Jun Ho Lee

Extracellular signaling proteins encoded by the hedgehog (hh) multigene family are responsible for the patterning of a variety of embryonic structures in vertebrates and invertebrates. The Drosophila hh gene has now been shown to generate two predominant protein species that are derived by an internal autoproteolytic cleavage of a larger precursor. Mutations that reduced the efficiency of autoproteolysis in vitro diminished precursor cleavage in vivo and also impaired the signaling and patternin

We present a novel method of targeted gene disruption that involves direct injection of recombinant Cas9 protein complexed with guide RNA into the gonad of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Biallelic mutants were recovered among the F1 progeny, demonstrating the high efficiency of this method.

Our genetic analysis indicates that the unc-101 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans is required for many aspects of development and behavior, including negative regulation of vulval differentiation. We have cloned unc-101 and found that it encodes a homolog of the mammalian medium chains of clathrin-associated protein complexes located at the trans-Golgi and the plasma membrane, AP47 and AP50, respectively. Therefore, clathrin-mediated events might contribute to the negative regulation of vulval diff

Phoresy is a widespread form of commensalism that facilitates dispersal of one species through an association with a more mobile second species. Dauer larvae of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibit a phoretic behavior called nictation, which could enable interactions with animals such as isopods or snails. Here, we show that natural C. elegans isolates differ in nictation. We use quantitative behavioral assays and linkage mapping to identify a genetic locus (nict-1) that mediates the phor

The Caenorhabditis elegans run gene encodes a Runt domain factor. Runx1, Runx2, and Runx3 are the three known mammalian homologs of run. Runx1, which plays an essential role in hematopoiesis, has been identified at the breakpoint of chromosome translocations that are responsible for human leukemia. Runx2 plays an essential role in osteogenesis, and inactivation of one allele of Runx2 is responsible for the human disease cleidocranial dysplasia. To understand the role of run in C. elegans, we use

The incidence of thyroid microcarcinoma is rising due to the frequent use and improvement of fine-needle aspiration biopsy and ultrasonography. Since the recent update of the TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis) staging system for thyroid cancer, the importance of lymph node metastasis became more prominent. In the present study, we evaluated the prognostic factors and extension of thyroid microcarcinomas in Korean patients. The clinical and pathological findings in patients with thyroid microcarcinoma

Abstract Although multiple determinants for establishing polarity in membranes of epithelial cells have been identified, the mechanism for maintaining apicobasal polarity is not fully understood. Here, we show that the conserved Hippo kinase pathway plays a role in the maintenance of apicobasal polarity in the developing intestine of Caenorhabditis elegans. We screened suppressors of the mutation in wts-1—the gene that encodes the LATS kinase homolog, deficiency of which leads to disturbance of

In this report, we analyzed the apm-2 and aps-2 genes, which encode the nematode homologues of the medium chain and the small chain of the plasma membrane-associated clathrin-associated protein complex AP-2, respectively. We determined the genomic structure of the two genes. We show that apm-2 and aps-2 genes are expressed in most, if not all, cells during embryogenesis, and that the two genes are expressed primarily in neurons and some hypodermal cells following hatching through adulthood. RNA

layer in a high-intensity region within the insulator and thereby create another absorption band in addition to the cavity resonance mode. When combined with the refractive-index engineering of the metal layer, this approach leads to red, green, and blue colors having a bandwidth of ∼100 nm and a reflection efficiency of 90%. The results of the study may be effectively utilized in numerous applications, including reflective color filters, colorimetric sensors, and surface decorations.

Cells surviving crisis are often tumorigenic and their telomeres are commonly maintained through the reactivation of telomerase. However, surviving cells occasionally activate a recombination-based mechanism called alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Here we establish stably maintained survivors in telomerase-deleted Caenorhabditis elegans that escape from sterility by activating ALT. ALT survivors trans-duplicate an internal genomic region, which is already cis-duplicated to chromosome