Damaged DNA binding (DDB) protein is an important gene in the repair of damaged DNA. DDB is a heterodimer (DDB1 and DDB2) protein, murine DDB2 has 10 exons about 1.5kb in size (Genbank Accession No. AY027937). Here we identified five DDB2 variants (M1-M5) from various mouse tissues that are generated by alternative splicing. We used reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) to identify splicing variants and isolated PCR products using an agarose-gel PCR purification kit. All isolated PCR products were cloned and the structure of splicing variants was confirmed by sequencing. The first splicing variant M1 was generated by omission of exon 4. The second splicing variant M2, by omission of exons 4-5. The third variants M3 was generated by omission from the middle of exon 1 to exon 6 and was expressed in the heart. Fourth variants M4 was generated by omission of exon 2 and exons 4-7. M5, the last splicing variant was generated by omission of exons 4-7. M4 and M5 were expressed in the spleen. Analysis of tissue distribution by RT-PCR indicates that M1 is most highly expressed in the mouse brain. These results indicated that murine DDB2 has five splicing variants and splicing variants expression patterns were different depending on mouse tissue. Further functional studies of each splicing variants will provide more information about the molecular mechanism of DDB2 function and DDB2 gene expression regulation.
Alternative Splicing ; Animals ; Brain ; Clone Cells ; DNA ; Exons ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Heart ; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated ; Mice ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Spleen ; Tissue Distribution

Oxidative stress in skin cells can induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are critical for pathogenic processes such as immunosuppression, inflammation, and skin aging. In this study, we confirmed improvements from gamma-irradiated silk sericin (I-sericin) and gamma-irradiated silk fibroin (I-fibroin) to skin cells damaged by oxidative stress. We found that I-sericin and I-fibroin effectively attenuated oxidative stress-induced ROS generation and decreased oxidative stress-induced inflammatory factors COX-2, iNOS, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β compared to the use of non-irradiated sericin or fibroin. I-sericin and Ifibroin effects were balanced by competition with skin regenerative protein factors reacting to oxidative stress. Taken together, our results indicated that, compared to non-irradiated sericin or fibroin, I-sericin, and I-fibroin had anti-oxidation and antiinflammation activity and protective effects against skin cell damage from oxidative stress. Therefore, gamma-irradiation may be useful in the development of cosmetics to maintain skin health.

Mites in the genus Chorioptes cause a mild form of skin disease in both domestic and wild ruminants. In July 2006, dermatitis characterized by alopecia, marked lichenification, accumulation of crust, and fissuring was recognized in 14 out of 200 Holstein dairy cattle raised in the cattle farm of the National Institute of Animal Science in Cheonan, Republic of Korea. Skin lesions were distributed mainly over the tail base, and sacral and perineal regions. Microscopic examinations of skin scraping samples from severely affected areas revealed numerous mites of all developmental stages. Morphologically, pedicels of the mites were short and unjointed. The tarsal suckers occurred on the pedicels of all the legs in the male worm and on the first, second, and fourth pair of legs in the adult female worm. A single long seta at the tarsus of legs III and the length of legs II being about twice as long as legs IV in adult male mites were observed. Arising anterior to the inner-most spatulate seta was a short seta with an average of 26.4 +/- 5.8 micrometer in length. Also, the length of setae #4 on the opisthosomal lobes was relatively short. Based on these observations, the mites were identified as Choriptes texanus. Although the chorioptic mange may not influence the mortality rate in the affected farm, reports indicate that a decline in milk production can be observed. This is the first report of chorioptic infestation in a cattle farm from Korea.
Animals ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/epidemiology/*parasitology/pathology ; Disease Outbreaks/*veterinary ; Female ; Korea/epidemiology ; Mite Infestations/epidemiology/pathology/*veterinary ; Psoroptidae/*anatomy & histology/*classification

Excessive alcohol consumption induces acute intoxication and various hepatic diseases. In this study, we investigated the effect of the CureZyme-ACE (CA), Acetobacter Pasteurianus (AP)-derived product, in acute intoxication rats. The ethanol and acetaldehyde levels of serum were lower in rats treated with CA than those who only treated ethanol. The activities of alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase also recovered faster in the CA group than only-ethanol group. The transaminase levels (AST, ALT) in the CA group were significantly lower than only-ethanol group. In addition, Hepatic histological analyses and stomach wall were demonstrated that the CA-treated group recovered faster than only-ethanol group. With regard to most characteristics, we found that CA had dose-dependent effects. At high concentrations of CA, there were no differences in the tested parameters compared to those of normal rats. These findings indicate that CA reduces the serum alcohol concentration and some of the hepatic damage caused by alcohol intoxication.

It has been shown that the accumulation of prion in the cytoplasm can result in neurodegenerative disorders. Synthetic prion peptide 106-126 (PrP) is a glycoprotein that is expressed predominantly by neurons and other cells, including glial cells. Prion-induced chronic neurodegeneration has a substantial inflammatory component, and an increase in the levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may play an important role in neurodegenerative development and progression. However, the expression of MMPs in PrP induced rat astrocytes and microglia has not yet been compared. Thus, in this study, we examined the fluorescence intensity of CD11b positive microglia and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) positive astrocytes and found that the fluorescent intensity was increased following incubation with PrP at 24 hours in a dose-dependent manner. We also observed an increase in interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) protein expression, which are initial inflammatory cytokines, in both PrP induced astrocytes and microglia. Furthermore, an increase MMP-1, 3 and 11 expressions in PrP induced astrocytes and microglia was observed by real time PCR. Our results demonstrated PrP induced activation of astrocytes and microglia respectively, which resulted in an increase in inflammatory cytokines and MMPs expression. These results provide the insight into the different sensitivities of glial cells to PrP.
Animals ; Astrocytes ; Cytokines ; Cytoplasm ; Fluorescence ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; Glycoproteins ; Interleukin-1beta ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Microglia ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neuroglia ; Neurons ; Rats ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Ciliary rootlet coiled coil protein (CROCC), the structural component that originates from the basal body at the proximal end of the ciliary rootlet, plays a crucial role in maintaining the cellular integrity of ciliated cells. In the current study, we cloned Xenopus CROCC and performed the expression analysis. The amino acid sequence of Xenopus laevis was related to those of Drosophila, cow, goat, horse, chicken, mouse and human. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that CROCC mRNA encoding a coiled coil protein was present maternally, as well as throughout early development. In situ hybridization indicated that CROCC mRNA occurred in the animal pole of embryo during gastrulation and subsequently in the presumptive neuroectoderm at the end of gastrulation. At tailbud stages, CROCC mRNA expression was localized in the anterior roof plate of the developing brain, pharyngeal epithelium connected to gills, esophagus, olfactory placode, intestine and nephrostomes of the pronephric kidney. Our study suggests that CROCC may be responsible for control of the development of various ciliated organs.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Basal Bodies ; Brain ; Chickens ; Clone Cells ; Drosophila ; Embryonic Structures ; Epithelium ; Esophagus ; Gastrulation ; Gills ; Goats ; Horses ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Intestines ; Kidney ; Mice ; Neural Plate ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger* ; Xenopus laevis ; Xenopus*