• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.432-439
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• 2018

In this paper, an omnidirectional visible light detector was developed by making the detecting surface of a flexible solar cell in a cylindrical form, which has a uniform receiving pattern in the horizontal plane. This solar cell detector receives simultaneously multiple signal lights incident from different directions and provides electrical power to the ASK demodulator in the receiver. In experiments, time division transmission method was used to receive three signal lights incident from different directions to the solar cell detector. Each signal light was ASK modulated using a carrier of 40 kHz, and the synchronizing pulses required for time division transmission were generated by detecting the 120 Hz AC signal included in the indoor illumination lamp with Cds cells. This receiving structure is useful in constructing an $N{\times}1$ optical link in visible light communication.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.33-33
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• 2019

The AKT signaling pathway is a highly regulated cell signaling system that forms a network with other cell signaling pathways. Hence, the AKT signaling pathway mediates several important cellular functions that include cell survival, proliferation, cell migration, and et cetera. Irregularities that led overactive AKT signaling have been linked to many diseases such as cancer and metabolic-associated diseases. Hence, modulating the overactive AKT signaling pathway via inhibitor is a tantalizing prospect for treatment of cancer and metabolic-associated diseases. Two inhibitors of the AKT signaling pathway will be presented in this symposium: 1) Bisleuconothine A (BisA), a bisindole alkaloid that inhibit autophagy and 2) Ceramicine B (CerB), a limonoid that inhibit adipogenesis. The first topic is on a bisindole alkaloid, BisA and its mechanism in inducing autophagosome formation in lung cancer cell line, A549.(1) Since most autophagy inducing agents generally induce apoptosis, we found that BisA does not induce apoptosis even in high dose. BisA up-regulation of LC3 lipidation is achieved through mTOR inactivation. The phosphorylation of PRAS40, a mTOR repressor was suppressed by BisA. This observation suggested that BisA inactivates mTOR via suppression of PRAS40 phosphorylation. Interestingly, the phosphorylation of AKT, an upstream regulator of PRAS40 phosphorylation was also down-regulated by BisA. These findings suggested that Bis-A induces autophagosomes formation by interfering with the AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. The second topic is on CerB and its mechanism in inhibiting adipogenesis in preadipocytes cell line, MC3T3-G2/PA6.(2,3) CerB inhibits the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (AKT) at the Thr308 position but not the Ser473. Consequently, the phosphorylation of FOXO3 which is located downstream of AKT is also inhibited. Considering that FOXO3 is an important regulator of PPARγ which is a key factor in adipogenesis, CerB may inhibit adipogenesis via the AKT-FOXO3 signaling pathway. Taken together, both BisA and CerB highlighted the potential of AKT signaling pathway modulation as an approach to induce autophagy and inhibit the formation of fat cells, respectively.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.481-488
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• 2022

Background: Although the tumor-suppressive effects of ginsenosides in cell cycle have been well established, their pharmacological properties in mitosis have not been clarified yet. The chromosomal instability resulting from dysregulated mitotic processes is usually increased in cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anticancer effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on mitotic progression in cancer. Materials and methods: Cancer cells were treated with ginsenoside Rg1 and their morphology and intensity of different protein were analyzed using immunofluorescence microscopy. The level of proteins in chromosomes was compared through chromosomal fractionation and Western blot analyses. The location and intensity of proteins in the chromosome were confirmed through immunostaining of mitotic chromosome after spreading. The colony formation assays were conducted using various cancer cell lines. Results: Ginsenoside Rg1 reduced cancer cell proliferation in some cancers through inducing mitotic arrest. Mechanistically, it inhibits the phosphorylation of histone H3 Thr3 (H3T3ph) mediated by Haspin kinase and concomitant recruitment of chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) to the centromere. Depletion of Aurora B at the centromere led to abnormal centromere integrity and spindle dynamics, thereby causing mitotic defects, such as increase in the width of the metaphase plate and spindle instability, resulting in delayed mitotic progression and cancer cell proliferation. Conclusion: Ginsenoside Rg1 reduces the level of Aurora B at the centromere via perturbing Haspin kinase activity and concurrent H3T3ph. Therefore, ginsenoside Rg1 suppresses cancer cell proliferation through impeding mitotic processes, such as chromosome alignment and spindle dynamics, upon depletion of Aurora B from the centromere.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 2023

Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification or sensitive mutations initially respond to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib, however, the treatment becomes less effective over time by resistance mechanism including mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) overexpression. A therapeutic strategy targeting MET and EGFR may be a means to overcoming resistance to gefitinib. In the present study, we found that picropodophyllotoxin (PPT), derived from the roots of Podophyllum hexandrum, inhibited both EGFR and MET in NSCLC cells. The antitumor efficacy of PPT in gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cells (HCC827GR), was confirmed by suppression of cell proliferation and anchorage-independent colony growth. In the targeting of EGFR and MET, PPT bound with EGFR and MET, ex vivo, and blocked both kinases activity. The binding sites between PPT and EGFR or MET in the computational docking model were predicted at Gly772/Met769 and Arg1086/Tyr1230 of each ATP-binding pocket, respectively. PPT treatment of HCC827GR cells increased the number of annexin V-positive and subG1 cells. PPT also caused G2/M cell-cycle arrest together with related protein regulation. The inhibition of EGFR and MET by PPT treatment led to decreases in the phosphorylation of the downstream-proteins, AKT and ERK. In addition, PPT induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and GRP78, CHOP, DR5, and DR4 expression, mitochondrial dysfunction, and regulated involving signal-proteins. Taken together, PPT alleviated gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cell growth and induced apoptosis by reducing EGFR and MET activity. Therefore, our results suggest that PPT can be a promising therapeutic agent for gefitinib-resistant NSCLC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.321-326
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• 2000

To examine the feasibility of the long-term production of the human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (hG-CSF) using the $_{L}-arabinose$ promoter system of Escherichia coli, flask relay culture and cyclic fed-batch culture were performed. In the flask relay culture, it was found that the pismid was maintained stably up to about 170 generations in an uninduced condition, whereby the cells could also maintain the capability of expressing hG-CSF expression were maintained stably up to at least 100 generations. In contrast, in the cyclid fed-batch culture, segregational plasmid instability was observed within about 4 generations after induction, even though the cell growth and hG-CSF production reached their maximum balues, 78.0 g/l of dry cell weight and 7.0 g/l of hG-CSF, respectively. It would appear that, when compared to the flask relay culture, the high-cell density and high-level expression of hG-CSF in the cyclic fed-batch cultrure led to the segregational plasmid instability; in other words, a severe metabolic burden existe on the cells due to the high-level expression of hG-CSF. Accordingly, based on these long-term cultures, the segregational and structural plasmid instability was observed and a strategy to overcome such problems could be designed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.124-131
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• 2016

GaN and InN epilayers with nucleation layer (LT-buffer) were grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (RF-MBE). As-grown and annealed GaN and InN nucleation layers grown at various growth condition were observed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). When temperature of effusion cell for III source was very low, diffraction pattern with cubic symmetry was observed and zincblende nucleation layer was flattened easily by annealing. As cell temperature increased, LT-GaN and LT-InN showed typical diffraction pattern from wurtzite structure, and FWHM of (10-12) plane decreased remarkably which means much improved crystalline quality. Diffraction pattern was changed to be from streaky to spotty when plasma power was raised from 160 to 220 W because higher plasma power makes more nitrogen adatoms on the surface and suppressed surface mobility of III species. Therefore, though wurtzite nucleation layer was a little hard to be flattened compared to zincblende, higher cell temperature led to easier movement of III surface adatoms and resulted in better crystalline quality of GaN and InN epilayers.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.165-167
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• 2016

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder histologically characterized by the proliferation of Langerhans cells. Here we present the case of a 13-year-old girl with LCH wherein CT and MRI results led us to an initially incorrect diagnosis of meningioma. The diagnosis was corrected to LCH based on pathology findings. An intracranial mass was found mainly in the dura mater, with thickening of the surrounding dura. It appeared to be growing downward from the calvaria, pressing on underlying brain tissue, and had infiltrated the inner skull, causing a bone defect. The lesion was calcified with the typical dural tail sign. The dural origin of the lesion was verified upon surgical dissection. There are no previous reports in the literature describing LCH of dural origin presenting in young patients with typical dural tail signs and meningioma-like imaging findings. The current case report underscores the need for thorough histological and immunocytochemical examinations in LCH differential diagnosis.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.141-154
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• 2015

Objective : In this paper, we investigated the anti-oxidative capacities and protective effects of water extract of palmul-tang (PMT) against Ultraviolet B(UVB)-induced oxidative damage in human keratinocytes(HaCaT). Method : To evaluate the anti-oxidative activities of PMT, we measured scavenging activities on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, lipid peroxidation and reducing power of PMT. To give an oxidative stress to HaCaT cells, UVB was irradiated with $40mJ/cm^2$ to HaCaT cells. To detect the protective effects of PMT against UVB, we measured cell viability, apoptotic bodies and reactive oxygen species(ROS) generation. Results : PMT showed the anti-oxidative activities by scavenging DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, lipid peroxidation. Also PMT showed high reducing values. The UVB-induced oxidative conditions led to the cell apoptosis. However, treatment with PMT reduced oxidative stress conditions, including inhibition of cell apoptosis and expression of ROS. Conclusion : PMT had anti-oxidative activities and exhibited protective effects against UVB on HaCaT cells. PMT would be useful for the development of cosmetics treating UVB-induced skin aging.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.976-982
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• 2008

The 10 species of marine green algae was collected from Jejudo(Island) in Korea. Methanolic and aqueous extracts were prepared and screened for inhibition activities against tumor cell growth. Of the tested samples, the sea staghorn (Codium fragile) aqueous extract (CFAE) showed the highest activity on CT-26 cell growth. Therefore, CFAE was selected for further experiments and the possibility to induce apoptosis by the CFAE was investigated. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that it dose-dependently increased apoptotic cells with hypodiploid DNA contents in CT-26 cell line. These results indicated that CFAE can suppress the growth of CT-26 cells through apoptosis. The CFAE decreased the protein expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL and led to the activation of caspase-3 and -7. A crude polysaccharide was separated from CFAE and it mainly constituted with 61.2% galactose and 30.5% arabinose as analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.457-462
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• 2007

Histone acetyltransferase (HAT) is a family of enzymes that regulate histone acetylation. Dysfunction of HAT plays a critical role in the development of cancer. Here we have screened the various plant extracts to find out the potent HAT inhibitors. The bellflower (Platycodon grandiflorum) root have exhibited approximately 30% of the inhibitory effects on HAT activity, especially p300 and CBP (CREB-binding protein) at the concentration of $100\;{\mu}g/mL$. The cell viability was decreased approximately 52% in LNCaP cell for 48 hr incubation. Furthermore, mRNA level of 3 androgen receptor target genes, PSA, NKX3.1, and TSC22 were decreased with bellflower root extract treatment ($100\;{\mu}g/mL$) in the presence of androgen. In ChIP assay, the acetylation of histone H3 and H4 in PSA promoter region was dramatically repressed by bellflower root treatment, but not TR target gene, Dl. Therefore, the potent HAT inhibitory effect of bellflower root led to the decreased transcription of AR target genes and prostate cancer cell growth with the repression of histone hyperacetylation.