• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.45-52
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• 2023

In this study, we have investigated the effect of photobiomodulation (PBM) on corneal wound healing, using a low-power light-emitting diode (LED) at different wavelengths. We found that LEDs with wavelengths ranging from 623 to 940 nm had no significant cytotoxic effects on corneal epithelial cells. The effect of PBM on promoting cell migration was analyzed by scratch assay, and it was found that PBM at 623 nm significantly increased cell migration and promoted wound healing. Furthermore, the expression of genes related to cell migration and wound healing was analyzed, and it was found that PBM at 623 nm upregulated the expression of the genes FGF-1 and MMP2, which are known to promote cell proliferation and extracellular matrix degradation. These findings suggest that PBM with low-powered light at specific wavelengths, particularly 623 nm, could be utilized to treat corneal injury.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.160-169
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• 2009

Poly-$\gamma$-glutamic acid ($\gamma$-PGA) was mixed natural flora of Bacillus subtilis, contaminated from cooked soybeans. Also, it was performed to find out the antiallergic activity by using NC/Nga mice, in vitro. The $\gamma$-PGA (PGA-HM : PGA-high molecular weight), Molecular weight 300 kDa, was decomposed and made PGA-LM (PGA-low molecular weight) which has molecular weight below 30 kDa by sonication. Therefore, it was same result between PGA-HM and PGA-LM, and reported PGA-LM as basic result. We found that PGA-LM contains antiallergic efficacy that inhibit B cells and Th2 cells activation from isolated CD4+T cells in NC/Nga atopic dermatitis model mice, and not show a cytotoxicity in the hFCs. To investigate the effects of these PGA-LM in vitro, isolation of splenic B cell and CD4+ T cells in atopic dermatitis mice were used. To elucidate the role of PGA-LM in anti-CD40+ interleukin-4 (IL-4)-mediated B-cell activation, showed that the capacity of B cells to expression IL-$1\beta$, IL-6, and TNF-$\alpha$ mRNA down-regulated, and IL-10 mRNA up-regulation by PGA-LM treatment, but it had no effect on TGF-$\beta$ expression. In addition to CD4+IFN-$\gamma$+ and CD4+CD25+foxp3+, the functions of PGA-LM in the development of the CD4+CD25+foxp3+ and CD4+IFN-$\gamma$+cells, the phenotype and functions of PGA-LM induced CD4+CD25+foxp3+, and CD4+IFN-$\gamma$+cells in CD4+T cells. These results suggested that PGA-LM could change cytokine production and generate CD4+CD25+foxp3+ Tregs in NC/Nga mice, and may be effective for immunotherapy in patients with AD.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.166-174
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• 2003

Microcystin produced by cyanobacteria in surface waters, such as eutrophic lake and river, is a kind of serious environmental problems due to its toxicity to human and wild animals. Microcystin is synthesized nonribosomally by the large modular multi-functional enzyme complex known as microcystin synthetase encoded by the mcy gene cluster. Amplification of mcy genes by PCR from cultures and environmental samples is a simple and efficient method to detect the toxigenic Microcystis. In order to evaluate primers designed to detect toxic microcystin-producing strains, 17 cyanobacterial strains and 20 environmental samples were examined by PCR with 7 pairs of primers. Some microcystin-producing cyanobacteria were not detected with FAA-RAA, TOX4F-TOX4R and FP-RP primers. The fragment of unexpected size was amplified with NSZW2-NSZW1 primers in Microcystis strains isolated from the lakes in Korea. TOX1P-TOX1F primers failed in amplification of toxin-producing strains. Only MSF-MSR and TOX2P- TOX2F primers amplified the fragments of mcy genes from 11 strains of microcystin-producing Microcystis. The water samples taken from 20 lakes in Korea were analyzed by PCR using each of the primers. In all the water samples, cyanobacteria capable of producing microcystin were detected by the PCR with TOX2P-TOX2F primers. These results indicate that TOX2P-TOX2F primers are better than the other primers for detection of microcystin-producing Microcystis strains in Korea. The nucleotide sequences of mcy gene in Microcystis aeruginosa NIER10010 suggest genetic diversity of Korean isolates.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2001

The sea urchin has been used as sea food in many countries. This species has also been an important organism of embryological studies for more than a century. In recent years, sea urchin embryos are being used as testing materials for toxicity of pollutants and toxins. Usefulness of sea urchin embryos as experimental models comes from the easiness in obtaining sea urchin samples and a lot of gametes, in rearing embryos in the laboratory, in observing the cellular movement and organ formation during the embryogenesis and in manipulating blastomeres and genetic maferials. The sea urchin in itself is a key organism for the understanding of deuterostome evolution from the protostomes and of indirect development of marine invertebrates which undergo the planktotrophic larval stage. A fertilized sea urchin egg goes through rapid cleavage and becomes a 60 cell embryo 7hr after fertilization. It then develops into a morula, a blastula, a gastrula and finally a pluteus larva approximately 70 hr after fertilization. At the 60 cell stage, the embryo comprises of five territories that express territory-speciflc genes and later form different organs. Micromeres at the vegetal pole ingress into the blastoceol and become the primary mesenchyme cells(PMCs). PMCs express genes involved in skeletogenesis such as SM30, SM37, SM50, PM27, msp130. Among the genes, SM37 and SM50 are considered to be members of a gene family which is characterized by early blastula expression, Glycine-Proline-Glutamine rich repeat structures and spicule matrix forming basic proteins. Genetic studies on the sea urchin embryos help understand the molecular basis of indirect development of marine invertebrates and also of the biomineralization common to the animal kingdom.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.532-539
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• 2015

Inhibition of osteoclast differentiation is the most important target for prevention of inflammatory bone resorption and bone diseases. Here, we investigated the effect of spinach ethanol extract on osteoclast differentiation in RAW264.7 cells. Spinach was extracted with ethanol at a concentration ranging from 0 to 100% (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% ethanol). Inhibitory effects of receptor activator of NF-${\kappa}B$ ligan (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation were evaluated using tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) stain assay. The most effective eanol concentration for osteoclast differentiation was 100%. Spinach extract (100% ethanol) suppressed RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation and TRAP activity. Spinach extract (100% ethanol) also suppressed expression of osteoclast differentiation-related marker genes (NFATc1, c-FOS, cathepsin K, and TRAP) and down-regulated RANKL-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ and ERK phosphorylation during osteoclast differentiation. Taken together, our results suggest that spinach extract is effective against reducing osteoclast differentiation through the NF-${\kappa}B$-mediated pathway.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2018

We analyzed the antioxidant and anti-wrinkle activities of berberine, isolated from dried rhizome of Coptis japonica Makino, to determine its cosmetic potential. We performed the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol]-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay to evaluate the toxicity of the berberine. We also measured the ROS and hyaluronic acid production, and expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$) to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-wrinkle activities of berberine, respectively. The cytotoxicity of ultraviolet light, in presence of berberine, was measured by the MTT assay using CCD-986sk fibroblasts, and no cytotoxicity was observed at concentrations less than $25{\mu}g/mL$. We also found that berberine decreased ROS production in a concentration-dependent manner and promoted the synthesis of hyaluronic acid. Further, berberine reduced the protein levels and mRNA expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9, which are associated with wrinkle formation, and increased the expression of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. In addition, the inhibitory effect of berberine on $TNF-{\alpha}$, known as pro-inflammatory cytokine, was inhibited by $TNF-{\alpha}$ gene in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that berberine holds cosmetic value owing to its antioxidant activity, by inhibiting ROS production and anti-wrinkle activity by reducing MMP-2 and MMP-9 and increasing TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expression.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.6 s.101
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• pp.433-438
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• 2006

A fibrinolytic enzyme gene (BCF-1) was subcloned to the pEB vector which is high expression vector in the Bacillus host. The enzyme was purified by using FPLC after ammonium sulfate precipitation. The enzyme was oral-administrated to the rat and checked the bleeding time, blood clotting time and fibrinolytic effect of the serum. In the bleeding time retardation test, it was longer about 1.7 fold in the feeding rat than without feeding. The serum of rat feeded with the enzyme had the fibrinolytic activity from 1 hour to 3 hours after oral-administration. After 3 hours from feeding, the fibrinolytic activity was decreased gradually. Also blood clotting time after bleeding was longer than that of control rat. The enzyme could be detected at band of 30,000 Da in the blood by western blotting. The enzyme was not harmful to the all internal organs of the rats. Taken together, the enzyme originated from B. subtilis BB-1 can be a candidate to develop the drug for thrombosis, arteriosclerosis and myocardial infarction.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2006

The baculovirus-insect Drosophila melanogaster S2 cell system combines advantages of conventional baculovirus system and non-lytic S2 cell system because baculoviruses can infect non-permissive cells such as mammalian and Drosophila S2 cells but cannot replicate themselves inside the cells. In the present work, we investigated effects of infection conditions on production of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a target protein using this baculovirus-S2 cell system. Even though higher MOI and longer baculovirus contact time showed better GFP expression yield during the shorter period, overall protein yield could be lower during the longer period due to the relatively higher cell detachment and lysis (lower cell viability). In addition, maintaining high MOI will be not practical for large-scale cell culture. Therefore, instead of maintaining high MOI, we found that high initial cell number and concentrated (10X) baculovirus volume can confer comparable protein expression even under the moderate MOI condition. Also, we found that the post-infection time that is connected to state of cells after infection was an important factor for production yield.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.541-546
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• 1997

There are two conserved regions with a significantly high amino acid sequence homology among the A subunits of STX, SLTs and ricin. To produce an inactive Verotoxin-2 (VT-2), two different mutants, pE167D and pDE5A, were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis, respectively, on the basis of the previous reports that two regions lie within the active-site clefts of the A subunits of ricin and STX family. The cytotoxicity ($10^3$ $CD_{50}/ml$) of VT-2 holotoxin with E167D mutation was reduced by $10^3$-fold compared with wild-type level. In addition, VT-2 with DE5A ($Trp_{202}GlyArgIleSer_{206}$) deletion mutation showed a significantly low cytotoxicity ($10^1$ $CD_{50}/ml$), resulting in $10^5$- and $10^2$-fold reductions, respectively, compared with the wild-type and E167D mutatant. SDS-PAGE for protein samples showed a 33-kDa band corresponding to the A subunit of VT-2. These results indicate that reduction in cytotoxic activity was affected not by amount of VT-2 protein produced but by mutation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2024

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the main global health problems. Chronic exposure to hyperglycemia can lead to cellular dysfunction that may become irreversible over time, a process that is termed glucose toxicity. Our perspective about glucose toxicity as it pertains to the pancreatic β-cell is that the characteristic decreases in insulin secretion are caused by regulated apoptotic gene expression. In this study, we examined whether ferulic acid protects INS-1 pancreatic cells against high glucose-induced apoptosis. High glucose concentration (30 mM) induced glucotoxicity and death of INS-1 pancreatic β cells. However, treatment with 1, 5, 10, or 20 μM ferulic acid increased the cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with ferulic acid dose-dependently decreased the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and nitric oxide in INS-1 pancreatic β cells pretreated with high glucose. These effects influence the apoptotic pathway, increasing the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and reducing the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins, including Bax, cytochrome C, and caspase 9. Annexin V/propidium iodide staining indicated that ferulic acid significantly reduced high glucose-induced apoptosis. These results demonstrate that ferulic acid is a potential therapeutic agent to protect INS-1 pancreatic β cells against high glucose-induced apoptosis.