• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1194-1199
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• 1997

The effect of hot taste preference on selected immune responses was investigated in human peripheral immunocompetent cells. Human lymphocytes and natural killer(NK) cells were prepared at a concentration of 2$\times$$10^{6}$ cells/ml in RPMI-1640 containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Lymphocytes proliferation was determined with the [$^{3}H$]-thymidine pulse for 18hrs after concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, Salmonella typhimurium mitogen, or media alone. NK cell activity was measured by cytolysis of $^51Cr$-labeled target cells K562. Serum antibodies levels such as IgM, IgG, IgA were also measured by ELISA method. There was no difference of serum IgM level among the groups, but IgG and IgA levels were greater in the group with hot taste preference than those of the group without hot taste preference. In lymphocytes of the group with hot taste preference there was a greater mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferative responses compared to the group without hot taste preference. In addition, NK cell activity in group with hot taste preference was lower than that of the group without hot taste preference. These results suggest that the eating habit of spicy food containing hot components may affect immune status by modulating selective immunocompetent cells function.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2453-2459
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• 2014

Ginsenoside Rg1 is one effective anticancer and antioxidant constituent of total saponins of Panax ginseng (TSPG), which has been shown to have various pharmacological effects. Our previous study demonstrated that Rg1 had anti-tumor activity in K562 leukemia cells. The aim of this study was designed to investigate whether Rg1 could induce apoptosis in TF-1/Epo cells and further to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here we found that Rg1 could inhibit TF-1/Epo cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis in vitro in a concentration and time dependent manner. It also suppressed the expression of EpoR on the surface membrane and inhibited JAK2/STAT5 pathway activity. Rg1 induced up-regulation of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and C-PAPR protein and down-regulation of Bcl-2 and AG490, a JAK2 specific inhibitor, could enhance the effects of Rg1. Our studies showed that EpoR-mediated JAK2/STAT5 signaling played a key role in Rg1-induced apoptosis in TF-1/Epo cells. These results may provide new insights of Rg1 protective roles in the prevention a nd treatment of leukemia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6549-6556
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• 2013

Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) play important roles in leukemia initiation, progression and relapse, and thus represent a critical target for therapeutic intervention. Hence, it is extremely urgent to explore new therapeutic strategies directly targeting LSCs for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) therapy. We show here that Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP), a major active component in Dong quai (Chinese Angelica sinensis), effectively inhibited human AML $CD34^+CD38^-$ cell proliferation in vitro culture in a dose-dependent manner while sparing normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells at physiologically achievable concentrations. Furthermore, ASP exerted cytotoxic effects on AML K562 cells, especially LSC-enriched $CD34^+CD38^-$ cells. Colony formation assays further showed that ASP significantly suppressed the formation of colonies derived from AML $CD34^+CD38^-$ cells but not those from normal $CD34^+CD38^-$ cells. Examination of the underlying mechanisms revealed that ASP induced $CD34^+CD38^-$ cell senescence, which was strongly associated with a series of characteristic events, including up-regulation of p53, p16, p21, and Rb genes and changes of related cell cycle regulation proteins P16, P21, cyclin E and CDK4, telomere end attrition as well as repression of telomerase activity. On the basis of these findings, we propose that ASP represents a potentially important agent for leukemia stem cell-targeted therapy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.247-270
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• 1998

The more society has complicated, the more we have met stressful circumstance. And it is found that many physical and mental symptoms induced by stress. Soyosan(SYS) is one of the well-known oriental medicine for the treatment of general syndrome induced by emotional stress. This study was taken to know effects of SYS water extract on immune-depressed mice induced by stress. The results obtained in this study were as follows : 1. SYS inhibited murine weight-loss induced by stress 2. In vivo& in vitro, SYS increased phagocytic activity. 3. SYS enhanced the production of such reactive oxygen intermediates as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide from macrophages. 4. In vitro, SYS little influenced the production of reactive nitrogen intermediates. 5. SYS increased the number of the rosette forming cells of spleen. 6. SYS changed the ratio of helper and suppressor T cells by increasing $CD4^+$ T cells and decreasing $CD8^+$ T cells. 7. SYS increased cytotoxic activity on human lymphoma cell line(K562). 8. SYS increased the plasma level of GH and DHEA. whereas it decreased that of ACTH and cortisol. According to the above results, it might be considered that SYS would be used for immune-depressive disease induced by stress.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.869-876
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• 2016

Cantharidin (CTD) is an active compound isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine blister beetle and displayed anticancer properties against various types of cancer cells. However, little is known about its effect on human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells, including imatinib-resistant CML cells. The objective of this study was to investigate whether CTD could overcome imatinib resistance in imatinib-resistant CML cells and to explore the possible underlying mechanisms associated with the effect. Our results showed that CTD strongly inhibited the growth of both imatinib-sensitive and imatinib-resistant CML cells. CTD induced cell cycle arrest at mitotic phase and triggered DNA damage in CML cells. The ATM/ATR inhibitor CGK733 abrogated CTD-induced mitotic arrest but promoted the cytotoxic effects of CTD. In addition, we demonstrated that CTD downregulated the expression of the BCR-ABL protein and suppressed its downstream signal transduction. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that CTD inhibited BCR-ABL at transcriptional level. Knockdown of BCR-ABL increased the cell-killing effects of CTD in K562 cells. These findings indicated that CTD overcomes imatinib resistance through depletion of BCR-ABL. Taken together, CTD is an important new candidate agent for CML therapy.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2012

In this study, we investigated the effect of methanolic extract isolated from the root of Lycoris aurea (LA) on the growth of cancer cells and the tube formation activity of endothelial cells. Various cancer cells were treated with LA at doses of 0.3, 1, 3, 10 or 30 ${\mu}g/ml$ and LA significantly suppressed the growth of several cancer cell lines, including ACHN, HCT-15, K-562, MCF-7, PC-3 and SK-OV-3, in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that LA induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase in ACHN renal cell adenocarcinoma cells. Further study demonstrated that LA concentration-dependently inhibited the tube formation, which is a widely used in vitro model of reorganization stage of angiogenesis, in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Collectively, these results show that LA inhibits the growth of cancer cells and tube formation of endothelial cells and the growth-inhibitory effect of LA might be mediated, at least in part, by blocking cell cycle progression.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 2002

The water extract from the root bark of Cortex Mori (CM, Morus alba L.: Sangbaikpi), a mulberry tree, has been known in Chinese traditional medicine to have antiphlogistic, diuretic, and expectorant properties. In this study, the cytotoxicity of CM against tumor cells and its mechanism was examined . CM exhibited cytotoxic activity on K-562, B38O human leukemia cells and B16 mouse melanoma cells at concentrations of > 1 mg/ml. A DNA fragmentation, PARP cleavage, and nuclear condensation assay showed that those cells exposed to CM underwent apoptosis. The water extract of Scutellarie Radix (SR) was used as a negative control and showed no cytotoxicity in those cells. The flow cytometric profiles of the CM-treated cells were also indicative of apoptosis. However, they did not appear to exert the G1 arrest, which is observed in other tubulin inhibitor agents such as vincristine, taxol. The protein-binding test using Biacore and a microtubule assembly-disassembly assay provided evidence showing that CM bound to the tubulins resulting in 3 markets inhibition of the assembly, but not the disassembly of microtubules. The possible nonspecific effect of the CM extract could be excluded due to the results using SR, which did not affect the assembly process. Overall, the water extract of CM induces apoptosis of tumor cells by inhibiting microtubule assembly.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.562-565
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• 2006

The cell counting of colonial Microcystis spp. is a rather difficult and error-prone proposition, as this genus forms irregularly-shaped and irregularly-sized colonies, which are packed with cells. Thus, in order to facilitate a cell count, four methods of dividing the colonies into single cells were compared, including vortexing, sonication, $TiO_2$ treatment, and boiling. As a result, the boiling method was determined to generate the greatest number of single cells from a colony, and all colonies were found to have divided completely after only 6 min of treatment. Furthermore, no significant cell destruction, which might alter the actual cell density, was detected in conjunction with the boiling method (P=0.158). In order to compute the cell number more simply, the relationship between the colony size and the cell number was determined, via the boiling method. The colony volume, rather than the area or diameter was correlated more closely with the cell number ($r^2=0.727$), thereby suggesting that the cell numbers of colonial Microcystis sp. can also be estimated effectively from their volumes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.557-562
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• 2002

Physiological characteristics such as specific productivity, morphology of Streptomyces cells Immobilized on celite beads, and operational stability at different dilution rates were investigated in continuous immobilized-cell cultures for the production of kasugamycin. At a dilution rate (D) of 0.05 $h^{-1}$, a relatively high specific productivity was attained and the loss of cell-loaded beads was negligible. At D=0.1 $h^{-1}$, a higher specific productivity and cell concentration could be obtained, resulting in a significantly improved volumetric kasugamycin productivity. However, no stable operation could be maintained due to a significant loss of cell-loaded beads from the reactor that was caused by their fluffy morphology developed in the later stage. At D=0.2 $h^{-1}$, the production of kasugamycin and cell growth were observed to be severely inhibited by the high concentration of residual maltose.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.261-277
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• 1998

The purpose of this research was to investigate cytotoxicity of DangkwiYonghoe-Hwan(DYH) and the constitutive crude drugs on several cancer cell-lines, thymocytes, splenocytes and 3T3 cells. The DYH consists of Coptidis Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Phellodendri Cortex, Gardeniae Fructus, Gentianae scabrae Radix, Indigo pulverata Levis, Aloe, Rhei Rhizoma, Moschus, Saussureae Radix and Angelicae Gigantis Radix. The cytotoxicity was determined by MTT method. The DYH inhibited the proliferation of MOLT-4, K562, HL-60, Jurkat, L1210, P815, S180 and Yac-1, thymocyte, splenocyte and 3T3 cells. The cytotoxicity of Coptidis Rhizoma on the cancer cell-lines was the most potent in the constitutive crude drugs. The proliferation of cancer cell-lines was partly inhibition and partly increase by the treatment of Scutellariae Radix, Gardeniae Fructus, Gentianae scabrae Radix, Indigo pulverata Levis, Aloe, Rhei Rhizoma, Moschus and Angelicae Gigantis Radix. Phellodendri Cortex and Saussureae Radix had a poor cytotoxicity on cancer cell-lines. Coptidis Rhizoma and Phellodendri Cortex inhibited the proliferation of thymocyte, splenocyte and 3T3 cells.