• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2023.04a
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• pp.17-17
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• 2023

Chrysanthemum zawadskii (C. zawadskii) is used in traditional East Asian medicine for the treatment of various diseases, including inflammatory disease. However, it has remained unclear whether extracts of C. zawadskii inhibit inflammasome activation in macrophages. The present study assessed the inhibitory effect of an ethanol extract of C. zawadskii (CZE) on the activation of the inflammasome in macrophages and the underlying mechanism. Bone marrow[-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were obtained from wild-type C57BL/6 mice. The release of IL-1β and lactate dehydrogenase in response to nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activators, such as ATP, nigericin and monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, was significantly decreased by CZE in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-primed BMDMs. Western blotting revealed that CZE inhibited ATP-induced caspase-1 cleavage and IL-1β maturation. To investigate whether CZE inhibits the priming step of the NLRP3 inflammasome, we confirmed the role of CZE at the gene level using RT-qPCR. CZE also downregulated the gene expression of NLRP3 and pro-IL-1β as well as NF-κB activation in BMDMs in response to LPS. Apoptosis associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-recruitment domain (CARD) oligomerization and speck formation by NLRP3 inflammasome activators were suppressed by CZE. By contrast, CZE did not affect NLR family CARD domain containing protein 4 (NLRC4) or absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome activation in response to Salmonella typhimurium and poly(dA:dT) in LPS-primed BMDMs, respectively. The results revealed that three key components of CZE, namely linarin, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and chlorogenic acid, decreased IL-1β secretion in response to ATP, nigericin and MSU. These findings suggest that CZE effectively inhibited activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.148-156
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• 2016

Objectives According to previous studies, the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene could be an important candidate gene for schizophrenia. Some studies have linked the (AAT)n trinucleotide repeat polymorphism in CNR1 gene with the risk of schizophrenia. Meanwhile, smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) has been regarded as one of the most consistent endophenotypes of schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the association between the (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats in CNR1 gene and SPEM abnormality in Korean patients with schizophrenia. Methods We measured SPEM function in 167 Korean patients with schizophrenia (84 male, 83 female) and they were divided according to SPEM function into two groups, good and poor SPEM function groups. We also investigated allele frequencies of (AAT)n repeat polymorphisms on CNR1 gene in each group. A logistic regression analysis was performed to find the association between SPEM abnormality and the number of (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats. Results The natural logarithm value of signal/noise ratio (Ln S/N ratio) of the good SPEM function group was $4.34{\pm}0.29$ and that of the poor SPEM function group was $3.21{\pm}0.70$. In total, 7 types of trinucleotide repeats were identified, each containing 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 repeats, respectively. In the patients with $(AAT)7$ allele, the distributions of the good and poor SPEM function groups were 18 (11.1%) and 19 (11.0%) respectively. In the patients with $(AAT)_{10}$ allele, $(AAT)_{11}$ allele, $(AAT)_{12}$ allele, $(AAT)_{13}$ allele, $(AAT)_{14}$ allele and $(AAT)_{15}$ allele, the distributions of good and poor SPEM function groups were 13 (8.0%) and 12 (7.0%), 4 (2.5%) and 6 (3.5%), 31 (19.8%) and 35 (20.3%), 51 (31.5%) and 51 (29.7%), 36 (22.2%) and 45 (26.2%), 9 (5.6%) and 4 (2.3%) respectively. As the number of (AAT) n repeat increased, there was no aggravation of abnormality of SPEM function. Conclusions There was no significant aggravation of SPEM abnormality along with the increase of number of (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats in the CNR1 gene in Korean patients with schizophrenia.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1224-1230
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• 2014

The red radish (Raphanus sativus L.; RR) sprout is a plant of the cruciferous family. In this study, we elucidated the effect of the water extract of RR sprout (RRSE) against ${\alpha}$-amylase, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase enzyme activity and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. ${\alpha}$-amylase, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase enzyme activity was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by RRSE treatment. RSSE also abolished adipocyte differentiation and lipid and triglyceride accumulation without cytotoxicity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In addition, RRSE modulated the expression of the proteins related to adipogenic transcription factors: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)${\gamma}$, sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1), and CCAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)${\alpha}$. RRSE also suppressed expression of the proteins responsible for lipid synthesis, transport, and storage: adiponectin, fatty acid synthesis (FAS), perilipin, and fatty acid bind protein-4 (FABP4). This study showed that RRS treatment has the potential to inhibit obesity by controlling the expression of adipogenic transcription factors and adipogenic proteins.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.332-336
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• 2008

Ginger is widely used as a traditional herbal medicine. Both ginger and its extracts have been used to treat many chronic inflammatory conditions via the inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) activation, which results in the suppression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. However, the mechanisms as to how ginger extracts mediate their health effects are largely unknown. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) trigger anti-microbial innate immune responses, recognizing conserved microbial structural molecules that are known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns. All TLR signaling pathways culminate in the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$. The activation of NF- ${\kappa}B$ leads to the induction of inflammatory gene products, including cytokines and COX-2. This study reports the biochemical evidence that 6-shogaol, an active compound in ginger, inhibits NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and COX-2 expression induced by TLR2, TLR3, and TLR4 agonists. Furthermore, 6-shogaol inhibited NF-${\kappa}B$ activation induced by the following downstream signaling components of the TLRs: MyD88, $IKK{\beta}$, and p65. These results imply that ginger can modulate immune responses that could potentially modify the risk of many chronic inflammatory diseases.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.56-64
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• 2005

Two distinct CD3 homologue genes, $CD3\gamma/\delta\;and\;CD\varepsilon$, were isolated from a olive flounder leukocyte cDNA library and a BAC library. $CD3\gamma/\delta$ consisted of 961 bp encoding 178 amino acid residues, and $CD3\varepsilon$ consisted of 1006 bp encoding 164 amino acid residues. When compared with other known CD3 peptide sequences, the most conserved region of the two olive flounder CD3 chain peptides are the cytoplasmic domain and the least conserved are the extracellular domain. A phylogenetic analysis based on the deduced amino acid sequence grouped the two olive flounder CD3 sequences with $CD3\varepsilon$ and $CD3\gamma/\delta$, respectively. The olive flounder CD3 cluster (consisting of $CD3\varepsilon\;and\;CD3\gamma/\delta$) spans only 10.4 kb. The $CD3\varepsilon\;and\;CD3\gamma/\delta$ genes are oppositely transcribed only 3.8 kb apart. Both olive flounder CD3 genes have five exons. The two olive flounder CD3 genes were predominantly expressed in PBLs, kidney, spleen, and gills.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.208-214
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• 2009

Steroid hormones have long been known to have a profound influence on the immune system. Although the functions of the nuclear receptors in the development of T cells are fairly well studied, the differential expression of these receptors in T helper cells is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the differential expression of nuclear receptors and coregulators in Th1 and Th2 cells by genome-wide micro array analysis. The result showed that several nuclear receptors and coregulators are differentially expressed in these cells. The result was confirmed by RT-PCR. The result showed that $RXR{\alpha}$ is highly expressed in Th2 cells. Overexpression of $RXR{\alpha}$ in a Jurkat human T cell line induced IL4 but not IFN-${\gamma}$ gene expression, suggesting that $RXR{\alpha}$ plays a selective role in Th1 and Th2 differentiation. In summary, these results suggest that Th1/Th2 differentiation is influenced by differential regulation of nuclear receptors and coregulators.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.354-361
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• 2017

Transcriptional co-activator with a PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) is an important factor in lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-induced promotion of migration and proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The expression of TAZ significantly increased at 6 h after LPA treatment, and TAZ knockdown inhibited the LPA-induced migration and proliferation of MSCs. In addition, embryonic fibroblasts from TAZ knockout mice exhibited the reduction in LPA-induced migration and proliferation. The LPA1 receptor inhibitor Ki16425 blocked LPA responses in MSCs. Although TAZ knockdown or knockout did not reduce LPA-induced phosphorylation of ERK and AKT, the MEK inhibitor U0126 or the ROCK inhibitor Y27632 blocked LPA-induced TAZ expression along with the reduction in the proliferation and migration of MSCs. Our data suggest that TAZ is an important mediator of LPA signaling in MSCs in the downstream of MEK and ROCK signaling.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.311-315
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• 2013

Ribes fasciculatum (Saxifragaceae) has been widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of cough, antidote, cold, lacquer poison, and sore throat. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-nociceptive effects of ethyl acetate fraction of Ribes fasciculatum (ERF) in mice. Test results of tail-immersion test and hot plate test revealed that the ERF had strong anti-nociceptive activities on thermal nociception in a dose dependent manner, indicating ERF's anti-nociception on the central pain. Moreover, the acetic acid-induced chemical nociception was also significantly reduced by ERF treatment. This result shows that ERF may also work on the peripheral pain. We further performed formalin test to confirm ERF's anti-nociceptive properties and found that pain responses were significantly decreased by ERF treatment. Interestingly, in the combination test with naloxone, the analgesic activity of ERF was not changed, indicating that the opioid receptor was not involved in the ERF-mediated anti-nociception. These results indicate that ERF might be possibly used as a painkiller for the treatment of nociceptive pains.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.617-622
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• 1993

The preliminary studies on the localization of adrenoceptors were performed on smooth muscle strips of bovine esophageal groove. The mechanical activity of the muscle strip was recorded isometrically in vitro.w In the bottom circular muscle strips. the excitatory ${\alpha}-adrenergic$ responses were not blocked by tetrodotoxin$(2.1{\times}10^{-6}M)$ and denervation which was carried by cold storage of strips for 48 hrs in Tyrode's solution at $5-6{^{\circ}C}$ without oxygen supply. These excitatory ${\alpha}-adrenergic$ responses were partially blocked by atropine. In the lip longitudinal muscle strips, the inhibitory${\beta}-adrenergic$ responses were not blocked by pretreatment of tetrodotoxin and atropine. The results suggest that ${\beta}-adrenergic$ receptors mediating relaxations are located on the postsynaptic smooth muscle cells, whereas ${\beta}-adrenergic$ receptors mediating contractions are located both in the smooth muscle cells and in the cholinergic neurones.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-allergy activities of persimmon leaf extract (PLE) on a phthalic anhydride (PA)-induced allergic mouse model. A human leukemic mast cell line (HMC-1) was used to examine the inhibitory activity of PLE on the histamine release by human leukemic mast cells. PLE inhibited histamine release from HMC-1 cells in response to cross-linkage of high-affinity IgE receptor-${\alpha}$ ($Fc{\varepsilon}RI{\alpha}$). Additionally, a PA-induced allergic mouse model was used to investigate the effects of PLE in vivo. Mice were orally administrated with or without PLE of single dose (250 mg/kg/day) for 31 days. Oral intake of PLE significantly inhibited passive cutaneous reactions. Oral administration of PLE to PA-induced allergic mice also led to a striking suppression of the development of contact dermatitis, ear swelling and lymph node weight. In addition, PA-specific IL-4 production of draining lymph node cells was markedly diminished by PLE oral administration, but not IFN-${\gamma}$. Furthermore, PLE treatment suppressed PA-induced thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (CCL17) and cutaneous T cell-attracting chemokine (CCL27) expressions in ear tissues. Based on these results, we suggest that PLE may have therapeutic potential as an effective material for management of irritant contact dermatitis or related inflammatory diseases.