• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2018

Studies of immune responses in insects have focused on mechanisms that interact directly with invading microorganisms. However, few studies have examined the immune response to various metabolites produced by microorganisms after they enter the host. Here, we examined immune responses in Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae induced by metabolites produced by symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria. The two types of bacteria were cultured under the same conditions. The bacteria were then removed and the remaining culture supernatant was injected into the larvae. The larvae injected with culture medium (Ch-medium) from symbiotic bacteria remained relatively healthy and did not develop an immune response, whereas more than 60% of the larvae injected with pathogen culture medium (Ec-medium) died after 150 hours and dark brown patches of melanin were observed at the injection site. This immune response was confirmed by the finding of activated lysosomes in insect granulocytes. More than 50% of lysosomes in larvae injected with pathogen culture medium were strongly stained after 12 h, but less than 5% of those injected with symbiotic culture media were stained. Therefore, it is assumed that symbiotic bacteria produce few (if any) substances that induce host immune responses.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.447-454
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• 2023

In the environment in which humans live, there are various antigens that invade the human body and interfere with humans leading a healthy life, so the immune system recognizes the antigen then removes them through a complex mechanism. Macrophages are widely distributed immune cells involved in the innate immune system, and produce various immune modulators such as inducible nitric oxide synthase-induced nitric oxide, cyclooxygenase-2 induced prostaglandin E2 and proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha. On the other hand, Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae are a type of edible insect that have emerged as an alternative to the future food supply problem. The immuno-modulatory effect through the activation of murine macrophage RAW264.7 cell via mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways has been reported. Based on this report, in this study, we confirmed how the expression of immune modulators induced by Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae extracts in RAW264.7 cells was changed by treatment with pharmacological inhibitors of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), MAPKs and NF-κB signaling pathways. As a result, reduction of immune modulators was confirmed in the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor treatment group and NF-κB inhibitor treatment group among the Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae-treated RAW264.7 cell. Furthermore, in the TLR4 inhibitor-treated group, decreases in phosphorylation of JNK and NF-κB factors were confirmed in Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae-treated RAW264.7 cell, as well as decreases in immune modulators. This results suggest that Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae activates RAW264.7 cells by the engagement of TLR4-JNK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.184-191
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• 2008

Entomopathogenic bacteria (Xenorhabdus nematophila, X. sp. and Photorhabdus temperata subsp. temperata) isolated from entomopathogenic nematodes express potent insecticidal activity in insect hemocoel. They are also known to suppress insect immune mediation by inhibiting phospholipase $A_2$, leading to host immunosuppression. This study analyzed effects of their cultured broths on inhibiting insect immunosuppression. For this, we removed all bacterial cells using $0.2\;{\mu}m$ pore sized membrane from the bacteria-cultured broth. All three sterilized cultured media, in dose-dependent manners, significantly inhibited hemocyte-spreading behavior of 5th instar larvae of Spodoptera exigua. However, they showed differential inhibitory activities among different bacterial species, in which X. nematophila showed the most potent inhibitory activity. This immunosuppressive effect was applied to increase the pathogenicity of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). All three bacterial cultured broths including bacterial cells significantly potentiated Bt pathogenicity against young S. exigua larvae when each of them was orally administered in a mixture of low dose of Bt. Finally, we tested the effect of oral administration of the cultured media containing the immunosuppressive compound(s) secreted by the bacteria. The membrane-sterilized cultured broths were mixed with the low dose of Bt and then orally administered to the young S. exigua. Only the cultured medium of X. nematophila showed increase of Bt pathogenicity. These results indicated that the; cultured media of the three bacteria possessed immunosuppressive factor(s), which may act to potentiate Bt toxicity to young S. exigua larvae.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2012

Silkworm larvae often suffer from viral infections causing heavy losses to the economy of silk industry. Insects exhibit both humoral and cellular immune responses that are effective against various pathohens like bacteria, fungi, protozoa, etc., but no insect immune responses is effective against viral infection. To obtain genes related to insect antiviral immunity from Bombyx mori, the cDNA library was constructed from B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV)-infected B. mori. From the cDNA library, we selected 411 differentially expressed clones, and the 5' ends of the inserts were sequenced to generate ESTs. In this work, 135 unigenes were generated after the assembly of 411 differentially expressed clones ESTs. Of these 135 unigenes, we selected 109 antiviral response-related candidates except 26 clones that high similarity with genes derived from BmNPV. Among 109 unigenes, a total of 80% had significant matches to genes from other organisms in the database, wheres 20% of the unigenes had not matched in the database. Functional groups of these sequences with matches in database were constructed according to their putative biological function. Three largest categories were control of cellular oraganization (52%), metabolism (20%), and protein fate (10%). The genetic information reported in this study will provide more information about antiviral-related genes in silkworms.

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.625-630
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• 2014

Defensins, which are small cationic molecules produced by organisms as part of their innate immune response, share a common structural scaffold that is stabilized by three disulfide bridges. Coprisin is a 43-amino acid defensin-like peptide from Copris tripartitus. Here, we report the intramolecular disulfide connectivity of cysteine-rich coprisin, and show that it is the same as in other insect defensins. The disulfide bond pairings of coprisin were determined by combining the enzymatic cleavage and mass analysis. We found that the loss of any single disulfide bond in coprisin eliminated all antibacterial, but not antifungal, activity. Circular dichroism (CD) analysis showed that two disulfide bonds, Cys20-Cys39 and Cys24-Cys41, stabilize coprisin's ${\alpha}$-helical region. Moreover, a BLAST search against UniProtKB database revealed that coprisin's ${\alpha}$-helical region is highly homologous to those of other insect defensins.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2003

ApolipophorinIII (apoLp-III) is a protypical exchangeable apolipoprotein that is abundant in hemolymph of many insect species. Its function lies in the stabilization of low-density lipophorin particles (LDLp) crossing the hemocoel in phases of high energy consumption to deliver lipids from the fat body to the flight muscle cells. But, recent studies with naive Galleria mellonella-apoLp-III gave first indication of an unexpected role of that protein in insect immune activation. In this research, we cloned a cDNA encoding putative apoLp-III from the silkworm, Bombyx mori injected with E. coli and characterized its role. We constructed a cDNA library using whole bodies of B. mori larvae injected with E. coli, carried out the differential screening, and selected the up-regulated clones. Among these clones, we focused on a cDNA showing a high sequence similarity to the apolipophorinIII from other insects and analyzed the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences. The pupative B. mori Jam123 apoLp-III cDNA contained 1,131 bp encoding 186 amino acid residues. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the B. mori apoLp-III cDNA formed a highly inclusive subgroup with Bombycidae. But, it was interesting that B. mori Jam123 is closer to B. mandarina than B. mori P50 and B. mori N4. Northern blot analysis showed a signal in the fat body, posterior silkgland and midgut.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.330-342
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• 2008

A comprehensive quality survey for PCDDs/PCDFs and coplanar PCBs as well as heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in sediments has been investigated in August 2006, Korea. Monitoring was undertaken at five streams representing different surrounding environments throughout Juwang and Gapyeong streams (reference sites), Jungrang stream (dense population site), Ansan stream (mixed small population and industrial site), and Siheung stream (heavy industrial site). The levels of heavy metal in samples were found to be significantly higher in sediment from Siheung stream compared to those of other stream sites. The heavy metal concentrations (dry weight basis) in sediment from Siheung stream were as follows; Cd (3.7 ${\mu}g$/g), Pb (1,295 ${\mu}g$/g), Cu (713.4 ${\mu}g$/g) and Zn (358.1 ${\mu}g$/g). Among 12 coplanar PCBs and 17 PCDDs/PCDFs selected as target compounds in this study, PCB (IUPAC no. 118) and OCDD were the most abundant congeners found in all sediment samples, followed by 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD, OCDF and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8HpCDF as well as PCB (IUPAC no. 105). These results were shown to be in the same trend as the sediment samples of other countries. The levels of PCDDs/PCDFs/coplanar PCBs in sediment samples were expressed as concentrations and WHO- TEQ values. The PCDDs/PCDFs/coplanar PCBs concentrations and their WHO-TEQ values in sediment from Siheung stream were remarkably high. The levels detected were 788.16 pg/g and 36.080 pg WHO-TEQ/g dry weight for PCDDs/ PCDFs and 314 pg/g and 0.4189 pg WHO-TEQ/g dry weight for coplanar PCBs, respectively, beyond the safety level of sediment value 20 pg WHO-TEQ/g. Sediment samples of the five streams were also monitored by sensitive biomarkers using insect immune responses: hemocyte-spreading behavior and immune-associated enzyme activities of phospholipase A$_2$ (PLA$_2$) and phenoloxidase. Organic extracts of Siheung and Jungrang sediments significantly interfered with the hemocytespreading behavior, whereas those of Ansan, Gapyeong, and Juwang did not. These organic extracts did not inhibit the PLA$_2$ and phenoloxidase activities. However, phenoloxidase was highly susceptible to exposure to aqueous extracts in all site sediments. In comparison, PLA$_2$ activities of the hemocytes were significantly inhibited only by aqueous extracts of Siheung, Jungrang, and Gapyeong sediments, but not by those of Ansan and Juwang. Despite some disparity between bioand chemical monitoring results, the biomarkers can be recommended as a device warning the contamination of biohazard environmental chemicals because of a fast and inexpensive detection method.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.610-615
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• 2009

As a provirus, polydnavirus has a segmented DNA genome on chromosome(s) of host wasp. It contains several genes in each segment that presumably play critical roles in regulating physiological processes of target insect parasitized by the wasp. A cysteine-rich protein 1 (CRP1) is present in the polydnavirus Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV) genome, but its expression and physiological function in Plutella xylostella parasitized by the viral host C. plutellae is not known. This CpBV-CRP1 encoding 189 amino acids with a putative signal peptide (20 residues) was persistently expressed in parasitized P. xylostella with gradual decrease at the late parasitization period. Expression of CpBV-CRP1 was tissue-specific in the fat body/epidermis and hemocyte, but not in the gut. Its physiological function was analyzed by inducing transient expression of a CpBV segment containing CpBV-CRP1 and its promoter, which caused significant reduction in hemocyte -spreading and delayed larval development. When the treated larvae were co-injected with double-stranded RNA of CpBV-CRP1, the expression of CpBV-CRP1 disappeared, whereas other genes encoded in the CpBV segment was expressed. These co-injected larvae significantly recovered the hemocyte-spreading capacity and larval development rate. This study reports that CpBV-CRP1 is expressed in P. xylostella parasitized by C. plutellae and its physiological function is to alter the host immune and developmental processes.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2016

Insects constitute the largest and most diverse group of animals in the world. They also serve as the hosts or nutrient sources for an immense assemblage of pathogens, parasites, and predators. More than 700 fungal species from 100 genera have adopted an entomopathogenic lifestyle. Although entomopathogenic fungi were studied as only biocontrol agents against a variety of pests in various countries, it has been recently focused their additional roles in nature. They are antagonists to/against plant pathogens, endophytes, and possibly even plant growth promoting agents. The potential antimicrobial effect against fungal plant pathogens by an isolate of entomopathogenic fungi including Beauveria bassiana, Lecanicillium spp., and Isaria fumosorosea have been reported since late 1990s, but wasn't reported pathogenicity of the isolate against pests. Later, a Canadian Lecanicillium sp. isolate and L. longisporium isolated from Vertalec$^{(R)}$ showed simultaneous control effect against both aphid and cucumber powder mildew. Therefore, the antimicrobial activities of 342 fungi isolates collected from various regions and conditions in Korea were evaluated against plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea using dual culture technique on agar plate. As a result, 186 isolates (54.4%) shown the antifungal activity against B. cinerea. The culture filtrates of selected fungi completely suppressed the growth of the microorganisms, indicating that suppression was due to the presence of antimicrobial substances in the culture filtrate. Mode of action of these fungi against insect involves the attachment of conidia to the insect cuticle, followed by germination, cuticle penetration, and internal dissemination throughout the insect. During infection process, secreted enzymes, proteinous toxins, and/or secondary metabolites secreted by entomopathogenic fungi can be used to overcome the host immune system, modify host behavior, and defend host resources. Recently, secondary metabolites isolated from entomopathogenic fungi have been reported as potential bioactive substances. Generally, most of bioactive substances produced by entomopathogenic fungi have reported low molecular weight (lower than 1,000 g/mol) as peptide and, in contrast the high molecular weight fungal bioactive substances are rare. Most substances based on entomopathogenic fungi were shown antimicrobial activity with narrow control ranges. In our study we analyzed the antimicrobial substances having antagonistic effects to B. cinerea. Antimicrobial substances in our fungal culture filtrates showed high thermostability, high stability to proteolytic enzymes, and hydrophilicity and their molecular weights were differed from substance. In conclusion, entomopathogenic fungi showed pathogenicity against insect pests and culture filtrate of the fungi also shown to antimicrobial activity. In the future, we can use the entomopathogenic fungi and its secondary metabolites to control both insect pest control and plant pathogenic fungi simultaneously.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.315-319
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• 2003

A novel method is developed to yield virus titers in 10 h, is easy to .perform using 96-well plates, and applicable to both any Autographa californica nucleopolyhyderovirus (AcNPV) and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV)-based recombinant baculovirus. This assay uses an antibody to a DNA-binding protein to detect the infected cells via immune-staining. The titer is determined by counting foci produced due to infection of virus under a fluorescent microscopy. The required incubation period was shortened considerably because infected cells expressed viral antigens at the post infection time of 4 h. Therefore, 10 hours were enough to estimate the virus titer including virus infection time, insect cell culture, and estimation of virus titer.