• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1697-1705
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• 2020

Meju, a type of fermented soybean paste, is used as a starter in the preparation of various Korean traditional soybean-based foods. In this study, we performed Illumina-MiSeq paired-end sequencing for microbial communities and mass spectrometry analysis for metabolite profiling to investigate the differences between 11 traditional meju products from different regions across Korea. Even though the bacterial and fungal communities showed remarkable variety, major genera including Bacillus, Enterococcus, Variovorax, Pediococcus, Weissella, and Aspergillus were detected in every sample of meju. The metabolite profile patterns of the 11 samples were clustered into two main groups: group I (M1-5) and group II (M6-11). The metabolite analysis indicated a relatively higher amino acid content in group I, while group II exhibited higher isoflavone, soyasaponin, and lysophospholipid contents. The bioactivity analysis proved that the ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical-scavenging activity was higher in group II and the FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) activity was higher in group I. The correlation analysis revealed that the ABTS activity was isoflavonoid, lipid, and soyasaponin related, whereas the FRAP activity was amino acid and flavonoid related. These results suggest that the antioxidant activities of meju are critically influenced by the microbiome and metabolite dynamics.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.726-731
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• 2010

Purpose: Autologous fat grafting is a popular procedure for the correction of the soft tissue depression and deformity. But there are several issues required to be carefully considered in relation to this procedure, mainly about the unpredictability and the low survival rate of the grafted fat due to absorption and partial necrosis. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a lysophospholipid mediator that has been proposed to promote angiogenesis and to regulate the differentiation of adipose derived stromal cells (ASCs). In this study, we analyzed the viability of the grafted fat tissue mixed with S1P into each 12 nude mice (cann.cg-fox1nu/crlori) compared to the group of mice grafted fat tissue only. Methods: Human aspirated fat was grafted subcutaneously into the backs of 8-week-old nude mice with or without S1P. Eight weeks later, the grafted fat was harvested and the weight and volume were checked. The fat was stained with hematoxylin-eosin and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Results: S1P group weighed significantly more than the control group (p=0.009), and the volume from the S1P group was considerably larger than that of the control group (p=0.004) either. In histological features, the surviving layer of the S1P group was thicker than the control group and microvasculature appeared to be prominent in the S1P group, especially in the outer layers. Conclusion: These findings suggest that S1P plays a vital role in the soft tissue augmentation, potentially providing a novel point of the control in adipose tissue for microfat graft.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2019

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is an endogenous lysophospholipid with signaling properties outside of the cell and it signals through specific G protein-coupled receptors, known as $LPA_{1-6}$. For one of its receptors, $LPA_1$ (gene name Lpar1), details on the cis-acting elements for transcriptional control have not been defined. Using 5'RACE analysis, we report the identification of an alternative transcription start site of mouse Lpar1 and characterize approximately 3,500 bp of non-coding flanking sequence 5' of mouse Lpar1 gene for promoter activity. Transient transfection of cells derived from mouse neocortical neuroblasts with constructs from the 5' regions of mouse Lpar1 gene revealed the region between -248 to +225 serving as the basal promoter for Lpar1. This region also lacks a TATA box. For the region between -761 to -248, a negative regulatory element affected the basal expression of Lpar1. This region has three E-box sequences and mutagenesis of these E-boxes, followed by transient expression, demonstrated that two of the E-boxes act as negative modulators of Lpar1. One of these E-box sequences bound the HeLa E-box binding protein (HEB), and modulation of HEB levels in the transfected cells regulated the transcription of the reporter gene. Based on our data, we propose that HEB may be required for a proper regulation of Lpar1 expression in the embryonic neocortical neuroblast cells and to affect its function in both normal brain development and disease settings.