Expertise and Research Interests
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Like the entire field of medicine, developmental biology has entered a period of revolutionary changes. New tools and concepts in molecular glycobiology have already opened the door to a deeper understanding of how the genetic information inherent in stem cells from the fertilized egg is expressed and how it controls fundamental developmental processes [1]. The past few years has seen a tremendous surge in interest in glycobiology (Fig. 1). This dramatic increase in the significance of glycobiology is mainly derived from the recent findings that cell surface carbohydrates are critically involoved in cell adhesion, differentiation and cell-cell interaction during developmental processes [2, 3].
aaGangliosides are complex glycosphingo- lipids (GSLs) that contain one or more sialic acids, the major components of cytoplasmic cell membranes (Fig. 2).Biosynthesis of gangliosides begins with the formation of glucosylceramide from ceramide by UDP-glucose ceramide glucosyltransferase (Ugcg), which can be metabolized into a series of gangliosides (Fig. 3). Different cell types harbor diverse forms of gangliosides that are involved in a variety of biological processes [4]. Numerous studies have confirmed that the types of gangliosides and their expression levels are developmentally controlled and cell type-specific[1,5,6,7,8,9]. Moreover, the results of my recent studies based developmental biology suggested that the expression of gangliosides is closely related to the osteoblast and neural differentiation of embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells (Fig. 4) [1,4,10]. Therefore, my re- search program is focused on these topics. The fundamental goal of my research is to investigate differentiation of embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblast and neural cells, as well as the role of gangliosides in their osteoblast and neuronal differentiation.
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My main research topics are as follows:
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1)aFunction of gangliosides on the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts and osteoclast.
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2)aThe role of gangliosides in neural differentiation of mouse embryonic and human mesenchymal stem cells.
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3)aDevelopment of new ganglioside-based biomaker during neural differentiation of mouse embryonic and human mesen- chymal stem cells.
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4)aThe role of gangliosides involved with xenoantigen during hyperacute and acute rejection reaction when graft mini-pig's tissues and organs to human.
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References
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1) Kwak DH, Yu K, Kim SM, Lee DH, Kim SM, Jung JU, Seo JW, Kim N, Lee SK, Jung KY, You H, Kim HA, Choo YK.
Dynamic changes of gangliosides expression during the differentiation of embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells into neural cells. Exp. Mol. Med. 2006. 38(6):668-676.
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2) Jamal A, Ahn MH, Song M, Oh EY, Hong J, Choo YK, Ko K, Han YS, Oh SH, Van Der Linden J, Leusen JH, Ko K.
Biological Validation of Plant-Derived Anti-Human Colorectal Cancer Monoclonal Antibody CO17-1A. Hybridoma (Larchmt). 2009 Jan 14. [Epub ahead of print] Links
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3) Kim SM, Kwak DH, Kim SM, Jung JU, Lee DH, Lee S, Jung KY, Do SI, Choo YK.
Differential expression of gangliosides in the ovary and uterus of streptozotocin- induced and db/db diabetic mice. Arch. Pharm. Res. 2006. 29(8):666-676.
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4) Ryu JS, Ko K, Lee JW, Park SB, Byun SJ, Jeong EJ, Ko K, Choo YK.
Gangliosides are involved in neural differentiation of human dental pulp-derived stem cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Jul 4. [Epub ahead of print]
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5) Park JY, Kim KS, Lee SB, Ryu JS, Chung KC, Choo YK, Jou I, Kim J, Park SM.
On the mechanism of internalization of alpha-synuclein into microglia:roles of ganglioside GM1 and lipid raft. J Neurochem. 2009. 110(1):400-411
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Effects of gangliosides on the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts by modulating epidermal growth factor receptors. Biochem Biophys Res Commun.2008.71(4):866- 871.
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Expression of ganglioside GT1b in mouse embryos at different developmental stages after cryopreservation. Arch Pharm Res. 2008. 31(1):88-95.
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Increased alpha2,3-sialylation and hyperglycosylation of N- glycans in embryonic rat cortical neuronsduring camptothecin-induced apoptosis. Mol Cells. 2007. 24(3):416-23.
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9) Kwak DH, Kim SM, Lee DH, Kim JS, Kim SM, Lee SU, Jung KY, Seo BB, Choo YK.
Differential expression patterns of gangliosides in the ischemic cerebral cortex produced by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Mol. Cells. 2005. 20(3):354-360.
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Effects of daunorubicin on ganglioside expression and neuronal differentiation of mouse embryonic stemcells. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2007.362(2):313-318.
