• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.240-240
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• 2020

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1431-1437
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• 2012

The growth of many breast tumors is stimulated by IGF-1, which activates signal transduction pathways inducing cell proliferation. $ER{\alpha}$ is important in this process. The aim of the study was to investigate relationships in vitro among inhibitory effects of luteolin on the growth of MCF-7 cells, IGF-1 pathway and $ER{\alpha}$. Our results showed that luteolin could effectively block IGF-l-stimulated MCF-7 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner and block cell cycle progression and induce apoptosis evidenced by the flow cytometric detection of sub-G1DNA content. Luteolin markedly decreased IGF-l-dependent IGF-IR and Akt phosphorylation without affecting Erk1/2 phosphorylation. Further experiments pointed out that $ER{\alpha}$ was directly involved in IGF-l induced cell growth inhibitory effects of luteolin, which significantly decreased $ER{\alpha}$ expression. Knockdown of $ER{\alpha}$ in MCF-7 cells by an $ER{\alpha}$-specific siRNA decreased the IGF-l induced cell growth inhibitory effects of luteolin. $ER{\alpha}$ is thus a possible target of luteolin. These findings indicate that the inhibitory effect of luteolin on the growth of MCF-7 cells is via inhibiting IGF-l mediated PI3K-Akt pathway dependent of $ER{\alpha}$ expression.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.905-913
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• 2014

Lj-RGD3, an RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) toxin protein from the salivary gland of Lampetra japonica, exhibits antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Lj-RGD3 has three RGD motifs and shows homology to histidine-rich glycoprotein. We synthesised two mutant derivatives of Lj-RGD3: Lj-26, which lacks all three RGD motifs and contains no His residues; and Lj-112, which lacks only the three RGD motifs. We investigated the effects of the wild-type and mutated toxins on a gram-positive bacterium (Escherichia coli), a gram-negative bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus), and a fungus (C. albicans). rLj-RGD3 and its mutants exhibited antifungal but not antibacterial activity, as measured by a radial diffusion assay. The C. albicans inhibition zone induced by rLj-112 was larger than that induced by the other proteins, and its inhibitory effect on C. albicans was dose-dependent. In viable-count assays, the rLj-112 MIC was $7.7{\mu}M$, whereas the MIC of the positive control (ketoconazole) was $15{\mu}M$. Time-kill kinetics demonstrated that rLj-112 effectively killed C. albicans at $1{\times}$ and $2{\times}$ MIC within 12 and 6 h, respectively. Electron microscopy analysis showed that rLj-RGD3 and rLj-112 induced C. albicans lysis. Our results demonstrate a novel anticandidal activity for rLj-RGD3 and its mutant derivatives.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.650-657
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• 2018

Objective: The study investigated the biological functions and mechanisms for controlling cashmere growth of Liaoning cashmere goat by ovarian carcinoma immunoreactive antigen-like protein 2 (OCIAD2) and decorin (DCN) genes. Methods: cDNA library of Liaoning cashmere goat was constructed in early stages. OCIAD2 and DCN genes related to cashmere growth were identified by homology analysis comparison. The expression location of OCIAD2 and DCN genes in primary and secondary hair follicles (SF) was performed using in situ hybridization. The expression of OCIAD2 and DCN genes in primary and SF was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: In situ hybridization revealed that OCIAD2 and DCN were expressed in the inner root sheath of Liaoning cashmere goat hair follicles. Real-time quantitative PCR showed that these genes were highly expressed in SF during anagen, while these genes were highly expressed in primary hair follicle in catagen phase. Melatonin (MT) inhibited the expression of OCIAD2 and promoted the expression of DCN. Insulin-like growth factors-1 (IGF-1) inhibited the expression of OCIAD2 and DCN, while fibroblast growth factors 5 (FGF5) promoted the expression of these genes. MT and IGF-1 promoted OCIAD2 synergistically, while MT and FGF5 inhibited the genes simultaneously. MT+IGF-1/MT+FGF5 inhibited DCN gene. RNAi technology showed that OCIAD2 expression was promoted, while that of DCN was inhibited. Conclusion: Activation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway up-regulated OCIAD2 expression and stimulated SF to control cell proliferation. DCN gene affected hair follicle morphogenesis and periodic changes by promoting transforming growth $factor-{\beta}$ ($TGF-{\beta}$) and BMP signaling pathways. OCIAD2 and DCN genes have opposite effects on $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling pathway and inhibit each other to affect the hair growth.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.540-541
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• 2005

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.328-337
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• 2017

Objective: An experiment was conducted to determine the relationship between the KAP11.1 and the regulation wool fineness. Methods: In previous work, we constructed a skin cDNA library and isolated a full-length cDNA clone termed KAP11.1. On this basis, we conducted a series of bioinformatics analysis. Tissue distribution of KAP11.1 mRNA was performed using semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. The expression of KAP11.1 mRNA in primary and secondary hair follicles was performed using real-time PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) analysis. The expression location of KAP11.1 mRNA in primary and secondary hair follicles was performed using in situ hybridization. Results: Bioinformatics analysis showed that KAP11.1 gene encodes a putative 158 amino acid protein that exhibited a high content of cysteine, serine, threonine, and valine and has a pubertal mammary gland) structural domain. Secondary structure prediction revealed a high proportion of random coils (76.73%). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that KAP11.1 gene was expressed in heart, skin, and liver, but not expressed in spleen, lung and kidney. Real time PCR results showed that the expression of KAP11.1 has a higher expression in catagen than in anagen in the primary hair follicles. However, in the secondary hair follicles, KAP11.1 has a significantly higher expression in anagen than in catagen. Moreover, KAP11.1 gene has a strong expression in inner root sheath, hair matrix, and a lower expression in hair bulb. Conclusion: We conclude that KAP11.1 gene may play an important role in regulating the fiber diameter.

• BMB Reports
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• v.43 no.8
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• pp.554-560
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• 2010

Smad4 is involved in cancer progression and metastasis. Using a pair of human syngeneic epithelial ovarian cancer cells with low (HO-8910) and high (HO-8910PM) metastatic abilities, we aimed to reveal the role of Smad4 in ovarian cancer metastasis in vitro. Smad4 was down-regulated in HO-8910PM cell line relative to HO-8910 by implicating Smad4 was probably a potential tumor suppressor gene for ovarian cancer. Re-expression of Smad4 decreased the migration ability and inhibited the invasion capacity of HO-8910PM, while promoted the cell adhesion capacity for HO-8910PM. The stable expression of Smad4 increased the expression of E-cadherin, reduced the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and slightly down-regulated the expression of VEGF. Smad4 suppresses human ovarian cancer cell metastasis potential through its effect on the expressions of PAI-1, E-cadherin and VEGF. Results from current work implicate Smad4 might suppress the invasion and metastasis of human ovarian tumor cells through a TGF-$\beta$/Smad-mediated pathway.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6369-6374
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• 2012

Vitexicarpin (3', 5-dihydroxy-3, 4', 6, 7-tetramethoxyflavone), a polymethoxyflavone isolated from Viticis Fructus (Vitex rotundifolia Linne fil.), has long been used as an anti-inflammatory herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It has also been reported that vitexicarpin can inhibit the growth of various cancer cells. However, there is no report elucidating its effect on human prostate carcinoma cells. The aim of the present study was to examine the apoptotic induction activity of vitexicarpin on PC-3 cells and molecular mechanisms involved. MTT studies showed that vitexicarpin dose-dependently inhibited growth of PC-3 cells with an $IC_{50}{\sim}28.8{\mu}M$. Hoechst 33258 staining further revealed that vitexicarpin induced apoptotic cell death. The effect of vitexicarpin on PC-3 cells apoptosis was tested using prodium iodide (PI)/Annexin V-FITC double staining and flow cytometry. The results indicated that vitexicarpin induction of apoptotic cell death in PC-3 cells was accompanied by cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that vitexicarpin induction of PC-3 cell apoptosis was associated with upregulation of the proapoptotic protein Bax, and downregulation of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria and decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Our findings suggested that vitexicarpin may become a potential leading drug in the therapy of prostate carcinoma.

• Proceedings of the KGS Conference
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• 2001.12a
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• pp.13-17
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• 2001

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.281-287
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• 2017

The joint effect of different concentrations (0.05-0.375 mmol/L) of $Cd^{2+}$ and various concentrations (50-400 mg/L) of [$C_3mim$][OAc] on the growth and physiology of wheat seedlings were investigated. The toxicity of $Cd^{2+}$ could be significantly reduced by lower concentrations (50-200 mg/L) of [$C_3mim$][OAc]. With higher concentration (${\geq}300mg/L$) of [$C_3mim$][OAc], the reduction became less, and compared to $Cd^{2+}$ stress only, the toxicity of 400 mg/L [$C_3mim$][OAc] increased. As for different $Cd^{2+}$ concentrations, the optimal reduction depends on the balance between the exact concentration of $Cd^{2+}$ and [$C_3mim$][OAc]: With low $Cd^{2+}$ concentration (0.05-0.250 mmol/L) requiring 50 mg/L [$C_3mim$][OAc], it could reach a dynamic equilibrium, while high $Cd^{2+}$ concentration (0.375 mmol/L) requiring 100 mg/L [$C_3mim$][OAc]. The growth and physiological indexes of wheat seedlings show a decrease in toxicity compared to the Cd alone treatment, when the dynamic equilibrium is reached. The concentration of $Cd^{2+}$ in leaf tissues showed that low concentration (50-200 mg/L) of [$C_3mim$][OAc] can reduce the toxicity of $Cd^{2+}$ (0.05-0.375 mmol/L) by decreasing the level of $Cd^{2+}$ concentration in the tissues, whereas the higher concentration (${\geq}300mg/L$) of [$C_3mim$][OAc] can increase the concentration of $Cd^{2+}$.