• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.129-136
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• 2010

Objective : Sinapis alba L. (SA) is a korean traditional herbal medicine that is usually used to prevent or treat inflammatory diseases, such as respiratory infection and rheumatoid arthritis. However, the effects of SA supplementation in vitro on serum antibody levels, splenocyte and peritoneal macrophage immune responses have not yet been determined. In this study, we examined the effect of SA on the production of Th1/Th2 cytokines. Methods : Splenocytes were isolated from naive C57BL/6 mice. Cells were enriched for CD4+ cell populations by first staining the cells with anti-CD4 (BD PharMingen, Calif, USA). CD4+ T cells were selected on a (CS) column, and the flow-through was collected as CD4+ T cells. Isolated cells were activated by overnight incubation on 24-well plates coated with $1{\mu}g/mL$ anti-CD3, $1{\mu}g/mL$ anti-CD28 and with SA ($100{\mu}g/mL$). Primary macrophages were collected from the peritoneal cavities of mice (8-week-old female C57BL/6). The peritoneal macrophages were washed and plated with RPMI-1640 overnight for the experiments. After 48-hours cultures, samples were centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 10 minutes, and the supernatants were stored at $-80^{\circ}C$. Mouse IL-4, IFN-$\gamma$ and TNF-$\alpha$ were quantified using ELISA kits (BioSource International, Camarillo, Calif, USA) according to the manufacturer's protocols. Results : SA at 100ug/ml decreased the generation of Th1 cytokine (IFN-$\gamma$) by 0.5-fold. However, SA has no effect on Th2 (IL-4) production. Conclusions : These results suggest that SA may play an important role in the control of T-cell-mediated autoimmunity by down-regulation of Th1 cytokine (especially IFN-$\gamma$, TNF-$\alpha$). These data may contribute to the design of new immunomodulating treatments for a group of autoimmune diseases.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.794-799
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• 2005

With the quantitative growth of the petroleum industry, the pipe facilities that connect each process increased significantly and the corresponding maintenance and repair costs of the pipe facilities increased as well. The diagnosis techniques to check a pipe efficiency while in operation are few in Korea, but in the advanced countries the pipe diagnosis using gramma-ray source was on-going research since 1960's. In this study, field experiments were performed to analyze the reasons for abnormal operation of the pipe connected to a distillation tower, and the degree of abnormality was estimated using a sealed gamma-ray source ($^{137}Cs$). Gamma radiation counts were measured by a detector (NaI) positioned outside the pipe-wall diametrically opposite to the gamma source. The results showed that a gas zone section's distribution pattern was different from the pattern of nearby fluid in a pipe. Th diagnosis technique using a gamma radiation source was proved to be an effective and reliable method, offering the information on the fluid distribution in pipe.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 1998

An ATP regeneration system was used for the production of glutathione which was synthesized by a sequential action of ${\gamma}$-glutamyl-cysteine synthetase and glutathione synthetase. The synthetases above were produced in the recombinant E. coli (TG1/pDG7) with the highest specific production yield of 31 mg glutathione/g wet cell. Bakers yeast was considered to have economically a better ATP regeneration system although the glutathione production yield was lower than that of acetate kinase. It was also observed that the ATP regeneration system of bakers yeast was superior to that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC24858. The yield of glutathione production with bakers yeast was 36% with the ATP concentration of 5 mM. To avoid the cysteine limitation during the early phase of glutatione production, an extra cysteine was added at 2 hours after reaction and the production yield increased 1.91 times. The effectiveness of bakers yeast as an ATP regeneration system was proved by several sets of extra feeding experiments. The product inhibition by glutathione above 14 mM was also observed.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2008

Sopungsan (SS) is a traditional Korean decoction used for the treatment of dermatitis. The aim of this study is to confirm whether or not SS has a preventive effect on the development of atopic dermatitis in dinitrochlorobenzene-applied Nc/Nga mice. SS was administered orally to Nc/Nga mice, which led to the remarkable suppression of the development of dermatitis, as determined by a histological examination and the serum IgE levels. Moreover, SS inhibited the production of thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) and its mRNA expression in a keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT, which had been stimulated with tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$). Activation of the nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ (NF-${\kappa}B$) or activator protein-1 (AP-1) is one of key steps in the signaling pathways mediating induction of TARC. In this study, SS selectively suppressed NF-${\kappa}B$ activation which may be essential for TARC expression in $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$ treated keratinocytes. The inhibitory effect of SS on NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and TARC production might be associated with the anti-dermatitic effects of SS.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.312-317
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• 1998

In this study, the effect of 70% ethyl alcohol fraction of Cervus nippon(CN-E) on mouse T-lymphocyte was investigated in vivo. The administration of CN-E(100 mg/kg) enhanced the proliferation of thymocytes, the population of $CD4^+CD8^-$ single-positive cells and the production of $interferon-{\gamma}$ in thymocytes and splenocytes. The administration of CN-E did not induce DNA fragmentation and reduce mitochondrial transmembrane potential in thymocytes. These results indicate that the CN-E contams a stimulative component on the proliferation of thymocytes, the population of $T_H$ cells and the production of $interferon-{\gamma}$ in T-lymphocytes.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2015

Cordyceps militaris has shown to have various pharmacological activities including an immune-modulatory effect. Previously, we reported that anti-influenza effect of C. militaris in DBA/2 mice was mediated by increased IL-12 and the activation of NK cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of C. militaris on adaptive immune responses using DBA2 mice immunized with influenza vaccine. To determine the effect of C. militaris on antigen presentation capability, we treated RAW 264.7 cells with various concentrations of ethanol extract of C. militaris, which showed a significant upregulation of CD86 (B7.2), CD284 (TLR4), CD40, H-2k (MHC I) and I-Ad (MHC II). To examine the direct effect of C. militaris on adaptive immune responses, we immunized DBA2 mice with influenza vaccine in presence or absence of C. militaris. After 2 or 4 weeks, influenza-specific T cell proliferation, HAI titers and IFN-${\gamma}$ production were measured in plasma or PBMCs isolated from animals. Influenza-specific T cell proliferation and HAI titers were not considerably increased in immunized mice in presence of C. militaris. However, the production of IFN-${\gamma}$ was much greater in immunized mice with C. militaris as adjuvant than only immunized mice.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.126-134
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• 2010

Background: $CD8^+$ T cells contribute to the clearance of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and an insufficient $CD8^+$ T cell response may be one of the major factors leading to chronic HBV infection. Since the HBx antigen of HBV can up-regulate cellular expression of several immunomodulatory molecules, we hypothesized that HBx expression in hepatocytes might affect $CD8^+$ T cell activity. Methods: We analyzed the activation and apoptosis of $CD8^+$ T cells co-cultured with primary hepatocytes rendered capable of expressing HBx by recombinant baculovirus infection. Results: Expression of HBx in hepatocytes induced low production of $interferon-{\gamma}$ and apoptosis of CD8+ T cells, with no effect on CD8 T cell proliferation. However, transcriptional levels of H-2K, ICAM-1 and PD-1 ligand did not correlate with HBx expression in hepatocytes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that HBx may inhibit $CD8^+$ T cell response by regulation of $interferon-{\gamma}$ production and apoptosis.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.135-140
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• 2010

Acorns have been used as a traditional remed as well as food source. However, few studies on their immunomodulating effects have been reported. In this study, the combined immunomodulative effect of a water extract of acorns was tested on seven to eight weeks old mice(balb/c). The mice were fed ad libitum on a chow diet, and a water extract of the plant mixture was orally administered every other day for four weeks at two different concentrations(50 and 500 mg/kg B.W.). The production of cytokine(IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, IL-2, IL-10, IFN-$\gamma$), secreted by macrophages stimulated with LPS or not, detected by ELISA assay using cytokine kit. After 48 h of incubation with mitogen(ConA or LPS) ex vivo study showed that cytokine (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, IL-2, IL-10, IFN-$\gamma$) was detected in both of the 50 and 500 mg/kg B.W. supplementation groups with LPS stimulation. The results of this study may suggest that supplementation with acorn water extract increase immune function by regulating cytokine production capacity by activated macrophages.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.562-568
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• 2006

GABA $(\gamma-aminobutyric\;acid)$ is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. For the efficient production of GAB A, a semi continuous cell entrapment system using Lactobacillus brevis GABA 057 was optimized, including the substrate concentration, bead-stabilizing additives, and reaction conditions. The converted monosodium glutamate (MSG), which was added as a substrate for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), increased from 2% (w/v) to 12% (w/v). The addition of isomaltooligosaccharide to the alginate beads also increased the stability of the entrapped L. brevis and GABA productivity. Consequently, when optimal conditions were applied, up to 223 mM GABA could be produced from 534 mM MSG after 48 h of reaction by using alginate-beadencapsulated L. brevis GABA 057.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1664-1669
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• 2017

Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a precursor of nylon-4, which is a promising heat-resistant biopolymer. GABA can be produced from the decarboxylation of glutamate by glutamate decarboxylase. In this study, a synthetic scaffold complex strategy was employed involving the Neurospora crassa glutamate decarboxylase (GadB) and Escherichia coli GABA antiporter (GadC) to improve GABA production. To construct the complex, the SH3 domain was attached to the N. crassa GadB, and the SH3 ligand was attached to the N-terminus, middle, and C-terminus of E. coli GadC. In the C-terminus model, 5.8 g/l of GABA concentration was obtained from 10 g/l glutamate. When a competing pathway engineered strain was used, the final GABA concentration was further increased to 5.94 g/l, which corresponds to 97.5% of GABA yield. With the introduction of the scaffold complex, the GABA productivity increased by 2.9 folds during the initial culture period.