• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.488-495
• /
• 2018

The p53 gene plays a critical role in the transcriptional regulation of cellular response to stress, DNA damage, hypoxia, and tumor development. Keeping in mind the recently discovered manifold physiological functions of p53, its involvement in the regulation of cancer is not surprising. In about 50% of all human cancers, inactivation of p53's protein function occurs either through mutations in the gene itself or defects in the mechanisms that activate it. This disorder plays a crucial role in tumor evolution by allowing the evasion of a p53-dependent response. Many recent studies have focused on directly targeting p53 mutants by identifying selective, small molecular compounds to deplete them or to restore their tumor-suppressive function. These small molecules should effectively regulate various interactions while maintaining good drug-like properties. Among them, the discovery of the key p53-negative regulator, MDM2, has led to the design of new small molecule inhibitors that block the interaction between p53 and MDM2. Some of these small molecule compounds have now moved from proof-of-concept studies into clinical trials, with prospects for further, more personalized anti-carcinogenic medicines. Here, we review the structural and functional consequences of wild type and mutant p53 as well as the development of therapeutic agents that directly target this gene, and compounds that inhibit the interaction between it and MDM2.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.2093-2097
• /
• 2016

Background: HCV is a major global health problem. IL-27 is a member of the IL-6/IL-12 cytokine family with a broad range of anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies highlighted the effect of a SNP in the IL-27 promoter region on modulating the progression of infectious diseases and individual responses to therapy. Aim of the work: The present study investigated the potential role of (-964 A/G) SNP in the promoter region of IL-27p28 gene (alleles rs153109) on the outcome of HCV infection among genotype 4a infected patients. Materials and Methods: HCV genotyping confirmed that all of the HCV-infected patients had genotype 4a infection. Genomic DNA was extracted from 111 patients with chronic HCV infection, 42 spontaneous resolvers (SR) and 16 healthy controls. IL- 27p28.rs153109 genotyping was assessed using PCR-RFLP then confirmed by DNA sequencing. Results: The frequency of IL-27-p28.rs153109AA, AG, and GG genotypes among chronically infected subjects were 74.8 %, 25.2%, and 0% while among the SR, they were 57.1%, 35.7%, and 7.14%, respectively. Our data show the unique presence of G/G genotype in the SR group (3 patients; 7.14%). Moreover, the "G" allele frequencies among chronic and resolved subjects were 12.6% and 25.0%, respectively (p=0.0136). Importantly, subjects with the GG genotype were more likely to clear their HCV infection than those with the AA genotype (p=0.0118). Conclusions: HCV genotype 4a subjects with the IL-27-p28.rs153109 A/G and G/G genotype were more likely to clear their HCV infection. Therefore, we propose IL- 27p28.rs153109SNPas a genetic biomarker for predicting HCV infection outcome.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2015

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a constituent of turmeric powder derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, has been shown to inhibit the growth of various types of cancer cells by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, a need exists to design more effective analogs because of curcumin's poor intestinal absorption. EF-24 (diphenyl difluoroketone), the monoketone analog of curcumin, has shown good efficacy in anticancer screens. However, the effects of curcumin and EF-24 on salivary gland epidermoid carcinoma cells are not clearly established. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin and EF-24 on cell growth and induction of apoptosis in human salivary gland epidermoid carcinoma cells. Our studies showed that curcumin and EF-24 inhibited the growth of HTB-41 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and the potency of EF-24 was > 34-fold that of curcumin. Treatment with curcumin or EF-24 resulted in nuclear condensation and fragmentation in HTB-41 cells, whereas the control HTB-41 cell nuclei retained their normal regular and oval shape. Curcumin and EF-24 promoted proteolytic cleavages of procaspase-3/-7/-9, resulting in an increase in the amount of cleaved caspase-3/-7/-9 in the HTB-41 cells. Caspase-3 and -7 activities were detected in viable HTB-41 cells treated with curcumin or EF-24. These results suggest that the curcumin and EF-24 inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in HTB-41 human salivary gland epidermoid carcinoma cells, and that they may have potential properties as an anti-cancer drug therapy.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.47-57
• /
• 2007

This study focused on the properties natural dyeing and natural material and on the development of functional material for well-being in apparel industry. Comus officinalis Siebold et Zuccarini is used as natural dyeing material which had been reported that have curable effect for unbalanced immunity, geriatric diseases like urinary tract system, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, tinnitus, hyperhidrosis and women's diseases like hypermenorrhea. And this material also has anti-cancer effect so that can restraint cancer cells. 3 kinds tester of cotton, wool and silk are dyed by boiled with each dye (flower, fruits, bark of tree) as first dyeing and dried in the shade. These testers are done by post-mordanting method. Aluminium Potassium(Alk(SO4)2), Cuprie Sulfate($CuSO4{\cdot}5H2O$), Stannous Chloride($SnCl2{\cdot}2H2O$), Ferrous Sulfate($FeCl2{\cdot}4H2O$), Titanium Sulfate 24% aqueous solution(Ti(SO4)2) are used as mordants. Dyeing results of Comus officinalis Siebold et Zuccarini flower and bark are shown as yellow color series. And dyeing result of fruits is pink color series. Silk shows the best dyeing property. As the point of view for dyeing property, Ti, Sn, Fe would be the properchoice for mordant. Following results are extracted in this study. Yellow color is resulted in dyeing with Cornus officinalis flower as non-mordanting condition. Yellowish red color is come from dyeing with Comus officinalis fruit as non-mordanting condition. Grayish yellow tone is resulted in dyeing with bark as non-mordanting condition. Orange tone color with Ti-mordanting, green tone color with Sn-mordanting and gray tone color with Fe-mordanting is resulted respectively. However light-fastness of Comus officinalis(flower, fruit, bark) is very low as 1 or 2 level in non-mordanting condition, Comus officinalis flower dyeing is turned out 3 or 4 level and fruit dyeing is 4 or 5 level, bark dyeing is 2 or 3 level with Ti-mordanting respectively. Eventually Comus officinalis fruit has the best light-colorfastness property among all of dyes. dry cleaning colorfastness of Cornus officinalis(flower, fruit, bark) is good as 4 or 5 level in Ti-mordanting condition, perspiration-colorfastness of Cornus officinalis(flower, fruit, bark) is good as 4 or 5 level in Ti-mordanting condition, With these results, this study could conclude that dye-ability, colorfastness problem is getting better after mordanting process and practical usage would be possible.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.624-629
• /
• 2014

Obesity is the leading metabolic disease in industrialized countries and is closely associated with coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-adipogenic effects of two roasted coffee beans, Vietnam robusta (VR) and Ethiopia Mocha Sidamo G2 (ES), as well as fermented coffee beans with Monascus ruber (MR) mycelium on differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Treatments with 1,000 ${\mu}g/mL$ of hot water extract from coffee beans significantly reduced intracellular lipid accumulation. In addition, VR more effectively inhibited transcription factors such as $PPAR{\gamma}$, $C/EBP{\alpha}$, FAS, and aP2 compared to ES. Further, ES fermented with MR showed more effective anti-adipogenic activity than non-fermented ES. These results suggest that VR and ES inhibit adipocyte differentiation which may contribute to their anti-adipogenic properties.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.170-175
• /
• 2009

The extract of Platycarya strobilacea is known to possess a wide range of pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-cancer properties. We have reported that the ethyl acetate fraction of Platycarya strobilacea (PS-ET fraction) has high potential as an antioxidant agent (J. Soc. Cosmet. Scientists Korea 34(4) 275, 2008). In this study, antibacterial activity of the fraction and stability of the cream containing 0.2% PS-ET fraction were investigated for the application to cosmetics. Antibacterial activity of PS-ET fraction against various skin pathogenic bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pityrosporum ovale) was measured by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). MIC values of PS-ET fraction on P. acnes, S. aureus, and P. ovale were 0.13%, 0.06% and 0.25%, respectively. The results showed that the antibacterial activity of the fraction was the highest in the S. aureus. For the stability evaluation, pH and viscosity of the cream containing 0.2% PS-ET fraction were measured. The results showed that pH changes of the cream containing PS-ET fraction was lower than the control cream without PS-ET fraction. And the PS-ET fraction could repress the decrease of viscosity of the cream against sunlight treatment. These results suggest that the fraction of Platycarya strobilacea has high potential as bactericide against the skin pathogenic bacteria and could be added to improve the stability of cosmetic products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.38 no.12
• /
• pp.1656-1663
• /
• 2009

The antioxidant activities of water extracts from wild vegetables such as Ligularia fischeri (GC), Capsicum annuum L. (GCY), Aster scaber (CNM), Petasites japonicus S. et Z. Max (MYD), Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam) (GGM) were evaluated and compared with water extracts from freeze dried block. The antioxidant properties of water extracts from wild vegetables and their freeze dried block were evaluated using different antioxidant tests; 2.2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging and nitrite scavenging activities. The water extracts from wild vegetables were found to have a higher total phenolic content than water extracts from freeze dried block. Total phenolic contents of water extracts from GC, GCY, CNM, MYD, and GGM were $471.66{\pm}3.52\;{\mu}g/mg,\;141.33{\pm}2.51\;{\mu}g/mg,\;177.33{\pm}2.88\;{\mu}g/mg,\;238.66{\pm}9.50\;{\mu}g/mg\;and\;122.67{\pm}3.51\;{\mu}g/mg$, respectively. At the concentrations of 1000 ppm, water extracts from GC, GCY, CNM, and GGM showed higher activities than water extracts from their freeze dried block on DPPH radical scavenger activity. The activity of water extracts from CNM, GC, GCY, MYD, and GGM were 90.9%, 89.9%, 76.6%, 71.1%, and 57.4%, respectively. When 10000 ppm of GC, GCY, CNM, MYD, and GGM water extracts tested for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, activities were increased by 38.8%, 33.4%, 35.9%, 34.3%, and 33.8%, respectively and a similar effect was found with water extracts from GCY, CNM, and GGM freeze dried block at 10000 ppm concentration. However, the water extracts from GC and MYD was slightly more effective than freeze dried block extracts. The water extracts from wild vegetables and their freeze dried block had effective DPPH radical scavenger activity and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity at all tested concentrations. Nitrite scavenging activity of GC water extract significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner and the extract had higher nitrite scavenging activity than extracts freeze dried block extracts. We found that freeze dried block maintained antioxidant activities of the wild vegetables.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.40 no.5
• /
• pp.619-624
• /
• 2011

Tea extract (TE) has been shown to have anti-tumor properties in a wide variety of experimental systems. We evaluated green tea extract (GTE) as a biochemical modulator for the antitumor activity of cisplatin and doxorubicin in the treatment of human lung cancer A549 cells. Cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and two antibiotics (100 units/mL penicillin and $100\;{\mu}g$/mL streptomycin). Two types of TE, epigallocatechin galate (EGCG) and GTE, were used in this experiment. The cells were seeded at $1{\times}10^4$ cells/well in the RPMI-1640 media with or without TE ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) and then treated with different concentrations of doxorubicin ($0{\sim}14\;{\mu}g$/mL) or cisplatin ($0{\sim}35\;{\mu}g$/mL). After incubation in 5% $CO_2$ at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr, cell viability was determined with a MTT assay. We used a Western blot to detect the influence of EGCG and GTE on the expression of p53 and caspase-3 genes in the A549 cells. A549 cell viability decreased to 15% with a $10\;{\mu}g$/mL concentration of cisplatin, and to 21% with a $8\;{\mu}g$/mL concentration of doxorubicin, as measured with the MTT assay. However, pre-treatment of the cells with EGCG ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) or GTE ($100\;{\mu}g$/mL) resulted in decreased cell viability with $6\;{\mu}g$/mL of cisplatin and $4\;{\mu}g$/mL of doxorubicin. There was no apparent change in cell viability between EGCG or GTE administration in cisplatin- or doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in A549 cells. The levels of p53 and caspase-3 in the A549 cells increased with both EGCG and GTE treatment. We found that GTE could potentially affect cisplatin- or doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity of A549 cells, which may be useful in the chemotreatment of cancer.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.475-482
• /
• 2020

Background: Active natural ingredients, especially small molecules, have recently received wide attention as modifiers used to treat neurodegenerative disease by promoting neurogenic regeneration of neural stem cell (NSC) in situ. 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD), one of the bioactive ingredients in ginseng, possesses neuroprotective properties. However, the effect of PPD on NSC proliferation and differentiation and its mechanism of action are incompletely understood. Methods: In this study, we investigated the impact of PPD on NSC proliferation and neuronal lineage differentiation through activation of the Wnt/glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β/β-catenin pathway. NSC migration and proliferation were investigated by neurosphere assay, Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and EdU assay. NSC differentiation was analyzed by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Involvement of the Wnt/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway was examined by molecular simulation and Western blot and verified using gene transfection. Results: PPD significantly promoted neural migration and induced a significant increase in NSC proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, a remarkable increase in anti-microtubule-associated protein 2 expression and decrease in nestin protein expression were induced by PPD. During the differentiation process, PPD targeted and stimulated the phosphorylation of GSK-3β at Ser9 and the active forms of β-catenin, resulting in activation of the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway. Transfection of NSCs with a constitutively active GSK-3β mutant at S9A significantly hampered the proliferation and neural differentiation mediated by PPD. Conclusion: PPD promotes NSC proliferation and neural differentiation in vitro via activation of the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway by targeting GSK-3β, potentially having great significance for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.910-917
• /
• 2015

Radicchio (Cichorium intybus L.) is widely known to have antioxidant, anti-cancer, and digestion-promoting effects. Antioxidant activity and sensory characteristics of sponge cakes made with radicchio powder were investigated in this study. Sponge cakes were made with freeze-dried radicchio powder added to the flour at concentrations of 1, 3, 5, and 7%. As the amount of radicchio powder increased, the specific gravity of radicchio-containing sponge cakes significantly increased. pH value did not significantly differ between groups. Moisture content decreased from 30.72% (control) to 28.68% (7% radicchio) and loss of mass during baking increased from 7.11% (control) to 9.36% (7% radicchio). L (brightness) and b (yellowness) of sponge cakes decreased while redness increased. Hardness and chewiness decreased as concentration of radicchio powder increased. Springiness and cohesiveness did not significantly differ between any of the groups. Total polyphenol contents ranged from 0.12 to 0.31 mg GAE/g. DPPH scavenging activity significantly increased as the amount of radicchio powder increased. Overall acceptability of sensory experience measured on a 7-point scale was highest in the 3% radicchio cakes (5.35). In conclusion, the addition of 3% radicchio powder improves the sensory qualities of radicchio sponge cakes.