• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.1-11
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• 2011

Korean ginseng is a medicinally important perennial herb from the family Araliaceae. It has been cultivated for its highly valued medicinal properties for over 1,000 years in east Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. Due to its longtime cultivation in shady areas, ginseng is frequently exposed to pathogenic infections. Plants protect themselves from microbial pathogens using an array of defense mechanisms, some of which are constitutively active, while others are activated upon pathogen invasion. These induced defense responses, controlled by defense-related genes, require tradeoffs in terms of plant fitness. We hypothesize that ginseng, as with other plants, possesses regulatory mechanisms that coordinate the activation of attacker-specific defenses in order to minimize fitness costs while attaining optimal resistance. Several classes of defense-related genes are induced by infection, wounds, irradiation, and other abiotic stresses. Both salicylates and jasmonates have been shown to cause such responses, although their specific roles and interactions in signaling and development are not fully understood in ginseng. This review summarizes possible defense-related genes in ginseng based on their expression patterns against biotic and abiotic stresses and describes their functional roles.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.155-162
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• 2011

Eugenol (4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol) is a naturally occurring phenolic compound that is widely used in dentistry as a component of zinc oxide eugenol cement that is commonly applied to the mouth environment. Cisplatin is one of the most potent known anticancer agents and shows significant clinical activity against a variety of solid tumors. This study was undertaken to investigate the synergistic apoptotic effects of co-treatments with eugenol and cisplatin on human melanoma (G361) cells. To investigate whether this co-treatment efficiently reduces the viability of G361 cells compared with each single treatment, an MTT assay was conducted. The induction and augmentation of apoptosis were confirmed by DNA electrophoresis, Hoechst staining and an analysis of DNA hypoploidy. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescent staining were also performed to evaluate the expression levels and the translocation of apoptosis-related proteins following this co-treatment. Furthermore, proteasome activity and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) changes were also assayed. The results indicated that a co-treatment with eugenol and cisplatin induced multiple pathways and processes associated with an apoptotic response in G361 cells including nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, a reduction in MMP and proteasome activity, the increase and decrease of Bax and Bcl-2, a decreased DNA content, the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, the translocation of AIF and DFF40 (CAD) into the nucleus, and the activation of caspase-9, caspase-7, caspase-3, PARP and DFF45 (ICAD). In contrast, separate treatments of 300 ${\mu}M$ eugenol or 3 ${\mu}M$ cisplatin for 24 h did not induce apoptosis. Our present data thus suggest that a combination therapy of eugenol and cisplatin is a potential treatment strategy for human melanoma.

• BMB Reports
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.405-409
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• 2011

The present study demonstrated that valproic acid (VPA) transcriptionally regulates human GM3 synthase (hST3Gal V), which catalyzes ganglioside GM3 biosynthesis in ARPE-19 human retinal pigment epithelial cells. For this, we characterized the promoter region of the hST3Gal V gene. Functional analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the hST3Gal V gene revealed that the -177 to -83 region functions as the VPA-inducible promoter and that the CREB/ATF binding site at -143 is crucial for VPA-induced expression of hST3Gal V in ARPE-19 cells. In addition, the transcriptional activity of hST3Gal V induced by VPA in ARPE-19 cells was inhibited by SP600125, a c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor. In summary, our results identified the core promoter region in the hST3Gal V promoter and for the first time demonstrated that ATF2 binding to the CREB/ATF binding site at -143 is essential for transcriptional activation of hST3Gal V in VPA-induced ARPE-19 cells.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.307-320
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• 2014

Mycobacterium scrofulaceum is an environmental and slow-growing atypical mycobacterium. Emerging evidence suggests that M. scrofulaceum infection is associated with cervical lymphadenitis in children and pulmonary or systemic infections in immunocompromised adults. However, the nature of host innate immune responses to M. scrofulaceum remains unclear. In this study, we examined the innate immune responses in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) infected with different M. scrofulaceum strains including ATCC type strains and two clinically isolated strains (rough and smooth types). All three strains resulted in the production of proinflammatory cytokines in BMDMs mediated through toll-like receptor-2 and the adaptor MyD88. Activation of MAPKs (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and nuclear receptor (NF)-${\kappa}B$ together with intracellular reactive oxygen species generation were required for the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in BMDMs. In addition, the rough morphotypes of M. scrofulaceum clinical strains induced higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines, MAPK and NF-${\kappa}B$ activation, and ROS production than other strains. When mice were infected with different M. scrofulaceum strains, those infected with the rough strain showed the greatest hepatosplenomegaly, granulomatous lesions, and immune cell infiltration in the lungs. Notably, the bacterial load was higher in mice infected with rough colonies than in mice infected with ATCC or smooth strains. Collectively, these data indicate that rough M. scrofulaceum induces higher inflammatory responses and virulence than ATCC or smooth strains.

• Mycobiology
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.319-326
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• 2015

Fomes fomentarius is a fungus of the Polyporaceae family and is used in traditional oriental therapies. Although the anti-inflammatory activities of this species have been previously reported, the identity of the bioactive compounds responsible for this activity remains unknown. Here, we investigated whether methyl 9-oxo-(10E,12E)-octadecadienoate (FF-8) purified from F. fomentarius exerts anti-inflammatory activity in murine macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). FF-8 suppressed secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ through downregulation of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression induced by LPS. In addition, pretreatment of cells with FF-8 led to a reduction in levels of secreted inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ and interleukin-6 in macrophages stimulated with LPS. Conversely, FF-8 did not affect nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$, p38, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathways. Instead, FF-8 specifically interfered with signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation induced by LPS. Collectively, this study demonstrated that FF-8 purified from F. fomentarius suppresses inflammatory responses in macrophages stimulated with LPS by inhibiting STAT3 activation. Further studies will be required to elucidate the anti-inflammatory effect of FF-8 in vivo.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.469-475
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a cotreatment of bamboo concentrates (Jukcho solution; 0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 mL/kg) with the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel on the bioavailability of orally administered paclitaxel (50 mg/kg) in rats. The effect of a pretreatment of bamboo concentrates (1.5 and 3.0 mL/kg for 1.0 h or a consecutive 3 day) was also examined. The paclitaxel plasma concentrations of rats orally administered paclitaxel plus bamboo concentrates (coadministration, 3.0 mL/kg and pretreatment, 1.5 and 3.0 mL/kg) were significantly higher than those of rats treated with paclitaxel alone. Plasma concentrations of paclitaxel in groups pretreated with bamboo concentrates for 3 day were markedly higher than those of a paclitaxel control group at the measured time points. The areas under plasma concentration-time curves (AUCs) of paclitaxel in groups pretreated with bamboo concentrates were elevated and the absolute bioavailability ($AB\%$) and relative bioavailability ($RB\%$) of paclitaxel were also significantly higher than those in the control group. The peak concentration ($C_{max}$), half-life ($t_{1/2}$), and the elimination rate constant ($K_{el}$) of paclitaxel after 3 day of pretreatment with bamboo concentrates were also significantly higher than those in the control, but the time required to reach the maximum plasma concentration ($T_{max}$) of paclitaxel was unaffected by the bamooo concentrates. Western blot analyses demonstrated that the level of CYP3A4 was increased in the livers of rats treated orally with paclitaxel, but this was reversed by pretreating with bamboo concentrates. These results show that bamboo concentrates enhance the bioavailability of orally administered paclitaxel and this effect may be associated with a diminished expression of CYP3A4 in the liver.

• KSBB Journal
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.462-466
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• 2004

S. coelicolor A3(2)로부터 항산화 저분자 thiol분자인 MSH를 HPLC 및 monobromobimane 형광 검출 방법으로 분리${\cdot}$정제하여 그 존재를 확인하였다. 표준물질인 MSH-bimane과 동일하게 용출되는 MSH 분획을 확인하였으며 여러 thiol 분획 중 MSH 분획이 가장 많은 것으로 보아 MSH가 S. coelicolor의 주된 thiol 화합물로 판단되었다. MSH 생합성에 관여하는 효소 중 I-1-Pase의 유전자의 기능을 알아보기 위하여 이 유전자를 방선균에서 분리한 후 대장균에 클로닝하여 과도발현시켰다. 발현된 I-1-Pase를 Ni-NTA column을 사용하여 정제하였다. 정제된 I-1-Pase는 soluble protein으로 281개 아미노산으로 구성되어 있으며 분자량은 32 kDa이었다. 인간 및 대장균의 I-1-Pase와 각각 24와 $25\%$의 sequence homology를 보였으며, 기존의 I-1-Pase가 가지고 있는 공통의 I-1-Pase motif A와 motif B를 S. coelicolor A3(2)도 가지고 있는 것으로 확인되었다.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제63권5호
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• pp.676-682
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• 2014

In this paper, precipitation echo(PRE) and non-precipitaion echo(N-PRE)(including ground echo and clear echo) through weather radar data are identified with the aid of neuro-fuzzy algorithm. The accuracy of the radar information is lowered because meteorological radar data is mixed with the PRE and N-PRE. So this problem is resolved by using RBFNN and judgement module. Structure expression of weather radar data are analyzed in order to classify PRE and N-PRE. Input variables such as Standard deviation of reflectivity(SDZ), Vertical gradient of reflectivity(VGZ), Spin change(SPN), Frequency(FR), cumulation reflectivity during 1 hour(1hDZ), and cumulation reflectivity during 2 hour(2hDZ) are made by using weather radar data and then each characteristic of input variable is analyzed. Input data is built up from the selected input variables among these input variables, which have a critical effect on the classification between PRE and N-PRE. Echo judgment module is developed to do echo classification between PRE and N-PRE by using testing dataset. Polynomial-based radial basis function neural networks(RBFNNs) are used as neuro-fuzzy algorithm, and the proposed neuro-fuzzy echo pattern classifier is designed by combining RBFNN with echo judgement module. Finally, the results of the proposed classifier are compared with both CZ and DZ, as well as QC data, and analyzed from the view point of output performance.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.299-305
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• 2012

Endochondral bone formation is the process by which mesenchymal cells condense to become chondrocytes, which ultimately form new bone. The process of chondrogenic differentiation and hypertrophy is critical for bone formation and as such is regulated by many factors. In this study, we aimed to indentify novel factors that regulate chondrogenesis. We investigated the possible role of isopsoralen in induction of chondrogenic differentiation in clonal mouse chondrogenic ATDC5 cells. Isopsoralen treatment stimulated the accumulation of cartilage nodules in a dose-dependent manner. Further, ATDC5 cells treated with isopsoralen were stained more intensely with Alcian blue than control cells, suggesting that isopsoralen increases the synthesis of matrix proteoglycans. Similarly, isopsoralen markedly induced the activation of alkaline phosphatase activity compared with control cells. Isopsoralen enhanced the expressions of chondrogenic marker genes such as collagen II, collagen X, OCN, Smad4 and Sox9 in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, isopsoralen induced the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 MAP kinase, but not that of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Isopsoralen significantly enhanced the protein expression of BMP-2 in a time-dependent manner. PD98059 and SB 203580, inhibitors of ERK and p38 MAPK, respectively, decreased the number of stained cells treated with isopsoralen. Taken together, these results suggest that isopsoralen mediates a chondromodulating effect by BMP-2 or MAPK signaling pathways, and is therefore a possible therapeutic agent for bone growth disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.405-416
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• 2021

Background: This study investigated the effect of intrathecal Sec-O-glucosylhamaudol (SOG) on the p38/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathways, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB)-related inflammatory responses, and autophagy in a spinal nerve ligation (SNL)-induced neuropathic pain model. Methods: The continuous administration of intrathecal SOG via an osmotic pump was performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 50) with SNL-induced neuropathic pain. Rats were randomized into four groups after the 7th day following SNL and treated for 2 weeks as follows (each n = 10): Group S, sham-operated; Group D, 70% dimethylsulfoxide; Group SOG96, SOG at 96 ㎍/day; and Group SOG192, SOG at 192 ㎍/day. The paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) test was performed to assess neuropathic pain. Western blotting of the spinal cord (L5) was performed to measure changes in the expression of signaling pathway components, cytokines, and autophagy. Additional studies with naloxone challenge (n = 10) and cells were carried out to evaluate the potential mechanisms underlying the effects of SOG. Results: Continuous intrathecal SOG administration increased the PWT with p38/JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and NF-κB signaling pathway inhibition, which induced a reduction in proinflammatory cytokines with the concomitant downregulation of autophagy. Conclusions: SOG alleviates mechanical allodynia, and its mechanism is thought to be related to the regulation of p38/JNK MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, associated with autophagy during neuroinflammatory processes after SNL.