Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely used as donor cells for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to increase the efficiency of embryo cloning. Since replicative senescence reduces the efficiency of embryo cloning in MSCs during in vitro expansion, transfection of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) into MSCs has been used to suppress the replicative senescence. Here, TERT-transfected MSCs in comparison with early passage MSCs (eMSCs) and sham-transfected MSCs (sMSCs) were used to evaluate the effects of embryo cloning with SCNT in a porcine model. Cloned embryos from tMSC, eMSC, and sMSC groups were indistinguishable in their fusion rate, cleavage rate, total cell number, and gene expression levels of OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG during the blastocyst stage. The blastocyst formation rates of tMSC and sMSC groups were comparable but significantly lower than that of the eMSC group (p < 0.05). In contrast, tMSC and eMSC groups demonstrated significantly reduced apoptotic incidence (p < 0.05), and decreased BAX but increased BCL2 expression in the blastocyst stage compared to the sMSC group (p < 0.05). Therefore, MSCs transfected with telomerase reverse transcriptase do not affect the overall development of the cloned embryos in porcine SCNT, but enables to maintain embryo quality, similar to apoptotic events in SCNT embryos typically achieved by an early passage MSC. This finding offers a bioengineering strategy in improving the porcine cloned embryo quality.

능소화 추출물의 HIV-1에 대한 항바이러스 효과를 복제 관련 효소에 대한 억제실험과 바이러스 복제억제 실험을 통하여 살펴보았다. 역전사효소 억제활성을 ELOSA 방법으로 실험한 결과 능소화 줄기의 물 추출물이 100 μg/ml 농도에서 각각 37.9%의 활성을 나타내었고, 능소화 잎과 줄기의 메탄올 추출물에서 33.6% 및 31.5%의 HIV-1 protease 억제활성 나타 내었다. 그리고 HIV-1 복제 억제활성은 MT-4 세포에 대한 HIV-1 유도 세포변성억제를 광학현미경으로 관찰하여 살펴본 결과 줄기의 물 추출물이 100 μg/ml 농도에서 HIV-1 바이러스 증식을 완전히 억제하였다.

Four olefinic catechols, commonly referred to as urushiol were isolated from the sap of Korean Rhus verniciflua Stokes and had the stronger inhibitory effects on the reverse transcriptase of AIDS. The hexane extract with a inhibitory effects on reverse transcriptase was purified by silica and ODS gel column chromatography. The active compounds were identified by MS and 1H-NMR as 3-[8' (Z), 11' (Z), 14' -pentadecatrienyl]catechol, 3-[8' (Z), 11' (Z)-pentadecadienyl]catechol, 3-[8' (Z)-penta- decenyl]catechol, and 3-pentadecylcatechol. All of these compounds showed strong inhibitory effects on reverse transcriptase of AIDS, in which 3-pentadecylcatechol exhibited the highest activity (IC50 : 10.87 μg/ml).