• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.324-329
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• 2015

CopA3 is a homodimeric ${\alpha}$-helical peptide derived from coprisin which is a defensin-like antimicrobial peptide that was identified from the dung beetle, Copris tripartitus. CopA3 has been reported to have anticancer activity against leukemia cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the anticancer activity of CopA3 in human gastric cancer cells. CopA3 reduced cell viability and it was cytotoxic to gastric cancer cells in the MTS and LDH release assay, respectively. CopA3 was shown to induce necrotic cell death of the gastric cancer cells by flow cytometric analysis and acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining. CopA3-induced cell death was mediated by specific interactions with phosphatidylserine, a membrane component of cancer cells. Taken together, these data indicated that CopA3 mainly caused necrosis of gastric cancer cells, probably through interactions with phosphatidylserine, which suggests the potential utility of CopA3 as a cancer therapeutic. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(6): 324-329]

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1004-1011
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• 2010

This study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of Dodamtanggami-bang (DDTG) on tunicamycin induced cell death by ER stress in C6 glial cells. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay and LDH release. Apoptosis was determined by caspase activity and flow cytometry in C6 glial cells. Expression of ER stress mediators including, GRP78 and CHOP proteins were measured by Western blot analysis. Tunicamycin induced the apoptosis of C6 glial cells, which was characterized as nucleic acid and caspase-3 activation, PARP cleavage, and sub-G0/G1 fraction of cell cycle increase. However, pretreatment with DDTG protected C6 glial cells from tunicamycin. Treatment with tunicamycin resulted in the increased the expression of GRP78 and CHOP protein and produced ROS generation. However, pretreatment with DDTG inhibited the ER stress pathway, including increase of the expression of GRP78, CHOP proteins in C6 glial cells treated with tunicamycin. Taken together, these data suggest that DDTG is able to protect C6 glial cells from tunicamycin with marked inhibition of ER stress.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.144-148
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• 1993

The present study was undertaken to compare the pharmacological activities of crude Lithospermi radix reported with the clinical uses in the oriental medicine. Crude Lithospermi radix uesd for the treatment of burn, eczema, blister, diuretic, scarlet fever and septicemia as antipyretic, antidotic and antiphlogistics. Therefore we tested the effects of Lithospermi radix water extract on the liver-protective activities in the rats. The results obtained from enzyme assay, measurement of serum and liver alanine. aspartate aminotransferase(ALT, AST) and lipid composition indicated that Lithospermi radix water extract showed significant liver-protective activities against benzo(a)pyrene-induced hepatotoxicity.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.858-862
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• 2007

The present study was conducted to examine the antioxidant activities and neuroprotective effects of methanolic extracts from Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briquet (STE). STE ($100\;{\mu}g/mL$) showed $43.33\;{\mu}M$ of total phenolic content, 64.43% of radical scavenging activity, and 0.157 of reducing power. In addition, the effect of STE on $H_2O_2$-induced DNA damage in human leucocytes was evaluated by the comet assay, where STE was a dose dependent inhibitor of DNA damage induced by $200{\mu}M$ of $H_2O_2$. The protective effect of STE against $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative damage on PC12 cells was investigated by an 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assays. After 2 hr of cell exposure to $H_2O_2\;(500\;{\mu}M)$, a marked reduction in cell survival was observed. However, this reduction was significantly prevented by $1-50\;{\mu}g/mL$ of STE. Therefore, these results suggest that STE could be a new antioxidant candidate against neuronal diseases.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.482-491
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• 2004

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is a geriatric dementia that is widespread in old age. In the near future AD may be the biggest problem in public health service. Although a variety of oriental therapies in the study of Jimitang have been traditionally utilized for the treatment of AD, their pharmacological effects and active mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. This study in an investigation of effects of Jimitang on apoptotic cell death induced by CT105 overexpression in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell lines. DNA fragmentation, neurite outgrowth assay and LDH activity assay were examined. The regeneratory and inhibitory effects on Alzheimer's disease in pCT105-induced neuroblastoma cell lines by Jimitang water extract were examined. Findings from these experiments have shown that Jimitang inhibits the synthesis or activities of CT105, which has neurotoxicities and apoptotic activities in cell lines. In addition, pretreatment of $Jimitang(>50\;{\mu}g/mL\;for\;12\;hours)$ partially prevented CT(105)-induced cytotoxicity in SK-N-SH cell lines, and were inhibited by pretreatment. $Jimitang(>50\;{\mu}g/mL\;for\;12\;hours)$ repaired CT(105)-induced neurite outgrowth when SK-N-SH cell lines were transfected with CT(105). Results of this study show that. in the Jimitang group, the apoptosis in the nervous system in inhibited, the repair against the degerneration of neuroblastoma cells by CT105 expression is promoted. In addition, Jimitang was found to inhibit DNA fragmentation induced by CT105 overexpression, and promote neurite outgrowth. These findings suggest that Jimitang is beneficial for the treatment of AD.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.569-579
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• 2019

In this study, the effect anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and liver protective activity was investigated via quick ultrasonic disintegration of pine pollen using a probe sonicator (PS) followed by the extraction with water, 70% ethanol, and 100% ethanol. The anti-inflammatory effect was studied by measuring the production of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokine in RAW264.7 cells induced with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The cell toxicity was also checked with an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and the experiment was conducted using non-toxic $100{\mu}g/mL$. The NO inhibition rate was highest in the 70% ethanol PS group at $85.99{\pm}0.12%$. Also an excellent efficiency was obtained from the results of interlukin-1 beta ($IL-1{\beta}$) and tumor necrosis factor alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$), which is related to inflammation-related cytokine, with the respective inhibition rates of 63 and 22%. To examine liver protective activity, HepG2 cells were treated with Taclin, and the generation of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured in the culture solution. From GOT and LDH generation results, the inhibition rates in the 70% ethanol PS group were 28% and 13%, respectively, which was higher compared to that of using negative control group. Our results suggest that pine pollen extracted in 70% ethanol using PS may be used to develop food products that have anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and liver protective effects.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.609-615
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• 2014

The cytoprotective effect of Moringa oleifera Lam. (drumstick tree) on neuronal cells was investigated to confirm the physiological benefits associated with this natural food resource. First, the drumstick tree extract was chemically analyzed to determine inherent nutritional constituents. Calcium and potassium were identified as the major mineral constituents, and palmitic acid (C16:0, 16.33%) and gadoleic acid (C20:01, 66.34%) were detected as the major fatty acids. Moreover, drumstick tree extract contained 94.78 mg/100 g vitamin E and 112.61 mg/100 g niacin. PC12 cells were used to study the cytoprotective effects of drumstick tree extract. Intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species was significantly reduced when $H_2O_2$ treated-neuronal cells were cultured in a medium containing the methanolic extract of drumstick tree, compared to cells treated with only $H_2O_2$. Cell viability assay using MTT showed that the extract protected cells against $H_2O_2$-induced neurotoxicity and inhibited LDH leakage from the cell membrane. Caspase assay showed that the extract exerted cytoprotective effect against apoptosis. Consequently, these data suggest that drumstick tree is a useful natural resource with positive effects on human health.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.163-177
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• 2008

Periodontal disease, a form of chronic inflammatory bacterial infectious disease, is known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Porphyromonas gingivalis has been implicated in periodontal disease and widely studied for its role in the pathogenesis of CVD. A previous study demonstrating that periodontopathic P. gingivalis is involved in CVD showed that invasion of endothelial cells by the bacterium is accompanied by an increase in cytokine production, which may result in vascular atherosclerotic changes. The present study was performed in order to further elucidate the role of P. gingivalis in the process of atherosclerosis and CVD. For this purpose, invasion of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMC) by P. gingivalis 381 and its isogenic mutants of KDP150 ($fimA^-$), CW120 ($ppk^-$) and KS7 ($relA^-$) was assessed using a metronidazole protection assay. Wild type P. gingivalis invaded HASMCs with an efficiency of 0.12%. In contrast, KDP150 failed to demonstrate any invasive ability. CW120 and KS7 showed relatively higher invasion efficiencies, but results for these variants were still negligible when compared to the wild type invasiveness. These results suggest that fimbriae are required for invasion and that energy metabolism in association with regulatory genes involved in stress and stringent response may also be important for this process. ELISA assays revealed that the invasive P. gingivalis 381 increased production of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and the chemotactic cytokines (chemokine) IL (interleukin)-8 and monocyte chemotactic (MCP) protein-1 during the 30-90 min incubation periods (P<0.05). Expression of RANTES (regulation upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted) and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4, a pattern recognition receptor (PRR), was increased in HASMCs infected with P. gingivalis 381 by RT-PCR analysis. P. gingivalis infection did not alter interferon-$\gamma$-inducible protein-10 expression in HASMCs. HASMC nonspecific necrosis and apoptotic cell death were measured by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and caspase activity assays, respectively. LDH release from HASMCs and HAMC caspase activity were significantly higher after a 90 min incubation with P. gingivalis 381. Taken together, P. gingivalis invasion of HASMCs induces inflammatory cytokine production, apoptotic cell death, and expression of TLR-4, a PRR which may react with the bacterial molecules and induce the expression of the chemokines IL-8, MCP-1 and RANTES. Overall, these results suggest that invasive P. gingivalis may participate in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, leading to CVD.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2020

Vibrio vulnificus, an opportunistic pathogen, causes septicaemia when raw shellfish and fish are eaten by patients with hepatic diseases or reduced immunity. In this study, we evaluated inhibitory effects of some natural products on V. vulnificus growth using 96-well microplate assay. We found that Phyllanthus emblica L., Rosa chinensis Jacq., Rosa rugose Thub., and Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss. significantly inhibited V. vulnificus growth in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth. Among these four extracts, the inhibition diameter of Chukrasia tabularis was 16.00 ± 0.58 mm in disc diffusion assay on V. vulnificus growth. In addition, these four natural products protected HeLa cells from V. vulnificus-induced cytotoxicity. A cocktail containing these four products showed an inhibitory effect on V. vulnificus growth in seawater and shellfish by reducing its growth by 75.7% and 97%, respectively. These results suggest that these four natural products are safe and effective natural antimicrobial candidates to prevent V. vulnificus infection.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.481-487
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• 2010

The nutritional components, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects of water and a 50% methanol extract from litchi fruit pericarp were investigated. The most abundant mineral, amino acid, and fatty acid were K, proline, and palmitic acid, respectively. In addition, the total water phenolics and 50% methanol extracts were 8.02 and 12.28 mg/g, respectively. The DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant power of the water and 50% methanol extracts showed dose-dependent antioxidant activity. In a cell viability assay using MTT, almost all extracts showed a protective effect against $H_2O_2$-induced neurotoxicity, and lactate dehydrogenase leakage was also inhibited by the pericarp extracts. In particular, the 50% methanol extract showed a higher cell membrane protective effect than the water extract at the highest concentration. Consequently, these data suggest that litchi fruit pericarp can be utilized as an effective and safe functional food substances for natural antioxidants and may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders.