• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.285-297
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• 2023

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with progressive memory loss and the cognitive decline. AD is mainly caused by abnormal accumulation of misfolded amyloid β (Aβ), which leads to neurodegeneration via a number of possible mechanisms such as down-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor-tropomyosin-related kinase B (BDNF-TRKB) signaling pathway. 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF), a TRKB agonist, has demonstrated potential to enhance BDNF-TRKB pathway in various neurodegenerative diseases. To expand the capacity of flavones as TRKB agonists, two natural flavones quercetin and apigenin, were evaluated. With tryptophan fluorescence quenching assay, we illustrated the direct interaction between quercetin/apigenin and TRKB extracellular domain. Employing Aβ folding reporter SH-SY5Y cells, we showed that quercetin and apigenin reduced Aβ-aggregation, oxidative stress, caspase-1 and acetylcholinesterase activities, as well as improved the neurite outgrowth. Treatments with quercetin and apigenin increased TRKB Tyr516 and Tyr817 and downstream cAMP-response-element binding protein (CREB) Ser133 to activate transcription of BDNF and BCL2 apoptosis regulator (BCL2), as well as reduced the expression of pro-apoptotic BCL2 associated X protein (BAX). Knockdown of TRKB counteracted the improvement of neurite outgrowth by quercetin and apigenin. Our results demonstrate that quercetin and apigenin are to work likely as a direct agonist on TRKB for their neuroprotective action, strengthening the therapeutic potential of quercetin and apigenin in treating AD.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the chemical properties of some commercially available mouthwashes and to ascertain whether the mouthwashes accelerated mineral loss in dental enamel. Five commercially available mouthwashes were selected from the three largest malls in Korea: Perio Total 7 Aqua Cool Mint Strong $Fresh^{TM}$ (PS; LG Household & Health Care Ltd.), Garglin $Original^{TM}$ (Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Garglin $Zero^{TM}$ (Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Listerine Naturals $Citrus^{TM}$ (LC; IDS Manufacturing Ltd.), and Listerine Cool $Mint^{TM}$ (LM; IDS Manufacturing Ltd.). The composition, pH, and titratable acidity of the mouthwashes were investigated. Six bovine teeth specimens were prepared for each mouthwash group. Each of the six specimens was individually immersed in 30 ml aliquots of mouthwash for 1 minute, 30 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes, and the samples were placed in a $36.5^{\circ}C$ stirred incubator. The degree of mineral loss (${\Delta}F$) of the tooth surface area exposed to mouthwash, compared with normal teeth, was analyzed by quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digital. The difference in ${\Delta}F$ among mouthwash groups was examined by the Kruskal-Wallis H test (${\alpha}=0.05$). The contents of mouthwashes differed between Listerine and other products, and the pH ranged from 4.09 to 6.75. The titratable acidity of PS was the lowest at 0.63 ml and highest at 9.25 ml for LM. Minor mineral loss was observed when dental specimens were immersed in the Listerine products (LC and LM) for more than 90 minutes, but the degree of mineral loss for Listerine products was not statistically significantly different from that for groups without mineral loss. In conclusion, all five commercially available mouthwashes showed no harmful effects on tooth enamel.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.290-299
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• 2020

Purpose: Recently, totally laparoscopic gastrectomy has been gradually accepted by surgeons worldwide for gastric cancer treatment. Complete dissection of the lymph nodes and the establishment of the surgical margin are the most important considerations for curative gastric cancer surgery. Previous studies have demonstrated that indocyanine green (ICG)-traced laparoscopic gastrectomy significantly improves the completeness of lymph node dissection. However, it remains difficult to identify the tumor location intraoperatively for gastric cancers that are staged ≤T3. Here, we investigated the feasibility of ICG fluorescence for lymph node mapping and tumor localization during totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: Preoperative and perioperative data from consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy were collected and analyzed. The patients were categorized into the ICG (n=61) or the non-ICG (n=75) group based on whether preoperative endoscopic mucosal ICG injection was performed. Results: The ICG group had a shorter operation time and less intraoperative blood loss. Moreover, significantly more lymph nodes were harvested in the ICG group than the non-ICG group. No pathologically positive margin was found and there was no significant difference in either the proximal or distal surgical margins between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with ICG can be successfully used in totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy, and it contributes to both the completeness of D2 lymph node dissection and confirmation of the gastric transection line. Well-designed prospective randomized studies are needed in the future to fully validate our findings.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.260-265
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• 2000

To determine the quality change of the irradiated eggs during storage, fresh shell eggs were irradiated using $^{60}Co$ at 0, 1, 5, 10, 30 kGy and stored for 30 days. The york index, color, pH, viscosity, egg weight, and SDS-PAGE profile of the irradiated eggs were examined. During storage, york index values of the irradiated eggs and the control were decreased and the increase of dose decreased yolk index. However, the yolk index values were increased temporarily at 10 kGy and 30 kGy. The yolk color had a bright yellow with increases in dose level and there was no significant change during storage. The albumen viscosities were decreased with increases in dosage and were decreased during storage. Also, the albumen pH values of the irradiated eggs were higher than that of the control and were increased during storage. The weight losses of eggs were increased during storage and there were no significant changes by dose level. SDS-PAGE profile of the egg white proteins of the shell eggs showed the change in molecular weight distribution and had aggregation pattern as well as degradation. CD and fluorescence spectroscopy study showed changes in the secondary and tertiary structure of egg white proteins by ${\gamma}-irradiation$. Therefore, this study clearly indicates that irradiation dose of eggs should be appropriate to prevent the loss of egg qualities.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.487-494
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• 2013

An AlaAT knock-out mutant (alaat) of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was isolated from T-DNA tagging lines and the genotypes of its progeny were determined with AlaAT1-specific primers. The alaat phenotypes showed decreased growth and grain yield when compared with control plants. The activity of AlaAT1 in the mutant plants was practically undetectable. The responses of alaat plants to growth under salt stress were compared with those of control plants by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence and the activities and mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes. All abiotic stresses tested (salt, drought, and chilling) caused a similar decrease in chlorophyll fluorescence in both alaat and wild type plants. The activity of peroxidase (POX), an antioxidant enzyme, decreased following salt treatment of alaat plants, while control plant showed an increased activity. The mRNA levels for cAPX (cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase), POX2, and AlaAT were determined by RT-PCR following salt stress. No AlaAT1 mRNA was detected in alaat plants. The POX2 mRNA showed a slightly increased level in the wild type but was not detected in alaat plants, in agreement with the activity assays. The levels of cAPX mRNA were greatly increased in both the wild type and alaat plants. The salt stress effects on rice plant growth are therefore proposed to reflect a loss of function of AlaAT, which alters the activity and synthesis of antioxidant enzymes (especially peroxidases), rather than a direct effect on photosynthesis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.739-744
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• 2020

This study evaluates the erosive potential and effects of mixed alcohols by analyzing the pH, titratable acidity, and fluorescence loss degree (△F). Following alcohol groups were investigated: Soju, Calamansi+soju, Yakult+soju, Cola+soju, and Energy drink+soju. The ratio of soju:beverage in the alcohol mixtures was 7:3. Ed. Notes: The sentence lacks clarity. Please review if the edit correctly portrays the meaning. If not, please revise appropriately. Measurement of the pH and titratable acidity (the amount of 1M NaoH solution required to raise to pH 5.5 (TA5.5) and 7.0 (TA7.0)) of alcohols was achieved by stirring with pH meter. The erosive effect of the alcohol mixtures on bovine tooth (△F) after 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours exposure were analyzed by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF-D). All the mixed alcohols in this study showed an acidic pH, lower than 4.5. The average pH of mixed alcohols was 3.17 ± 0.50 whereas the pH of Soju was 8.6 ± 0.01. The TA5.5 and TA7.0 values of the mixed alcohols were 0.5~18 and 0.5~23.5, respectively. △F of the three tested mixed alcohol groups (except yakult+soju group) were observed to increase in a time-dependent manner. The calamansi mixed alcohol had the highest acidity potential and erosive effect among the tested groups. Taken together, the results indicate that the mixed alcohols have a strong erosive effect and potential on dental enamel.

• Korean Journal of Crystallography
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 1992

Alexandrite crystals were grown by the Czochralski method. Relationships between or ystal quality and crystal growth factors such as pulling rate, rotation rate, purity of BeO po wders and evaporation loss compensation of BeO and Cr3+/Al3+substitution ratio were investigated. As a result, 1) high purity (more than 99.99p,) of BeO, as a raw material, is requisite condition for single crystal growth, 2) evaporation loss comp ensation is also requisite for high quality crystal growth. This compensation depends on pulling rate and Cr3+/Al3+ ratio. And 3) optimum pulling and rotation rate for alexandrite growth were 0.5∼1.0mm/hr and 20∼25rpm, respectively. Ale xandrite crystals were grown to (001) direction. Various types of defects were detected by the polarizing microscope and we discussed how to remove these defects. And room tempo rature absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.95-105
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• 2008

Objectives : Although herbal medicines containing flavonoids have been reported to exert anti-tumor activities, it has not been explored whether Hwang-Jeong (Polygonati sibirici Rhizoma, PsR) exerts anti-tumor activity in human glioma. The present study was therefore undertaken to examine the effect of PsR on cell viability and to determine its underlying mechanism in A172 human glioma cells. Methods : Cell viability was estimated by MTT assay. Reactive oxygen species generation and mitochondrial membrane potential were measured by the fluorescence dyes. The phosphorylation of kinases was evaluated by western blot analysis and caspase activity was estimated using colorimetric assay kit. Results : PsR resulted in loss of cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. PsR did not increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the PsR-induced cell death was also not affected by antioxidants, suggesting that ROS generation is not involved in loss of cell viability. Western blot analysis showed that PsR treatment caused rapid reduction in phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) without changes in p38 and Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK). U0126, an inhibitor of ERK, increased the PsR-induced cell death, but inhibitors of p38 and JNK did not affect the cell death. PsR induced depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential. Caspase activity was not stimulated by PsR and caspase inhibitors did not prevent the PsR-induced cell death. Conclusion : Taken together, these findings suggest that PsR results in human glioma cell death through caspaseindependent mechanisms involving down-regulation of ERK.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.33-43
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• 2015

GAM-1 and GAM-2, two themostable glucoamylases from Aspergillus niger B-30, possess different molecular masses, glycosylation, and thermal stability. In the present study, the effects of additives on the thermal inactivation of GAM-1 and GAM-2 were investigated. The half-lives of GAM-1 and GAM-2 at 70℃ were 45 and 216 min, respectively. Data obtained from fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, UV absorption spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering demonstrated that during the thermal inactivation progress, combined with the loss of the helical structure and a majority of the tertiary structure, tryptophan residues were partially exposed and further led to glucoamylases aggregating. The thermal stability of GAM-1 and GAM-2 was largely improved in the presence of sorbitol and trehalose. Results from spectroscopy and Native-PAGE confirmed that sorbitol and trehalose maintained the native state of glucoamylases and prevented their thermal aggregation. The loss of hydrophobic bonding and helical structure was responsible for the decrease of glucoamylase activity. Additionally, sorbitol and trehalose significantly increased the substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency of the two glucoamylases. Our results display an insight into the thermal inactivation of glucoamylases and provide an important base for industrial applications of the thermally stable glucoamylases.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.328-335
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• 2008

This study was undertaken to investigate whether honokiol could enhance the pentobarbitalinduced sleeping behaviors through $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor $Cl^-$ channel activation. Thirty minutes after the oral administration of honokiol, mice were received sodium pentobarbital (42 mg/kg, i.p.). The time elapsed from pentobarbital injection to the loss of the righting reflex was taken as sleeping latency. The time elapsed between the loss and voluntary recovery of the righting reflex was considered as the total sleeping time. Western blot technique and $Cl^-$ sensitive fluorescence probe were used to detect the expression of $GABA_A$ receptor subunits and $Cl^-$ influx in the primary cultured cerebellar granule cells. Honokiol (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) prolonged the sleeping time induced by pentobarbital (42 mg/kg) in a dosage-dependent manner. Honokiol (20 and 50 ${\mu}M$) increased $Cl^-$ influx in primary cultured cerebellar granule cells, and selectively increased the $GABA_A$ receptor $\alpha$-subunit expression, but had no effect on the abundance of $\beta$ or $\gamma$-subunits. Chronic treatment with 20 ${\mu}M$ honokiol in primary cultured cerebellar neurons did not affect the abundance of GAD65/67. The results suggested that honokiol could potentiate pentobarbital-induced sleeping through $GABA_A$ receptor $Cl^-$ channel activation.