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Biomedical subjects

K Han

Publications and source records attributed to K Han.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Characterization of a Highly Repetitive Sequence Conserved Among the North American Morone Species.

: A highly repetitive DNA sequence family from the genome of the North American Morone has been cloned and characterized. This family, first identified as a HindIII repetitive element, is composed of repeat units that range from 285 to 288 bp in length and comprise approximately 5.5% of the genome. The copy number of the repeat was estimated to be 1.85 x 10(5) per haploid genome set. Data from Southern blot analyses demonstrated that the HindIII repetitive element was tandemly organized. Sequence analysis of six cloned repeat monomers from each of the four North American Morone species, M. saxatilis, M. chrysops, M. americana, and M. mississippiensis, revealed a high degree of conservation of the monomeric unit. The intraspecific sequence variation ranged from 3.2% to 5.4%. A similar level of variation was detected between cloned monomers from the same individual, suggesting that most of the intraspecies variation may be due to variation among copies of the repeat. The interspecific sequence variation ranged from less than 4.6% between M. americana and M. mississippiensis to approximately 16% between the other Morone species pairs. Phylogenetic analysis of the repetitive element nucleotide sequences indicated that M. americana and M. mississippiensis were more closely related to each other than to any other pairs of Morone species. In addition, we reconstructed the Morone phylogeny using 22 previously described morphologic characters. Congruent relationships were obtained between both sets of data. The data suggest that the genus Morone is composed of two sets of sister taxa, M. saxatilis:M. chrysops and M. americana:M. mississippiensis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Non-association of estrogen receptor genotypes with bone mineral density and bone turnover in Korean pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women.

Estrogen is known to play a critical role in both skeletal maturity and the rate of bone loss. This suggests the possibility that the estrogen receptor (ER) gene is one of the candidate genes that determines peak bone density and/or bone turnover rate. We investigated two established restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in intron 1 at the ER gene, represented as PvuII and XbaI. In 598 healthy Korean women aged 20-74 years, we examined the association of these ER genotypes with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover status. The distribution of the PvuII and XbaI RFLPs was as follows: pp 205 (34.3%), Pp 308 (51.5%), PP 85 (14.2%) and xx 384 (64.2%), Xx 180 (30.1%), XX 34 (5.7%), respectively (where capital letters signify the absence of, and lower-case letters signify the presence of, the restriction site of each RFLP). No significant genotypic differences were found in BMD and bone markers. We grouped the subjects into three categories according to their menstrual status: 104 premenopausal women with regular menstruation, 182 perimenopausal women who had amenorrhea of not less than 3 months and not more than 12 months' duration, and 312 postmenopausal women whose last menstruation was at least 12 months previously. No significant genotypic difference in either BMD or bone markers was found in any of these three groups. Furthermore we categorized women in peri- and postmenopause into a high loser group and a normal loser group according to the level of bone resorption markers. There was no difference in genotypic proportions between the high and normal loser groups. Our data suggest that these ER polymorphisms are not associated with BMD or bone turnover in Korean women.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1999

Behçet's syndrome with left ventricular aneurysm and ruptured renal artery pseudoaneurysm.

A 21-year-old man with Behçet's syndrome presented with both a left ventricular aneurysm and a left renal artery pseudoaneurysm. After successful embolization of the ruptured pseudoaneurysm, the patient underwent successful repair of the left ventricular aneurysm. Although multiple aneurysms have been reported previously, we believe this to be the first reported case of both a ventricular aneurysm and a renal artery pseudoaneurysm afflicting a patient with Behçet's syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

AgNOR of human interphase cells in relation to acrocentric chromosomes.

Using simultaneous detection of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to acrocentric chromosome centromeres and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR), we investigated the number of AgNOR and involvement pattern of acrocentric chromosomes in the nucleoli in various types of human interphase cells. The number of AgNOR of normal gastric mucosal epithelial cells was 2.27 +/- 1.18 and was higher than that of lymphocytes (1.08 +/- 0.28) and lower than that of gastric cancer (7.76 +/- 3.21). The number of acrocentric chromosome centromere signals of normal gastric mucosal epithelial cells was higher than that of normal leukocytes (P < 0.000), and lower than that of gastric cancer (P < 0.000). The acrocentric chromosome centromere signals in the lymphocytes and neutrophils were only half of that expected for diploid cells, perhaps related to acrocentric chromosome association. The proportion of acrocentric chromosomes attached to AgNOR in gastric cancer (0.88 +/- 0.22) was significantly higher than that of normal gastric mucosal epithelial cells (0.72 +/- 0.35, P = 0.007). In conclusion, acrocentric chromosome association appears to be present in circulating leukocytes even in interphase. The number of AgNORs and proportion of acrocentric chromosomes involved in AgNORs in human interphase cells may vary according to cell types. This could play a significant role in rDNA transcription and determination of cell phenotype, including malignant change.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1999

A vector-based method for drawing RNA secondary structure.

MOTIVATION: To produce a polygonal display of RNA secondary structure with minimal overlap and distortion of structural elements, with minimal search for positioning them, and with minimal user intervention. RESULTS: A new algorithm for automatically drawing RNA secondary structure has been developed. The algorithm represents the direction and space for a structural element using vector and vector space. Two heuristics are used. The first heuristic is concerned with ordering structural elements to be positioned and the second with positioning them in space. The algorithm and a graphical user interface have been implemented in a working program called VizQFolder on IBM PC compatibles. Experimental results demonstrate that VizQFolder is capable of automatically generating nearly overlap-free polygonal displays for long RNA molecules. The only distortion performed to avoid overlap is the rotation of helices, leading to efficient generation of a polygonal display without sacrificing its readability. VizQFolder is not coupled to a specific prediction program of RNA secondary structure, and thus can be used for visualizing secondary structure models obtained by any means. AVAILABILITY: The executable code of VizQFolder is available at http://automation.inha.ac.kr/khan. It can also be obtained from the authors upon request.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1999

Removal of endotoxin during purification of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) from gram-negative bacteria.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was produced by cultivating several gram-negative bacteria, including Ralstonia eutropha, Alcaligenes latus, and recombinant Escherichia coli. PHB was recovered from these bacteria by two different methods, and the endotoxin levels were determined. When PHB was recovered by the chloroform extraction method, the endotoxin level was less than 10 endotoxin units (EU) per g of PHB irrespective of the bacterial strains employed and the PHB content in the cell. The NaOH digestion method, which was particularly effective for the recovery of PHB from recombinant E. coli, was also examined for endotoxin removal. The endotoxin level present in PHB recovered by 0.2 N NaOH digestion for 1 h at 30 degrees C was higher than 10(4) EU/g of PHB. Increasing the digestion time or NaOH concentration reduced the endotoxin level to less than 1 EU/g of PHB. It was concluded that PHB with a low endotoxin level, which can be used for various biomedical applications, could be produced by chloroform extraction. Furthermore, PHB with a much lower endotoxin level could be produced from recombinant E. coli by simple NaOH digestion.

Bacterial Toxins↗
PubMed1999

Stereologic estimates of glomerular volume in unilaterally nephrectomized rats.

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively evaluate the changes in glomeruli in unilaterally nephrectomized adult rats by unbiased stereologic techniques. STUDY DESIGN: Adult rats received unilateral nephrectomy (UN) or a sham operation. Four weeks later the remnant kidneys were fixed and sampled by the fractionator method. Consecutive sections were prepared and stained. Morphometric analyses were performed by a light microscope equipped with computer-assisted digitizer. RESULTS: The total glomerular volume increased by 51% (P < .01). The volume density of glomeruli did not change (5.58 +/- 0.22 x 10(-2) vs. 5.51 +/- 0.44 x 10(-2), P > .50). In contrast, the numerical densities of glomeruli decreased by 36% (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Glomerular enlargement, but not the increase in glomerular number contributed heavily to compensatory glomerular growth after UN in rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

[A study of the maximal mouth opening movement of normal subjects].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to study condyle movement and the relation between it and incisor movement when the subjects performed maximal open-closed movement. METHODS: 38 normal students were tested by a six degrees of freedom mandibular movement recorder MT-1602. The traces and velocity curves of the condyle movement were analized on the horizontal plane. RESULTS: (1) The horizontal traces of condyle movements included straight line and smooth curve. (2) The velocity curve was like triangle. Acceleration was constant before and behind the peak respectively. (3) Unequal velocity of the bilateral condyles was common. (4) The appearances of traces correlated with the beginning relative horizontal velocity of bilateral condyles. The tracing vector was inclined to the rapid side. (5) The incisor pathway was affected by both the relative horizontal velocity and the corresponding horizontal trace of the bilateral condyles. CONCLUSION: The movement of condyle were adaptable to the stomatognathic system.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Time-resolved fluorescence investigations of aggregation in Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers of hemicyanine dye].

UV-visible absorption and steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques were used to investigate the aggregation behavior in Y-type hemicyanine Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) multilayers. Hemicyanine molecules formed H aggregates in LB films leading to blue-shifts of the absorption and fluorescence bands with respect to those of monomeric hemicyanine in chloroform solutions. The aggregates in LB films were dissociated by mixing with arachidic acid. The measurement of fluorescence decay profiles could be used to quantitatively characterize the lifetime, weights and size of aggregates.

English Abstract↗
PubMed1998

An analysis of two tandem promoters of the Drosophila purple gene.

We have analyzed two tandem promoters, separated by only about 400 bp, of the purple (pr) gene of Drosophila melanogaster, by fusing them to the firefly luciferase reporter gene and employing a transient expression assay with Drosophila S2 cells. Both the distal promoter and the proximal promoter were found to function in S2 cells and an about 700 bp long region (-270 to +421), containing both promoters, was sufficient to effect maximal promoter activity. When the two promoters were analyzed separately, the distal promoter was found to be much stronger in its function than the proximal promoter. At least three different kinds of cis elements near the transcription start site appear to play crucial roles in driving constitutive expression from the distal promoter. On the other hand, only a single cis element, which may play a role in tissue-specific expression, appears to be important for the activity of the proximal promoter in S2 cells. We propose that the clustering of important cis elements near the transcription start sites may be responsible for the selective regulation of the two tandem promoters.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Promoter analysis of the Drosophila genes encoding TFIIB and TATA box-binding protein.

We have analyzed the 5'-flanking regions of the Drosophila genes encoding the TFIIB and TATA box-binding proteins (TBP) and mapped the regulatory regions required for their efficient expression. We found that the 500 bp long region (-439 to +60) and the 401 bp long region (-261 to +138) are required for the efficient expression of TFIIB and TBP genes, respectively. In the TFIIB promoter region, the upstream DNA between -439 and -280 and the downstream DNA between +8 and +60 are necessary for the stimulation of promoter activity. The upstream DNA between -439 and -280 stimulates transcription in an orientation dependent manner. In the TBP promoter region, the upstream DNA between -261 and -207, and the downstream DNA between +15 and +138 are necessary for the stimulation of promoter activity. The upstream DNA (-261 to -207) required for TBP promoter activity contains a 11 bp long palindromic sequence and a DNA replication-related element sequence. Particularly, we could find that the downstream promoter regions of TFIIB and TBP genes contain the conserved nucleotide sequences, suggesting the presence of a common regulatory mechanism for the expression of these two genes.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

IL-4 inhibits mouse mast cell Fc epsilonRI expression through a STAT6-dependent mechanism.

Mast cell activation by IgE-mediated stimuli is a central event in atopic disease. The regulation of the mast cell high affinity receptor, Fc epsilonRI, is poorly understood. We show that IL-4 can inhibit Fc epsilonRI expression on mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells and fetal liver-derived mast cell progenitors. This effect could be observed at 2.5 ng/ml IL-4 and was dose dependent. IL-4-mediated inhibition of cultured BMMC required 4 days of stimulation and was sustained at maximum levels for at least 21 days. The inhibition of Fc epsilonRI expression resulted in decreased sensitivity to IgE-mediated stimulation, as measured by serotonin release, and the induction of mRNA for IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-13. Additionally, IL-4 could abrogate the IgE-mediated increase in Fc epsilonRI expression. Lastly, IL-4-mediated inhibition was dependent upon expression of the STAT6 transcription factor, as STAT6-deficient bone marrow-derived mast cells did not decrease Fc epsilonRI levels in response to IL-4. These data argue for a homeostatic role of IL-4 in the regulation of Fc epsilonRI expression, a role that could be critical to understanding atopic disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Emission model of volatile organic compounds from materials used indoors].

Various materials, such as wall-paper, floor-wax, paint, multicolor wall-coat, air freshener and mothball were experimented in a simulated test chamber under constant selected temperature, humidity and air exchange rate. The relation between the total VOCs concentration and time was regressed by four emission models and the surface emission rate was calculated. The regressed results indicated the similarity among four emission models for the liquid materials with volatile-solvent such as paint and multicolor wall-coat. But for low volatile solid materials, such as wall-paper, floor-wax, mothball, the sink model and the empirical model were better than the dilution model and vapor pressure model. Only for air freshener, it was improper to the total VOCs concentration as a parameter.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1998

Isolation and characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster cDNA encoding the sepiapterin reductase.

We have isolated and characterized the cDNA encoding Drosophila melanogaster sepiapterin reductase (SR). The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA sequence was 29% identical to those of mammalian SRs. The active site residues proposed from the three-dimensional structure of mouse SR are well conserved in Drosophila SR. The protein-coding region of the cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli as a histidine fusion protein, and the resulting recombinant protein proved to have SR activity. The SR activity of the recombinant protein was inhibited by two indoleamines, N-acetyl serotonin and melatonin. Southern analysis suggests that the Drosophila SR gene is encoded by a single copy gene. RNA blot analysis revealed that the gene expresses 1.5 kb mRNA in both adult heads and bodies.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1998

Molecular characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster gene encoding the pterin 4alpha-carbinolamine dehydratase.

We have isolated and characterized the cDNA and the genomic DNA encoding Drosophila melanogaster pterin 4alpha-carbinolamine dehydratase (PCD). The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA sequence was very similar to those of PCDs previously reported in other species (19-57% identity). The protein coding region of the cDNA was expressed in E. coli as a histidine fusion protein, and the expressed protein proved to have PCD activity. The characterization of the Drosophila genomic clone revealed that the Drosophila PCD gene is interrupted by two introns. The potential promoter region, deduced from the determination of the transcription start point (tsp), lacks the distinct TATAAA box consensus sequence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Suppression of hepatoma growth and angiogenesis by a fumagillin derivative TNP470: possible involvement of nitric oxide synthase.

TNP470, a derivative of fumagillin, suppressed in vivo growth of human PLC/PRF/5 hepatoma and ameliorated cachexia of hepatoma-bearing mice. These in vivo effects were associated with reductions in microvessel and macrophage counts. In in vitro experiments, TNP470 inhibited the growth and migration of human hepatoma and bovine vascular endothelial (VE) cells. TNP470 did not inhibit the production of VE growth factor by the hepatoma, which suggests that this compound acts directly on VE cells in vivo. In contrast, TNP470 inhibited the production of leukemia inhibitory factor, which may be related to the amelioration of cancer cachexia. TNP470 induced apoptosis and enhanced the expression of beta-galactosidase, a biomarker of senescence, which was partly mimicked by a nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamin. TNP470 inhibited myristoylation and membrane translocation of NO synthase and increased the cellular content of NO synthase and production of NO. Therefore, it is suggested that the actions of TNP470 are mediated, at least in part, through the inhibition of membrane translocation of biologically active proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

2-Methoxyestradiol, an endogenous metabolite of estrogen, enhances apoptosis and beta-galactosidase expression in vascular endothelial cells.

2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME) is an endogenous metabolite of estradiol (E2) and is known to inhibit tumor angiogenesis. In the present study, the direct effects of 2ME on the vascular endothelial cells were examined. 2ME enhanced apoptosis and beta-galactosidase expression in bovine vascular endothelial cells. A nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamin (SNAP) also enhanced beta-galactosidase expression, suggesting a possible role of NO in mediating the action of 2ME. 2ME increased the cellular content of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and the production of NO. In addition, 2ME altered the membrane localization pattern of NOS. These suggest that the effects of 2ME on apoptosis and senescence of vascular endothelial cells were mediated, at least partly, by NOS and NO.

2-Methoxyestradiol↗