• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.95-99
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• 2004

One mechanism which plays a prominent role in development of multi-drug resistance seen in cancer cells is the over-expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp). It is known that compounds found in vegetables and fruits not only have anticarcinogenic properties but may also modulate P-gp activity. The effect of some dietary components on efflux of daunomycin (DNM), a P-gp substrate, was examined in P-gp over-expressed human uterine sarcoma cell line, MES-SA/DX5. The efflux of DNM from the cells was significantly inhibited by quercetin and verapamil, but not by 1-naphtyl-isothiocyanate (NITC). The $IC_{50}$ values for DNM in MES-SA/DX5 cells were increased by flavonoids (quercetin and fisetin), but not by NITC after 72 hour incubation with dietary constituents. In conclusion, flavonoids may play a role in the modulation of P­-gp activity in human uterine sarcoma cells.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.473-477
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• 2009

Previously, the 9-mer analog peptides, 9Pbw2 and 9Pbw4, were designed based on a defensin-like peptide, protaetiamycine isolated from Protaetia brevitarsis. In this study, antifungal effects of the analog peptides were investigated. The antifungal susceptibility testing exhibited that 9Pbw4 contained more potent antifungal activities than 9Pbw2. A PI influx assay confirmed the effects of the analog peptides and demonstrated that the peptides exerted their activity by a membrane-active mechanism, in an energy-independent manner. As the noteworthy potency of 9Pbw4, the mechanism(s) of 9Pbw4 were further investigated. The membrane studies, using rhodamine-labeled giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran loaded liposome, suggested that the membrane-active mechanism of 9Pbw4 could have originated from the pore-forming action and the radii of pores was presumed to be anywhere from 1.8 nm to 3.3 nm. These results were confirmed by 3D-flow cytometric contour-plot analysis. The present study suggests a potential of 9Pbw4 as a novel antifungal peptide.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.620-624
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• 2009

Apolipophorin-III (apoLp-III) was isolated and purified from the last instar larval hemolymph of Galleria mellonella by gel chromatography (Sephadex G-100) and ion exchange chromatography (CM-52). In the present study, I wanted to show that apoLp-III is taken up into the adult ovary in Galleria mellonella. Adult ovary tissues were incubated at room temperature for 30 min with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled apoLp-III. Fluorescence microscopy and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) revealed that adult ovary tissues internalize fluorescence-labeled apoLp-III. The results suggest that apoLp-III is taken up by the adult ovary.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.266-272
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• 2010

Natural Ginger extract was extracted from Ginger component using ethanol as a solvent, and we tested various pharmaceutical characteristics in this extract. Characteristics experiment to use natural Ginger extract tested antimicrobial experiment using microbe, and analyzed organic and inorganic component with analysis instrument. From the result of characteristics experiment, some conclusions are obtained as follow. In this experiment, natural Ginger extract was obtained about 22.50 g-Ginger extract(extraction ratio : 1.80%) as liquid state of some viscous yellow-brown color. The result of antimicrobial experiment with staphylococcus aureus and aspergillus niger in microbe decreased more and more according to passage of reaction time. This phenomenon could know that Ginger extract has influenced to antimicrobial effect. In the result of instrumental analysis, aromatic organic components of benzimidazole(1.283), propyl isothiocyanate or isothiocyanic acid(1.477) etcs from Ginger extract were detected with GC/MS and inorganic component of Ca(27.6 ppm), K(24.08 ppm), Mg(6.03 ppm), Na(1.02 ppm), Zn(1.02 ppm), Sb(0.711 ppm) and Li(0.079 ppm) etcs from Ginger extract were detected with ICP/OES.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.22.1-22.7
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• 2021

Fenbendazole (FBZ) is a commonly used anthelmintics in veterinary medicine that has recently been found to have anticancer effects in humans. On the other hand, few studies have examined the anti-inflammatory effects of FBZ, and its mechanism is unknown. In this study, mouse bone marrow cells (BMs) were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a representative inflammation-inducing substance, to generate a situation similar to osteomyelitis in vitro. The effect of FBZ on inflammatory BMs was examined by measuring the metabolic activity, surface marker expression, cell nuclear morphology, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of BMs. FBZ decreased the metabolic activity and MMP of LPS-treated BMs. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining and Hoechst 33342 staining showed that FBZ reduced the number of viable cells and induced the cell death of inflammatory BMs. In addition, FBZ reduced the proportion of granulocytes more than B lymphocytes in LPS-treated BMs. Overall, FBZ induces cell death by destabilizing the MMP of LPS-induced inflammatory BMs. In addition to anthelmintic and anticancer agent, FBZ can play a role as an anti-inflammatory agent.

• Journal of Breast Disease
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.39-45
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• 2018

Purpose: Dieckol, a phlorotannin compound isolated from Ecklonia cava, has been reported to have antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate its anticancer effects on human breast cancer cell lines. Methods: In this study, the viability of two human breast cancer cell lines SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 was investigated after dieckol treatment using a WST-1 assay. Apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were assayed via Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and propidium iodide staining followed by flow cytometric analysis. Immunoblotting analysis was also performed using Bax/Bcl-2 to determine whether the dieckol-induced apoptosis was mediated by the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Results: In a dose dependent manner, dieckol reduced the number of viable cells and increased the number of apoptotic cells. The effect of dieckol on the cell cycle distribution was analyzed using flow cytometry. Dieckol treatment significantly increased the percentage of MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 in the G2/M phase. Immunoblot analysis revealed that 24 hours of dieckol exposure increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Conclusion: Dieckol induced cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 human breast cancer cells inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Therefore, it is suggested that dieckol may be a potential therapeutic agent for breast cancer.

• BioChip Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.317-325
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• 2018

This paper investigated the effects of ionic strength in the medium on a preconcentrator for a protein sample with low concentration. The preconcentration chip was designed and fabricated using a polydimethylsiloxane replica through standard lithophotography. A glass substrate is silanized prior to functionalizing the nanoparticles for self-assembly at a designed region. Due to the overlap of electrical double layers in a nanofluidic channel, a concentration polarization effect can be achieved using an electric field. A nonlinear electrokinetic flow is induced, resulting in the fast accumulation of proteins in front of the induced ionic depletion zone, so called exclusion-enrichment effect. Thus, the protein sample can be driven by electroosmotic flow and accumulated at a specific location. The chip is used to collect fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA) diluted in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) buffer solution. Different concentrations of the buffer media were studied herein. Fluorescence intensity images show that the buffer concentration of 4 mM is more appropriate than all the other ones. The sample of FITC-BSA with an initial concentration of $10{\mu}M$ in the 4 mM PBS solution increases its concentration at the desired region by up to 50 times within 30 min, demonstrating the results in this investigation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2021

Identifying the extracellular metabolites of microorganisms in fresh vegetables is industrially useful for assessing the quality of processed foods. Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (PCC) is a plant pathogenic bacterium that causes soft rot disease in cabbages. This microbial species in plant tissues can emit specific volatile molecules with odors that are characteristic of the host cell tissues and PCC species. In this study, we used headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) to identify volatile compounds (VCs) in PCC-inoculated cabbage at different storage temperatures. HS-SPME-GC-MS allowed for recognition of extracellular metabolites in PCC-infected cabbages by identifying specific volatile metabolic markers. We identified 4-ethyl-5-methylthiazole and 3-butenyl isothiocyanate as markers of fresh cabbages, whereas 2,3-butanediol and ethyl acetate were identified as markers of soft rot in PCC-infected cabbages. These analytical results demonstrate a suitable approach for establishing non-destructive plant pathogen-diagnosis techniques as alternatives to standard methods, within the framework of developing rapid and efficient analytical techniques for monitoring plant-borne bacterial pathogens. Moreover, our techniques could have promising applications in managing the freshness and quality control of cabbages.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.58-68
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• 2021

Several herbs including Artemisia are known to possess conceptive property. In the present study, mouse spermatozoa were incubated with ethanol extract of Artemisia vulgaris leaves. The effect of extract on acrosome exocytosis was studied by labeling spermatozoa with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) peanut agglutinin and by staining with Coomassie blue. Viability and membrane integrity were studied by Trypan-blue staining and hypo-osmotic swelling test. Artemisia extract at very low concentration caused precocious acrosome reaction and loss of sperm viability. Acrosome reaction increased remarkably from 22.63% to 88.42% with increasing extract concentration from 0 to 2,000 ㎍/mL. However, the viability loss of spermatozoa was increased from 11.71% in control to 63.73% in samples treated, evaluated by Trypan-blue staining method. Membrane damage caused by the extract, evaluated by hypo-osmotic swelling test was even low, ranging from 2.27% to only 24.23%. These results indicate that Artemisia extract might block fertilization by causing precocious acrosome exocytosis in spermatozoa. A direct contraceptive effect was tested by injecting the plant extract into the vagina of female mice and then allowing them to mate with normal males. The treated female mice delivered significantly fewer litters in comparison to the control.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.451-462
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• 2022

Dioscorea bulbifera tubers contain several phytochemicals of pharmaceutical value. They have been traditionally used for treating various ailments, including postmenopausal symptoms. In the present study, we analyzed the direct effects of Dioscorea tuber extract on mouse spermatozoa. Its contraceptive effect was also evaluated by an intravaginal application before copulation. Mouse spermatozoa were cultured in vitro with various concentrations of the extract. After culturing, the spermatozoa were stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate peanut agglutinin or Coomassie blue to study the acrosome reaction, stained with trypan blue to study the viability, or treated with a hypo-osmotic medium to study the membrane damage. Estrous female mice were intravaginally injected with the extract and copulated with males. The extract induced acrosome exocytosis, viability loss, and membrane damage in a concentration-dependent manner. Female mice treated with the extract showed complete loss of fertility. These observations indicate that the Dioscorea bulbifera tuber extract could be used as a topical contraceptive. Infertility could be due to the precocious acrosome exocytosis of the spermatozoa or membrane damage.