• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• 제18권5호
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• pp.551-557
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• 2014

In this study, we demonstrated multimodal nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy integrated simultaneously with two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF), second-harmonic generation (SHG), and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) in order to obtain targeted cellular and label-free images in an immunofluorescence assay of the atherosclerotic aorta from apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. The multimodal NLO microscope used two laser systems: picosecond (ps) and femtosecond (fs) pulsed lasers. A pair of ps-pulsed lights served for CARS (817 nm and 1064 nm) and SHG (817 nm) images; light from the fs-pulsed laser with the center wavelength of 720 nm was incident into the sample to obtain autofluorescence and targeted molecular TPEF images for high efficiency of fluorescence intensity without cross-talk. For multicolor-targeted TPEF imaging, we stained smooth-muscle cells and macrophages with fluorescent dyes (Alexa Fluor 350 and Alexa Fluor 594) for an immunofluorescence assay. Each depth-sectioned image consisted of $512{\times}512$ pixels with a field of view of $250{\times}250{\mu}m^2$, a lateral resolution of $0.4{\mu}m$, and an axial resolution of $1.3{\mu}m$. We obtained composite multicolor images with conventional label-free NLO images and targeted TPEF images in atherosclerotic-plaque samples. Multicolor 3-D imaging of atherosclerotic-plaque structural and functional composition will be helpful for understanding the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.641-646
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• 1997

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA; 1-acyl-glycerol-3-phosphate) has been known as an intercellular phospholipid messenger with a wide range of biological activities. In this study, the effect of LPA on both the proliferation and differentiation of rat E63 myoblasts has been investigated. In the serum-free Insulin-Transferrin-Selenium (ITS) media, the proliferation of E63 cells was largely restricted. Addition of LPA into the ITS media strongly promoted the cell proliferation and resulted in two to four fold increase of cell number. Furthermore, it appeared to increase the percent fusion in a dose-dependent manner up to 15 ug/ml. The synthesis of myosin heavy chain (MHC) was increased by LPA as well. These results indicate that LPA is able to promote both cell proliferation and differentiation in rat E63 myoblasts. Suramin, known to have uncoupling activity on growth factor-receptor interaction, was tested for antagonistic activity in myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Myoblasts grown in the ITS medium containing LPA were able to proliferate well even in the presence high concentration of suramin whereas myoblast differentiation was completely blocked by 30 ug/ml of suramin. The inhibitory effect of suramin on the myoblast differentiation was completely reversible by removing the suramin. This result indicates that the intracellular signaling pathway of LPA leading to cell proliferation might be distinct from that leading to cell differentiation on E63 myoblasts. Also, the antagonistic effect of suramin suggests that the differentiation activity elicited by LPA might be mediated by a specific G protein-coupled receptor.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.273-278
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• 2000

Transforming growth factor-$\beta$ (IGF-$\beta$)s are multifunctional small polypeptides synthesized in most cell types. TGF-$\beta$ exerts pivotal effects on both bone formation and resorption. In addition, increasing lines of evidence implicate TGF-$\beta$ as a potential coupling factor between these two processes during bone remodeling. In the present study, the expression form and the activation mechanism of latent-TGF-$\beta$ were investigated using specific antibodies for each isoform. TGF-$\beta$s were observed to be synthesized and accumulated in a large amount in cultured osteoblastic cells. The estimated molecular weights of intracellular TGF-$\beta$2 and -$\beta$3 were 49 and 55 kDa, respectively. Based on proteolytic digestion study and immunofluorescence observation, these precursor forms seemed to be accumulated in distinct intracellular compartments. To examine whether the internal pool of TGF-$\beta$ was possiblely regulated by external signals, their biological activites were examined in a conditioned media of this cell. Although the intact conditioned media did not contain detectable TGF-$\beta$ activity, heat-treatment or acid-activation of the conditioned media revealed significant TGF-$\beta$ activity. Furthermore, in the presence of estrogen, this activity was dramatically diminished. It is known that activation of latent TGF-$\beta$ can be achieved by different chemical and enzymatic treatments, or by incubation with certain cell types. This extracellular activation was suggested as a key step in the regulation of TGF-$\beta$ activity. In addition to these extracellular activation, this study suggests that the synthesis and intracellular processing are important regulation steps for TGF-$\beta$ action. In addition, this regulation Is specific for TGF-$\beta$ type 2, because the change was not observed in TGF-$\beta$3 in osteoblastic cell line.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.104-113
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• 2012

The nucleolus is a distinct nuclear territory involved in the compartmentalization of nuclear functions. There is some evidence of a relationship between nuclear fragmentation during spermatogenesis and chromatoid body (CB) formation. The CB is a typical cytoplasmic organelle of haploid germ cells, and is involved in RNA and protein accumulation for later germ-cell differentiation. The goal of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the nucleolar cycle during the spermatogenesis of $Phrynops$ $geoffroanus$ (Reptilia Testudines), and compare this nucleolar fragmentation with CB formation in this species through the use of cytochemical and ultrastructural analysis. Qualitative analysis showed a fragmentation of the nuclear material after pachytene of the first meiotic division in the primary spermatocytes. Quantitative analysis of the nucleolar cycle revealed a significant difference in the number of nucleoli and in the size of the nucleolus between spermatogonia and early spermatids. Using ultrastructural analysis, we recorded the beginning of the CB formation process in the cytoplasm of primary spermatocytes at the same time as when nuclear fragmentation occurs. In the cytoplasm of primary spermatocytes, the CB was observed in association with mitochondrial aggregates and the Golgi complex. In the cytoplasm of early spermatids, the CB was observed in association with lipid droplets. In conclusion, our data show that the nucleolus plays a role in the CB formation process. During spermatogenesis of $P.$ $geoffroanus$, the CB is involved in some important biological processes, including acrosome formation and mitochondrial migration to the spermatozoon tail and middle piece region.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제43권7호
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• pp.607-618
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• 2020

microRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules involved in the regulation of gene expression. miRNAs inhibit gene expression by binding to the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of their target gene. miRNAs can originate from transposable elements (TEs), which comprise approximately half of the eukaryotic genome and one type of TE, called the long terminal repeat (LTR) is found in class of retrotransposons. Amongst the miRNAs derived from LTR, hsa-miR-3681 was chosen and analyzed using bioinformatics tools and experimental analysis. Studies on hsa-miR-3681 have been scarce and this study provides the relative expression analysis of hsa-miR-3681-5p from humans, chimpanzees, crab-eating monkeys, and mice. Luciferase assay for hsa-miR-3681-5p and its target gene SHISA7 supports our hypothesis that the number of miRNA binding sites affects target gene expression. Especially, the variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and hsa-miR-3681-5p share the binding sites in the 3' UTR of SHISA7, which leads the enhancer function of hsamiR-3681-5p to inhibit the activity of VNTR. In conclusion, hsa-miR-3681-5p acts as a super-enhancer and the enhancer function of hsa-miR-3681-5p acts as a repressor of VNTR activity in the 3' UTR of SHISA7.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.81-88
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• 2016

In many fish species, including Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), gonadal development occurs at the expense of stored energy and nutrients. Therefore, reproductive systems are inhibited by limited food supply. It has been well established that reproductive function is highly sensitive to both metabolic status and energy balance. Nothing is known about the possible mediated connection between energy balance and reproduction. Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide product of the Kiss gene has emerged as an essential gatekeeper of reproduction and may be possibly be linked to energy balance and reproduction in non-mammalians. Thus, in this study, the effect of fasting (10 days) on the expression of kisspeptin and the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene were assessed in Nile tilapia (male and female) using qRT-PCR. In addition, plasma levels of estradiol-$17{\beta}$ ($E_2$) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) in adult tilapia were measured by ELISA. In male tilapia, fasting reduced Kiss2 and GnRH I mRNA expression in the brain and 11-KT level in comparison with the fed tilapia (p < 0.05). In females, however, there were no significant differences in GnRH I mRNA expression and $E_2$ between fish subjected to fasting and those fed (p > 0.05). These data indicate the impact of nutritional states on kisspeptin as a potential regulatory mechanism for the control of reproduction in male Nile tilapia.

• 한국농공학회논문집
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.25-35
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• 2015

As livestock manure treatment is becoming a problem, manure application in forest plantation is recommended as an alternative. In this study, to investigate the impact due to liquid manure application in forest plantation, soil, soil water and shallow groundwater quality had been monitored in poplar experimental site where the liquid manure (LM) was applied. Water samples were collected weekly during growing season (April to October) from 2008 to 2011. From the monitoring results, phosphorus concentration in the soil and soil water had no significant difference between LM and control plots. $NO_3$-N concentration of soil water in LM, however, showed higher concentration (13.6 mg/l at 40 cm, 35.1 mg/l at 80 cm) than control plot (1.5 mg/l at 40 cm, 0.5 mg/l at 80 cm). In case of shallow groundwater quality, pH, heavy metal, etc. were satisfied to the national agricultural water quality standard of groundwater and there were no significant difference between upstream and downstream. The $NO_3$-N concentration of shallow groundwater was also not exceeded the national drinking water standard. However, $NO_3$-N concentration in soil water and downstream of shallow groundwater had increased in 2011 when non-composted LM was applied mostly in non-growing season of tree (September). From the results, it is important to control nitrogen source, application time and decomposed or not when LM is applied. In addition, to investigate nitrate source, further long-term monitoring and modelling could be necessary.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제19권5호
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• pp.441-449
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• 2015

Flavonoids are plant pigments that have been demonstrated to exert various pharmacological effects including anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the molecular mechanisms in terms of exact target proteins of flavonoids are not fully elucidated yet. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of scutellarein (SCT), a flavonoid isolated from Erigeron breviscapus, Clerodendrum phlomidis and Oroxylum indicum Vent that have been traditionally used to treat various inflammatory diseases in China and Brazil. For this purpose, a nitric oxide (NO) assay, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nuclear fractionation, immunoblot analysis, a kinase assay, and an overexpression strategy were employed. Scutellarein significantly inhibited NO production in a dose-dependent manner and reduced the mRNA expression levels of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 cells. In addition, SCT also dampened nuclear factor (NF)-${\kappa}B$-driven expression of a luciferase reporter gene upon transfection of a TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-${\beta}$ (TRIF) construct into Human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells; similarly, NF-${\kappa}B$ nuclear translocation was inhibited by SCT. Moreover, the phosphorylation levels of various upstream signaling enzymes involved in NF-${\kappa}B$ activation were decreased by SCT treatment in LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells. Finally, SCT strongly inhibited Src kinase activity and also inhibited the autophosphorylation of overexpressed Src. Therefore, our data suggest that SCT can block the inflammatory response by directly inhibiting Src kinase activity linked to NF-${\kappa}B$ activation.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.42-47
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• 2020

A personal authentication system based on biosignals has received increasing attention due to its relatively high security as compared to traditional authentication systems based on a key and password. Electrocardiography (ECG) measured from the chest or wrist is one of the widely used biosignals to develop a personal authentication system. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using similar ECG measured behind the ears to develop a personal authentication system. To this end, similar ECGs were measured from thirty subjects using a pair of three electrodes attached behind each of the ears during resting state during which the standard Lead-I ECG was also simultaneously measured from both wrists as baseline ECG. The three ECG components, Q, R, and S, were extracted for each subject as classification features, and authentication accuracy was estimated using support vector machine (SVM) based on a 5×5-fold cross-validation. The mean authentication accuracies of Lead I-ECG and similar ECG were 90.41 ± 8.26% and 81.15 ± 7.54%, respectively. Considering a chance level of 3.33% (=1/30), the mean authentication performance of similar ECG could demonstrate the feasibility of using similar ECG measured behind the ears on the development of a personal authentication system.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.112-117
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• 2007

Protein kinase는 진핵생물과 원핵생물을 포함하는 모든 생명체에서 세포생존에 절대적으로 중요한 조절 기능을 담당한다. 일반적으로 원핵생물은 histidine 과 aspartic acid kinase로 구성된 bacterial two-component regulatory system에 의하여 환경변화에 따른 유전자의 발현이 조절되지만, 방선균을 비롯한 고등 원핵생물에서는 진핵생물성의 serine/threonine kinase들이 세포분화와 같은 분화과정을 조절하고 있다. Streptomycin 생산균인 Streptomyces griseus 균주에서도 다양한 serine/threonine kinase들이 존재하는 것으로 추정되며, 이들의 기능을 밝히는 것은 생명현상을 이해하는 중요한 열쇠를 제공해 줄 것으로 기대된다. 따라서, S. griseus로부터 protein kinase 를 동정하는 연구를 실시하였으며, 기존의 복잡한 chromatography법의 단점을 보완하기 위해 anti-phosphothreonine, anti-phosphoserine, anti-phosphotyrosine antibody를 이용한 immunoaffinity column chromatography 방법을 도입하였다. 실험 결과 약 14, 29, 31, 35, 40, 52, 56, 60 kDa의 단백질을 효과적으로 동정 할 수 있었으며, nonradioactive protein kination assay 방법으로 이들의 인산화능을 확인하였다.