• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2016

Objective : Accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) and mitochondrial glycation is importantly implicated in the pathological changes of the brain associated with diabetic complications, Alzheimer disease, and aging. The present study was undertaken to determine whether sildenafil, a type 5 phosphodiesterase type (PDE-5) inhibitor, has beneficial effect on neuronal cells challenged with AGE-induced oxidative stress to preserve their mitochondrial functional integrity. Methods : HT-22 hippocampal neuronal cells were exposed to AGE and changes in the mitochondrial functional parameters were determined. Pretreatment of cells with sildenafil effectively ameliorated these AGE-induced deterioration of mitochondrial functional integrity. Results : AGE-treated cells lost their mitochondrial functional integrity which was estimated by their MTT reduction ability and intracellular ATP concentration. These cells exhibited stimulated generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, induction of mitochondrial permeability transition, and release of the cytochrome C, activation of the caspase-3 accompanied by apoptosis. Western blot analyses and qRT-PCR demonstrated that sildenafil increased the expression level of the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). CoPP and bilirubin, an inducer of HO-1 and a metabolic product of HO-1, respectively, provided a similar protective effects. On the contrary, the HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP IX blocked the effect of sildenafil. Transfection with HO-1 siRNA significantly reduced the protective effect of sildenafil on the loss of MTT reduction ability and MPT induction in AGE-treated cells. Conclusion : Taken together, our results suggested that sildenafil provides beneficial effect to protect the HT-22 hippocampal neuronal cells against AGE-induced deterioration of mitochondrial integrity, and upregulation of HO-1 is involved in the underlying mechanism.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2002

Inducible expression system for the three structural proteins, capsid (C), precursor membrane (prM/M), and envelop (E) of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was established in BHK-21 cells. Doxycycline, a tetracycline analog, was utilized as an inducer. Transfectants BHK-21/IV (vector only), BHK-21/IC (for C), BHK-21/IP3 (for prM), and BHK-21/IE1 (for E) were selected and cloned in the presence of G4l8 or hygromycin. Transcribed mRNAs for the corresponding genes were observed after doxycycline induction. Effects by the JEV structural gene expression on the transfectants were monitored via cell growth, chromatin condensation, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and DNA contents analyses. Clear cell growth retardation and chromatin condensation were observed in all three transfectants while only BHK-2/IC corresponded to the induction status in the DNA fragmentation and DNA content analyses. Combined results, therefore, suggested that JEV capsid protein should be one of the direct and independent factors in apoptotic cell death induced by IEV infection.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.372-380
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• 2006

Farnesol in fruits, vegetables, herbs and leaves acts as bioactive component related with prevention of cancer and psychological malaise. We investigated the cytotoxic effects of farnesol on human leukemic cell, HL-60 cells, by MTT assay using 3- (4,5-Oirnethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide. Farnesol (0.1${\sim}$50 ${\mu}$g/ml) exhibited cytotoxicities against HL-60 cells in concentration and culture period dependent manner, In the cytotoxic condition induced by farnesol against HL-60 cells, the generation of reactive oxygen species such as O$_2$ and H$_2$O$_2$ were found to be considerably increased. The most prominent augmentations of O$_2$ and H$_2$O$_2$ were over five folds of controls. In an attempt to explore the response of HL-60 cells to the increased O$_2$ and H$_2$O$_2$, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase activities of HL-60 cells treated with farnesol were measured. SOD and GPx activities were found to be remarkably elevated by addition of farnesol showing the best results of 273% and 167% of controls, respectively: All data suggest that farnesol may have played as an apoptosis inducer in HL-60 cells via production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and HL-60 cells may have failed to overcome the damage of ROS on account of still defcient ROS scavengers including SOD and GPx.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2003

Neurodegenerative disorders are associated with apoptosis as a causing factor or an inducer. On the other hand, it has been reported that epigallocatechin gallate (EUG), one of antioxidants and flavonoids, and z-VAD-fmk, a nonselective caspase inhibitor, suppress oxidative-radical-stress-induced apoptosis. However, it is not yet known what is the effects of EGCG and z-VAD-fmk on the apoptotic pathway is through phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) as well as mitochondria, caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). We investigated the effects of EGCG by using $H_2O_2$ treated N18D3 cells, mouse DRG hybrid neurons. Methods: Following 30 min $100\;{\mu}m\;H_2O_2$ exposure, the viability of N18D3 cells (not pretreated vs. EGCG or z-VAD-fmk pretreated) was evaluated by using MTT assay. The effect of EGCG on immunoreactivity (IR) of cytochrome c, caspase-3, PARP, PI3K/Akt and GSK-3 was examined by using Western blot, and was compared with that of z-Y4D-fmk. Results: EGCG or z-VAD-fmk pretreated N18D3 cells showed increased viability. Dose-dependent inhibition of caspase-3 activation accompanied by PARP cleavage were demonstrated by pretreatment of both agents. However, inhibition of cytochrome c release was only detected in EGCG pretreated N18D3 cells. On the pathway through PI3K/Akt and GSK-3, however, the result of Western blot in EGCG pretreated N18D3 cells showed decreased IR of Akt and GSK-3 and increased IR of p85a PI3K, phosphorylated Akt and GSK-3, and contrasted with that in z-VAD-fmk pretreated N18D3 cells showing no changes on each molecule. Conclusion: These data show that EGCG affects apoptotic pathway through upstream signal including PI3K/Akt and GSK-3 pathway as well as downstream signal including cytochrome c and caspase-3 pathway. Therefore, these results suggest that EGCG mediated activation of PI3K/Akt and inhibition GSK-B could be new potential therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative injury.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.492-498
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• 2012

To investigate whether phytochemicals affect cancer cell viability, human colorectal HCT116 cells were treated with four different phytochemicals. Among these phytochemicals, curcumin is the strongest inhibitor of cell proliferation. In addition, it decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. To unveil the molecular mechanisms involved in the inhibition of cell proliferation by curcumin, we carried out oligo DNA microarray analysis. We found that 137 genes were up-regulated more than 2-fold, and 141 genes were down-regulated more than 2-fold by 25 ${\mu}M$ curcumin treatment. Among the up-regulated genes, we selected 3 genes (ATF-3, GADD45A, and NR4A1) to confirm microarray data. The results of RT-PCR strongly agreed with those of the microarray data. Among the phytochemicals used in this study, curcumin is the strongest inducer of ATF3 expression, and increased ATF3 expression in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, FACS analysis showed that the inhibition of cell growth by curcumin was recovered by ATF3-siRNA transfection. Finally, we detected the changes of gene expression by ectopic expression of ATF3. The results indicated that many up-regulated genes were related to apoptosis. Overall, these results suggest that ATF3 may play an important role in the anti-proliferative activity of curcumin in human colorectal cancer cells.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.169-177
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• 2016

There is a growing interest in the application of primary hepatocytes for treatment of liver diseases in humans and for drug development. Several studies have focused on long-term survival and di-differentiation blocking of primary hepatocytes in an in vitro culture system. Therefore, the present study also aimed to optimize an in vitro culture system using primary rat hepatocytes. Primary rat hepatocytes from 6-week-old male Crl:CD rats were isolated using a modified two-step collagenase perfusion. Healthy $3.5{\times}10^6$ primary rat hepatocytes were seeded into a 2 dimensional (2D) culture in a 25T culture flask coated with collagen type I or into a 3D culture in a 125-ml spinner flask for 7 days. Production of plasma protein (ALB and TF), apoptosis (BAX and BCL2), and CYP (CYP3A1) related genes were compared between the 2D and 3D culture systems. The 3D culture system had an advantage over the 2D system because of the relatively high expression of ALB and low expression of BAX in the 3D system. However, the level of CYP3A1 did not improve in the 3D culture with and without the presence of a dexamethasone inducer. Therefore, 3D culture has an advantage for albumin production and primary rat hepatocyte survivability, but a low expression of CYP3A1 indicated that primary rat hepatocytes require a high-density culture for stress reduction by continuous flow.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1787-1793
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• 2009

To investigate whether caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) could affect cancer cell viabilities and gene expression, human colorectal HCT116 cells were incubated with CAPE. CAPE decreased cancer cell viabilities and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. To analyse differently expressed genes by CAPE, we performed oligo DNA microarray analysis. We found that 266 genes were up-regulated more than twofold, whereas 143 genes were down-regulated more than twofold by 24 hr of treatment with $20{\mu}M$ CAPE. Among the up-regulated genes, we selected 3 genes (NSAID activated gene-1 [NAG-1], cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A [CDKN1A, p21] and growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible alpha [GADD45A]) and performed reverse-transcription PCR to confirm microarray data. In addition, we found that CAPE increased NAG-1 gene and NAG-1 protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. And, several other phytochemicals (resveratrol, genistein, daidzein and capsaicin) also could induce NAG-1 expression in human colorectal HCT116 cells. However, CAPE was the highest inducer of NAG-1, even in low concentrations. Overall, these results imply that cancer cell death by CAPE is closely related with over-expression of NAG-1.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.216-222
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• 2003

Human caspase-9, an essential apoptosis initiator protease, was excessively degraded when expressed in Escherichia coli under the conventional induction condition. To optimize the conditions for induction and develop a rapid purification method for obtaining significant amounts of wild-type procaspase-9, we expressed procaspase-9 as GST fusion in E. coli. The addition of 0.01 mM IPTG as an inducer to the bacterial culture and decreasing the culture temperature to 25oC improved the production of procasapse-9 protein by circumventing proteolytic degradation in E. coli. The wild-type procaspae-9 was purified to approximately 70% purity with relatively high yields using the method developed in this study. In addition, we found that GST-caspase-9 is autocatalytically cleaved after aspartic acid 315, which is the same site for processing in mammalian cells, during expression in E. coli.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.30-35
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• 2010

Objective: The purpose of this study is to explain the effect and reciprocal action among tumor necrosis factor (TNF) like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14), and transforming growth factor-$\beta1$ (TGF-$\beta1$) on degeneration of human intervertebral disc (IVD). Methods: Human intervertebral disc tissues and cells were cultured with Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient F-12 Ham (DMEM/F-12) media in $37^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ incubator. When IVD tissues were cultured with TWEAK, Fn14 that is an antagonistic receptor for TWEAK and TGF-$\beta1$, the level of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) was estimated by dimethyl methyleneblue (DMMB) assay and sex determining region Y (SRY)-box 9 (Sox9) and versican messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels were estimated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: When human IVD tissue was cultured for nine days, the sGAG content was elevated in proportion to culture duration. The sGAG was decreased significantly by TWEAK 100 ng/mL, however, Fn14 500 ng/mL did not change the sGAG production of IVD tissue. The Fn14 increased versican and Sox9 mRNA levels decreased with TWEAK in IVD tissue TGF-$\beta1$ 20 ng/mL elevated the sGAG concentration 40% more than control. The sGAG amount decreased with TWEAK was increased with Fn14 or TGF-$\beta1$ but the result was insignificant statistically. TGF-$\beta1$ increased the Sox9 mRNA expression to 180% compared to control group in IVD tissue. Sox9 and versican mRNA levels decreased by TWEAK were increased with TGF-$\beta1$ in primary cultured IVD cells, however, Fn14 did not show increasing effect on Sox9 and versican. Conclusion: This study suggests that TWEAK would act a role in intervertebral disc degeneration through decreasing sGAG and the mRNA level of versican and Sox9.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.977-985
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• 2019

Aster yomena (Kitam.) Honda is an edible vegetable and perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family, and has been used for a long time for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Although leaf extracts of A. yomena are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, accurate efficacy assessments are still inadequate. In this study, we investigated whether the antioxidant efficacy of ethanol extract of A. yomena leaf (EEAY) is correlated with the anti-inflammatory effect in RAW 264.7 macrophages. The results showed that EEAY significantly inhibited the hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced growth inhibition in RAW 264.7 cells, which was associated with increased expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). EEAY pretreatment also effectively prevented $H_2O_2$-induced reactive oxygen species generation and apoptosis through inhibition of caspase-3 activation and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase degradation. Additionally, EEAY significantly increased the expression and production of interleukin-10, a representative anti-inflammatory cytokine, which was associated with increased expression of toll-like receptor 4 and myeloid differentiation factor 88 at transcriptional and translational levels. Furthermore, the increased production of nitric oxide (NO) by lipopolysaccharide was markedly abolished under the condition of EEAY pretreatment, and the inhibitory effect of NO production by EEAY was further increased by hemin, an HO-1 inducer. Overall, our results suggest that EEAY is able to activate the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway to protect RAW 264.7 macrophages from oxidative and inflammatory stress.