• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1996 no.05
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• pp.335-338
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• 1996

We attempted to reconstruct basement membrane (BM) in between the epidermal compartment and dermal compartment in the artificial skin preparation and examine its effect on the skin architecture as well as on the epidermal differentiation. Laminin, one of the component of BM, stimulate the migration of the basal cells but type IV collagen which is a major component of the mechanical network of BM did not stimulate epidermal migration. However laminin in the presence of type IV collagen at a 1:1 molar ratio did not stimulate epidermal migration but provide nice demarcation between epidermis and dermis. This mixture of laminin and type IV collagen enhanced epidermal differentiation in the artificial skin based on the morphological observation as well as biochemical criteria. The epidermal acquirement of migratory ability on the laminin-rich substrate suggest that this type of unbalance in the expression of the components of BM may prevail in the area of healing tissue and the invasive transition of the tumor. The result in this study provide the technical improvement in the artificial skin preparation and further application of this technique for the reconstruction of other bio-artificial organ.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.492-498
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to develop new food materials by analyzing nutritional components and antioxidant activities of Chenopodium album var. centrorubrum. The highest amount of mineral obtained in C. album was found to be $1.01{\pm}0.07mg$ per 100 g of iron. The total phenolic content in C. album was found to be 3.77~9.57 GAE (gallic acid equivalent) mg/g. The reducing activities of leaves and roots of C. album determined using FRAP (ferric-reducing antioxidant power) were higher in ethanol extracts than water extracts. The ABTS radical scavenging activities of leaves and roots of C. album were $204.29{\pm}4.98{\mu}mol/g$ and $106.96{\pm}2.81{\mu}mol/g$, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was high upon extraction using ethanol (roots $20.71{\pm}0.04{\mu}mol/g$, leaves $71.08{\pm}0.33{\mu}mol/g$). HDL-cholesterol was significantly higher in the high fat diet groups supplemented with C. album than the control groups (p<0.05). These results suggest that C. album can be used as a natural antioxidant and a functional dietary supplement.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.520-530
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• 2021

Multivariate statistical analysis and an environmental hydrological model were applied for investigating the causes of water pollution and providing best management practices for water quality improvement in urban and agricultural watersheds. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) for water quality time series data show that chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), suspended solids (SS) and total phosphorus (T-P) are classified as non-point source pollutants that are highly correlated with river discharge. Total nitrogen (T-N), which has no correlation with river discharge and inverse relationship with water temperature, behaves like a point source with slow and consistent release. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) shows intermediate characteristics between point and non-point source pollutants. The results of the PCA and CA for the spatial water quality data indicate that the cluster 1 of the watersheds was characterized as upstream watersheds with good water quality and high proportion of forest. The cluster 3 shows however indicates the most polluted watersheds with substantial discharge of BOD and nutrients from urban sewage, agricultural and industrial activities. The cluster 2 shows intermediate characteristics between the clusters 1 and 3. The results of hydrological simulation program-Fortran (HSPF) model simulation indicated that the seasonal patterns of BOD, T-N and T-P are affected substantially by agricultural and livestock farming activities, untreated wastewater, and environmental flow. The spatial analysis on the model results indicates that the highly-populated watersheds are the prior contributors to the water quality degradation of the river.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 1980

Low molecular weight endo-glucanase was partially purified from cellulase complex using Sephadex G-100 gel chromatography. Biochemical properties of the purified component was investigated. Optimum pH and temperature determined were 6.0 and 5$0^{\circ}C$, respectively. Enzymatic hydrolysis of four cellulosic substrates having varying crystallinity was evaluated. It was found that hydrolysis of amorphous region was followed by the hydrolysis of crystalline region. In order to examine the effect of adsorption of the enzyme onto the cellulosic substrates on the hydrolysis kinetics, adsorption studies were carried out. Time course of adsorption of low molecular weight endo-glucanase onto various cellulostances was observed for 25 min. The rate and amount of adsorption to amorphous cellulose was greater than those to the crystalline cellulose. This result suggested that the role of endo-glucanasc was more important to the hydrolysis of amorphous cellulose than to the crystalline region of the cellulose.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.100001.1-100001.8
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• 2024

In eukaryotes, a primary protein quality control (PQC) process involves the destruction of conformationally misfolded proteins through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Because approximately one-third of eukaryotic proteomes fold and assemble within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) before being sent to their destinations, the ER plays a crucial role in PQC. The specific functions and biochemical roles of several E3 ubiquitin ligases involved in ER-associated degradation in mammals, on the other hand, are mainly unknown. We identified 2 E3 ligases, ubiquitin protein ligase E3 component N-recognin 1 (UBR1) and ubiquitin protein ligase E3 component N-recognin 2 (UBR2), which are the key N-recognins in the N-degron pathway and participate in the ER stress response in mammalian cells by modulating their stability. Cells lacking UBR1 and UBR2 are hypersensitive to ER stress-induced apoptosis. Under normal circumstances, these proteins are polyubiquitinated through Lys48-specific linkages and are then degraded by the 26S proteasome. In contrast, when cells are subjected to ER stress, UBR1 and UBR2 exhibit greater stability, potentially as a cellular adaptive response to stressful conditions. Although the precise mechanisms underlying these findings require further investigation, our findings show that cytoplasmic UBR1 and UBR2 have anti-ER stress activities and contribute to global PQC in mammals. These data also reveal an additional level of complexity within the mammalian ER-associated degradation system, implicating potential involvement of the N-degron pathway.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.830-836
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• 2004

The unique biochemical pathways in melanocytes responsible for melanogenesis provide us with a rational mechanism-based means for developing both pharmacological regulators of pigmentation and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic drugs for melanoma, Myricetin is a polyphenolic antioxidant and a component from Biotae Semen, Biotae orientalis Folium. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of myricetin on the melanogenesis in human melanoma (HM₃KO) cells. The cells were treated for 5 days with myricetin at several concentrations (10 - 100 μg/ml). Treatment with myricetin dose-dependently suppressed cell growth in HM₃KO cells, But melanin formation was markedly increased by myricetin as a dose dependent manner. Myricetin did not affect to tyrosinase activity, which is a key enzyme for melanogenesis, but significantly increased the level of tyrosinase protein expression, These results suggest that myricetin stimulate melanin synthesis of human melanoma cells through the modification of tyrosinase protein expression.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2013

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and regulate the activation of innate immunity. All TLR signaling pathways culminate in the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$, leading to the induction of inflammatory gene products such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Triptolide (TP), a natural component of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F, has been used as folk remedies to treat many chronic diseases for many years. In the present report, we present biochemical evidence that TP inhibits the NF-${\kappa}B$ activation induced by polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (Poly[I:C], TLR3 agonist) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS, TLR4 agonist). TP also inhibits COX-2 expression induced by Poly[I:C] and LPS. These results suggest that TP can modulate the immune responses regulated by TLR3 and TLR4 signaling pathways.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 2009

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) induce innate immune responses by recognizing conserved microbial structural molecules. All TLR signaling pathways culminate in the activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-$\kappa$B) leading to the induction of inflammatory gene products such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Deregulated activation of TLRs can lead to the development of severe systemic inflammation. Divalent heavy metals, cadmium and mercury, have been used for thousands of years. While cadmium and mercury are clearly toxic to most mammalian organ systems, especially the immune system, their underlying toxic mechanism(s) remain unclear. Here, we report biochemical evidence that cadmium, but not mercury, inhibits NF-$\kappa$B activation and COX-2 expression induced by TLR2 or TLR4 agonists, while cadmium does not inhibit NF-$\kappa$B activation induced by the downstream signaling component of TLRs, MyD88. Thus, the target of cadmium to inhibit NF-$\kappa$B activation may be upstream of MyD88 including TLRs themselves, or events leading to TLR activation by agonists.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.606-610
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• 2008

Phenoloxidase (PO), a melanin-forming enzyme around the foreign bodies, is an important component of the host defense system in invertebrates. Pro-PO is the enzymatically inactive zymogen form of PO. In the Drosophila genome, three Pro-PO isoforms have been identified to date. These include Pro-PO1 and 2, which are primarily expressed in crystal cells, and Pro-PO3, which is predominantly found in the lamellocytes. In this study, we demonstrated that Drosophila Pro-PO3, but not Pro-PO1 or 2, is enzymatically active in its zymogen form. These findings were evidenced by spectacular melanin forming capacities of various cells and tissues that overexpressed these pro-enzymes. Furthermore, the melanization phenotype observed in the lamellocyte-enriched $hop^{Tum-l}$ mutant was drastically reduced in the absence of PPO3, indicating that PPO3 plays a major role in the lamellocyte-mediated spontaneous melanization process. Taken together, these findings indicate that the biochemical properties, activation mode and in vivo role of Pro-PO3 are likely distinct from those of the other two Pro-PO enzymes involved in Drosophila physiology.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 1994

The detoxifying properties of cruciferous vegetables components have been the subject of several recent investigations. Evidences from many biochemical and pharmacological studies indicated that higher consumption of cruciferous vegetables is associated with lower incidence of harmful actions such as hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress in animal and human populations. Recently, it has been reported that drug metabolizing and detoxifying enzyme activities were increased by cruciferous vegetable extract in which sinigrin is known to be a main active component, accounting for about 2 to 3 percents of total extract. The detoxifying effect of sinigrin has been well reported in several literatures. The metabolism of sinigrin in animal, however, has not been reported yet. That led us to study the metabolism of sinigrin in rat. Sinigrin is nown to be metabolized into three compounds, i.e., allyl isothiocyanate, glucose and potassium phosphate in cruciferous vegetables. Allyl isothiocyanate was formed in rat hepatic mitochondrial fraction in dose and incubation time dependent manner, that was confirmed by HPLC. Glucose formation was came up with results similar to that of allyl isothiocyanate. Three hours after i.p. administration of sinigrin to rat, allyl isothiocyanate appeared in rat liver, and five hours later it was detected in liver and blood. The above results suggested that sinigrin might be metabolized into allyl isothiocyanate, glucose and potassium phosphate in rat.