• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.183-188
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• 2002

The ohmic heating of foods for sterilization provides a shorter come-up time compared to conventional thermal processes. The electric fields as well as the heat generated by ohmic heating facilitate germicidal effects. In the present study, the effect of ohmic heating on the structure and permeability of the cell membrane of yeast cells, Saccharomyces cerevisae, isolated from Takju (a traditional Korean rice-beer), was investigated. The ohmic heating was found to translocate intracellular protein materials out of the cell wall, and the amount of exuded protein increased significantly as the electric field increased from 10 to 20 V/cm. As higher frequencies were applied, more materials were exuded. Compared to conventional heating, more amounts of proteins and nucleic acids were exuded when these cells were treated with ohmic heating. The molecular weights of the major exuded proteins ranged from 14 kDa to 18 kDa, as analyzed by Tricine-SDS PAGE. A TEM study also confirmed the leakage of cellular materials, thus indicating irreversible damage to the cell wall by ohmic heating. It was, therefore, concluded that the electric fields generated by ohmic heating induced electroporation, causing irreversible damage to the yeast cell wall and promoting the translocation of intracellular materials.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.4893-4898
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• 2016

Objective: To investigate the impact of a Croton tiglium extract on cellular proliferation and apoptosis in a non-small cell lung cancer cell line (A549) in vitro. Methods: A Croton tiglium seed methanol extract was prepare and assessed for effects on A549 cells regarding cellular proliferation, apoptotic rates, and expression of apoptosis related genes and proteins using real-time PCR and immunofluorescence. Results: The tested Croton tiglium extract inhibited A549 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with significant elevation of apoptotic indexes at various concentrations after 24 h. In addition, rates in both early and late stages were higher in treated than untreated groups, the $100{\mu}g/ml$ dose causing the highest levels of apoptosis. RT-PCR showed that A549 cells treated with $100{\mu}g/ml$ Croton tiglium extract for 24 h has markedly higher Bax mRNA expression levels and obviously lower Bcl-2 expression levels than controls, equivalent results being observed for proteins by immunofluorescence. However, the mRNA expression levels of Fas and caspase-8 were not significantly altered. Conclusion: A Croton tiglium extract can inhibit proliferation of A549 cells and promote apoptosis though Bax/Bcl-2 pathways.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1198-1203
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• 2007

Conidial adhesion and appressorium formation of Magnaporthe oryzae on the rice surface are important early events in the infection process. As an initiative step to understand the mechanisms underlying these cellular processes at a biochemical level, the effect of a human fibronectin antibody (HFA) and RGD peptides on conidial adhesion and appressorium formation was evaluated. HFA inhibited conidial adhesion and appressorium formation in a dosage-dependent manner. RGD peptides also inhibited these cellular events. Conidial adhesion and appressorium formation inhibited by RGD peptides were restored by chemicals involved in the cyclic AMP-dependent signaling pathway. These results suggest that extracellular matrix proteins might be involved in conidial adhesion and appressorium formation through integrin-like receptor mediation and modulation of cAMP-dependent signaling in the cells.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.125-137
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• 2013

Promising evidence suggests that amyloid beta peptide ($A{\beta}$), a key mediator in age-dependent neuronal and cerebrovascular degeneration, activates death signalling processes leading to neuronal as well as non-neuronal cell death in the central nervous system. A major cellular event in $A{\beta}$-induced apoptosis of non-neuronal cells, including cerebral endothelial cells, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, is mitochondrial dysfunction. The apoptosis signalling cascade upstream of mitochondria entails $A{\beta}$ activation of neutral sphingomyelinase, resulting in the release of ceramide from membrane sphingomyelin. Ceramide then activates protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a member in the ceramide-activated protein phosphatase (CAPP) family. PP2A dephosphorylation of Akt and FKHRL1 plays a pivotal role in $A{\beta}$-induced Bad translocation to mitochondria and transactivation of Bim. Bad and Bim are pro-apoptotic proteins that cause mitochondrial dysfunction characterized by excessive ROS formation, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage, and release of mitochondrial apoptotic proteins including cytochrome c, apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), endonuclease G and Smac. The cellular events activated by $A{\beta}$ to induce death of non-neuronal cells are complex. Understanding these apoptosis signalling processes will aid in the development of more effective strategies to slow down age-dependent cerebrovascular degeneration caused by progressive cerebrovascular $A{\beta}$ deposition.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.370-378
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• 2007

Mechanical stimulation is known to activate several cellular signal transduction pathways, leading to the induction of signaling molecules and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, thereby modulating cellular activities, such as proliferation and survival. In this study, primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) were seeded onto chitosan-based scaffolds, and then cultured for 3 weeks in a bioreactor under a cyclic strain of 1 Hz frequency. Compared to control samples cultured under static conditions, the application of a cyclic strain stimulated the proliferation of HDFs in I week, and by week 3 the thickness of the cell/scaffold composites increased 1.56 fold. Moreover, immunohistochemical staining of the culture media obtained from the cell/scaffold samples subjected to the cyclic strain, revealed increases in the expression and secretion of ECM proteins, such as fibronectin and collagen. These results suggest that the preconditioning of cell/scaffold composites with a cyclic strain may enhance the proliferation of HDFs, and even facilitate integration of the engineered artificial dermal tissue into the host graft site.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.313-321
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• 2018

Anti-cancer drug resistance is a major problem in colorectal cancer (CRC) research. Although several studies have revealed the mechanism of cancer drug resistance, molecular targets for chemotherapeutic combinations remain elusive. To address this issue, we focused on the expression of cellular prion protein ($PrP^C$) in 5-FU-resistant CRC cells. In 5-FU-resistant CRC cells, $PrP^C$ expression is significantly increased, compared with that in normal CRC cells. In the presence of 5-FU, $PrP^C$ increased CRC cell survival and proliferation by maintaining the activation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and the expression of cell cycle-associated proteins, including cyclin E, CDK2, cyclin D1, and CDK4. In addition, $PrP^C$ inhibited the activation of the stress-associated proteins p38, JNK, and p53. Moreover, after treatment of 5-FU-resistant CRC cells with 5-FU, silencing of $PrP^C$ triggered apoptosis via the activation of caspase-3. These results indicate that $PrP^C$ plays a key role in CRC drug resistance. The novel strategy of combining chemotherapy with $PrP^C$ targeting may yield efficacious treatments of colorectal cancer.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.12
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• pp.807-812
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• 2010

$NF{\kappa}B$ and ZAS3 are transcription factors that control important cellular processes including immunity, cell survival and apoptosis. Although both proteins bind the ${\kappa}B$-motif, they produce opposite physiological consequences; $NF{\kappa}B$ activates transcription, promotes cell growth and is often found to be constitutively expressed in cancer cells, while ZAS3 generally represses transcription, inhibits cell proliferation and is downregulated in some cancers. Here, we show that ZAS3 inhibits $NF{\kappa}B$-dependent transcription by competing with $NF{\kappa}B$ for the ${\kappa}B$-motif. Transient transfection studies show that N-terminal 645 amino acids is sufficient to repress transcription activated by $NF{\kappa}B$, and that the identical region also possesses intrinsic repression activity to inhibit basal transcription from a promoter. Finally, in vitro DNA-protein interaction analysis shows that ZAS3 is able to displace $NF{\kappa}B$ by competing with $NF{\kappa}B$ for the ${\kappa}B$-motif. It is conceivable that ZAS3 has therapeutic potential for controlling aberrant activation of $NF{\kappa}B$ in various diseases.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.118-125
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• 2012

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) play a key role in the cellular defense response to diverse environmental stresses. Here, the role of Hsp genes in the acquisition of thermotolerance in the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-298 was investigated. Twelve Hsp-related genes were examined to observe their modulated expression patterns at different temperatures (10, 15, 25, and $35^{\circ}C$) over different exposure periods. HspA and HtpG transcripts showed an up-regulation of expression at low temperatures (10 and $15^{\circ}C$) and high temperature ($35^{\circ}C$), compared with the control ($25^{\circ}C$). To examine their effects upon thermotolerance, we purified recombinant HspA and HtpG proteins. During a thermotolerance study at $54^{\circ}C$, the HspA-transformed bacteria showed increased thermotolerance compared with the control. HtpG also played a role in the defense response to acute heat stress within 30 min. These findings provide a better understanding of cellular protection mechanisms against heat stress in cyanobacteria.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2005

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is an autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of the polyglutamine tract in the SCA1 gene product, ataxin-1. Using d2EGFP, a short-lived enhanced green fluorescent protein, we investigated whether polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1 affects the function of the proteasome, a cellular multicatalytic protease that degrades most misfolded proteins and regulatory proteins. In Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence experiments, d2EGFP was less degraded in HEK 293T cells transfected with ataxin-1(82Q) than in cells transfected with lacZ or empty vector controls. To test whether the stability of the d2EGFP protein was due to aggregation of ataxin-1, we constructed a plasmid carrying $ataxin-1-{\Delta}114$, lacking the self-association region (SAR), and examined degradation of the d2EGFP. Both the level of $ataxin-1-{\Delta}114$ aggregates and the amount of d2EGFP were drastically reduced in cells containing $ataxin-1-{\Delta}114$. Furthermore, d2EGFP localization experiments showed that polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1 inhibited the general function of the proteasome activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1 decreases the activity of the proteasome, implying that a disturbance in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is directly involved in the development of spinocerebellar ataxia type1.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.113-118
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• 2016

An FDA approved drug for the treatment of type II diabetes, Troglitazone (TRO), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist, is withdrawn due to severe idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity. In the search for new applications of TRO, we investigated the cellular effects of TRO on YD15 tongue carcinoma cells. TRO suppressed the growth of YD15 cells in the MTT assay. The inhibition of cell growth was accompanied by the induction of cell cycle arrest at $G_0/G_1$ and apoptosis, which are confirmed by flow cytometry and western blotting. TRO also suppressed the expression of cell cycle proteins such as cyclin D1, cdk2, cdk4, cyclin B1, cdk1(or cdc2), cyclin E1 and cyclin A. The inhibition of cell cycle proteins was coincident with the up-regulation of $p21^{CIP1/WAF1}$ and $p27^{KIP1}$. In addition, TRO induces the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-7, as well as the cleavage of PARP. Further, TRO suppressed the expressions of Bcl-2 without affecting the expressions of Bad and Bax. Overall, our data supports that TRO induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis on YD15 cells.