• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.74-82
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• 2005

Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are thioloxidoreductases which are required for maintaining thiol/disulfide equilibrium in living cells. The Grx3 gene, which encodes one of the three monothiol Grxs in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, was characterized, and its transcriptional regulation studied. Genomic DNA encoding Grx3 was isolated by PCR, and a plasmid pTT3 carrying this DNA was produced. The DNA sequence has 1,267 bp, which would encode a monothiol Grx of 166 amino acids with a molecular mass of 18.3 kDa. The putative protein has 27% homology with Grx5, and contains many hydrophobic amino acid residues in its N-terminal region. S. pombe cells harboring pTT3 had increased Grx activity and enhanced survival on minimal medium plates containing aluminum (5 mM), BSO (0.05 mM), menadione (0.01 mM) or cadmium (0.2 mM). The 568 bp upstream region of Grx3 was fused into the promoterless b-galactosidase gene of the shuttle vector YEp367R to generate fusion plasmid pMJS10. Potassium chloride (KCl) and metals including aluminum and cadmium enhanced the synthesis of ${\beta}$-galactosidase from the fusion gene. The synthesis of ${\beta}$-galactosidase was also enhanced, in a Pap1-dependent manner, by fermentable carbon sources such as glucose (at low concentrations) and sucrose, but not by non-fermentable carbon sources such as ethanol and acetate. Grx3 mRNA increased in response to treatment with BSO. These observations indicate that S. pombe Grx3 is involved in the response to stress, and is regulated by stress.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.238-254
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• 1994

Cyclosporine A is an immunosuppressant commonly used for patients receiving organ transplants. Gingival overgrowth is an adverse side-effect seen in about 8-26% of patients taking cyclosporine A which have been shown to increase the DNA synthesis of gingival fibroblast at the concentration of $10^{-9}g/ml$ in vitro. Glycyrrhetinic acid is the active pharmacological ingredients of licorice which exerts steroid-like action and anti-viral activity. Oleanolic acid, which were isolated from Glechoma hederacea, has been shown to act as inhibitors of tumor promotion in vivo and to be less cytotoxic retinoic acid. This study has been performed to evaluate the effects of glycyrrhetinic acid and oleanolic acid on cyclosporine A induced cell activity in vitro. Human gingival fibroblasts were isolated from explant cultures of healthy gingiva of orthodontic patients. Gingival fibroblasts were trypsinized and transferred to the walls of microtest plates. Fibroblasts were cultured in growth medium added $10^{-9}g/ml$ cyclosporineA and $50{\mu}l/ml$ lipopolysaccharides. Cells between the 4th and 6th transfer in culture were used for this study. The morphology of gingival fibroblst were examined by inverted microscope. The effects of cyclosporine A on the time course of DNA sythesis by human gingival fibroblasts were assessed by $[^3H]-thymidine$ uptake assays. Cyclosporine A was found to stimulate DNA synthesis of human gingival fibroblast at a concentration of $10^{-9}g/ml$. In the presence of lipopolysaccharide derived from Fusobacterium nucleatum, addition of cyclosporine A results in reversal of inhibition at the concentration which normally inhibits gingival fibroblast proliferation. The cell acitivities in the presence of glycyrrhetinic acid and oleanolic acid were decreased, and increased cell acitivities by cyclosporine A were decreased by glycyrrhetinic acid and oleanolic acid at the concentration of $200{\mu}g/ml$. These results suggested that the increased cell activities by cyclosporine A modulated by glycyrrhetinic acid and oleanolic acid.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2006

Tamoxifen (TAM), a non-steroidal anti estrogen anticancer drug and chemopreventive agent for breast cancer, have caused cholestasis in liver. The potent hepatocarcinogenicity of this drug has been reported. Methotrexate (MTX) is dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor which interfaces with the synthesis for urine nucleotide and dTMP. And it may cause atrophy, necrosis and steatosis in liver. These two anticancer drug have well-known hepatotoxicity. So, in this study we compare the gene expression pattern of antitumor agent TAM and MTX, using the cDNA microarray. We have used 4.8 K cDNA microarray to identify hepatotoxicity-related genes in 5-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Confirm the pattern of gene expression, we have used Real time PCR for targeted gene. In the case of MTX, Protease related gene (Ctse, Ctsk) and Protein kinase (Pctk 1) have shown specific expression pattern. And in the case of TAM, apoptosis related gene (Pdcd 8) and signal transduction related gene (kdr) have significantly up regulated during treatment time. Gene related with growth factor, lipid synthesis, chemokins were significantly changed. From the result of this study, the information about influence of TAM and MTX to hepatoxicity will provide.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.198-204
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• 2004

Tumor cell proliferation is considered to be a useful prognostic indicator of tumor aggressiveness and tumor response to therapy but in vitro measurement of individual proliferation is complex and tedious work. PET imaging provides a noninvasive approach to measure tumor growth rate in situ. Early approaches have used $^{18}F$-FDG or methionine to monitor proliferation status. These 2 tracers detect changes in glucose and amino acid metabolism, respectively, and therefore provide only an indirect measure of proliferation status. More recent studies have focused on DNA synthesis itself as a marker of cell proliferation. Cell lines and tissues with a high proliferation rate require high rates of DNA synthesis. $[^{11}C]Thymidine$ was the first radiotracer for noninvasive imaging of tumor proliferation. The short half-life of $^{11}C$ and rapid metabolism of $[^{11}C]Thymidine$ in vivo make the radiotracer less suitable for routing use. Halogenated thymidine analogs such as 5-iodo-2-deoxyuridine (IUdR) can be successfully used as cell proliferation markers for in vitro studies because these compounds are rapidly incorporated into newly synthesized DNA. IUdR has been evaluated as a potential in vivo tracer in nuclear medicing but the image qualify and the calculation of proliferation rates are impaired by its rapid in vivo degradation. Hence, the thymidine analog $3'-deoxy-3'-^{18}F-fluorothymidine$ (FLT) was recently introduced as a stable proliferation marker with a suitable nuclide half-life and stable in vivo. $[^{18}F]FLT$ is phosphorylated to 3-fluorothymidine monophosphate by thymidine kinase 1 and reflects thymidine kinase 1 activity in proliferating cell. $[^{18}F]FLT$ PET is feasible in clincal use and well correlates with cellular proliferation. Choline is a precursor for the biosynthesis of phospholipids (in particular, phosphatidylcholine), which is the essential component of all eukaryotic cell membranes and $[^{11}C]choline$, which is a new marker for cellular proliferation.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.275-288
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• 1995

The inhibitory effect of cell wall extracts of streptococci, have been investigated to know host-parasite relationship or pathogenesis of abscess formation. Streptococci isolated from the infected root canals were sonicated to get cell wall extracts which have been known as one of the factors of pyogenesis. Lymphocytes separated by density gradient were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin and exposed to cell wall extracts of Streptococcus sanguis, S. mitis, S. uberis, S. mutans (ATCC 10449), and S. faecalis (ATCC 19433). [$^3H$]-thymidine uptake of lymphocytes was analyzed with scintillation counter and lactate dehyrogenase (LD) activity was measured with autochemistry analyzer. S. faeealis had the strongest inhibitory effect. beginning at $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ concentration of sonic extracts. S. sanguis and S. mitis had inhibitory effect at $300\;{\mu}g/ml$, while S. uberis and S. mutans showed no inhibitory, effect on DNA syntheis even at $300\;{\mu}g/ml$. Each streptococci showed different inhibitory effect on the DNA synthesis of lymphocytes, which finding indicated wide spectrum of susceptibility of lymphocytes according to streptococcus spp. There were no significant difference of LD activities between control and each streptococcal extracts. Streptococcal sonic extracts did not affect the morphological findings or number of colonies activated lymphocytes. These finding suggested the inhibitory effect of sonic extract of streptococci to lymphocytes could be detected by DNA synthesis inhibition, not by cellular membrane damage.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.503-509
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to examine the toxic effects caused by xanthine oxidase/hypoxanthine (XO/HX) and the effects of herbal extracts such as Mangeum-tang (萬金湯: MGT) and Gamimangeum-tang (加味萬金湯: GMGT) on the treatment of the toxic effects. The results of these experiments were XO/HX, an oxygen radical-generating system, decreased the survival rates of the cultured cells on XTT assay, the amount of DNA syntheses, and the amount of neurofilaments, and increased c-fos positive cells, MGT and GMGT have the efficacy of increasing the survival rates of the cultured cells by increasing the amount of neurofilaments and DNA synthesis and decreasing the c-fos positive cells damaged by XO/HX, From the above results, it is suggested that MGT and GMGT have marked efficacy as a treatment for the damages caused by the XO/HX-mediated oxidative stress. And MGT and GMGT are thought to have certain pharmacological effects.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.383-388
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• 1998

A RecA-like protein (RecAps) was identified from fluorescent Pseudomonas sp. and the inducible nature of the protein was characterized in detail. It was shown by dose-response and time-course experiments using two DNA damaging agents, nalidixic acid and mitomycin-C, that the cellular level of RecAps protein was increased 3-8 fold compared to that of the control. The most effective doses of nalidixic acid and mitomycin-C for the protein induction were $30{\mu}g/ml$ and $0.3{\mu}g/ml$ at the treatment time point of 150 min, respectively. The enhanced level of RecAps protein was gradually decreased to the control level after 10 hr in normal medium. Interestingly, the cellular level of RecAps protein was increased by the same DNA damaging agents even when cell growth was completely inhibited by treatment with $170{\mu}g/ml$ of chloramphenicol, an inhibitor of protein synthesis, suggesting that new protein synthesis is not required for the induction of RecAps. All these results suggest that a typical S0S repair function driven by RecA-like protein is conserved in Pseudomonas sp. cells as in E, coli.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.3 s.39
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• pp.94-104
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• 1999

Objectives: Hepatoma is a very serious disease in Korea and worldwide. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has proved the most significant cause of hepatoma. We carried out this study to investigate the effect of Injinchunggan-tang (Yinchenqinggan -tang) on inhibiting cell proliferation and DNA synthesis in HepG2.2.15 cell lines and on inhibiting phosphorilation of oncogene (MAP kinase) in NIT /3T3-HEx cells. Methods: First we confinned the Hepatitis B virus producing ability of HepG2.2.15 cells. To investigate the anti-cancer effect of Injinchunggan-tang (Yinchenqinggan-tang), we did the NTS/PMS assay, [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay and transfection of pcDNA-X. We also measured the gene expression through western blotting. Results: Injinchunggan-tang (Yinchenqing gan tang) showed the suppressing effect of HepG2.2.l5 increase in the MTS/PMS assay and the inhibiting effect of DNA synthesis of HepG2.2.15 in the [3H] thymidine incorporation assay. Injinchunggan-tang (Yinchenqinggan-tang) also showed the inhibiting phosphorilation effect of MAP kinase in HBV -X genes. Conclusions: From the above Injinchunggan-tang (Yinchenqinggan-tang) is thought to have an anti-cancer effect on the hepatoma from HBV. It is suggested that further studies on this prescription would give us a better medicine with an anti-cancer effect.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 1996

Bacteriophage T7 gene 2.5 protein, a single-stranded DNA binding protein, is required for T7 DNA replication, recombination, and repair. T7 gene 2.5 protein has two distinctive domains, DNA binding and C-terminal domain, directly involved in protein-protein interaction. Gene 2.5 protein participates in the DNA replication of Bacteriophage T7, which makes this protein essential for the T7 growth and DNA replication. What gene 2.5 protein makes important at T7 growth and DNA replication is its binding affinity to single-stranded DNA and the protein-protein important at T7 DNA replication proteins which are essential for the T7 DNA synthesis. We have constructed pGST2.5(WT) encoding the wild-type gene 2.5 protein and pGST2.5$\Delta $21C lacking C-terminal 21 amino acid residues. The purified GST-fusion proteins, GST2.5(WT) and GST2.5(WT)$\Delta$21C, were used for whether the carboxyl-terminal domain participates in the protein-protein interactions or not. GST2.5(WT) and GST2.5$\Delta$21C showed the difference in the protein-protein interaction. GST2.5(WT) interacted with T7 DNA polymerase and gene 4 protein, but GST2.5$\Delta$21C did not interact with either protein. Secondly, GST2.5(WT) interacts with gene 4 proteins (helicase/primase) but not GST2.5$\Delta$21C. these results proved the involvement of the carboxyl-terminal domain of gene 2.5 protein in the protein-protein interaction. We clearly conclude that carboxy-terminal domain of gene 2.5 protein is firmly involved in protein-protein interactions in T7 replication proteins.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.735-743
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• 2018

We investigated the effect of transforming growth factor beta 1 ($TGF-{\beta}1$) on equine hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) gene expression and hyaluronan (HA) synthesis in culture models of articular chondrocytes. Equine chondrocytes were treated with $TGF-{\beta}1$ at different concentrations and times in monolayer cultures. In three-dimensional cultures, chondrocyte-seeded gelatin scaffolds were cultured in chondrogenic media containing 10 ng/mL of $TGF-{\beta}1$. The amounts of HA in conditioned media and in scaffolds were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. HAS2 mRNA expression was analyzed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The uronic acid content and DNA content of the scaffolds were measured by using colorimetric and Hoechst 33258 assays, respectively. Cell proliferation was evaluated by using the alamarBlue assay. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), histology, and immunohistochemistry were used for microscopic analysis of the samples. The upregulation of HAS2 mRNA levels by $TGF-{\beta}1$ stimulation was dose and time dependent. $TGF-{\beta}1$ was shown to enhance HA and uronic acid content in the scaffolds. Cell proliferation and DNA content were significantly lower in $TGF-{\beta}1$ treatments. SEM and histological results revealed the formation of a cartilaginous-like extracellular matrix in the $TGF-{\beta}1$-treated scaffolds. Together, our results suggest that $TGF-{\beta}1$ has a stimulatory effect on equine chondrocytes, enhancing HA synthesis and promoting cartilage matrix generation.