• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.399-404
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• 2000

The adjuvant effect of a muramyl dipeptide (MDP) derivative, MDP-Lys(L18), on enhancing of antitumor immunity induced by X-irradiated tumor cells against highly metastatic B16-BL6 melanoma cells was examined in mice. Mice immunized intradermally (i.d.) with a mixture of X-irradiated B16-BL6 cells and MDP-Lys (L18) [Vac+MDP-Lys (L18)] followed by an intravenous (i.v.)inoculation of $10^4$ viable tumor cells 7 days after immunization, showed a significant inhibition of experimental lung metastasis of B16-BL6 melanoma cells. The most effective immunization for the prophylactic inhibition of tumor metastasis was obtained from the mixture of $100{\;}\mu\textrm{g}$ of MDP-Lys (L18) and $10^4$ X-irradiatied tumor vaccine. Furthermore, immunization of mice with Vac+MDP-Lys(L18), 3 days after tumor challenge, resulted in a significant inhibition of lung metastasis of B16-BL6 melanoma cells in an experimental lung metastasis model. Similarly, the administration of Vac+MDP-Lys(L18), 1 or 7 days after tumor removal, markedly inhibited tumor metastasis of B16-BL6 in a spontaneous lung metastasis model. When Vac+MDP-Lys (L18) was i.d. administered 3 days after subcutaneous (s.c.) inoculation of tumor cells ($5{\times}10^5/site$) on the back, mice treated with Vac+MDP-Lys(L18) showed inhibition of significantly tumor growth on day 20. These results suggest that MDP-Lys (L18) is able to enhance antitumor activity induced by X-irradiated tumor vaccine to reduce lung metastasis of tumor cells, and is a potent immunomodulating agent which may be applied prophylactically as well as therapeutically to treatment of cancer metastasis.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.441-444
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• 2007

Despite the importance of cell fate decisions regulated by epigenetic programming, no experimental model has been available to study transdifferentiation from myoblasts to smooth muscle cells. In the present study, we show that myoblast cells can be induced to transdifferentiate into smooth muscle cells by modulating their epigenetic programming. The DNA methylation inhibitor, zubularine, induced the morphological transformation of C2C12 myoblasts into smooth muscle cells accompanied by de novo synthesis of smooth muscle markers such as smooth muscle ${\alpha}$-actin and transgelin. Furthermore, an increase of p21 and decrease of cyclinD1 mRNA were observed following zebularine treatment, pointing to inhibition of cell cycle progression. This system may provide a useful model for studying the early stages of smooth muscle cell differentiation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.1241-1248
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• 2011

Three dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSARs) between new thiosemicarbazone analogues (1-31) as a substrate molecule and their inhibitory activity against tyrosinase as a receptor were performed and discussed quantitatively using CoMFA (comparative molecular field analysis) and CoMSIA (comparative molecular similarity indices analysis) methods. According to the optimized CoMSIA 2 model obtained from the above procedure, inhibitory activities were mainly dependent upon H-bond acceptor favored field (36.5%) of substrate molecules. The optimized CoMSIA 2 model, with the sensitivity of the perturbation and the prediction, produced by a progressive scrambling analysis was not dependent on chance correlation. From molecular docking studies, it is supposed that the inhibitory activation of the substrate molecules against tyrosinase (PDB code: 1WX2) would not take place via uncompetitive inhibition forming a chelate between copper atoms in the active site of tyrosinase and thiosemicarbazone moieties of the substrate molecules, but via competitive inhibition based on H-bonding.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.182-187
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• 1991

The effects of acrylonitrile and acrylamide on the enzyme action of nitrile hydratase of Brevibacterium sp. CH1 and CH2 strains used for the biotransformations of nitriles were studied. The excessive substrate (acrylonitrile) and product (acrylamide) inhibited the enzyme activity competitively. In comparison with 0.2 mol/l of CH1 strain, the substrate inhibition of CH2 strain began to appear only at a high acrylonitrile concentration of 0.91 mol/l. In a packed bed reactor, dispersed plug flow model was proposed and this model was proved to be valid by the experiment. Also acrylamide productivity decreased sharply when acrylamide concentration in the substrate solution exceeded 20％ (wt/v).

• Toxicological Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.169-173
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• 1995

The effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha $(TNF-{\alpha})$ on growth and tubular formation of bovine aortic endothelial cells were examined using an in vitro angiogenesis model system. The growth of endothelial cells was enhanced in a dose-dependent manner when the cells were cultured with $TNF-{\alpha}$ for 3 days, but $TNF-{\alpha}$, at the concentration of 1 nM or higher, produced a growth inhibition of endothelial cells when the cells were cultured for 8 days. The endothelial cells incubated with $TNF-{\alpha}$ for 48-h exhibited a typical morphologic change. Then, they showed a fibroblastoid organization of overlapping, elongated, and spindle-shaped cells. $TNF-{\alpha}$, at the concentration of O. 1 nM or higher, inhibited the tubular formation of vascular endothelial cells in an in vitro anglogenesis model using a 3-dimensional culture system.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.216-221
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• 2006

The cholinesterase-inhibiting organophosphorous (OP) compounds known as nerve agents are highly toxic. The principal toxic mechanism of OP compounds is the inhibition of acethylcholine esterase (AChE) by phosphorylation of its catalytic site. The reversible competitive inhibition of AChE may prevent the subsequent OP intoxication. In this study, three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) was performed to investigate the relationship between the 29 compounds with structural diversity and their bioactivities against AChE. In particular, predictive models were constructed using the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA). The results indicate reasonable model for CoMFA ($q^{2}=0.453,\;r^{2}=0.697$) and CoMSIA ($q^{2}=0.518,\;r^{2}=0.696$). The presence of steric and hydophobic group at naphtyl moiety of the model may lead to the design of improved competitive inhibitors for organophosphorous intoxication.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.3 s.54
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• pp.239-244
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• 2006

Caenorhabditis elegans(C. elegans) is a free-living soil nematode that commonly used as a biological model and recently, much work has been done using C. elegans as a toxicity model. To evaluate the acute toxicity of phenols to C. elegans, worms were subsequently exposed to nine different xenobiotics. This study described lethal toxicity, reproductive toxicity and movement inhibition using 2-propylphenol, 4-propylphenol, 2-tert-butylphenol, 3-tert-butylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol, 2-phenylphenol, 4-phenylphenol, nonylphenol and 4-dodecylphenol to C. elegans for 24 hr or 72 hr. We found that phenols used in this study were very toxic to C. elegans. The order of lethal toxicity, reproductive toxicity and movement inhibition is as follows. 4-propylphenol > 2-phenylphenol > 2-tert-butylphenol > 2-propylphenol > nonylphenol > B-tert-butylphenol > 4-dodefylphenol > 4-tert-butylphenol > 4-phenylphenol.

• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.599-600
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• 2017

Many studies have focused on the tumor suppressive role of $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling during the early stages of tumorigenesis by activating the target genes involved in cytostasis and apoptosis. We investigated the effects of $TGF-{\beta}$ inhibition on early tumorigenesis in the liver, by employing diverse inhibitory methods. Strikingly, $TGF-{\beta}$ inhibition consistently suppressed hepatic tumorigenesis that was induced either by activated RAS plus p53 downregulation or by the co-activation of RAS and TAZ signaling; this demonstrates the requirements for canonical $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling in tumorigenesis. Moreover, we found that Snail is the target gene of the $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling pathway that promotes hepatic carcinogenesis. The knockdown of Snail suppressed the early tumorigenesis in the liver, as did the $TGF-{\beta}$ inhibition, while the ectopic expression of Snail restored tumorigenesis that was suppressed by the $TGF-{\beta}$ inhibition. Our findings establish the oncogenic $TGF-{\beta}$-Smad-Snail signaling axis during the early tumorigenesis in the liver.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.377-381
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• 2002

Recently, interests to remove nitrogen in the nitritation process have increased because of its economical advantages, since it could be a short-cut process to save both oxygen for nitrification and carbon for denitrification compared to a typical nitrification. However, the kinetics related with the nitritation process has not yet been fully understood. Furthermore, many useful models which have been successfully used for wastewater treatment processes cannot be used to estimate effluent nitrite concentration for evaluating performance of the nitritation process, since the process rate equations and population of microorganisms for nitrogen removal in these models have been set up only for the condition of full nitrification. Therefore, the present study was conducted to estimate an effluent nitrite concentration in the nitritation process with a concept of enzymatic inhibition kinetics based on long-term laboratory experiments. Using a nonlinear least squares regression method, kinetic parameters were accurately determined. By setting up a process rate equation along with a mass balance equation of the nitrite-oxidizing step, an effluent nitrite concentration in the nitritation process was then successfully estimated.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.232-236
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• 2003

Elsholtzia splendens Nakai has been used in North-East Asia as an ingredient of folk medicines for treating cough, headache and inflammation. The present investigation was carried out to establish its in vivo anti-inflammatory activity using several animal models of inflammation and pain. The 75% ethanol extract of the aerial part of E. splendens significantly inhibited mouse croton oil-induced, as well as arachidonic acid-induced, ear edema by oral administration (44.6% inhibition of croton oil-induced edema at 400 mg/kg). This plant material also showed significant inhibitory activity against the mouse ear edema induced by multiple treatment of phorbol ester for 3 days, which is an animal model of subchronic inflammation. In addition, E. splendens exhibited significant analgesic activity against mouse acetic acid-induced writhing (50% inhibition at 400 mg/kg), while indomethacin (5 mg/kg) demonstrated 95% inhibition. E. splendens ($5-100{\;}{\mu}g/mL$) significantly inhibited $PGE_2$ production by pre-induced cyclooxygenase-2 of lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW 264.7 cells, suggesting that cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition might be one of the cellular mechanisms of anti-inflammation.