• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.589-592
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• 1999

Suspension cultures of Digitalis lanata were successfully performed in an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) of 4.5％ polyethylene glycol (PEG) 20,000 and 2.8％ crude dextran. Cell growth in the medium containing an individual ATPS-forming polymer was inhibited due to the toxicity of PEG and a high viscosity of dextran. Formation of ATPS supported cell growth by showing a considerably decrease in viscosity and partitioning of cells into a PEG-lean dextran phase. It was found that an aqueous two-phase cultivation of plant cells in a stirred tank bioreactor could be successfully applied.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.657-662
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• 2012

Mercaptoacetic acid (MAA) and mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) capped ZnS:Mn nanocrystals were synthesized and their physical characteristics were examined by XRD, HR-TEM, EDXS, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The optical properties of the MPA capped ZnS:Mn nanocrystals dispersed in aqueous solution were also measured by UV/Vis and solution photoluminescence (PL) spectra, which showed a broad emission peak around 598 nm (orange light emissions) with calculated relative PL efficiency of 5.2%. Comparative toxicity evaluation of the uncoordinated ligands, MAA and MPA, with the corresponding ZnS:Mn nanocrystals revealed that the original ligands significantly suppressed the growth of wild type E. coli whereas the ligandcapped nanocrystals did not show significant toxic effects. The reduced cytotoxicity of the conjugated ZnS:Mn nanocrystals was also observed in NIH/3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblasts. These results imply that potential toxicities of the capping ligands can be neutralized on ZnS:Mn surface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1994.04a
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• pp.129-130
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• 1994

The science of toxicology is the understanding of the mechanisms by which exogenous agents produce deleterious effects in biological systems. The actions of chemicals such as drugs are ultimately exerted at the cellular and gene levels. Over the past decade. several in vitro alternative methods such as cultured cells for assessing the toxicity of various xenobiotics have been proposed to reduce the use of animals. In this workshop three advanced methods will be presented. These methods are novel important models for toxicologic studies. Dr. Tabuchis group has establishcd two immortalized gastric surface mucosa cell lines from the pminary cultore of gastric fundic mucosal cells of adult transgenic mice harboring a temperature sensitive simian virus 40 large T-anugen gene. As the immortalized cell lines of various tissues possess unique characteristics to maintain their normal functions for several months, these cell lines are extremely useful for not only toxicity testing but also pharmacological screening in new drug development. Professor Funatsu have studied the formation of spherical multicelluar aggregates of adult rat hepatocytes(spheroid) having tissue like structure. The sphcroid shown thre is a prototype module of an artificial liver support system. Thus, the urea synthesis activity of the artificial liver was maintained at least to days in 100％ rat blood plasma. Dr. Takezawa and his coworkers have developed a novel culture system of multicellular spheroids considered 〃organoids〃 by utilizing a thermo-responsive polymer as a substratum of anchorage dependent cells. His final goal is to reconstitute the organoids of various normal organs, e.g., liver, skin etc. and also abnormal deseased organs such as tumor.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.313-318
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• 1999

Cloning of the 5'untranslated region (5' UTR) and Nterminus of the glycoprotein precursor (G2G1) open reading frame of tomato spotted wilt virus has been problematic, possibly because of the toxicity of a signal peptide at the beginning of th G2G1 protein precursor. The toxicity of the signal peptide to bacterial growth and the reason for the expression of the peptide gene in Escherichia coli were investigated by cloning the 5' UTR and the signal peptide sequence separately. Cells transformed with the plasmid containing both the first 30 amino acids of the glycoprotein and the 5' UTR showed a severe growth inhibition whereas transformants harboring either the plasmid with the signal sequence or the 5'UTR alone did not show any ingibition. An E. coli promoter-like sequence was found in the 5'UTR and tis promoter acivity was confirmed with a promoter-less GUS gene cloned downstream of the 5'UTR. In the cloning of the Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) glycoprotein G2G1 open reading frame all the recovered plasmids contained stop codons in the signal sequence region. However, clones containing no stop codon were recovered when the signal sequence and the 5'UTR were cloned separately.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.271-278
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• 2004

Epoxy resins are mostly used as a molding material for drinking water tank. Bisphenol A is used at a constituent material for epoxy resins and is widely suspected to act as an endocrine disrupter. In this study, we investigated embryo hatching in zebrafish reared in water undergone leaching process of expoxy resin, and found a decreased survival rate. Bisphenol A eluted from epoxy resin in drinking water tank was completely degraded by TiO$_2$ photocatalysis. We detected 7.8 ng/ml of bisphenol A in epoxy resin tank, and observed that the concentration was undetectable after 48h photocatalysis over TiO$_2$. There was no toxicity in hatching rates in zebrafish and morphogenesis after photocatalysis. The effect of TiO$_2$ photocatalytic reactions on the catalase activities in the f]y stage of zebrafish was also examined. At 1 week post hatching, cataiase activities were higher both in the group of epoxy resin with 48 h TiO$_2$ photocatalysis and in the TiO$_2$ photocatalysis for 48 hours were higher than control group. However catalase activities of the treatment group of epoxy resin by TiO$_2$ photocatalysis for 48 hours were similar to control in 5 weeks post hatching fries. In conclusion, the toxicity of TiO$_2$ photocatalysis was not observed in this zebrafish.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2007

[ $TiO_2$ ] is widely used because it is non-toxic. Recently, however, nanometer size $TiO_2$ particles (P-25) have been produced and used to increase the photo catalysis efficiency. Nanometer-sized $TiO_2$ is efficient, but due to its small size ($20{\sim}30\;nm$), it can flow into ecosystems and into cells. Thus, it may affect human health. Additionally, $TiO_2$ can produce a second contaminant, OH-radical, which is a health risk for all living organisms during photo degradation reaction. Hence, when nanometer-sized $TiO_2$ flows into natural streams and attaches to living organisms, it will create health risks. We investigated the biological toxicity of this condition in zebrafish embryos. We observed abnormal morphology, hatching rate, and measured the catalase activity to determine anti-oxidation at 100 post fertilization hours. Zebrafish were somewhat affected by $TiO_2$ nanometer sized particles under UV-A (a condition similar to sunlight). Powdered $TiO_2$ is toxic to the zebrafish fly. Even without light, $TiO_2$ particles attached to embryos and flies, having an effect on both.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.572-584
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• 2022

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of trinucleotide CAG repeat in the Huntingtin (Htt) gene. The major pathogenic pathways underlying HD involve the impairment of cellular energy homeostasis and DNA damage in the brain. The protein kinase ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is an important regulator of the DNA damage response. ATM is involved in the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), suggesting that AMPK plays a critical role in response to DNA damage. Herein, we demonstrated that expression of polyQ-expanded mutant Htt (mHtt) enhanced the phosphorylation of ATM. Ginsenoside is the main and most effective component of Panax ginseng. However, the protective effect of a ginsenoside (compound K, CK) in HD remains unclear and warrants further investigation. Methods: This study used the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of HD and performed behavioral tests, survival rate, histological analyses, and immunoblot assays. Results: The systematic administration of CK into R6/2 mice suppressed the activation of ATM/AMPK and reduced neuronal toxicity and mHTT aggregation. Most importantly, CK increased neuronal density and lifespan and improved motor dysfunction in R6/2 mice. Conversely, CK enhanced the expression of Bcl2 protected striatal cells from the toxicity induced by the overactivation of mHtt and AMPK. Conclusions: Thus, the oral administration of CK reduced the disease progression and markedly enhanced lifespan in the transgenic mouse model (R6/2) of HD.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.725-730
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• 2017

A heteronemertean, Yininemertes pratensis, was collected in Han River Estuary, South Korea. This estuarine nemertean has been known by the local fishermen for harmful effects to the glass eels, juveniles of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica, migrating to fresh water. The present study confirmed the neurotoxic effects of this heteronemertean ribbon worm at the cellular level. Derivative types of neurotoxic tetrodotoxin (TTX), 5,11-dideoxy TTX (m/z 288) and 11-norTTX-6(S)-01 (m/z 305.97), were identified through HPLC and MALDI-TOF MS. However, significant neurotoxicity was confirmed in the fraction containing an undefined molecule corresponding to the 291.1 (m/z) peak, when tested in rat primary astrocytes and dorsal ganglion cells. This study is the first to report neurotoxins of the estuarine nemertean, fairly abundant in the Han River estuary, and suggests the long-term monitoring of population dynamics and surveillance of the toxicity in this river estuary.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.534-539
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• 2004

Two biopolymers, silk fibroin (SF) and chitosan, were conjugated by tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1), a polyphenolic oxidase, to improve their physicochemical properties, such as their thermal properties and morphological stabilities in organic solvents. The crosslinking between SF and chitosan took place mainly through Michael addition reactions. A main reaction between the amino groups in chitosan and o-quinone, the oxidation product of the tyrosyl residue in SF, was confirmed by UV spectroscopy. Measurements of viscosity and light scattering indicated that the crosslinked SF/chitosan conjugate was compact: it had a smaller particle size because of tight bonding forces between the SF and chitosan molecular chains. Thermal decomposition of SF/chitosan conjugates crosslinked by tyrosinase occurred at higher temperatures. The adhesiveness of the SF/chitosan conjugates decreased steadily as the crosslinking reaction progressed. We propose that this new crosslinking method be used for the preparation of silk fibroin/chitosan conjugates using tyrosinase. We expect that SF/chitosan conjugates crosslinked by tyrosinase can be used preferentially in biomedical applications because of its unique properties and non-toxicity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.235-241
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• 2002

Sophorolipid, a biosurfactant produced from Candida bombicola ATCC 22214, showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus xylosus, Streptococcus mutans, and Propionibacterium acne at 4, 1, 1, 0.5 ppm, respectively. Also, 100 ppm of sophorolipid inhibited $50\%$ of cell growth of plant pathogenic fungus, Botrytis cineria. However, sophorolipid showed no effect on Escherichia coli, indicating that its selective antimicrobial activity depended on the cell wall structure. Treatment of B. subtilis with sophorolipid increased leakage of intracellular enzyme, malate dehydrogenase, indicating a possible interaction of sophorolipid with a cellular membrane. Comparing lactone-type and acid-type sophorolipids, the former showed a higher antimicrobial activity. Supplementing other surfactants showed no significant effects on the antimicrobial activity. Animal study showed that 5 g of sophorolipid per kg body weight by oral administration caused no toxicity, and sophorolipid induced no irritation on the skin. These results show potential use of sophorolipid as an active ingredient in healthcare products.