• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.344-352
• /
• 2014

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of ammonia on physiological responses in Korean rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli). Interestingly, no mortality were observed when the specimens ($301.1{\pm}8.0g$) were exposed to five levels of un-ionized ammonia ($NH_3$) (control, 1, 2, 4, $8mg\;L^{-1}$) for 3 hours. Furthermore, a significantly higher increase in gill $Na^+/K^+$-ATPase (NKA) pump activity with was detected due to the ammonia exposure. The activity of the fishes were found to be 4 and $8mg\;L^{-1}$ $NH_3$, which was significantly high compared to normal $1mg\;L^{-1}$ $NH_3$. Although ammonia exposure had no effect on plasma $Cl^-$, exposure to both 4 and $8mg\;L^{-1}$ $NH_3$, however it led to increase in the plasma $Na^+$, $K^+$ and osmolality levels. Also, prolong ammonia exposure cause increase of plasma cortisol and glucose levels. The increase in glucose was accompanied by an increase in cortisol. The fish exposed to 4 and $8mg\;L^{-1}$ $NH_3$ showed significantly higher hematocrit than control group than those exposed to 1 and $2mg\;L^{-1}$ $NH_3$. The intensity of cell damage increased with the increase concentration and exposure to ammonia. Furthermore, hyperplasia, separation and epithelial necrosis were also observed in gill tissues. Taken together, the results showed that direction of changes to the investigated parameters can be used to determine the physiological responses of Korean rockfish to ammonia.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.508-514
• /
• 2013

2Department of Marine Molecular Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Gangneung-Wonju National University Recently, we reported that diarylheptanoid hirsutenone (HST) effectively inactivated T lymphocytes. However, it has not been evaluated whether HST is involved in calcineurin or calmodulin inactivation. In the present study, cells were treated with T-cell inhibitors with or without HST. Our results revealed that HST successfully inhibited expression of T-helper type I (Th1) and Th2 cytokines. Co-treatment with HST and nuclear factor-activated T cell (NFAT) activation inhibitor III (INCA-6) showed a more sensitive effect than that with other inhibitors, suggesting that HST contributes to inhibition of dephosphorylation of NFAT in the cytosol. HST up-regulated cell cycle arrest genes and inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. These effects were confirmed in an NFAT electrophoretic-mobility shift assay via successful inhibition of NFAT translocation and in the histological recovery in a 2,4-dinitrochloro benzene-induced in vivo model. Taken together, HST was shown to effectively inhibit T-cell activation via inhibition of cytosolic NFAT dephosphorylation, similar to INCA-6.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.2 s.82
• /
• pp.185-191
• /
• 2007

Akt/PKB plays pivotal roles in many physiological responses such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Here we show that tyrosine phosphorylation of Akt/PKB is essential for the subsequent phosphorylation at $Thr^{\308}$. Tyrosine phosphorylation of Akt/PKB was induced by stimulation of COS-7 cells with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF) and its phosphorylation was significantly enhanced by constitutive targeting of Akt/PKB to the plasma membrane by myristoylation. Interestingly, incubation of affinity purified Myc-tagged Akt/PKB with purified EGF receptor resulted in tyrosine phosphorylation as well as $Ser^{\473}$ phosphorylation of Akt/PKB. In addition, tyrosine-phosphorylated Akt/PKB could directly associate with activated EGF receptor in vitro. Finally, alanine mutation at putative tyrosine phosphorylation site $(Tyr^{\326})$ abolished EGF induced $Thr^{\308}$ phosphorylation of wild type as well as constitutively active form of Akt/PKB. Given these results we suggest here that direct tyrosine phosphorylation of Akt/PKB by EGF receptor could be another mechanism of EGF-induced control of many physiological responses.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.21 no.7
• /
• pp.923-931
• /
• 2011

In the present study, we investigated the effect of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural compound present in vegetables, on the cell migration and invasion of OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells. Our results indicated that I3C inhibited the proliferation of OVCAR-3 cells, a process which was associated with inhibition of cell motility as determined by wound healing experiments and cell invasion studies. I3C treatment increased the tightness of the tight junctions (TJs), which was demonstrated by an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance and a decrease in paracellular permeability. The RT-PCR and immunoblotting results indicated that I3C repressed the levels of claudin-3 as well as claudin-4, proteins that comprise a major part of TJs and play a key role in the control and selectivity of paracellular transport. Furthermore, the activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 were also decreased by treatment with I3C, which was connected with the down-regulation of their mRNAs and protein expression. The results suggest that I3C may be expected to inhibit cancer cell metastasis and invasion by restoring TJs and decreasing MMP activity in ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR-3.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.92-97
• /
• 2014

Cordycepin, an active component originally isolated from the traditional medicine Cordyceps militaris, is a derivative of the nucleoside adenosine, which has been shown to possess a number of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, immunological stimulation, and antitumor effects. This study was conducted on cultured human prostate carcinoma LNCap cells to elucidate the possible mechanisms by which cordycepin exerts its anticancer activity, which, until now, has remained poorly understood. Cordycepin treatment of LNCap cells resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth and the induction of apoptotic cell death as detected by an MTT assay, cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase, and annexin V-FITC staining. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that cordycepin resulted in G2/M arrest in cell cycle progression and downregulation of cyclin B1 and cyclin A expression in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the incubation of cells with cordycepin caused a striking induction in the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p21Waf1/Cip1 without affecting the expression of the tumor suppressor p53. It also resulted in a significant increase in the binding of CDK2 and CDC2 to p21. These findings suggest that cordycepin-induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis in human prostate carcinoma cells is mediated through p53-independent upregulation of the CDK inhibitor p21.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.24 no.7
• /
• pp.784-790
• /
• 2014

Housefly (Musca domestica L.) maggots are used as biomedical material. Ethanolic extracts of fly maggot (EM) were orally administered to male rats at levels of 0 (control group), 4.0, 6.0, and 8.0 mg per 100 g live weight for 40 days. Serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL-C decreased by 17.90, 17.60, and 16.37%, respectively, whereas HDL-C increased by 20.48% in the EM group compared with these parameters in a control group (p<0.05). Thymus and spleen weights dose-dependently increased by 21.42% and 21.42%, respectively, but abdominal fat decreased by 39.66% after EM administration compared with that in the control group (p<0.05). IgG, IgA, and IgM increased 35.14, 68.65, and 190.16%, respectively, in the EM groups compared to the control group (p<0.05). Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus increased by 41.68% and 35.55%, respectively, in the EM groups compared with the control group, and Bacteroides, Clostridium, Escherichia, and Streptococcus decreased by 24.96, 46.37, 25.00, and 34.05%, respectively, in the EM groups compared with the control group (p<0.05). Compared with the control group, total organic acids, acetic acid, and propionic acid increased by 31.11, 49.34, and 24.88%, whereas butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid decreased by 30.79, 72.64, 32.90, and 63.16% respectively, in the EM groups (p<0.05). These results suggest that EM has a bifidogenic effect on immune cell development, blood lipid levels, and abdominal fat reduction by increasing the production of organic acid and numbers of cecal microorganisms in animals.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.883-889
• /
• 2016

A new lactic acid bacteria with gluten-degrading activity which was isolated from salted sea foods (traditional Korea fermented food), identified as Weissella confusa (99%) by use of API kit and 16S rRNA sequencing, and designated as W. confusa. When the W. confusa cultured for 48 hours at $30^{\circ}C$ in a MRS medium containing 1% gluten, 45% of gluten was founded to be degraded. W. confusa showed 85% of survival rate at pH 3, and 94% tolerance at 0.1% oxgall, which indicates that W. confusa would survive in stomach of human. Experiments on the thermostability was confirmed that it has a stability of 70% in $50^{\circ}C$. W. confusa inhibited the growth of some pathogen, except for S. aureus. Results in this study suggest that using W. confusa for fermentation of grain flour containing gluten would be desirable to prepare the gluten-free foods needed for those who suffer from celia disease and gluten allergy.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.249-255
• /
• 2015

Schisandrae fructus [Schizandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baillon] is a medicinal herb widely used for treating various inflammatory and immune diseases in East Asian countries. The Schisandrae Semen essential oil (SSeo) from this plant has pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumoral activities. Nevertheless, the biological activities and underlying molecular mechanisms of the potential anti-cancer effects of this oil remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the potential inhibition of apoptosis signaling pathways by SSeo in human leukemia U937 cells and evaluated the underlying molecular mechanism. Exposure to SSeo resulted in a concentration-dependent growth inhibition due to apoptosis, which was verified by DNA fragmentation, the presence of apoptotic bodies, and an increase in the sub-G1 ratio. Induction of apoptotic cell death by SSeo was correlated with the down-regulation of members of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family (including X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), cIAP-1, and surviving) and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, and with up-regulation of death receptor (DR) 4 and DR5, depending on dosage. SSeo treatment also induced Bid truncation, mitochondrial dysfunction, proteolytic activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9, and concomitant degradation of activated caspase-3 target proteins such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Taken together, these findings suggest that SSeo may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for use in the control of human leukemia cells. Further studies are needed to identify its active compounds.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.518-528
• /
• 2013

Scutellaria baicalensis, belonging to the family Labiatae, is widely distributed in Korea, China, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It has been used in traditional medicine for various diseases, such as dysentery, pyrexia, jaundice, and carbuncles. In addition, S. baicalensis is reported to possess various beneficial pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiviral, antihypertension, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. However, the molecular mechanisms of its anticancer activity have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the proapoptotic effects of ethanol extract of S. baicalensis (EESB) on human renal cell carcinoma Caki-1 cells. The anti-proliferative activity of EESB was associated with apoptosis induction, which was associated with the up-regulation of death receptor 4, the Fas ligand, and Bax and the down-regulation of Bid, XIAP, and cIAP-1 proteins. EESB treatment also induced mitochondrial dysfunction, proteolytic activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9 and degradation of caspase-3 substrate proteins, such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, ${\beta}$-catenin, and phospholipase C-${\gamma}1$. However, pretreatment of a pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk, significantly attenuated the EESB-induced apoptosis. Taken together, these findings suggest that EESB may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent. Further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anticancer activity of S. baicalensis.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.13-19
• /
• 2005

The radio-sensitivity of pathogens and the effect of irradiation on microbiologican safety and mutagenicity of meat products such as seasoned and cooked beef and ham were investigated. Samples were radiation-sterilized and inoculated at 10/sup 7/ cfu/g with each of the four pathogens including Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Staphylcoccus aureus, and Listeria ivanovii. No viable cells of pathogens were observed in the sample irradiated with 3 kGy. The D/sub 10/ value of inoculated pathogens in seasoned and cooked beef and ham were 0.24∼0.48 and 0.39∼0.45, respectively. Results of Ames test performed with non-irradiated and irradiated seasoned and cooked beef and ham were both negative at the level of 625, 1,250, 2,500, 50,000, and! 10,000 ㎍ sample/plate, respectively. Results indicate that low dose (2∼3 kGy) irradiation is effective to ensure safety for seasoned and cooked beef and ham with toxicological wholesomeness.