• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.1679-1684
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• 2009

Opuntia humifusa, widely distributed in the southern regions of the Korean peninsula, is known to have bioactive functions and medicinal benefits for treating various diseases such as arteriosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, gastritis, and hyperglycemia. In this study total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of fruit and its anticarcinogenic effects on human breast cancer were investigated. As expected, O. humifusa showed high concentrations of total polyphenol as well as flavonoid as compared to other kinds of cactus. Effects of the water extracts of O. humifusa on the proliferation, G1 arrest and apoptosis of the MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were also examined using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays, and G1 cycle arrest and apoptotic effect of O. humifusa were analyzed by flow cytometry. When MCF-7 cells were treated with different concentrations of hexane, ethyl acetate and water extracts of O. humifusa, water extracts of the fruit significantly decreased viable cell numbers in a concentration dependent manner. A G1 arrest in MCF-7 cells was induced as well. The overall results indicate that water extracts of fruit of O. humifusa would inhibit MCF-7 human breast cancer cell proliferation and induce G1 arrest.

• THE JOURNAL OF KOREAN ORIENTAL ONCOLOGY
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.67-79
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• 2000

Objective : Hedyotis diffusa has been used as an anticancer agent for several decades in oriental medicine. We test whether the methanol extract of the herb affects transcriptional activation factors including $NF-{\kappa}B$ and AP-1. Methods : 1. HL-60 cells were treated with various concentrations(from 200 to $50{\mu}g/ml$) of methanol extract and $H_2O$ extract($200{\mu}g/ml$)of hedyotis diffusa, After 48h later, the cells were tested for viability by MTT assay. 2. The HL-60 cells were treated with $200{\mu}g/ml$ of methanol extract for the indicated periods. First. Nuclear extracts were isolated and incubated with oligonucleotide probe of $NF-{\kappa}B$ and AP-1. Second. Nuclear extracts were isolated and reacted with p50, p65. c-rel pan-Jun, c-Jun, JunB. JunD antibody on ice for 30min. Finally The cell lysates were prepared and analyzed by western blotting using anti-Fas, anti-FasL and anti-p53 antibody. Results : 1. The methanol extract decreases the viability of human lymphoid origin leukemia HL-60 cells in a dose-dependent manner. 2. $NF-{\kappa}B$ is rapidly activated by the addition of the methanol extract, reaches a peak at 30min and gradually returns to resting level. We confirm that $NF-{\kappa}B$ is a heterodimer mainly composed of p65 subunit with c-Rel. 3. Transcriptional activation of AP-1 is detected at 30min and reaches a maximum at 1hr after stimulation of the cells with the methanol extract. AP-1 is mainly composed with Jur-D and partially Jug-B proteins. 4. the methanol extract of Hedyotis diffusa induces the expression of Fas, Fas ligand and p53 proteins of HL-60 cells in a time dependent fashion. Conclusions : These results suggest that the methanol extract of Hedyotis diffusa exerts anticancer effects to induce the death of human leukomic HL-60 cells via activation of trascriptional factors such as $NF-{\kappa}B$ and AP-1, increase in expression of Fas mediated signalling proteins, and induction of tumor suppressor gene. p53.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.461-472
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• 2004

Objectives : For the screening of neuroprotective effects of medicinal herbs, the complex system of animal models suffer some disadvantages in controlling critical parameters such as blood pressure and body temperature. Additionally, application of drugs to the appropriate brain area sometimes is difficult, due to poor permeability though the blood brain barrier, and so potential protective effects might be masked. Methods : Organotypic hippocampal slice culture (OHSC) method has the advantages of being relatively easy to prepare and of maintaining the general structure, including tissue integrity and the connections between cells. Drugs can easily be applied and neuronal damage can easily be quantified by using tissues and culture media. This study demonstrates neuroprotective effects of Puerariae radix (葛根, PR), Salviae miltiorrhizae radix (丹蔘, SR), Rhei rhizoma (大黃, RR), and Bupleuri radix (柴胡, BR). These were screenedand compared to MK-801, antagonist of NMDA receptors, by using OHSC of 1 week-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD) were conducted in an anaerobic chamber $(85%\;N_2,\;10%\;CO_2\;and\;5%\;H_2)$ in a deoxygenated glucose-free medium for 60 minutes. Water extracts of each herbs were treated to culture media with $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ for 48 hours. Results : Neuronal cell death in the cultures was monitored by densitometric measurements of the cellular uptake of propidium iodide (PI). PI fluorescence images were obtained at 48 hours after the OGD and medicinal herb treatment. Also TUNEL-positive cells in the CAI and DG regions and LDH concentrations in culture media were measured at 48 hours after the OGD. According to measured data, MK-801, PR, SR and BR demonstrated significant neuroprotective effect against excessive neuronal cell death and apoptosis induced by the OGD insult. Especially, PR revealed similar neuroprotective effect to MK-801 and RR demonstrated weak neuroprotective effect. Conclusions : These results suggest that OHSC can be a suitable method for screening of neuroprotective effects of medicinal herbs. (This work was supported by the research program of Dongguk University and Grant 01-PJ9-PG1-01CO03-0003 from Ministry of Health & Welfare.)

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4067-4073
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• 2012

Obesity is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer. Pioglitazone is a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor$receptor{\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) agonist that induces differentiation in adipocytes and induces growth arrest and/or apoptosis in vitro in several cancer cell lines. In the present study, we investigated the effect of pioglitazone on the development of azoxymethane-induced colon aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in KK-$A^{\mathcal{Y}}$ obesity and diabetes model mice, and tried to clarify mechanisms by which the $PPAR{\gamma}$ ligand inhibits ACF development. Administration of 800 ppm pioglitazone reduced the number of colon ACF/mouse to 30% of those in untreated mice and improved hypertrophic changes of adipocytes in KK-$A^{\mathcal{Y}}$ mice with significant reduction of serum triglyceride and insulin levels. Moreover, mRNA levels of adipocytokines, such as leptin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, in the visceral fat were decreased. PCNA immunohistochemistry revealed that pioglitazone treatment suppressed cell proliferation in the colorectal epithelium with elevation of p27 and p53 gene expression. These results suggest that pioglitazone prevented obesity-associated colon carcinogenesis through improvement of dysregulated adipocytokine levels and high serum levels of triglyceride and insulin, and increase of p27 and p53 mRNA levels in the colorectal mucosa. These data indicate that pioglitazone warrants attention as a potential chemopreventive agent against obesity-associated colorectal cancer.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.770-776
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and anti-cancer activities of squash leaf extract (SLE) in vitro. The total polyphenol and flavonoid levels of SLE were 263.4 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g and 73.6 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g, respectively. The radical-scavenging activity of SLE at the concentration of 300 ${\mu}g/mL$ was 69.4%. SLE significantly inhibited human cancer cell growth (by 60.6-87.9% in HCT116 colon cancer cells and by 73.4-86.4% in H1299 lung cancer cells at the concentrations of 37.5, 75, and 150 ${\mu}g/mL$) and attachment (by 28.4% in HCT116 and by 16.8% in H1299 at the concentration of 150 ${\mu}g/mL$). SLE also altered nucleus morphology and increased nuclear staining intensity (by 42.8-58.2% in HCT116 and by 25.5-32.9% in H1299 at the concentrations of 37.5 and 75 ${\mu}g/mL$), indicating its apoptosis-inducing activity. These results demonstrate the antioxidant and anti-cancer activities of SLE in vitro.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5271-5276
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• 2014

Mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 3 (MEKK3) is an important protein kinase and a member of the MAPK family, which regulates cellular responses to environmental stress and serves as key integration points along the signal transduction cascade that not only link diverse extracellular stimuli to subsequent signaling molecules but also amplify the initiating signals to ultimately activate effector molecules and induce cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. To explore the relationship between MEKK3 and cell apoptosis, clinicopathology and prognosis, we characterize the expression of MEKK3 and survivin in cervical cancer. MEKK3 and survivin expression was measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting of fresh surgical resections from 30 cases of cervical cancer and 25 cases of chronic cervicitis. Protein expression was detected by tissue microarray and immunochemistry (En Vision) in 107 cases of cervical cancer, 86 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 35 cases of chronic cervicitis. Expression patterns were analyzed for their association with clinicopathological factors and prognosis in cervical cancer. Expression of MEKK3 and survivin mRNA was significantly higher in cervical cancer than in the controls (p<0.05). MEKK3 and survivin expression differed significantly between cervical carcinoma, CIN, and cervicitis (p<0.05) and correlated with clinical stage, infiltration depth, and lymph node metastasis (p<0.05). MEKK3 expression was positively correlated with survivin (p<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that MEKK3 and survivin expression, lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion, and FIGO stage reduce cumulative survival. Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that MEKK3, survivin, and clinical staging are independent prognostic factors in cervical cancer (p<0.05). Expression of MEKK3 and survivin are significantly increased in cervical cancer, their overexpression participating in the occurrence and development of cervical cancer, with protein expression and clinical staging acting as independent prognostic factors for patients with cervical cancer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.1550-1557
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• 2018

Objective: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newfound class of non-coding RNA in animals and plants. Recent studies have revealed that circRNAs play important roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, autophagy and apoptosis during development. However, there are few reports about muscle development-related circRNAs in livestock. Methods: RNA sequencing analysis was employed to identify and annotate circRNAs from longissimus dorsi of sheep. Reverse transcription followed by real-time quantitative (q) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis verified the presence of these circRNAs. Targetscan7.0 and miRanda were used to analyse the interaction of circRNA-microRNA (miRNA). To investigate the function of circRNAs, an experiment was conducted to perform enrichment analysis hosting genes of circRNAs using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways. Results: About 75.5 million sequences were obtained from RNA libraries of sheep skeletal muscle. These sequences were mapped to 729 genes in the sheep reference genome. We identified 886 circRNAs, including numerous circular intronic RNAs and exonic circRNAs. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and DNA sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of several circRNAs. Real-Time RT-PCR analysis exhibited resistance of sheep circRNAs to RNase R digestion. We found that many circRNAs interacted with muscle-specific miRNAs involved in growth and development of muscle, especially circ776. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that hosting genes of circRNAs was involved in muscle cell development and signaling pathway. Conclusion: The study provides comprehensive expression profiles of circRNAs in sheep skeletal muscle. Our study offers a large number of circRNAs to facilitate a better understanding of their roles in muscle growth. Meanwhile, we suggested that circ776 could be analyzed in future study.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2006

Background: Calcineurin plays a crucial role in T cell activation, cell growth, apoptosis, and angiogenesis, and its over-expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy and stroke. However, the expression and function of calcineurin in the pathologic lesion of chronic inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid synovium, remain to be defined. This study was aimed to determine the role of calcineurin in inflammatory arthritis and investigate the expression and function of calcineurin in the rheumatoid synovium and synoviocytes, the actual site of chronic inflammation. Methods: Immuno-histochemical staining using specific antibody to calcineurin was perfomed in the synovium of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) from RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients were isolated from RA and OA patients, and cultured with IL-1${\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ in the presence or absence of cyclosporin A, a calcineurin inhibitor. The calcineurin expression was assessed by phosphatase assay and Western blotting analysis. IL-6, -10, -17, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -3, and -9 released into the culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. After transfection with GFP-Cabin 1 gene into synoviocytes, the levels of IL-6 and MMPs were measured by ELISA. Results: Calcineurin was highly expressed in the lining layer of synovium and cultured synoviocytes of RA patients. The elevated calcineurin activity in the rheumatoid synoviocytes was triggered by proin flammatory cytokines such as IL-1${\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$. In contrast, IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, failed to increase the calcineurin activity. The targeted inhibition of calcineurin by the over-expression of Cabin 1, a natural calcineurin antagonist, inhibited the production of IL-6 and MMP-2 by rheumatoid synoviocytes in a similar manner to the calcineurin inhibitor, cyclosporin A. Conclusion: These data suggest that abnormal activation of calcineurin in the synoviocytes may contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic arthritis, and thus provide a potential target for controlling inflammatory arthritis.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.101-109
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• 2016

Objectives : HT070 is a mixture of herbal extracts from root of Scutellaria baicalensis and stem bark of Eleutherococcus senticosus , which have long been used for stroke therapy in traditional Korean Medicine. The purpose of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of HT070 on global cerebral ischemia and its potential mechanisms.Methods : Transient global cerebral ischemia was produced by 10 min of four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) in male Wistar rats. HT070 was administered orally at a dosage of 200 mg/kg twice at 0 and 90 min after reperfusion. Hippocampal neuronal damage was measured 7 days after reperfusion. To explore the potential mechanisms, we used hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells as an in vitro model. PC12 cells were pretreated with HT070 for 1 h and then exposed to 100 μM H₂O₂ for 6 h in the presence of HT070. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay and the mRNA expression of Bax, Bcl-2, iNOS and COX-2 were measured by quantitative RT-PCR.Results : Oral administration of HT070 at a dose of 200 mg/kg significantly reduced neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region by 13.4% as compared to the vehicle-treated group. HT070 increased cell viability, reversed the down-regulated Bcl-2 mRNA level, and suppressed the up-regulated mRNA expressions of Bax, iNOS, and COX-2 in H₂O₂-treated PC12 cells.Conclusions : HT070 protects against delayed neuronal death after global cerebral ischemia and its neuroprotection properties might be attributed to the inhibition of mitochondrial apoptosis and ROS-generating enzymes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.212-218
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• 2010

Zinc finger-containing transcription factors are the largest single family of transcriptional regulators in mammals, which play an essential role in cell differentiation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and neoplastic transformation. Here we have cloned a novel KRAB-related zinc finger gene, ZNF424, encoding a protein of 555aa. ZNF424 gene consisted of 4 exons and 3 introns, and mapped to chromosome 19p13.3. ZNF424 gene was ubiquitously expressed in human embryo tissues by Northern blot analysis. ZNF424 is conserved across species in evolution. Using a GFP-labeled ZNF424 protein, we demonstrate that ZNF424 localizes mostly in the nucleus. Transcriptional activity assays shows ZNF424 suppresses transcriptional activity of L8G5-luciferase. Overexpression of ZNF424 in HEK-293 cells inhibited the transcriptional activity of NFAT and p21, which may be silenced by siRNA. The results suggest that ZNF424 protein may act as a transcriptional repressor that suppresses NFAT and p21 pathway to mediate cellular functions.