-H^+$ exchanger, has been implicated in the development of essential hypertension in several human populations, especially in Caucasian population. We examined the disease relevance of this candidate gene by performing an association study in a study group of Korean heritage. Participants comprised 109 essential hypertensives and 109 normotensives, respectively. Genotyping was performed with PCR-BsaJI restriction digestion method. Observed genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all groups. Genotype and allele frequencies did not differ significantly between normotensives and essential hypertensives (P>0.05). However, the serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-cholesterol levels were significantly higher in subjects with the TT genotype compared to those with the CC or CT genotypes in normotensives of our study subjects (P<0.05). Thus, these results suggest that GNB3/C825T polymorphism might be significantly associated with abnormality in serum lipid metabolism.

Genetic Polymorphisms of t-PA and PAI-1 Genes in the Korean Population

Kang, Byung-Yong,Lee, Kang-Oh The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2003 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.7 No.3

Abnormalities in fibrinolysis system is associated with risk of hypertension. In this report, the Alu repeat insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and the Hind III RFLP of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) genes were investigated in 115 normotensives and 83 patients with hypertension, and their association with anthropometrical data and plasma biochemical parameters were analyzed. There were no significant differences in the gene frequencies of the two candidate genes between normotensives and hypertensives, respectively. Our results indicate lack of associations between the two polymorph isms in t-PA and PAI-1 genes and risk of hypertension in the population under study. However, the Hind III RFLP of PAI-1 gene was significantly associated with plasma glucose level, suggesting its role in glucose metabolism. It needs to be tested whether this RFLP of PAI-1 gene is associated with insulin resistance syndrome or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in the Korean population.

Phylogenetic Analyses of Nuclear rDNA ITS Sequences of Korean Allium L. Subgenus Rhizirideum(Alliaceae)

Lee, Nam-Sook The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2001 Korean journal of biological sciences Vol.5 No.4

Phylogenetic relationships among the Korean taxa of the genus Allium subgenus Rhizirideum and some related taxa were assessed on the basis of in sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Twenty-eight accessions of the genus Allium L. consisting of subgenera Rhizirideum (19 taxa), Allium (5 taxa) and Amerallium (one taxon) were analyzed. The variation in the ITS region was informative at the levels of section except for sect. Reticulato- bulbosa which is known to be of multiple origin. The ITS 2 region was longer than the ITS 1 region, and all of the investigated Allium taxa were the same in length in the 5.8S region except for A. monanthum. Allium cyaneum var. cyaneum was the shortest (635 bp) and A. victorialis the longest (646 bp) among the investigated Korean taxa. The three morphologically similar taxa, A. thunbergii, A. sacculiferum that has been included in A. thunbergii, and A. deltoid- fistulosum, had the same ITS lengths of 641 bp, but were clearly distinguished in the phylogenetic analysis of their ITS sequences.