Expression of Heterologous OsDHAR Gene Improves Glutathione (GSH)-Dependent Antioxidant System and Maintenance of Cellular Redox Status in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

An excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause severe oxidative damage to cellular components in photosynthetic cells. Antioxidant systems, such as the glutathione (GSH) pools, regulate redox status in cells to guard against such damage. Dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR, EC 1.8.5.1) catalyzes the glutathione-dependent reduction of oxidized ascorbate (dehydroascorbate) and contains a redox active site and glutathione binding-site. The DHAR gene is important in biological and abiotic stress responses involving reduction of the oxidative damage caused by ROS. In this study, transgenic Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (TA) was constructed by cloning the Oryza sativa L. japonica DHAR (OsDHAR) gene controlled by an isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible promoter (Ptrc) into the cyanobacterium to study the functional activities of OsDHAR under oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide exposure. OsDHAR expression increased the growth of S. elongatus PCC 7942 under oxidative stress by reducing the levels of hydroperoxides and malondialdehyde (MDA) and mitigating the loss of chlorophyll. DHAR and glutathione S-transferase activity were higher than in the wild-type S. elongatus PCC 7942 (WT). Additionally, overexpression of OsDHAR in S. elongatus PCC 7942 greatly increased the glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulfide (GSSG) ratio in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide. These results strongly suggest that DHAR attenuates deleterious oxidative effects via the glutathione (GSH)-dependent antioxidant system in cyanobacterial cells. The expression of heterologous OsDHAR in S. elongatus PCC 7942 protected cells from oxidative damage through a GSH-dependent antioxidant system via GSH-dependent reactions at the redox active site and GSH binding site residues during oxidative stress

Ultrasonographic measurement of shoulder subluxation in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ultrasonographic measurement of shoulder subluxation in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia. DESIGN: Prospective, single blind study. PATIENTS: A total of 41 patients with post-stroke hemiplegia were included (24 men and 17 women, mean age 56 years (standard deviation 11), age range 34-78 years). METHODS: Clinical evaluation of the affected shoulder was assessed using the Motricity Index scores and the Modified Ashworth Scale. Two ultrasonographic measurements were taken to check intra-rater reliability. The shoulder subluxation ratio was determined as the ratio of the radiographic vertical and horizontal distance, and the ultrasonographic lateral and anterior distances in the affected shoulder divided by that in the unaffected shoulder. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients of the repeated ultrasonographic lateral/anterior distance measurements in the unaffected and affected shoulders were 0.979/0.969 and 0.950/0.947, respectively. Ultrasonographic lateral/anterior distance ratios were negatively correlated with Motricity Index scores of the affected shoulder abduction (r = -0.490, p < 0.001/ r = -0.671, p < 0.001). Ultrasonographic anterior distance ratio was negatively correlated with Modified Ashworth Scale score of the affected shoulder (r = -0.374, p < 0.05). However, there was no correlation between radiographic distance ratios and clinical evaluation scores. CONCLUSION: We strongly recommend ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool to measure the degree of shoulder subluxation in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia

Heritabilities of Facial Measurements and Their Latent Factors in Korean Families

Genetic studies on facial morphology targeting healthy populations are fundamental in understanding the specific genetic influences involved; yet, most studies to date, if not all, have been focused on congenital diseases accompanied by facial anomalies. To study the specific genetic cues determining facial morphology, we estimated familial correlations and heritabilities of 14 facial measurements and 3 latent factors inferred from a factor analysis in a subset of the Korean population. The study included a total of 229 individuals from 38 families. We evaluated a total of 14 facial measurements using 2D digital photographs. We performed factor analysis to infer common latent variables. The heritabilities of 13 facial measurements were statistically significant (p ＜ 0.05) and ranged from 0.25 to 0.61. Of these, the heritability of intercanthal width in the orbital region was found to be the highest (h2 = 0.61, SE = 0.14). Three factors (lower face portion, orbital region, and vertical length) were obtained through factor analysis, where the heritability values ranged from 0.45 to 0.55.The heritability values for each factor were higher than the mean heritability value of individual original measurements. We have confirmed the genetic influence on facial anthropometric traits and suggest a potential way to categorize and analyze the facial portions into different groups.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/0000040632/16SEQ:16PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000040632ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A077602DEPT_CD:902CITE_RATE:0FILENAME:heritabilities of facial measurements and their latent factors in korean families.pdfDEPT_NM:보건학과SCOPUS_YN:NCONFIRM:

Expression of OsTPX Gene Improves Cellular Redox Homeostasis and Photosynthesis Efficiency in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942

Cyanobacterial 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (thioredoxin peroxidase, TPX) comprises a family of thiol antioxidant enzymes critically involved in cell survival under oxidative stress. In our previous study, a putative TPX was identified using a proteomics analysis of rice (Oryza sativa L. japonica, OsTPX) seedlings exposed to oxidative stress. This OsTPX gene is structurally similar to the Synechococcus elongatus TPX gene in the highly conserved redox-active disulfide bridge (Cys114, Cys236) and other highly conserved regions. In the present study, the OsTPX gene was cloned into rice plants and S. elongatus PCC 7942 strain to study hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) stress responses. The OsTPX gene expression was confirmed using semi-quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis. The OsTPX gene expression increased growth under oxidative stress by decreasing reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde level. Additionally, the OsTPX gene expression in S. elongatus PCC 7942 (OT) strain exhibited a reduced loss of chlorophyll and enhanced photosynthesis efficiency under H2O2 stress, thereby increasing biomass yields twofold compared with that of the control wild type (WT) strain. Furthermore, redox balance, ion homeostasis, molecular chaperone, and photosynthetic systems showed upregulation of some genes in the OT strain than in the WT strain by RNA-Seq analysis. Thus, OsTPX gene expression enhances oxidative stress tolerance by increasing cell defense regulatory networks through the cellular redox homeostasis in the rice plants and S. elongatus PCC 7942

An accurate method for quantifying and analyzing copy number variation in porcine KIT by an oligonucleotide ligation assay

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aside from single nucleotide polymorphisms, copy number variations (CNVs) are the most important factors in susceptibility to genetic disorders because they affect expression levels of genes. In previous studies, pyrosequencing, mini-sequencing, real-time PCR, invader assays and other techniques have been used to detect CNVs. However, the higher the copy number in a genome, the more difficult it is to resolve the copies, so a more accurate method for measuring CNVs and assigning genotype is needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PCR followed by a quantitative oligonucleotide ligation assay (qOLA) was developed for quantifying CNVs. The accuracy and precision of the assay were evaluated for porcine <it>KIT</it>, which was selected as a model locus. Overall, the root mean squares of bias and standard deviation of qOLA were 2.09 and 0.45, respectively. These values are less than half of those in the published pyrosequencing assay for analyzing CNV in porcine <it>KIT</it>. Using a combined method of qOLA and another pyrosequencing for quantitative analysis of <it>KIT </it>copies with spliced forms, we confirmed the segregation of <it>KIT </it>alleles in 145 F₁animals with pedigree information and verified the correct assignment of genotypes. In a diagnostic test on 100 randomly sampled commercial pigs, there was perfect agreement between the genotypes obtained by grouping observations on a scatter plot and by clustering using the nearest centroid sorting method implemented in PROC FASTCLUS of the SAS package. In a test on 159 Large White pigs, there were only two discrepancies between genotypes assigned by the two clustering methods (98.7% agreement), confirming that the quantitative ligation assay established here makes genotyping possible through the accurate measurement of high <it>KIT </it>copy numbers (>4 per diploid genome). Moreover, the assay is sensitive enough for use on DNA from hair follicles, indicating that DNA from various sources could be used.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have established a high resolution quantification method using an oligonucleotide ligation assay to measure CNVs, and verified the reliability of genotype assignment for random animal samples using the nearest centroid sorting method. This new method will make it more practical to determine <it>KIT </it>CNV and to genotype the complicated <it>Dominant White/KIT </it>locus in pigs. This procedure could have wide applications for studying gene or segment CNVs in other species.</p

Comparative genomics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae isolated from children with pneumonia: South Korea, 2010–2016

Background Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of respiratory tract infections in children and adults. This study applied high-throughput whole genome sequencing (WGS) technologies to analyze the genomes of 30 M. pneumoniae strains isolated from children with pneumonia in South Korea during the two epidemics from 2010 to 2016 in comparison with a global collection of 48 M. pneumoniae strains which includes seven countries ranging from 1944 to 2017. Results The 30 Korean strains had approximately 40% GC content and ranged from 815,686 to 818,669 base pairs, coding for a total of 809 to 828 genes. Overall, BRIG revealed 99% to > 99% similarity among strains. The genomic similarity dropped to approximately 95% in the P1 type 2 strains when aligned to the reference M129 genome, which corresponded to the region of the p1 gene. MAUVE detected four subtype-specific insertions (three in P1 type 1 and one in P1 type 2), of which were all hypothetical proteins except one tRNA insertion in all P1 type 1 strains. The phylogenetic associations of 30 strains were generally consistent with the multilocus sequence typing results. The phylogenetic tree constructed with 78 genomes including 30 genomes from Korea formed two clusters and further divided into two sub-clusters. eBURST analysis revealed two clonal complexes according to P1 typing results showing higher diversity among P1 type 2 strains. Conclusions The comparative whole genome approach was able to define high genetic identity, unique structural diversity, and phylogenetic associations among the 78 M. pneumoniae strains isolated worldwide.This research was supported by the 2017 Seoul National University Hospital Research Fund (0320170230) and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, which is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF2018R1D1A1A09082098). The funding bodies played no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript. The study sponsors provided research grants to perform the study which was written by Dr. EH Choi

Modelling The Cancer Growth Process By Stochastic Delay Diffferential Equations Under Verhults And Gompertz's Law

In this paper, the uncontrolled environmental factors are perturbed into the intrinsic growth rate factor of deterministic equations of the growth process. The growth process under two different laws which are Verhults and Gompertz’s law are considered, thus leading to stochastic delay differential equations (SDDEs) of logistic and Gompertzian, respectively. Gompertzian deterministic model has been proved to fit well the clinical data of cancerous growth, however the performance of stochastic model towards clinical data is yet to be confirmed. The prediction quality of logistic and Gompertzian SDDEs are evaluating by comparing the simulated results with the clinical data of cervical cancer growth. The parameter estimation of stochastic models is computed by using simulated maximum likelihood method. We adopt 4-stage stochastic Runge-Kutta to simulate the solution of stochastic models

Multiple, Bilateral Fibroepithelial Polyps Causing Acute Renal Failure in a Gastric Cancer Patient

We report a case of primary fibroepithelial polyps (FEPs) in the middle of both ureters in a patient with advanced gastric cancer and acute renal failure. Ureteral FEPs are rare benign lesions, and multiple, bilateral lesions are extremely rare. To our knowledge, this report is the seventh case of bilateral FEPs in the literature. Our case has clinical implications because FEPs should be considered as a cause of ureteral obstruction inducing acute renal failure in advanced gastric cancer