• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2018

Estragole is a naturally occurring phenylpropanoid obtained from essential oils found in a broad diversity of plants. Although the phenylpropanoids show many biological activities, clear regulation of the inflammatory signaling pathways has not yet been determined. Here, we scrutinized the anti-inflammatory effect of estragole. The anti-inflammatory effect of estragole was determined through the inhibitory mechanisms of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways and the activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2)/heme oxygenase (HO)-1 pathways in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Estragole significantly inhibited NO production, iNOS and COX-2 expression as well as LPS-induced $NF-{\kappa}B$ and MAPK activation. Furthermore, estragole suppressed LPS-induced intracellular ROS production but up-regulated the stress response gene HO-1 via the activation of transcription factor Nrf-2. These findings demonstrate that estragole inhibits the LPS-induced expression of inflammatory mediators via the down-regulation of iNOS, COX-2, $NF-{\kappa}B$, and MAPK pathways, as well as the up-regulation of the Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway, indicating that this phenylpropanoid has potential therapeutic and preventive applications in various inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.227-232
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• 2015

A microarray study has been employed to understand changes of gene expression in E. coli KD43162 resistant to ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, piperacillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, cefazolin, cefepime, aztreonam, imipenem, meropenem, gentamicin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, fosfomycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole except for amikacin using disk diffusion assay. Using Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF MS analyses, 36 kDa of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) was found to be deleted in the multidrug resistant E. coli KD 43162. Microarray analysis was used to determine up- and down-regulated genes in relation to multidrug resistant E. coli KD43162. Among the up-regulated genes, these genes were corresponded to express the proteins as penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), tartronate semialdehyde reductase, ethanolamine utilization protein, shikimate kinase I, allantoinase, predicted SAM-dependent methyltransferase, L-glutamine: D-fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase (GFAT), phospho-glucosamine mutase, predicted N-acetylmannosamine kinase, and predicted N-acetylmannosamine-6-P epimerase. Up-regulation of PBPs, one of primary target sites of antibiotics, might be responsible for the multidrug resistance in E. coli with increasing amount of target sites. Up-regulation of GFAT enzyme may be related to the up-regulation of PBPs because GFAT produces N-acetylglucosamine, a precursor of peptidoglycans. One of GFAT inhibitors, azaserine, showed a potent inhibition on the growth of E. coli KD43162. In conclusion, up-regulation of PBPs and GFATs with the loss of 36 kDa OMP refers the multidrug resistance in E. coli KD 43162.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.487-496
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• 2014

Angiotensinogen (AGT), the precursor of angiotensin I, is known to be involved in tumor angiogenesis and associated with the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis. This study was undertaken to determine the role played by AGT in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in tumor progression and metastasis. It was found that the number of EPC colonies formed by AGT heterozygous knockout ($AGT^{+/-}$) cells was less than that formed by wild-type (WT) cells, and that the migration and tube formation abilities of $AGT^{+/-}$ EPCs were significantly lower than those of WT EPCs. In addition, the gene expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Flk1, angiopoietin (Ang)-1, Ang-2, Tie-2, stromal derived factor (SDF)-1, C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4), and of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were suppressed in $AGT^{+/-}$ EPCs. Furthermore, the expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-$1{\alpha}$and $-2{\alpha}$ were downregulated in $AGT^{+/-}$ early EPCs under hypoxic conditions, suggesting a blunting of response to hypoxia. Moreover, the activation of Akt/eNOS signaling pathways induced by VEGF, epithelial growth factor (EGF), or SDF-$1{\alpha}$ were suppressed in $AGT^{+/-}$ EPCs. In $AGT^{+/-}$ mice, the incorporation of EPCs into the tumor vasculature was significantly reduced, and lung tumor growth and melanoma metastasis were attenuated. In conclusion, AGT is required for hypoxia-induced vasculogenesis.

• Genes and Genomics
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.1331-1338
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• 2018

Although there have been plenty of dominance deviation analysis, few studies have dealt with multiple phenotypes. Because researchers focused on multiple phenotypes (final weight and backfat thickness) of Landrace pigs, the classification of the genes was possible. With genome-wide association studies (GWASs), we analyzed the additive and dominance effects of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The classification of the pig genes into four categories (overdominance in final weight, overdominance in backfat thickness and overdominance in final weight, underdominance in backfat thickness, etc.) can enable us not only to analyze each phenotype's dominant effects, but also to illustrate the gene ontology (GO) analysis with different aspects. We aimed to determine the additive and dominant effect in backfat thickness and final weight and performed GO analysis. Using additive model and dominance deviation analysis in GWASs, Landrace pigs' overdominant and underdominant SNP effects in final weight and backfat thickness were surveyed. Then through GO analysis, we investigated the genes that were classified in the GWASs. The major GO terms of the underdominant effects in final weight and overdominant effects in backfat thickness were ion transport with the SLC8A3, KCNJ16, P2RX7 and TRPC3 genes. Interestingly, the major GO terms in the underdominant effects in the final weight and the underdominant effects in the backfat thickness were the regulation of ion transport with the STAC, GCK, TRPC6, UBASH3B, CAMK2D, CACNG4 and SCN4B genes. These results demonstrate that ion transport and ion transport regulation genes have distinct dominant effects. Through GWASs using the mode of linear additive model and dominance deviation, overdominant effects and underdominant effects in backfat thickness was contrary to each other in GO terms (ion transport and ion transport regulation, respectively). Additionally, because ion transport and ion transport regulation genes are associative with adipose tissue accumulation, we could infer that these two groups of genes had to do with unique fat accumulation mechanisms in Landrace pigs.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.123-130
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• 2024

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) hold great promise as a source of stem cells for therapy, but several limitations remain. We previously proposed that human embryonic stem cell-derived MSCs (hE-MSCs) expressing higher hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) levels were better alternatives, exhibiting greater expandability in vitro and greater therapeutic capacity in vivo. In this study, we aimed to examine the regulation of OCT4 expression in stem cells and to elucidate its underlying mechanism of transcriptional regulation of OCT4. We detected higher expression of OCT4, a stemness-associated gene in hE-MSCs than in human bone marrow-derived MSCs (hBM-MSCs). To determine the underlying regulatory mechanism of OCT4 expression in human MSCs (hMSCs), ELISA was performed using cell culture supernatants of hMSCs. Unlike fibroblast growth factor 2 or vascular endothelial growth factor, HGF was strongly expressed in hE-MSCs, also HGF treatment significantly increased OCT4 expression in hBM-MSC. Moreover, senescence-associated heterochromatin foci were decreased in HGF-treated hBM-MSCs compared with those in the HGF non-treated group. HGF increased Rb phosphorylation, and we confirmed the increased binding of E2F1 to the OCT4 promoter region at -233 from the transcription start point in the presence of HGF. Taken together, these results suggest that HGF-mediated regulation of OCT4 via E2F1 can help enhance the lifespan of hBM-MSCs during in vitro expansion.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.230-235
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• 2001

Background: Finding of the regulation of various gene expression by cytokine including $IFN-{\gamma}$ in hematopoietic stem cell will light up the understanding of pathogenesis of aplastic anemia in various aspects. To study on aplastic anemia, however, we have to circumvent the difficulty of directly obtaining bone marrow stem cells from the patient. Therefore, we tried to find out a cell can replace the bone marrow stem cells for study on cell signaling pathway and regulation of gene expression by $IFN-{\gamma}$. Materials and Methods: HL-60 cells, of 20 ng/mL of $IFN-{\gamma}$. Total RNA was isolated from the cells and RT-PCR of the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), $IFN-{\gamma}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, $MIP-1{\alpha}$, and $TGF-{\beta}2$ was carried out for the estimation of the gene expression. Results: $IFN-{\gamma}$ induced IDO gene expression of mononuclear cells from umbilical cord blood showed similar pattern as compared to that of bone marrow. Whether $INF-{\gamma}$ was treated or not, $TNF-{\alpha}$ was expressed in both mononuclear cells from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow. However, HL-60 cells showed different expression patterns. HL-60 cells would express neither IDO nor $TNF-{\alpha}$ even under the culture with 20ng/mL of $IFN-{\gamma}$. Conclusion: Our results showed bone marrow can be replaced with mononuclear cells from umbilical cord blood in the study on the relation between aplastic anemia and $IFN-{\gamma}$ including $IFN-{\gamma}$ cell signaling pathway.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.186-195
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• 2015

Anthranilate synthase (AS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of tryptophan (Trp), which is the precursor of bioactive metabolites like indole-3-acetic acid and other indole alkaloids. Alpha anthranilate synthase 2 (OsASA2) plays a critical role in the feedback inhibition of tryptophan biosynthesis. In this study, two vectors with single (F124V) and double (S126F/L530D) point mutations of the OsASA2 gene for feedback-insensitive ${\alpha}$ subunit of rice anthranilate synthase were constructed and transformed into wildtype Dongjinbyeo by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transgenic single and double mutant lines were selected as a single copy using TaqMan PCR utilized nos gene probe. To select intergenic lines, the flanking sequence of RB or LB was digested with a BfaI enzyme. Four intergenic lines were selected using a flanking sequence tagged (FST) analysis. Expression in rice (Oryza sativa L.) of the transgenes resulted in the accumulation of tryptophan (Trp), indole-3-acetonitrile (IAN), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in leaves and tryptophan content as a free amino acid in seeds also increased up to 30 times relative to the wildtype. Two homozygous event lines, S-TG1 and D-TG1, were selected for characterization of agronomic traits and metabolite profiling of seeds. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), related to ion transfer and nutrient supply, were upregulated and DEGs related to co-enzymes that work as functional genes were down regulated. These results suggest that two homozygous event lines may prove effective for the breeding of crops with an increased level of free tryptophan content.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.233-238
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• 2009

The expression of Corynebacterium ammoniagenes purF was analyzed by utilizing a plasmid carrying a cat gene fused to the purF promoter region. Adenine and guanine repressed the expression of the purF gene by 20~30% but hypoxanthine did not exert such repressive effect. The expression purF was maximal at the late log phase and remained constant throughout the stationary phase. Promoter $P_{180}$ which was developed in C. glutamicum was also functional in C. ammoniagenes, achieving maximal activity at the late log phase. The promoter outperformed Escherichia coli $P_{tac}$ promoter by 40~50% level. DNA-affinity purification identified a protein which could bind to the promoter region of the purF gene. The protein showed high similarity to the CRP-family transcriptional regulator encoded by NCgl0120 in C. glutamicum. The size of the screened protein agreed with the expected protein size from the ORF NCgl0120. The corresponding gene in C. ammoniagenes encoded a 42 kDa polypeptide composed of 400 amino acids with expected pI of 4.9. The encoded protein showed 14.1% and 15.8% identity with E. coli and Bacillus subtilis PurR, respectively, suggesting that the isolated protein might be a novel type of regulatory protein involved in the regulation of purine metabolism.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.442-447
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• 2010

We investigated anti-cancer and anti-proliferative activity of allicin and analyzed global gene expression changes by allicin treatment in human colorectal HCT116 cells. As a result, allicin decreased cell viabilities in a dose and time-dependent manner and induced apoptosis. Oligo DNA microarray analysis, we found that 7,840 genes were up-regulated more than 2-folds, whereas 10,010 genes were down-regulated more than 2-folds by $50\;{\mu}M$ allicin treatment. To confirm specific gene expressions, we performed RT-PCR. Consistent with the results of DNA microarray analysis, allicin dramatically induced ATF3 and NAG1 gene expression. Interestingly, NAG-1 protein expression was dependent on p53 presence. Taken together, our present results increase the knowledge of the molecular mechanism of anti-cancer and anti-proliferative activity mediated by allciin in human colorectal cancer cell.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2013

Curcumin has diverse anticancer activities that lead to tumor growth inhibition of cancer cells and induction of apoptosis. Curcumin is involved in the regulation of multiple genes via transcription factors including NF-${\kappa}B$, STATs, AP1, and SP. Notch signaling plays critical roles in maintaining the balance between cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, and thereby may contribute to the development of various cancers involving breast cancer. This study was to investigate the effects of curcumin on Notch1 gene expression and to explore the underlying mechanism. Here, we found that curcumin decreased the levels of Notch1 mRNA and protein in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells, along with the downregulation of Sp family genes (Sp1, Sp2, Sp3, and Sp4). The repressive effect of curcumin on Notch1 gene transcription was confirmed by performing Notch1 promoter-driven reporter assay and three Sp-binding sites were identified on Notch1 promoter that may act as curcumin-respose elements. Moreover, treatment with mitramycin A, a specific Sp inhibitor, decreased the levels of Notch1 mRNA and protein in human breast cancer cells. Taken together, our results indicate that Notch1 gene expression is downregulated by curcumin, at least in part, through the suppression of Sp family, which may lead to apoptosis in human breast cancer cells.