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The complete mitochondrial genome (16,824 bp) of an Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus ussuricus (Mammalia, Carnivora, Ursidae) was newly sequenced and characterized in detail. It is the second mitochondrial genome from this subspecies which has been completely sequenced. The two U. t. ussuricus individuals were compared with each other and then with individuals from the other four U. thibetanus subspecies and the other nine ursid species, focusing especially on the control regions in the 14 mitochondrial genomes. Within these control regions, tandem repeats of basically 10 bp (5′-ACGCACGTGT-3′ or its derivatives) were found in Domain II. Plausible secondary structures of the repeat region were compared between the North and South Korean individuals of U. t. ussuricus. According to the maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference trees inferred from the nucleotide sequences of 13 protein-coding and two rRNA genes, the ursine members within the monophyletic ursid clade can be divided into at least three groups: A, B, and C. According to this analysis, U. thibetanus subspecies were found with Ursus americanus and Ursus malayanus within Group A, showing the following relationships with nodal bootstrap values above 91% and Bayesian posterior probabilities of 1.00: ([( U. t. thibetanus, U. t. formosanus), U. t. spp.], U. t. ussuricus), U. t. mupinensis. In addition, we present a hypothetical scenario of the evolution of the major repeat motifs in the control region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liobagrus obesus (Siluriformes, Amblycipitidae) is an endemic, endangered species in South Korea. Throughout this study, complete mitochondrial genome of L. obesus was sequenced, which is 16,506 bp in length. Its detail characteristics were described in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Korean stumpy bullhead Pseudobagrus brevicorpus, which is an endangered species in Korea. The circle genome (16,526 bp) consists of 13 protein coding, 22 tRNA, 2 rRNA genes and 1 control region. It has the typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of theLamprotula coreana, which is an endangered and endemic species in South Korea, was determined. Its length is 15,819 bp, which mainly consists of 13 protein-coding, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes. In addition, there were 26 noncoding regions (NC) found throughout the mitogenome ofL. coreana, ranging in size from 3 bp to 287 bp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the effect of cellular vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels on the generation of leukemic dendritic cells (DCs). Leukemic DCs were successfully generated in vitro from bone marrow cells of 16 of 21 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, and the cellular VEGF concentrations in the leukemic cells and the neutralization of VEGF with anti-VEGF antibody were determined. AML cells that failed to generate leukemic DCs showed significantly higher cellular VEGF levels compared with generated leukemic DCs, and down-regulation of cellular VEGF levels induced the generation of leukemic DCs from AML cells. Inhibition of cellular VEGF levels increased interleukin (IL)-12 production and the allostimulatory capacity of leukemic DCs. These results suggest that the generation of leukemic DCs from AML cells is inversely related to the VEGF production of the cells and that the down-regulation of cellular VEGF levels can induce potential differentiation of leukemic cells to functional leukemic DCs in patients with AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the cockscomb pearl mussel Cristaria plicata, which is an endangered species in South Korea, was sequenced. The circle genome (15,708 bp in size) consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. There were 26 noncoding regions (NCs) found throughout the mitogenome of C. plicata, ranging in size from 2 to 327 bp, and the two largest NC regions, NC286 and NC326, were found between ND5 and tRNA Gln (286 bp) and between tRNA Glu and ND2 (326 bp), respectively. The 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes of a female individual of C. plicata collected from Korea (15,708 bp) were compared to those of the Chinese individual (15,712 bp) published before. The result showed that ND3 is the most conserved with 100% nucleotide similarity, and each of the other protein-coding genes has ca. 99%, respectively. The two largest NCs among 26 NCs have totally 98% nucleotide similarity between Korean and Chinese ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first complete mitochondrial genome (17,159 bp) of the Hodgson's bat Myotis formosus, which is an endangered species in South Korea, was sequenced and characterized. The genome included 13 protein-coding, 22 tRNA, and 2 rRNA genes, and 1 control region. It has high AT content and the same gene arrangement pattern as those of typical vertebrate mitochondrial genome. Within the control region, a 80 bp tandem repeat unit was iterated five times which was found in Domain I. It has been observed only in the vespertilionid bat group, and could contribute to identifying the species or genus, and also distinguishing it from other bat families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the possibility of immunotherapy for multiple myeloma (MM) using myeloma-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that were stimulated in vitro by dendritic cells (DCs) pulsing with purified and optimized myeloma lysates. CD14+ cells were cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4. On day 6, the immature DCs were pulsed with the purified myeloma cell lysates, and then maturation of the DCs was induced by the addition of a cytokine cocktail. There were no differences in the phenotypic expressions of mature DCs that were generated by pulsing with CD138+ cell lysates or total cell lysates. In optimization of the concentration of myeloma lysates, DCs pulsed with 10 µg/mL of myeloma lysate had greater allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacities than those pulsed with higher concentrations of myeloma lysates. The CTL lines generated by DCs pulsed with myeloma lysates demonstrated potent cytotoxic activities against autologous target cells, but not against HLA-A2- cell lines or K562 cell lines. The DCs pulsed with myeloma lysates demonstrated a higher stimulatory capacity for autologous CTL compared with mature nonpulsed DCs. These results suggested that the DCs pulsed with purified and optimized myeloma cell lysates could generate potent myeloma-specific CTLs for approaches in MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the complete mitochondrial genome, Eumetopias jubatus of a Steller sea lion. As stated it is the second complete mitochondrial genome sequenced from this species. The complete mitochondrial genome consists of 13 protein coding, 22 tRNA, and 2 rRNA genes. A table is also presented showing the mitochondrial genome characteristics of Eumetopias jubatus.

The article offers information on the study regarding the mitochondrial genome of Elaphe schrenckii, a colubrid snake from Korea. It says that the complete mitochondrial genome of Elaphe schrenckii consists of 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) and 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 13 protein-coding. It mentions that one of the purpose of the study is to help in the preservation of the genetic resources of endangered species and assist in the species identification of culobroid systematics.

The article offers information on a report regarding the mitochondrial genome of a Korean Phoca largha (KPL). It states that Phoca largha is an endangered marine mammal that has a small genetic variety. Arnason and his colleagues mention the similarity of the nucleotides of KPL and Alaskan Phoca largha which run from 99.4% adenosine triphosphate 6 (Atp6) to 99.9% (12S rDNA). Furthermore, it says that the mitochondrial genomes of Phoca vitulina have low level similarity compared to Phoca largha.