• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.142-147
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• 1989

Fluorescence enhancements of ethidium bromide (EB) by solution species of low molecular weights such as DNA base molecules and nucleosides in water are reported. The degree of enhancements was determined by intensity as well as lifetime measurements for EB fluorescence. Experiments including solvent effects on absorbance and fluorescence spectra of EB, effects of protonation on the EB absorbance spectrum, and determination of equilibrium constants for EB-DNA bases have been performed to help explain the fluorescence enhancement. The results suggest that the excited state stabilization in the hydrophobic environment, the loss of torsional/vibrational energy of amino groups, and the change in the electronic transition characteristics are all responsible for the fluorescence enhancement.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• 제11권3호
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• pp.133-139
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• 2004

The metal-ligand complex, $[Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^{2+}$ (phen=1,10-phenanthroline, dppz=dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine) (RuPD), was used as a spectroscopic probe for studying nucleic acid dynamics. The RuPD complex displays a long lifetime and a molecular light switch property upon DNA binding due to shielding of its dppz ligand from water. To show the usefulness of this luminophore (RuPD) for probing nucleic acid dynamics, we compared its intensity and anisotropy decays when intercalated into the $tRNA^{val}$ and pBluescript (pBS) II SK(+) phagemid through a comparison with ethidium bromide (EB), a conventional nucleic acid probe. We used frequency-domain fluorometry with a blue light-emitting diode (LED) as the modulated light source. The mean lifetime for the $tRNA^{val}$ (<${\tau}$> = 166.5 ns) was much shorter than that for the pBS II SK(+) phagemid (<${\tau}$> = 481.3 ns), suggesting a much more efficient shielding from water by the phagemid. Because of their size difference, the anisotropy decay data showed a much shorter rotational correlation times for the $tRNA^{val}$ (99.9 and 23.6 ns) than for the pBS II SK(+) phagemid (968.7 and 39.5 ns). These results indicate that RuPD can be useful for studying nucleic acid dynamics.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제39권10호
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• pp.742-749
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• 2016

The cancer chemo-preventive effects of equol have been demonstrated for a wide variety of experimental tumours. In a previous study, we found that equol inhibited proliferation and induced apoptotic death of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells. However, the mechanisms underlying equol-mediated apoptosis have not been well understood. In the present study, the dual AO (acridine orange)/EB (ethidium bromide) fluorescent assay, the comet assay, MTS, western blotting and flow cytometric assays were performed to further investigate the pro-apoptotic effect of equol and its associated mechanisms in MGC-803 cells. The results demonstrated that equol induced an apoptotic nuclear morphology revealed by AO/EB staining, the presence of a comet tail, the cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP and the depletion of cIAP1, indicating its pro-apoptotic effect. In addition, equol-induced apoptosis involves the mitochondria-dependent cell-death pathway, evidenced by the depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential, the cleavage of caspase-9 and the depletion of Bcl-xL and full-length Bid. Moreover, treating MGC-803 cells with equol induced the sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and inhibiting ERK by U0126, a MEK/ERK pathway inhibitor, significantly attenuated the equol-induced cell apoptosis. These results suggest that equol induces mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells via the sustained activation of the ERK1/2 pathway. Therefore, equol may be a novel candidate for the chemoprevention and therapy of gastric cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권13호
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• pp.5265-5271
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• 2015

Background: The effects of plant products on cancer cells has become a field of major importance. Many substancesmay induce apoptosis in anti-cancer treatment. Pectins, a family of complex polysaccharides, and their degradation products may for exasmple exert apoptotic effects in cancer cells. Apples and citrus fruits are the main sources of pectin which can be applied for anti-cancer research. The present study concerned an intact form of pectic-oligoshaccharide named pectic acid (poly galactronic acid). Materials and Methods: Inhibition of cell proliferation assays (MTT), light microscopy, fluorescence microscopy (acridin orange/ethidium bromide), DNA fragmentation tests, cell cycle analysis, annexin PI and Western blotting methods were applied to evaluate apoptosis. Results: The results indicated that pectic acid inhibited cell growth and reduced cell attachment after 24h incubation. This did not appear to be due to necrosis, since morphological features of apoptosis were detected with AO/EB staining and cell cycling was blocked in the sub-G1 phase. Annexin/PI and DNA fragmentation findings indicated that apoptosis frequency increased after 24h incubation with pectic acid. In addition, the data showed pectic acid induced caspase-dependent apoptosis. Conclusions: These data indicate that apple pectic acid without any modification could trigger apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells and has potential to improve cancer treatment as a natural product.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권10호
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• pp.1343-1349
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• 2021

Cockroaches live in places where various pathogens exist and thus are more likely to use antimicrobial compounds to defend against pathogen intrusions. We previously performed an in silico analysis of the Periplaneta americana transcriptome and detected periplanetasin-5 using an in silico antimicrobial peptide prediction method. In this study, we investigated whether periplanetasin-5 has anticancer activity against the human leukemia cell line K562. Cell growth and survival of K562 cells treated with periplanetasin-5 were decreased in a dose-dependent manner. By using flow cytometric analysis, acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining and DNA fragmentation, we found that periplanetasin-5 induced apoptotic and necrotic cell death in leukemia cells. In addition, these events were associated with increased levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins Fas and cytochrome c and reduced levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Periplanetasin-5 induces the cleavage of pro-caspase-9, pro-caspase-8, pro-caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The above data suggest that periplanetasin-5 induces apoptosis via both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Moreover, caspase-related apoptosis was further confirmed by using the caspase inhibitor carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK), which reversed the periplanetasin-5-induced reduction in cell viability. In conclusion, periplanetasin-5 caused apoptosis in leukemia cells, suggesting its potential utility as an anticancer therapeutic agent.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.181-186
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• 2003

형광현미경을 이용한 기존의 직접생균수측정(DVC)법을 변형하여 산림토양의 각 층위에 분포하는 난배양성 토양세균의 정량적 평가를 시도하였다. 기존의 방법에서 사용된 DNA합성저해제(nalidixic acid; 100${\mu}g$/ml, pipemidic acid; 50 ${\mu}g$/ml, piromidic acid; 50 ${\mu}g$/ml)보다 5배 높은 농도를 사용한 결과 토양세균 군집의 세포분열이 배양24시간까지 분히 억제되어 기존의 DVC법보다 10배 이상 높은 계수치를 얻었다. 토양시료를 제균수로 원심 세척한 경우 DVC는 전균수(TDC)의 약 I% 미만을 나타내어 첨가된 기질의 이용능을 정확히 판정할 수 있었다. 형광현미경을 이용하여 DVC법에 의해 검출된 생균수는 전균수의 18-44%를 나타내었고, 평판법(PC)에 의해 계수된 생균수는 전균수의 1% 미만을 나타내어 DVC법이 평판법에 비해 100-2000배 이상 높은 계수치를 나타내었다. 이는 평판법으로는 배양할 수 없는 난배양성(VBNC)세균이 토양 내에 다수 존재해 있음으로 판단되었고, DVC법에 의해 난배양성 토양세균을 정량적으로 검출할 수 있는 가능성이 확인되었다. 영양기질로써 통상농도의 NB배지와 NB를 $10^{-2}$로 희석한 DNB배지를 사용하여 DVC법과 평판법에 의한 계수 결과를 비교한 결과 모든 시료에서 DNB배지에서의 생균수는 NB배지보다 5～10배 이상 높은 값을 나타내어 산림토양의 각 층위에 저영양세균(oligotrophic bacteria)이 다수 분포해 있음으로 추정되었다.