• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.41-55
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• 2004

Objective : To investigate the possible molecular mechanism (s) of melittin as a candidate of anti-cancer drug, we examined the effects of the compound on the growth of human lung carcinoma cell line A549. Methods : Growth inhibitory study, flow cytometry analysis, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis, RT-PCR and in vitro caspases activity assay were performed. Results : Melittin treatment declined the cell viability of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with induction of apoptotic cell death. Melittin treatment down-regulated the levels of Bcl-XS/L mRNA and protein expression of A549 cells, an anti-apoptotic gene, however, the those of Bax, a pro-apoptotic gene, were up-regulated. Melittin induced the proteolytic cleavage and activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 protease in a dose-dependent manner without alteration of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins family and Akt expression. Western blot analysis and RT-PCR data revealed that the levels of tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 were also remained unchanged. Conclusions : Taken together, these findings suggest that melittin-induced inhibition of human lung cancer cell growth is associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death via regulation of several major growth regulatory gene products, and melittin may have therapeutic potential in human lung cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.745-755
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• 2002

To examine the effects of Yunpyesan on the cell proliferation of A549 human lung carcinoma cell line, we performed various experiments such as dose-dependent effect of Yunpyesan on cell proliferation and viability, morphological changes, quantification of apoptotic cell death and alterations of apoptosis/cell cycle-regulatory gene products. Yunpyesan declined cell viability and proliferation in both a dose- and a time-dependent manner. The anti-proliferative effect by Yunpyesan treatment in A459 cells was associated with morphological changes such as membrane shrinking and cell rounding up. Yunpyesan Induced apoptotic cell death in a time-dependent manner, which was associated with degradation of poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), an apoptotic target protein, without alterations of the balance between Bcl-2 and Bax expressions. DNA flow cytometric histograms showed that population of G1 phase of the cell cycle was increased by Yunpyesan treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot analysis revealed that cyclin D1 and A were reduced by Yunpyesan treatment, whereas cyclin dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p27 was markedly increased in a time-dependent fashion. The level of tumor suppressor p53 proteins was also increased by Yunpyesan treatment and its increase might be linked to increase of Cdk inhibitor p27. In addition, Mdm2, negative regulator of p53, was down-regulated by Yunpyesan treatment. Since the expression of retinoblastome protein (pRB), a key regulator of G1/S progression, was reduced by Yunpyesan treatment, we supposed that phosphorylation of pRB might be also blocked. The present results indicated that Yunpyesan-induced inhibition of lung cancer cell proliferation is associated with the induction of apoptosis and the blockage of G1/S progression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3001-3003
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• 2013

Objective: Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) is closely related to tumor invasion and metastasis, and has been shown to have potential inhibitory effects in tumors. In this study, we constructed a eukaryotic expression vector for Syk and analyzed its effects on invasive ability of the A549 non-small cell lung cancer cell line in vitro. Methods: A fragment of Syk was obtained by RT-PCR from human lung cancer cells and cloned into the expression vector pLNCXSyk. After restriction endonuclease digestion, PCR and DNA sequencing confirmation, the recombinant Syk expression plasmid was transfected into A549 human lung cancer cells using lipofectamine protocols. After selection, the cells stably expressed Syk. Detection of Syk expression of the cells by RT-PCR, and invasive ability were examined. Results: The eukaryotic expression plamid pLNCXSyk was constructed and expressed stably in the A549 human lung cancer cells. The RT-PCR results showed that Syk mRNA expression was upregulated significantly (P<0.05). Lower invasion through a basal membrane were apparent after transfection (P<0.05). Conclusions: A eukaryotic expression plasmid to cause Syk expression in lung cancer cells can obviously inhibit their invasive ability in vitro.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.66-74
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• 2018

Background: Tumor response to anticancer therapies can much be influenced by microenvironmental factors. In this study, we determined the effect of these microenvironmental factors on DNA methylation using A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell line. Materials and Methods: We subjected A549 cells to various conditions mimicking tumor microenvironment including hypoxia, acidosis (sodium lactate), oxidative stress ($H_2O_2$), bystander effect (supernatant from doxorubicin (Dox)-treated or irradiated cells), and immune cell infiltration (supernatant from THP-1 or Jurkat T cells). Genomic DNA was isolated from these cells and analyzed for DNA methylation. Clonogenic cell survival, gene expression, and metabolism were analyzed in cells treated with some of these conditions. Results and Discussion: We found that DNA methylation level was significantly decreased in A549 cells treated with conditioned media from Dox-treated cells or Jurkat T cells, or sodium lactate, indicating an active transcription. To determine whether the decreased DNA methylation affects radiation sensitivity, we exposed cells to these conditions followed by 6 Gy irradiation and found that cell survival was significantly increased by sodium lactate while it was decreased by conditioned media from Dox-treated cells. We further observed that cells treated with conditioned media from Dox-treated cells exhibited significant changes in expression of genes including BAX and FAS (involved in apoptosis), NADPH dehydrogenase (mitochondria), EGFR (cellular survival) and RAD51 (DNA damage repair) while sodium lactate increased cellular metabolism rather than changing the gene expression. Conclusion: Our results suggest that various tumor microenvironmental factors can differentially influence DNA methylation and hence radiosensitivity and gene expression in A549 cancer cells.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.759-766
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• 2004

In the present study, we investigated the effects of aqueous extract of the healthful decoction utilizing Phellinus linteus (HDPL) on the cell growth of human lung carcinoma tumor cell line A549. Exposure of A549 cells to HDPL resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner as measured by hemocytometer counts, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. This increase in apoptosis was associated with inhibition and/or degradation of apoptotic target proteins such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), b-catenin and phospholipase C- 1 (PLC- 1) protein. HDPL treatment induced the down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression, an anti-apoptotic gene, however, the level of Bax. a pro-apoptotic gene, was increased by HDPL treatment. In addition, HDPL-induced apoptotis of A549 cells was connected with activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 protease in a dose-dependent manner, however, the levels of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins family were remained unchanged. Taken together, these results indicated that the anti-proliferative effects of HDPL were associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death through regulation of several major growth regulatory gene products such as Bcl-2 family expression and caspase protease activity, and HDPL may have therapeutic potential in human lung cancer.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.269-278
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• 2019

Objectives: Naesohwangryeon-tang (NHT) is a type of traditional herbal formula, however, little is known about its antitumor activity. In this study, the antitumor properties of NHT was evaluated in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Methods: To check the inhibitory effect of NHT, MTT assay was performed. Cell cycle analysis and detection of ROS production were conducted by flow cytometry. To evaluate the signaling pathway, Western blotting was conducted. Results: Our results showed that the decrease of cell proliferation by NHT stimulation occurred more significantly in A549 cells than in NCI-H460 cells. In addition, NHT-induced apoptosis was associated with the activation of caspases and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). NHT-induced apoptosis was attenuated after pretreatments with z-VAD-fmk or N-acetylcysteine, suggesting that NHT-induced apoptosis was caspaseand ROS-dependent. Interestingly, NHT treatment led to the development of autophagic vesicular organelles and upregulation of several autophagy-related genes. The pretreatment of bafilomycin A1 decreased apoptosis slightly but increased cell viability in the presence of NHT. Conclusion: These findings indicated that NHT induces both apoptosis and cell-protective autophagy in human lung cancer cells. This data suggests that NHT might be a novel herbal drug for lung cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.500-506
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• 2004

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of aqueous extract from the healthful decoction utilizing Phellinus linteus (HDPL) on the growth of human lung carcinoma A549 cells. HDPL treatment declined the cell viability of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and the anti-proliferative effects by HDPL treatment were associated with morphological changes such as membrane shrinking and cell rounding up. HDPL treatment did not affect the distribution of the cell cycle. Western blot analysis and RT-PCT data revealed that the levels of tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 in HDPL-treated A549 cells were remained unchanged. However, HDPL treatment inhibited the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA and protein in a concentration-dependent fashion. Additionally, the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), a main determinant of the telomerase enzymatic activity, was progressively down-regulated by HDPL treatment. Taken together, these findings suggest that HDPL-induced inhibition of human lung cancer cell proliferation is associated with the inhibition of several major growth regulatory gene products, such as COX-2 and hTERT, and HDPL may have therapeutic potential in human lung cancer.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.211-224
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• 2002

Background and Objective : In order to investigate the effects of Gilgyunglwedok-tang (GRT) on antitumor activity and antimetastatic activity, studies were done experimentally. Materials and Methods : Experimental studies were perfonned for the cytotoxic effect on BALB/c mouse lung fibroblast cells, the proliferating effect of splenic lymphocyte, the expression of CD3e/CD4, CD3e/CD8, and B220 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), the cytotoxic effect on A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, MCF-7 cells, the inhibitory effect on the activity of DNA topoisomerase I, the T/C% in ICR mice bearing S-180, the inhibitory effect of Cell adhesive of A549 Cells and SK-OY-3 Cells to complex extracellular matrix, the inhibitory effect on lung colonies, the change of lung tissue, the antiangiogenic activity, and the effect on MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene expression in the RT1080 cell line. Results and Conclusion : The results were obtained as follows : 1. In the cytotoxic effect on BALB/C mouse lung fibroblast Cell, GHT didn't show the significant cytotoxic effect on BALB/C mouse lung fibroblast cell compared to the control group. 2. In thymidine uptake assay, GHT showed the significant proliferating effect of splenic lymphocyte in proportion to the concentration. 3. In the expression of CD3e/CD4, CD3e/CD8, and B220 in peripheral blood mononuclea cells (PBMCs) of mice, GRT had no significant change to the normal group in CD4. However, GRT showed an increase to the normal group in CD8 and GHT in the only $1\mu\textrm{g}/ml$ category showed an increase to the normal group in B220. 4. In the cytotoxic effect of GRT on A549, SK-OY-3, SK-MEL-2 and MCF-7 cells, there was no significant cytotoxic effect compared to the control group. 5. In the inhibitory effect on the activity of DNA topoisomerase I, GHT in the $10\mu\textrm{g}/ml$ category showed the inhibitory effect on the activity of DNA topoisomerase I in proportion to the concentration. 6. In the T/C% in ICRmice bearing S-180, GHTtreated group showed 123.7% of T/C% compared to the control group. 7. In the inhibitory effect of cell adhesive of A549 Cells and SK-OV-3 Cells to complex extracellular matrix, GRT in the only $100\mu\textrm{g}/ml$ category showed the significant inhibitory effect compared to the control group. 8. In the inhibitory effect on lung colonies, GHT showed the significant inhibitory effect on lung colonies compared to the control group. 9. In the change of lung tissue, GHT showed a significant decrease of lung cancer growth, interalveolar fibrosis and hyaline material compared to the control group. In the development of lymphocyte around lung cancer cells and lung parenchymal, GHT showed the significant inducement efficacy compared to the control group. 10. In CAM assay, the antiangiogenic activity of GHT showed 30%. 11. In the effect on MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene expression in the RT1080 cell line, GHT had no significant inhibitory effect on MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene expression compared to the control group. According to the above results, it could be suggested that GHT has an antitumor activity and antimetastatic activity.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.1 s.31
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• pp.132-145
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• 1996

Ethyl ether fractions of Ferula Resina(EFR) and Lithospermi Radix(ELR) and hexane fraction of Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix(HSR) exerted an inhibitory effect on cell adhesion of A549 to extracelluar matrix most effectively in vitro cell adhesion assay. Thus, with above fractions for the evaluation of antitumor activity, T／C% was monitored in ICR bearing S-180 and for antimetastatic effect, pulmonary colonization assay, weight of organs, changes of WBC and platelet were studied. In pulmonary colonization assay incidence rate to control was 73 % 42 %, 14 % in ELR, HSR and EFR-treated groups repsectively. Gain of lung weight was significantly inhibited in all groups while spleen weight was significantly reduced only in SMR group, but no changes in kidney and liver as compared with control. Number of platelet was significantly increased in all groups to normal range as compared with thrombocytopenic contol. WBC was significantly reduced only in LR group. These results suggest that ethyl ether fraction of Ferula Resina has more effective antimetastatic activity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.35-35
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• 2005