Coronavirus enzyme inhibitors-experimentally proven natural compounds from plants

Park Junsoo,Park Rackhyun,Jang Minsu,Park Yea-In,Park Yeonjeong 한국미생물학회 2022 The journal of microbiology Vol.60 No.3

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can cause critical conditions that require efficient therapeutics. Several medicines are derived from plants, and researchers are seeking natural compounds to ameliorate the symptoms of COVID-19. Viral enzymes are popular targets of antiviral medicines; the genome of coronaviruses encodes several enzymes, including RNAdependent RNA polymerase and viral proteases. Various screening systems have been developed to identify potential inhibitors. In this review, we describe the natural compounds that have been shown to exert inhibitory effects on coronavirus enzymes. Although computer-aided molecular structural studies have predicted several antiviral compound candidates, the current review focuses on experimentally proven natural compounds.

Different Risk Factors for Early and Late Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Living Donor Liver Transplantation

Minsu Park,Geun Hong,Youngmin Jeon,Namjoon Yi,Kwangwoong Lee,Kyungsuk Suh 한국간담췌외과학회 2010 한국간담췌외과학회 학술대회지 Vol.2010 No.4

TGFβ Plasmid Construction and Delivery for the Prevention of Type 1 Diabetes

Park, Leejin,Lee, Eunjig,Lee, Sangkyung,Lim, Minsu,Hong, Hekyung,Shin, Geewook,Park, Yongsoo Wiley (New York Academy of Sciences) 2008 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol.1150 No.1

<P>Studies of animals with spontaneous autoimmune diabetes have revealed that autoreactive T cells that mediate islet beta cell destruction can be manipulated by the administration of Th(2) cytokines. Using gene delivery to express the targeted protein, we can overcome the need for frequent administration of cytokines on account of their short half-lives. In this study, the effect of hTGFbeta gene delivery was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo using an adenovirus vector (Ad) constructed with an hTGFbeta cDNA. In vitro transfection assays of the construct in HepG2, beta cell lines, and islets showed good expression levels of hTGFbeta and activation of smad3. Ad-hTGFbeta enhanced differentiation and proliferation in the beta cell line or islets without causing apoptosis. Of interest, Ad-hTGFbeta transduction in CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells resulted in a significant enhanced expression of CD25 and a regulatory T cell-specific transcription factor, Foxp3. To evaluate in vivo efficacy, Ad-hTGFbeta was intravenously injected into 7-week-old NOD mice and compared to the transduction using the vector only. The Ad-hTGFbeta group had persistent gene expression for longer than 5 weeks, and high TGFbeta serum level was secreted. There was no difference in the degree of insulitis between the Ad-hTGFbeta group and controls. Although we found favorable in vitro results, such as decrease in islet apoptosis, enhanced proliferation and differentiation, and increase in the level of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells, there was no difference in reduction of the development of T1D between controls and Ad-hTGFbeta-injected mice. Nevertheless, if we find the appropriate mode and timing of TGFbeta gene transduction, Ad-hTGFbeta gene therapy might be useful in therapeutic cytokine delivery for the treatment of T1D.</P>

Enhanced Biometric-based User Authentication Protocol Using Non-tamper Resistant Smart Cards

Minsu Park,Hyunsung Kim 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Security and Its Applicat Vol.9 No.12

This paper reviews An’s enhanced biometric-based user authentication protocol and shows that it is weak against the password guessing attack and has a problem of verification in the authentication phase. They are very important features to be secured to the user authentication protocol. Furthermore, this paper proposes an enhanced biometric-based user authentication protocol using non-tamper resistant smart cards to solve the problems in An’s protocol. The overall security analyses show that the proposed protocol could achieve the desired security goals.

Suppression of Phytophthora capsici using double-stranded RNAs targeting NLP effector genes in Nicotiana benthamiana

Park Minsu,Kweon Yujin,Lee Dowhan,Shin Chanseok 한국응용생명화학회 2023 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.66 No.-

RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene regulatory mechanism that involves the interaction of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Dicer cleaves exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into siRNAs, which get incorporated into RISC and bind to complementary sequences on the target mRNA to induce its degradation. In this study, we adopted RNAi technology using dsRNAs to suppress Phytophthora capsici, which causes diseases in solanaceous crops, including pepper. We designed and synthesized dsRNAs targeting the P. capsici effector genes PcNLP2 and PcNLP6, respectively. These genes encode necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1-like proteins in P. capsici, which are known to promote oomycete infection. Nicotiana benthamiana leaves were first infiltrated with dsRNAs and inoculated with P. capsici 2 days later. We confirmed significant suppression of P. capsici and PcNLP2, PcNLP6 expression in dsRNA-treated leaves. In addition, we found that downregulation of PcNLP2 and PcNLP6 distinctly affected the expression of some defense-related genes. These results suggest that dsRNA mediated RNAi technology can be used to suppress various pathogens, and may contribute toward crop protection.

요관결석의 2년간의 치료 경험: 충격파쇄석술과 요관경하배석술의 비교

박민수,박형근,박태한 大韓泌尿器科學會 1998 Korean Journal of Urology Vol.39 No.9

Targeted gene suppression through double-stranded RNA application using easy-to-use methods in Arabidopsis thaliana

Park Minsu,Um Tae Young,Jang Geupil,Choi Yang Do,Shin Chanseok 한국응용생명화학회 2022 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.65 No.1

RNA interference (RNAi) is an RNA-dependent gene silencing process that is regulated by the interaction between the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Exogenous dsRNAs are imported directly into the cytoplasm, where they are cleaved by Dicer into short dsRNA fragments of 20–25 base pairs. These short dsRNA fragments, called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have sequence-specific interaction with target genes. The guide strand, onto which siRNAs are incorporated in the RISC interacts with the target mRNA sequence, thereby inducing cleavage and degradation of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) by ribonucleases. Recent studies have shown that plant dsRNA treatments can induce RNAi. However, the dsRNA application methods and delivery systems involved have not been well examined. In this study, dsRNA was introduced to Arabidopsis thaliana by two methods: dipping and spray. We synthesized two dsRNAs designed to target mRNAs encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). After applying dsRNAs that target EGFP, we found an obvious reduction in GFP expression. This was determined using fluorescence microscopy and quantitative reverse transcription PCR to assess the mRNA levels of the auxin-sensitive reporter DR5-EGFP Arabidopsis thaliana. Our data revealed that applying target gene-specific exogenous dsRNAs can induce suppression of target genes of interest whether the dipping or spray method is used. This study therefore provides a foundation for understanding how to apply and deliver dsRNAs in plants. RNA interference (RNAi) is an RNA-dependent gene silencing process that is regulated by the interaction between the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Exogenous dsRNAs are imported directly into the cytoplasm, where they are cleaved by Dicer into short dsRNA fragments of 20–25 base pairs. These short dsRNA fragments, called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have sequence-specific interaction with target genes. The guide strand, onto which siRNAs are incorporated in the RISC interacts with the target mRNA sequence, thereby inducing cleavage and degradation of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) by ribonucleases. Recent studies have shown that plant dsRNA treatments can induce RNAi. However, the dsRNA application methods and delivery systems involved have not been well examined. In this study, dsRNA was introduced to Arabidopsis thaliana by two methods: dipping and spray. We synthesized two dsRNAs designed to target mRNAs encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein ( EGFP ). After applying dsRNAs that target EGFP , we found an obvious reduction in GFP expression. This was determined using fluorescence microscopy and quantitative reverse transcription PCR to assess the mRNA levels of the auxin-sensitive reporter DR5-EGFP Arabidopsis thaliana . Our data revealed that applying target gene-specific exogenous dsRNAs can induce suppression of target genes of interest whether the dipping or spray method is used. This study therefore provides a foundation for understanding how to apply and deliver dsRNAs in plants.

Characterization of submicron aerosols and CCN over the Yellow Sea measured onboard the Gisang 1 research vessel using the positive matrix factorization analysis method

Park, Minsu,Yum, Seong Soo,Kim, Najin,Cha, Joo Wan,Shin, Beomcheol,Ryoo, Sang-Boom Elsevier 2018 Atmospheric research Vol.214 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Aerosol size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations were measured in spring 2017 over the Yellow Sea on board the research vessel Gisang 1. The average number concentration of particles larger than 10 nm and CCN at 0.65% supersaturation (S) were 7622 ± 4038 cm<SUP>−3</SUP> and 4821 ± 1763 cm<SUP>−3</SUP>, respectively. Characteristics of aerosol size distribution data were analyzed using a positive matrix factorization (PMF) method. It was found that only 6 Factors could explain the aerosol size distribution reasonably well. Factors 1 and 2 indicated nucleation mode particles, Factor 3 indicated Aitken mode particles, and Factors 4, 5, and 6 indicated accumulation mode particles. The concentrations of nucleation and Aitken mode particles showed a clear wind direction dependence; high under westerly winds due to the high concentrations of particles and precursor gases in eastern China. Meanwhile, the concentration of larger particles and CCN showed no significant wind direction dependence. Aerosol size distribution was also significantly influenced by meteorology. Small particles were predominant during clear days. In contrast during mist or fog days, the aerosol size distribution shifted to larger sizes. A CCN closure experiment was conducted using results of the PMF analysis. The assumption of internally mixed particles led to overestimation of predicted CCN concentrations but agreement was significantly better when externally mixed particles were considered. The logarithmic curve fit of <I>N</I> <SUB> <I>CCN</I> </SUB>(<I>S</I>) = 4825 ∗ log <I>S</I> + 4933 was found to very well explain measured CCN concentrations at a few S over the Yellow Sea, and therefore is recommended as input CCN spectral data for numerical models that explicitly treat CCN activation.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Aerosol size dist. and CCN conc. measured over the Yellow Sea onboard a ship were analyzed with the PMF analysis method. </LI> <LI> Aerosol size dist. were significantly influenced by meteorological conditions. </LI> <LI> CCN closure experiment implied that some portion of the aerosols over the Yellow Sea were externally mixed. </LI> <LI> A fitted full CCN spectrum was proposed based on the CCN conc. measured at several supersaturation over the Yellow Sea. </LI> </UL> </P>

Genomic Selection for Adjacent Genetic Markers of Yorkshire Pigs Using Regularized Regression Approaches

Park, Minsu,Kim, Tae-Hun,Cho, Eun-Seok,Kim, Heebal,Oh, Hee-Seok Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2014 Animal Bioscience Vol.27 No.12

This study considers a problem of genomic selection (GS) for adjacent genetic markers of Yorkshire pigs which are typically correlated. The GS has been widely used to efficiently estimate target variables such as molecular breeding values using markers across the entire genome. Recently, GS has been applied to animals as well as plants, especially to pigs. For efficient selection of variables with specific traits in pig breeding, it is required that any such variable selection retains some properties: i) it produces a simple model by identifying insignificant variables; ii) it improves the accuracy of the prediction of future data; and iii) it is feasible to handle high-dimensional data in which the number of variables is larger than the number of observations. In this paper, we applied several variable selection methods including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), fused LASSO and elastic net to data with 47K single nucleotide polymorphisms and litter size for 519 observed sows. Based on experiments, we observed that the fused LASSO outperforms other approaches.

Development of multi-target dsRNAs targeting PcNLP gene family to suppress Phytophthora capsici infection in Nicotiana benthamiana

Park Minsu,Kweon Yujin,Eom Jihyun,Oh Minsun,Shin Chanseok 한국응용생명화학회 2023 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.66 No.-

Phytophthora capsici, which causes diseases in solanaceous crops, secretes necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1-like proteins (NLPs) that induce plant defense responses and leaf necrosis. In this study, we used RNA interference (RNAi) technique, a proven strategy for crop protection and gene regulation in plants, to suppress P. capsici infection through the inhibition of PcNLPs. In the RNAi mechanism, Dicer processes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into smaller entities known as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). These siRNAs subsequently integrate into the RNA-induced silencing complex to form sequence-specific base pairing with complementary regions of the target mRNA. This interaction effectively initiates the degradation process of the target mRNA. We designed and synthesized dsRNAs targeting the “AIMY” and “GHRHDWE” conserved motifs of PcNLP gene family, which are predicted to be key elements for the expression of NLPs and pathogen infection. After infiltration of dsRNAs targeting the motifs and inoculation with P. capsici, we confirmed a significant suppression of P. capsici infection and downregulation of the PcNLP gene family. These findings imply that the dsRNA-mediated RNAi technique holds potential for mitigating a wide range of pathogens, while simultaneously suppressing the expression of a particular gene family using dsRNA targeting functional conserved motifs in the gene family.