• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.116-126
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• 2023

Mainly due to the slanted focus on the mechanism and regulation of neuronal aging, research on astrocyte aging and its modulation during brain aging is scarce. In this study, we established aged astrocyte culture model by long-term culturing. Cellular senescence was confirmed through SA-β-gal staining as well as through the examination of morphological, molecular, and functional markers. RNA sequencing and functional analysis of astrocytes were performed to further investigate the detailed characteristics of the aged astrocyte model. Along with aged phenotypes, decreased astrocytic proliferation, migration, mitochondrial energetic function and support for neuronal survival and differentiation has been observed in aged astrocytes. In addition, increased expression of cytokines and chemokine-related factors including plasminogen activator inhibitor -1 (PAI-1) was observed in aged astrocytes. Using the RNA sequencing results, we searched potential drugs that can normalize the dysregulated gene expression pattern observed in long-term cultured aged astrocytes. Among several candidates, minoxidil, a pyrimidine-derived anti-hypertensive and anti-pattern hair loss drug, normalized the increased number of SA-β-gal positive cells and nuclear size in aged astrocytes. In addition, minoxidil restored up-regulated activity of PAI-1 and increased mitochondrial superoxide production in aged astrocytes. We concluded that long term culture of astrocytes can be used as a reliable model for the study of astrocyte senescence and minoxidil can be a plausible candidate for the regulation of brain aging.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.159-165
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• 2023

Background: Red ginseng marc, the residue of red ginseng left after water extraction, is rich in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber derived from fruits or vegetables can promote the proliferation of probiotics, and it is a key technology in the food industry to increase the productivity of probiotics by adding growth-enhancing substances such as dietary fiber. In this study, the effect of red ginseng dietary fiber (RGDF) on the growth of probiotic bacterial strains was investigated at the phenotypic and genetic levels. Methods: We performed transcriptome profiling of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum IDCC3501 in two phases of culture (logarithmic (L)-phase and stationary (S)-phase) in two culture conditions (with or without RGDF) using RNA-seq. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and classified according to Gene Ontology terms. Results: The growth of L.plantarum IDCC3501 was enhanced in medium supplemented with RGDF up to 2%. As a result of DEG analysis, 29 genes were upregulated and 30 were downregulated in the RGDF-treated group in the L-phase. In the S-phase, 57 genes were upregulated and 126 were downregulated in the RGDF-treated group. Among the upregulated genes, 5 were upregulated only in the L-phase, 10 were upregulated only in the S-phase, and 3 were upregulated in both the L- and S-phases. Conclusions: Transcriptome analysis could be a valuable tool for elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which RGDF promotes the proliferation of L.plantarum IDCC3501. This growth-promoting effect of RGDF is important, since RGDF could be used as a prebiotic source without additional chemical or enzymatic processing.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.260-275
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• 2022

Sterile alpha motif (SAM) domains bind to various proteins, lipids, and RNAs. However, these domains have not yet been analyzed as prognostic biomarkers. In this study, SAM domain containing 13 (SAMD13), a member of the SAM domain, was evaluated to identify a novel prognostic biomarker in various human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, we identified a correlation between SAMD13 expression and immune cell infiltration in HCC. We performed bioinformatics analysis using online databases, such as Tumor Immune Estimation Resource, UALCAN, Kaplan-Meier plotter, LinkedOmics, and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis2. SAMD13 expression in HCC samples was significantly higher than that in normal liver tissue; additionally, SAMD13 was higher in primary tumors, various stages of cancer and grades of tumor, and status of nodal metastasis. Higher SAMD13 expression was also associated with poorer prognosis. SAMD13 expression positively correlated with CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, B cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells. In the analysis of SAMD13 co-expression networks, positively related genes of SAMD13 were associated with a high hazard ratio in different types of cancer, including HCC. In biological function of SAMD13, SAMD13 mainly include spliceosome, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryote, ribosome, etc. These results suggest that SAMD13 may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for HCC diagnosis and provide novel insights into tumor immunology in HCC.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권5호
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• pp.308-313
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• 2023

Phenotypic features such as ataxia and loss of motor function, which are characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD), are expected to be very closely related to cerebellum function. However, few studies have reported the function of the cerebellum. Since the cerebellum, like the cerebrum, is known to undergo functional and morphological changes due to neuroinflammatory processes, elucidating key functional factors that regulate neuroinflammation in the cerebellum can be a beneficial therapeutic approach. Therefore, we employed PD patients and MPTP-induced PD mouse model to find cytokines involved in cerebellar neuroinflammation in PD and to examine changes in cell function by regulating related genes. Along with the establishment of a PD mouse model, abnormal shapes such as arrangement and number of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum were confirmed based on histological finding, consistent with those of cerebellums of PD patients. As a result of proteome profiling for neuroinflammation using PD mouse cerebellar tissues, fetuin-A, a type of cytokine, was found to be significantly reduced in Purkinje cells. To further elucidate the function of fetuin-A, neurons isolated from cerebellums of embryos (E18) were treated with fetuin-A siRNA. We uncovered that not only the population of neuronal cells, but also their morphological appearances were significantly different. In this study, we found a functional gene called fetuin-A in the PD model's cerebellum, which was closely related to the role of cerebellar Purkinje cells of mouse and human PD. In conclusion, morphological abnormalities of Purkinje cells in PD mice and patients have a close relationship with a decrease of fetuin-A, suggesting that diagnosis and treatment of cerebellar functions of PD patients might be possible through regulation of fetuin-A.

• 한국작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국작물학회 2022년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.289-289
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• 2022

Waterlogging tolerance of corn is one of the important factor for cultivate in paddy soil condition to increase cultivation area and self-sufficiency of corn in Korea. In order to develop elite waterlogging tolerance corn, the new corn lines bred by crossing wild corn, Teosinte, and cultivated corn inbred lines. Five accessions among the 2 species, Zea mays sub spp. mexicana and Zea mays spp. parviglumis, of 81 Teosinte were selected through the waterlogging treatment. The waterlogging treatments were implemented for 7 days at the seedling(V3) stage. The inbred lines were developed by crossing 5 teosinte accessions and cultivated corn lines and they were estimated waterlogging tolerance. It was screened and analyzed the metabolites extracted from roots of 19KT-32(KS141 × teosinte) that was treated waterlogging. We selected 8 of 180 metabolites like as γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA), putrescine, citrulline, Gly, and Ala that expression was remarkably changed over 2.5-times, 7 metabolites increased and 1 metabolite decreased in waterlogging, respectively. Glutamate decarboxylase(GAD) catalyzing GABA accumulation gene have 10 haplotypes, and exon1 was highly conserved, but identified to 135 SNPs after the first intron. Among the 135 SNPs, the number of transversion mutations (52) surpassed the number of transition mutations (38). Most of metabolites were related to abiotic stress in plant that it regulated to pH, osmotic pressure K⁺/Ca⁺⁺ and ATPase activity. We are analyzing the association using these results for increase breeding efficiency.

• 한국작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국작물학회 2022년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.229-229
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• 2022

Rapeseed is a crop that is waterlogging sensitive, and it is necessary to breed waterlogging tolerance varieties. Our study presents the comparative transcriptome changes in two rapeseed lines, i.e., waterlogging-tolerant (tJ8634-B-30,) and - sensitive ('EMS26') lines under control and waterlogging stress treatments at the flowering stage. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed 13,279 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for 'J8634-B-30' and 8,682 DEGs for 'EMS26' under waterlogging stress condition compared to control. Among DEGs of 'J8634-B-30', 6,818 were up-regulated and 6,461 were down-regulated. On the other hand, among the DEGs of 'EMS26', the number of down-regulated genes (5,240) were higher than that of up-regulated genes (3,442). Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that DEGs related to glucan metabolic, cell wall, and oxidoreductase activity were significantly changed in 'J8634-B-30'. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)-based analysis in 'J8634-B-30' identified up-regulated DEGs being involved in MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, the DEGs belonging to mechanisms responding to waterlogging stress, i.e., plant hormones, carbon metabolism, Reactive oxygen species (ROS), Nitric oxide (NO) etc. were compared in rapeseed lines. Several DEGs including ethylene-responsive transcription factor (ERF), constitutive triple response (CTR) (in ethylene signaling pathway), monodehydroascorbate Reductase (MDAR), NADPH oxidase (in ROS pathway), cytochrome c oxidase assembly protein (COX) (in NO pathway) up-regulated in 'J8634-B-30'. These outcomes provided the valuable information for further exploring the genetic mechanism of waterlogging tolerance in rapeseed.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.883-898
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Probiotics have been suggested as potent modulators of age-related disorders in immunological functions, yet little is known about sex-dependent effects of probiotic supplements. Therefore, we aimed to investigate sex-dependent effects of probiotics on profiles of the gut microbiota and peripheral immune cells in healthy older adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, healthy elderly individuals ≥ 65 yrs old were administered probiotic capsules (or placebo) for 12 wk. Gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. Peripheral immune cells were profiled using flow cytometry for lymphocytes (natural killer, B, CD4⁺ T, and CD8⁺ T cells), dendritic cells, monocytes, and their subpopulations. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, phylum Firmicutes was significantly reduced in the probiotic group in women, but not in men. At the genus level, sex-specific responses included reductions in the relative abundances of pro-inflammatory gut microbes, including Catabacter and unclassified_Coriobacteriales, and Burkholderia and unclassified Enterobacteriaceae, in men and women, respectively. Peripheral immune cell profiling analysis revealed that in men, probiotics significantly reduced the proportions of dendritic cells and CD14⁺ CD16^- monocytes; however, these effects were not observed in women. In contrast, the proportion of total CD4⁺ T cells was significantly reduced in women in the probiotic group. Additionally, serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein levels showed a decreasing tendency that were positively associated with changes in gut bacteria, including Catabacter (ρ = 0.678, P < 0.05) and Burkholderia (ρ = 0.673, P < 0.05) in men and women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that probiotic supplementation may reduce the incidence of inflammation-related diseases by regulating the profiles of the gut microbiota and peripheral immune cells in healthy elders in a sex-specific manner.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.39.1-39.11
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• 2024

Importance: Salmonella outbreaks linked to poultry meat have been reported continuously worldwide. Therefore, Salmonella contamination of poultry meats in slaughterhouses is one of the critical control points for reducing disease outbreaks in humans. Objective: This study examined the carry-over contamination of Salmonella species through the entire slaughtering process in South Korea. Methods: From 2018 to 2019, 1,097 samples were collected from the nine slaughterhouses distributed nationwide. One hundred and seventeen isolates of Salmonella species were identified using the invA gene-specific polymerase chain reaction, as described previously. The serotype, phylogeny, and antimicrobial resistance of isolates were examined. Results: Among the 117 isolates, 93 were serotyped into Salmonella Mbandaka (n = 36 isolates, 30.8%), Salmonella Thompson (n = 33, 28.2%), and Salmonella Infantis (n = 24, 20.5%). Interestingly, allelic profiling showed that all S. Mbandaka isolates belonged to the lineage of the sequence type (ST) 413, whereas all S. Thompson isolates were ST292. Moreover, almost all S. Thompson isolates (97.0%, 32/33 isolates) belonging to ST292 were multidrug-resistant and possessed the major virulence genes whose products are required for full virulence. Both serotypes were distributed widely throughout the slaughtering process. Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis demonstrated that seven S. Infantis showed 100% identities in their phylogenetic relatedness, indicating that they were sequentially transmitted along the slaughtering processes. Conclusions and Relevance: This study provides more evidence of the carry-over transmission of Salmonella species during the slaughtering processes. ST292 S. Thompson is a potential pathogenic clone of Salmonella species possibly associated with foodborne outbreaks in South Korea.

• 한국가금학회지
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.287-296
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• 2014

조류의 난포 성장은 호르몬의 작용에 따라 크기가 달라져 각각의 단계를 이루며 성장하게 된다. 난의 성숙에 관련된 유전자는 난 단백질 생산과 산란률에 밀접한 관련이 있으며, 이를 유전자 발현 측면에서 심도 있는 고찰이 필요가 있다. 본 연구는 NGS를 이용한 RNA-seq 데이터를 이용하여 유전자의 발현량과 유전자 상호 구조에 대한 분석을 실시하여 난의 발달 과정에 필요한 유전자군을 조사하였다. 본 실험에 사용된 개체는 한국 재래계 흑색계통이 사용되었고, 비교조직은 미성숙란과 성숙란의 RNA를 추출하여 유전자의 발현 양상을 살펴봄으로 난의 성숙에 필요한 유전자의 발현 양상을 보고자 하였다. 실험을 위해 Total RNA를 추출하였고, HiSeq 2000 platform을 사용하여 염기서열을 분석하고, Tuxedo Protocol과 DAVID 프로그램을 통해 유전자의 기능과 상호간의 연관관계를 예측하였다. 탐색된 유전자군은 미성숙란과 성숙란 간에 많은 차이를 보이고 있는 유전자군을 탐색한 결과, 315개의 발현이 다르게 나타나는 것으로 보이고 있으며, GO 분석을 통하여 기능면에서 미성숙란과 성숙란에서 확연히 구분되는 유전자 발현 양상을 확인할 수 있었다. 이들 결과를 통하여 향후 난성숙 과정을 이해하고, 계란 품질 향상을 위한 마커 개발을 기여할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.37-51
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• 2005

비만세포는 염증 및 알레르기 반응과 관련하여 우리 몸에서 주요한 작용을 하는 세포이다. 봉독은 현재까지 진통기전에 관련된 모델로 연구가 진행되어 왔으나, 최근에는 항염증이나 항알러지반응 둥에서 면역세포와 관련 한 연구가 진행 중에 있다. 본 연구는 봉독의 주요성분인 melittin과 MCD Peptide가 비만세포주에서의 유전자 발현에 미치는 영향을 연구함으로써 향후 유전자 언구에 관련한 기초를 제시하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 사람의 비만세포주를 이용하여, 세포독성 실험을 거쳐서 얻은 유효농도에서 각각 melittin과 MCD Peptide를 처치하고, 이때 변화하는 유전자의 발현양상을 microarray분석기법을 통하여 정보를 얻었다. 실험적 통계에 의하여 global M이 1 또는 -1 이상인 것을 유의한 것으로 보았을 때, melittin에서는 모두 7개 의 유전자가 항진되고, 8개의 유전자가 어제되었다. MCDP에서는 7개의 유전자가 항진되고 17개의 유전자가 억제되었다. 이들 유전자들이 주로 관련하는 체내의 작용은 세포내에서 단백결합, lymphocyte 기능의 활성화, macrophage 항원관련 및 세포핵의 수용체, GABA A receptor 관련물질, cAMP 반응요소와 연관된 단백질, 보체계 8번 및 B-cell 관련물질, 다낭성 신질환에 관련된 단백물질, 염증관련물질, 혈액응고에 영향을 주는 단백물질등과 연관이 되었다. 이러한 분석결과를 통하여 동복에서의 주요약리작용을 담당하는 melittin과 MCD peptide의 작용기전을 밝히는데 보다 유용한 자료를 얻을 수 있었으며, 향후에 봉독의 주요성분 및 전체봉 독액이 항알레르기반응이나 항염증작용에 미치는 영향에 대한 심도있는 연구가 필요할 것으로 사료된다.