• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 1995

The herbicide butachlor [N-(butoxymethyl)-2-chloro-N-(2,6-di-methylphenyl) acetamide] is widely used by farmers as a tool for weed management of transplanted rice(Oryza sativa L.) in Taiwan. The herbicide did not stop germination of rice and weed seeds, but strongly inhibited the subsequent growth of young shoots and roots. The inhibition was also strong on established seedlings. However, they could recover to normal growth after the herbicide effect disappeared. Butachlor greatly decreased the endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) but increased the endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) contents of rice seedlings. Addition of lAA into growth medium (Hoagland's solution) partly relieved growth inhibition. Pretreatment of both gibberellic acid ($GA_3$) and IAA 24 hours before butachlor treatment almost completely alleviated the butachlor-interfere with GA and/or IAA metabolism or their action resulting in the growth inhibition of rice. Butachlor was readily absorbed by rice roots. During 24 hours of uptake experiment, 32% of the applied herbicide was absorbed. Pretreatment of the herbicide for 2 days did ncx affect the absorption. Of the absorbed herbicide, 80% remained in roots, only 20% transported into shoots, and more than 50% was metabolized to water soluble substances. Thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) analysis indicated that the Rf value of the most abundant metabolite was butachlor-glutathione conjugate. Rice, barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.), and monochoria (Monochoria vaginalis Presl) seedlings contained relatively high level of non-protein thiols, while the glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was found highest in rice, barnyardgrass the next, monochoria the lowest. The difference in GST activity among these species might be related to their sensitivity to butachlor.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.388-394
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• 2010

Metabolomics aims at the comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative analysis of wide arrays of endogenous metabolites in biological samples. It has shown particular promise in the area of toxicology and drug development, functional genomics, system biology and clinical diagnosis. In this study, analytical technique of MS instrument with high resolution mass measurement, such as time-of-flight (TOF) was validated for the purpose of investigation of amino acids, sugars and fatty acids. Rat urine and serum samples were extracted by selected each solvent (50% acetonitrile, 100% acetonitrile, acetone, methanol, water, ether) extraction method. We determined the optimized liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/TOFMS) system and selected appropriated columns, mobile phases, fragment energy and collision energy, which could search 17 metabolites. The spectral data collected from LC/TOFMS were tested by ANOVA. Obtained with the use of LC/TOFMS technique, our results indicated that (1) MS and MS/MS parameters were optimized and most abundant product ion of each metabolite were selected to be monitorized; (2) with design of experiment analysis, methanol yielded the optimal extraction efficiency. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to be useful in the endogenous metabolite fields according to validated SOP for endogenous amino acids, sugars and fatty acids.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.54-68
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• 2011

$^1H$ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of biological samples has been proven to be an effective and nondestructive approach to probe drug toxicity within an organism. In this study, ketoprofen toxicity was investigated using $^1H$-NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. Histopathologic test of ketoprofen-induced acute gastrointestinal damage in rats demonstrated a significant dose-dependent effect. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) derived from $^1H$-NMR spectra of urinary samples showed clear separation between the vehicle-treated control and ketoprofen-treated groups. Moreover, PCA derived from endogenous metabolite concentrations through targeted profiling revealed a dose-dependent metabolic shift between the vehicle-treated control, low-dose ketoprofen-treated (10 mg/kg body weight), and high-dose ketoprofen-treated (50 mg/kg) groups coinciding with their gastric damage scores after ketoprofen administration. The resultant metabolic profiles demonstrated that the ketoprofen-induced gastric damage exhibited energy metabolism perturbations that increased urinary levels of citrate, cis-aconitate, succinate, and phosphocreatine. In addition, ketoprofen administration induced an enhancement of xenobiotic activity in fatty oxidation, which caused increase levels of N-isovalerylglycine, adipate, phenylacetylglycine, dimethylamine, betaine, hippurate, 3-indoxylsulfate, N,N-dimethylglycine, trimethyl-N-oxide, and glycine. These findings demonstrate that $^1H$-NMR-based urinary metabolic profiling can be used for noninvasive and rapid way to diagnose adverse drug effects and is suitable for explaining the possible biological pathways perturbed by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug toxicity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.127-131
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• 2010

In this study, Corynebacterium glutamicum and its derived mutants were used to demonstrate the relationship between proline, glutamate, and ornithine. The maximum ornithine production was shown in the culture medium (3,295.0 mg/l) when the cells were cultured with 20 mM proline, and was 15.5 times higher than in the presence of 1 mM proline. However, glutamate, which is known as an intermediate in the process of converting proline to ornithine, did not have any positive effect on ornithine production. This suggests that the conversion of proline to ornithine through glutamate, is not possible in C. glutamicum. Comparative analysis between the wild-type strain, SJC 8043 ($argF^-$, $argR^-$), and SJC 8064 ($argF^-$, $argR^-$, and $ocd^-$), showed that C glutamicum could regulate ornithine production by ornithine cyclodeaminase (Ocd) under proline-supplemented conditions. Therefore, proline directly caused an increase in the endogenous level of ornithine by Ocd, which would be a primary metabolite in the ornithine biosynthesis pathway.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.30
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• pp.6.1-6.7
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• 2015

Objectives This study aimed to estimate the effects of 4-nonylphenol (NP), a ubiquitously present surfactant in aquatic environments, on the anti-oxidant systems of the liver in the Far Eastern catfish Silurus asotus. Methods Changes in biochemical parameters involved in glutathione (GSH)-related and other anti-oxidant systems were analyzed following 4 weeks of 4-NP administration (0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg diet) via a formulated diet to catfish. Results 4-NP exposure induced an elevation in hepatic lipid peroxide levels and an accompanying decrease in reduced state GSH after 2 weeks, suggesting pro-oxidant effects of the chemical in catfish. This oxidative stress was associated with an inhibition of the GSH-utilizing enzyme glutathione peroxidase at the same time point. This inhibition was restored after 4 weeks. The activities of other anti-oxidant enzymes, i.e., glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase and catalase were increased after 4 weeks. These enzyme increases occurred more strongly at the higher 4-NP concentration (1.0 mg/kg diet). Conclusions 4-NP given to catfish at 0.1 to 1.0 mg/kg diet, concentrations relevant to environmental levels, depletes the endogenous anti-oxidant molecule GSH and temporarily inhibits GSH-related anti-oxidant enzymes. Such declines in anti-oxidant capacity and elevated oxidative stress seem to be compensated eventually by subsequent activation of various anti-oxidant enzyme systems.

• Translational and Clinical Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2017

Glimepiride, a third generation sulfonylurea, is an antihyperglycemic agent widely used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, an untargeted urinary metabolomic analysis was performed to identify endogenous metabolites affected by glimepiride administration. Urine samples of twelve healthy male volunteers were collected before and after administration of 2 mg glimepiride. These samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and then subjected to multivariate data analysis including principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. Through this metabolomic profiling, we identified several endogenous metabolites such as adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), quercetin, tyramine, and urocanic acid, which exhibit significant metabolomic changes between pre- and posturine samples. Among these, cAMP, which is known to be related to insulin secretion, was the most significantly altered metabolite following glimepiride administration. In addition, the pathway analysis showed that purine, tyrosine, and histidine metabolism was affected by pharmacological responses to glimepiride. Together, the results suggest that the pharmacometabolomic approach, based on LC-MS/MS, is useful in understanding the alterations in biochemical pathways associated with glimepiride action.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.313-318
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• 2015

${\delta}$-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is an endogenous metabolite formed in the mitochondria from succinyl-CoA and glycine, and plays a key role in the living body as an intermediate of the compound in the porphyrin biosynthesis pathway. ALA has been commonly used in photodynamic therapy for several years, because ALA is of interest as a biodegradable mediator, a growth regulator, and an effective agent used in dermatology. Here, we determined which ALA derivatives were the most effective for the inhibition of the cell proliferation and growth of human fibroblast. As a result, we found that the treatment of ALA derivatives including ALA, ALAP (ALA phosphate salt), MAL (Methyl 5-aminolevulinate hydrochloride salt), PBGL (phophobilinogen lactam) and PBGH (phophobilinogen-HCl) could attenuate cell proliferation of human fibroblast cells. Among them, PBGH was the most effective derivative. In addition, PBGH treatment could induce mitochondrial membrane depolarization, leading to cell death of human fibroblast. These results suggest that mitochondrial membrane depolarization induced by ALA and PBGH treatment might be responsible for inhibition of cell proliferation and death. Taken together, our results propose the possibility that PBGH can be used as one of the effective drugs in human skin disease, psoriasis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.587-601
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• 2013

During the last few decades, it has become evident that the compatibility of the yeast biochemical environment with the ability to process and translate the RNA transcript, along with its capacity to modify a translated protein, are relevant requirements for selecting this host cell for protein expression in several pharmaceutical and clinical applications. In particular, Pichia pastoris is used as an industrial host for recombinant protein and metabolite production, showing a powerful capacity to meet required biomolecular target production levels in high-throughput assays for functional genomics and drug screening. In addition, there is a great advantage to using P. pastoris for protein secretion, even at high molecular weights, since the recovery and purification steps are simplified owing to relatively low levels of endogenous proteins in the extracellular medium. Clearly, no single microexpression system can provide all of the desired properties for human protein production. Moreover, chemical and physical bioprocess parameters, including culture medium formulation, temperature, pH, agitation, aeration rates, induction, and feeding strategies, can highly influence product yield and quality. In order to benefit from the currently available wide range of biosynthesis strategies using P. pastoris, this mini review focuses on the developments and technological fermentation achievements, providing both a comparative and an overall integration analysis. The main aim is to highlight the relevance and versatility of the P. pastoris biosystem to the design of more cost-effective microfactories to meet the increasing demands for recombinant membrane proteins and clinical antibodies for several therapeutic applications.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.321-327
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• 2009

Voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) are reported to be porin-type, ${\beta}$-barrel diffusion pores. They are prominently localized in the outer mitochondrial membrane and are involved in metabolite exchange between the organelle and the cytosol. In this study, we have investigated a family of VDAC isoforms in Arabidopsis thaliana (AtVDAC). We have shown that the heterologous expression of AtVDAC proteins can functionally complement a yeast mutant lacking the endogenous mitochondrial VDAC gene. AtVDACs tagged with GFP were localized to mitochondria in both yeast and plant cells. We also looked at the response of AtVDACs to biotic and abiotic stresses and found that four AtVDAC transcripts were rapidly up-regulated in response to a bacterial pathogen.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1993.04a
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• pp.71-71
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• 1993

Carboxylesterase is widely distributed in the tissues of vertebrates, insects, plants and mycobacteria. Among various tissues of animals and humans, the highest esterase activity with various substrates is found in the liver. Kidney has moderate carboxylesterase activity in the proximal tubules. Considerable esterase activity is also found in the small intestine epithet elial cells and serum of mammals. Besides these tissues, carboxylesterase has been found in the lung, testis, adipose tissue, nasal mucosa and even in the central nervous system. Hepatic microsomal carboxylesterase catalyzes the hydrolysis of a wide variety of endogenous and exogenous compounds such as carboxylester, thioester and aromatic amide. Since carboxylesterases are important for metabolic activation of prodrugs and detoxification of xenobiotics, differences in substrate specificity and immunological properties of this enzyme are important in connection with choosing a suitable laboratory animal for the evaluation of biotransformation and toxicity of drugs. On the other hand, liver, kidney, intestine and serum were found to contain multiple forms of carboxylesterases in animal species and humans. In fact, we have purified more than fifteen isoforms of carboxylesterases from microsomes of liver, kidney and intestinal mucosa of nine animal species and humans. and characteristics of these isoforms were compared each other in terms of their physical and immunochemical properties. On the other hand, we have reported that hepatic microsomal carboxylesterases are induced by many exogenous compounds such as phenobarbital, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Aroclor 1254, aminopyrine and clofibrate. Later, we showed that some isoforms of hepatic carboxylesterase were induced by glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone and 16 ${\alpha}$-carbonitrile, but other isoforms were rather inhibited by these compounds. These findings indicate that involvement of carboxylesterases in the metabolism and toxicity of drugs should be explained by the isoforms involved. Since 1991, we have carried out detailed research investigating the types of carboxylesterases involved in the metabolic activation of CPT-11, a derivative of camptothecin, to the active metabolite, SN-38. The results obtained strongly suggest that some isoforms of carboxylesterase of liver microsomes and intestinal mucosal membrane are exclusively involved in CPT-11 metabolism. In this symposium, the properties of carboxylesterase isoforms purified from liver, kidney and intestine of animal species and humans are outlined. In addition, metabolism of CPT-11, a novel antitumor agent, by carboxylesterases in relation to the effectiveness will also be discussed.