• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.181-190
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• 2020

Protein phosphatase 4 (PP4), one of serine/threonine phosphatases, is involved in many critical cellular pathways, including DNA damage response (DNA repair, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis), tumorigenesis, cell migration, immune response, stem cell development, glucose metabolism, and diabetes. PP4 has been steadily studied over the past decade about wide spectrum of physiological activities in cells. Given the many vital functions in cells, PP4 has great potential to develop into the finding of key working mechanisms and effective treatments for related diseases such as cancer and diabetes. In this review, we provide an overview of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which PP4 impacts and also discuss the functional significance of it in cell health.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.673-684
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• 2022

The past two decades have witnessed an upsurge in the appreciation of adipose tissue (AT) as an immunometabolic hub harbouring heterogeneous cell populations that collectively fine-tune systemic metabolic homeostasis. Technological advancements, especially single-cell transcriptomics, have offered an unprecedented opportunity for dissecting the sophisticated cellular networks and compositional dynamics underpinning AT remodelling. The "re-discovery" of functional brown adipose tissue dissipating heat energy in human adults has aroused tremendous interest in exploiting the mechanisms underpinning the engagement of AT thermogenesis for combating human obesity. In this review, we aim to summarise and evaluate the use of single-cell transcriptomics that contribute to a better appreciation of the cellular plasticity and intercellular crosstalk in thermogenic AT.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.90-100
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• 1985

The present study was designed to investigate cellular regulation of phosphate metabolism between catabolically repressed and derepressed states in yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum). The activities of various phospatases and the contents of phosphate compounds were detected according to the culture phase and various phosphate concentrations. As the results, Saccharomyces uvarum derepressed many phosphate metabolizing enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase and ATPase more than ten fold simultaneously during catabolic repression (phospgate and sugar starvation). At the same state, the amounts of orthophosphate, nucleotidic labile phosphate and acid soluble polypgosphate were increased, compared to basal levels of normally cultivated cells. $Mg^{++}-stimulated$ type among all phospatases was appeared to have most of the enzyme activity. It could be postulated that $K^+ -stimulated$ alkaline phosphatase was directly or indirectly correlated with the synthesis of acid insoluble polyphosphate $Mg^{++}-stimulated$ phosphatase with the degradation of polyphosphates. In case of cultivation in the medium supplemented with sugar and phosphate (catabolic derepression), phospgatase activities except for alkaline phosphatase were decreased rapidly through the progressive batch culture, After 12 hrs culture, at early exponential phase, the cellular accumulation of acid insoluble polyphosphate increased about 5 fold, compared to those of the starved cells. Under catabolic repression, it could be postulated that intracellular phosphate metabolism was regulated by derepressions of phosphatases. The function of polyphosphate system was shown to compensate the ATP/ADP system as phosphate donor and energy source especially during catabolic repression.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

About 20 chemical elements are nutritionally essential for humans with defined molecular functions. Several essential and nonessential biometals are either functional nutrients with antidiabetic actions or can be diabetogenic. A key question remains whether changes in the metabolism of biometals and biominerals are a consequence of diabetes or are involved in its etiology. Exploration of the roles of zinc (Zn) in this regard is most revealing because 80 years of scientific discoveries link zinc and diabetes. In pancreatic ${\beta}$- and ${\alpha}$-cells, zinc has specific functions in the biochemistry of insulin and glucagon. When zinc ions are secreted during vesicular exocytosis, they have autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine roles. The membrane protein ZnT8 transports zinc ions into the insulin and glucagon granules. ZnT8 has a risk allele that predisposes the majority of humans to developing diabetes. In target tissues, increased availability of zinc enhances the insulin response by inhibiting protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, which controls the phosphorylation state of the insulin receptor and hence downstream signalling. Inherited diseases of zinc metabolism, environmental exposures that interfere with the control of cellular zinc homeostasis, and nutritional or conditioned zinc deficiency influence the pathobiochemistry of diabetes. Accepting the view that zinc is one of the many factors in multiple gene-environment interactions that cause the functional demise of ${\beta}$-cells generates an immense potential for treating and perhaps preventing diabetes. Personalized nutrition, bioactive food, and pharmaceuticals targeting the control of cellular zinc in precision medicine are among the possible interventions.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.560-567
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• 2008

The importance of lipids in cell signaling and tissue physiology is demonstrated by the many CNS pathologies involving deregulated lipid metabolism. One such critical metabolic event is the activation of phospholipase $A_2$ ($PLA_2$), which results in the hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids and the release of free fatty acids, including arachidonic acid, a precursor for essential cell-signaling eicosanoids. Reactive oxygen species (ROS, a product of arachidonic acid metabolism) react with cellular lipids to generate lipid peroxides, which are degraded to reactive aldehydes (oxidized phospholipid, 4-hydroxynonenal, and acrolein) that bind covalently to proteins, thereby altering their function and inducing cellular damage. Dissecting the contribution of $PLA_2$ to lipid peroxidation in CNS injury and disorders is a challenging proposition due to the multiple forms of $PLA_2$, the diverse sources of ROS, and the lack of specific $PLA_2$ inhibitors. In this review, we summarize the role of $PLA_2$ in CNS pathologies, including stroke, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple sclerosis-Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and Wallerian degeneration.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.342-355
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• 2021

The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor family (MiT family) proteins are evolutionarily conserved transcription factors that perform many essential biological functions. In mammals, the MiT family consists of MITF (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor or melanocyte-inducing transcription factor), TFEB (transcription factor EB), TFE3 (transcription factor E3), and TFEC (transcription factor EC). These transcriptional factors belong to the basic helix-loop-helix-leucine zipper (bHLH-LZ) transcription factor family and bind the E-box DNA motifs in the promoter regions of target genes to enhance transcription. The best studied functions of MiT proteins include lysosome biogenesis and autophagy induction. In addition, they modulate cellular metabolism, mitochondria dynamics, and various stress responses. The control of nuclear localization via phosphorylation and dephosphorylation serves as the primary regulatory mechanism for MiT family proteins, and several kinases and phosphatases have been identified to directly determine the transcriptional activities of MiT proteins. In different immune cell types, each MiT family member is shown to play distinct or redundant roles and we expect that there is far more to learn about their functions and regulatory mechanisms in host defense and inflammatory responses.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 1998

This study was designed to examine how dietary protein levels affect organ growth and protein metabolism in early and normally weaned rats. Early and normally weaned rats separated fro the dam on the 15th and 121st day postpartum, respectively. were fed diets containing three levels of protein : low(10%) , normal (20%),and high(40%) . On the 35th day, the weight and DNA, RNA and protein contents in brain , liver, and kidney were determined to ascertain organ and cellular growth. Furthermore, serum total protein , albumin , $\alpha$-amino N and creatine and urinary urea N, and creatinine were determined in order to ascertain protein metabolism and renal functions. Dietary protein levels were not observed to significantly affect total DNA content, which may represent an index of cell number in the liver, brain and kidney. Fresh weight and protein/DNA ratio, which may represent indices of cell size, significantly increased in proportion to dietary protein in the kidney. As for the early weaned rats , the liver cell size significantly decreased. Dietary protein levels and weaning periods did not affect serum total protein and albumin . However, serum urea-N significantly increased in proportion to dietary protein levels whereas serum $\alpha$-amino N was decreased by early weaning . Nitrogen retention was lower in early weaned rats fed low or high levels of protein than in normally weaned rats. The results demonstrate that low or high levels of dietary protein have less desirable effects on protein metabolism in prematurely weaned rats.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 1999

To elucidate the effect of elevated sublethal temperature ($33\pm1^{\circ}C$) on polyamine metabolism and oogenesis, we investigated alterations in the major polyamines and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and arginine decarboxylase (ADC), and ovarian development during the pupal-adult development of the tobacco budworm, Helicoverpa assulta. Ovaries ODC activity under the elevated sublethal temperature ($33\pm1^{\circ}C$) were lower than those of the optimal rearing temperature ($25\pm1^{\circ}C$). whereas ovarian ADC activity was consistently higher than the optimal rearing temperature ($25\pm1^{\circ}C$). When the gonads were exposed to the higher temperature, ovarian putrescine showed somewhat suppressed levels throughout development, indicating a relatively high correlationship with the alteration aspects in ODC or ADC activity under elevated sublethal temperature. A somewhat precocious ovary was observed in an early stage of development at $33\pm1^{\circ}C$, but cellular abnormalities occurred in this ovary. The ovary developed under elevated sublethal temperature was observed the inhibitional effect of polyamine metabolism and the abnormal development of ovariole, which seem to be related to the sterility.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.304-311
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• 2020

Methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MRS) is essential for translation. MRS mutants reduce global translation, which usually increases lifespan in various genetic models. However, we found that MRS inhibited Drosophila reduced lifespan despite of the reduced protein synthesis. Microarray analysis with MRS inhibited Drosophila revealed significant changes in inflammatory and immune response genes. Especially, the expression of anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) genes was reduced. When we measured the expression levels of AMP genes during aging, those were getting increased in the control flies but reduced in MRS inhibition flies age-dependently. Interestingly, in the germ-free condition, the maximum lifespan was increased in MRS inhibition flies compared with that of the conventional condition. These findings suggest that the lifespan of MRS inhibition flies is reduced due to the down-regulated AMPs expression in Drosophila.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1222-1228
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• 1998

Stress will induce various changes in human metabolism. The remarkable phenomenon of these changes is increased energy metabolism that can induce many reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. ROS can peroxidize cellular macromolecules including lipid and protein. The object of this study was to investigate that stress may induce cellular damage by producing ROS and that Rooibos tea can protect cells against reactive oxygen species by immobilization stress in SD rat. The stress group significantly increased in 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), one of the stress hormone. Rooibos tea treatment had no effects on 5-HIAA contents, but body weight of Rooibos tea treated rat more increased than that of only the stress group. It was suggested that Rooibos tea colud not affect stress response itself, but protect against the another mechanism. We thought that the oxidative damage was caused by increased energy metabolism. Protein degradation level and lipid peroxide formation on index of oxidative damage significantly increased in the stress group. But the stress-induced activity change could not be observed in antioxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase. But the catalase activity of the brain significantly was inhibited by the stress. From these results, it was suggested that the immobilization stress induce the brain oxidative damage. However the oxidative damage was inhibited by feeding Rooibos tea containing various antioxidants, such as polyphenol, flavonoid and so on. Therefore, Rooibos tea have the protective effects against the stress caused by the ROS mediated cellular damage.