• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제25권5호
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• pp.459-466
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• 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Because of the side effects and incomplete recovery from current therapy, stem cell therapy emerges as a potential therapy for CVD treatment, and endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) is one of the key stem cells used for therapeutic applications. The effect of this therapy required the expansion of EPC function. To enhance the EPC activation, proliferation, and angiogenesis using dronedarone hydrochloride (DH) is the purpose of this study. DH received approval for atrial fibrillation treatment and its cardiovascular protective effects were already reported. In this study, DH significantly increased EPC proliferation, tube formation, migration, and maintained EPCs surface marker expression. In addition, DH treatment up-regulated the phosphorylation of AKT and reduced the reactive oxygen species production. In summary, the cell priming by DH considerably improved the functional activity of EPCs, and the use of which might be a novel strategy for CVD treatment.

• 한국자원식물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국자원식물학회 2019년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.92-92
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• 2019

Excessive or chronic inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases such as sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Hibiscus syriacus L. has been used as a medicinal plant in many Asian countries, even though its anti-inflammatory activity has been unclear. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of anthocyanin fractions from the H. syriacus L. varieties Pulsae (PS) on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines in RAW264.7 macrophages. PS suppressed LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) secretion concomitant with downregulation of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Furthermore, PS inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-12 in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Further study showed that PS significantly decreased LPS-induced nuclear translocation of the nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$) subunits, p65 and p50. Molecular docking data showed that many anthocyanins from PS fit into the hydrophobic pocket of MD2 and bound to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), indicating that PS inhibits the TLR4-MD2-mediated inflammatory signaling pathway. Especially, apigenin-7-O-glucoside most powerfully bound to MD2 and TLR4 through LYS122, LYS122, and SER127 at a distance of $2.205{\AA}$, $3.098{\AA}$, and $2.844{\AA}$ and SER441 at a distance of $2.873{\AA}$ (docking score: -8.4) through hydrogen bonding, respectively. Additionally, PS inhibited LPS-induced TLR4 dimerization/expression on the cell surface, which consequently decreased MyD88 recruitment and IRAK4 phosphorylation. PS completely blocked LPS-mediated mortality in zebrafish larvae by diminishing the recruitment of neutrophil and macrophages accompanied by low levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Taken together, our results indicate that PS attenuates LPS-mediated inflammation in both in vitro and in vivo by blocking the TLR4/MD2-MyD88/IRAK4-$NF-{\kappa}B$ axis. Therefore, PS might be used as a novel modulatory candidate for effective treatment of LPS-mediated inflammatory diseases.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제30권12호
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• pp.1128-1139
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• 2020

최근 기후의 급속한 변화에 따라서 식품과 농산물에 Aspergillus, Fusarium 및 Penicillium속에 해당하는 곰팡이에 의한 오염이 빈번하고 이들에 의해 생성되는 aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, patulin, trichothecenes, zearalenone등의 곰팡이 독소로 인해서 인간의 건강에 위해를 끼치고 또한 경제적인 손실을 가져오게 하고 있다. 최근 건강에 대한 소비자의 관심으로 인하여 기존에 사용되고 있는 프로피온산 및 소브산과 같은 보존료에 대한 거부감이 증가하고 있어 천연의 소재로부터 이를 대체할 만한 항진균제의 개발이 필요한 상황이다. 본 총설에서는 곰팡이의 생육 및 독소 생성을 제어하기 위한 생물학적 방법으로 유산균의 역할에 대하여 살펴보고자 하였다. 최근의 연구에 의하면 유산균은 저분자 화합물인 유기산, reuterin, 단백질 유래 화합물, 하이드록시 지방산, 페놀 화합물과 같은 다양한 대사산물을 통하여 곰팡이의 생육을 효과적으로 억제시키고 있으며, 또한 유산균의 세포벽 구성성분과의 흡착, 곰팡이 독소의 분해 및 곰팡이 독소의 생산 저해 등을 통하여 곰팡이 독소의 생산을 감소시키고 있는 사실이 제시되고 있다. 유산균은 다양한 종류를 포함하고 있으며 다양한 대사산물을 생산하고 있으므로 이를 바탕으로 효과적으로 곰팡이의 생육 및 독소 생산을 제어할 수 있는 잠재력 갖추고 있으므로, 유산균은 식품에 있어서 곰팡이의 생육을 조절하는 소재로서 주목 받을 것으로 기대된다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.81-86
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• 2022

Macrophages are a major cellular component of innate immunity and are mainly known to have phagocytic activity. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), they can be differentiated into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). As the most abundant immune cells in the TME, TAMs promote tumor progression by enhancing angiogenesis, suppressing T cells and increasing immunosuppressive cytokine production. N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) is a tumor suppressor gene, whose expression is down-regulated in various cancers. However, the effect of NDRG2 on the differentiation of macrophages into TAMs in breast cancer remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the effect of NDRG2 expression in breast cancer cells on the differentiation of macrophages into TAMs. Compared to tumor cell-conditioned medium (TCCM) from 4T1-mock cells, TCCM from NDRG2-over-expressing 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells did not significantly change the morphology of RAW 264.7 cells. However, TCCM from 4T1-NDRG2 cells reduced the mRNA levels of TAM-related genes, including MR1, IL-10, ARG1 and iNOS, in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, TCCM from 4T1-NDRG2 cells reduced the expression of TAM-related surface markers, such as CD206, in peritoneal macrophages (PEM). The mRNA expression of TAM-related genes, including IL-10, YM1, FIZZ1, MR1, ARG1 and iNOS, was also downregulated by TCCM from 4T1-NDRG2 cells. Remarkably, TCCM from 4T1-NDRG2 cells reduced the expression of PD-L1 and Fra-1 as well as the production of GM-CSF, IL-10 and ROS, leading to the attenuation of T cell-inhibitory activity of PEM. These data showed that compared with TCCM from 4T1-mock cells, TCCM from 4T1-NDRG2 cells suppressed the TAM differentiation and activation. Collectively, these results suggest that NDRG2 expression in breast cancer may reduce the differentiation of macrophages into TAMs in the TME.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제32권9호
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• pp.712-720
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• 2022

비록 PM_2.5 노출과 다양한 안구 표면 질환과 관련성이 많은 선행 연구에서 알려졌지만, PM_2.5 가 각막에 미치는 세포 독성에 대한 연구는 거의 수행되지 않았다. 본 연구의 목적은 PM에 의한 각막 상피세포의 유해성을 평가하기 위한 in vitro 모델로서 쥐의 각막유래 상피세포(primary rat corneal epithelial cells, RCE cells)의 효능을 조사하는 것이다. 이를 위하여 쥐의 눈에서 분리한 1차 배양 세포가 각막 상피세포임을 pan-cytokeratin 염색을 통하여 확인하였으며, PM_2.처리에 의한 각막 상피세포의 형태학적 변화를 동반한 생존율의 억제는 세포사멸 유도와 관련이 있었다. 또한 PM_2.가 처리된 각막 상피세포에서는 ROS의 생성이 증가되었으며, 이는 미토콘드리아 기능 장애와 연관성이 있었다. 이와 함께 PM_2.는 각막 상피세포에서 NO, TNF-α, IL-1β 및 IL-6를 포함한 염증 매개인자 및 사이토카인의 생성을 증가시켰다. 아울러 heatmap 분석을 통해 BLNK, IL-1RA, Itga2b, ABCb1a 및 Ptgs2가 미세먼지 유도 안구 질환의 임상 치료를 위한 잠재적인 표적 유전자로서 제시하였다. 결론적으로 본 연구의 결과는 1차 쥐의 각막 상피세포가 PM_2.에 의한 각막 상피세포 병리기전 연구에 유용한 모델일 수 있으며, 산화적 및 염증성 반응이 PM_2.유발 안구 표면 장애 유도에 핵심적인 역할을 함을 알 수 있었다.

• 한국결정성장학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국결정성장학회 1996년도 The 9th KACG Technical Annual Meeting and the 3rd Korea-Japan EMGS (Electronic Materials Growth Symposium)
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• pp.75-87
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• 1996

This review is presented under the following headings: 1.Introduction 1.1 Brief review of the properties of AlN 1.2 Historical survey of work on ceramic and single crystal AlN 2.Thermochemical background 3.Crystal growth 4.Doping 5.Potential applications and future work The known properties of AlN which make it of interest for various are discussed briefly. The properties include chemical stability, crystal structure and lattice constants, refractive indices and other optical properties, dielectric constant, surface acoustic wave velocity and thermal conductivity. The history of work in single crystals, thin films and ceramics are outlined and the thermochemistry of AlN reviewed together with some of the relevant properties of aluminium and nitrogen; the problems encountered in growing crystals of AlN are shown to arise directly from these thermochemical relationships. Methods have been reported in the literature for growing AlN crystals from melts, solution and vapour and these methods are compared critically. It is proposed that the only practicable approach to the growth of AlN is by vapour phase methods. All vapour based procedures share the share the same problems: $.$the difficulty of preventing contamination by oxygen & carbon $.$the high bond energy of molecular nitrogen $.$the refractory nature of AlN (melting point~3073K at 100ats.) $.$the high reactivity of Al at high temperatures It is shown that the growth of epitactic layers and polycrystalline layers present additional problems: $.$chemical incompatibility of substrates $.$crystallographic mismatch of substrates $.$thermal mismatch of substrates The result of all these problems is that there is no good substrate material for the growth of AlN layers. Organometallic precursors which contain an Al-N bond have been used recently to deposit AlN layers but organometallic precursors gave the disadvantage of giving significant carbon contamination. Organometallic precursors which contain an Al-N bound have been used recently to deposit AlN layers but organometallic precursors have the disadvantage of giving significant carbon contamination. It is conclude that progress in the application of AlN to optical and electronic devices will be made only if considerable effort is devoted to the growth of larges, pure (and particularly, oxygen-free) crystals. Progress in applications of epi-layers and ceramic AlN would almost certainly be assisted also by the availability of more reliable data on the pure material. The essential features of any stategy for the growth of AlN from the vapour are outlined and discussed.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.743-754
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• 2023

Background: Myocardial fibrosis post-myocardial infarction (MI) can induce maladaptive cardiac remodeling as well as heart failure. Although 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) has been applied to cardiovascular diseases, its efficacy and specific molecular mechanism in myocardial fibrosis are largely unknown. Herein, we aimed to explore whether TGFBR1 signaling was involved in Rg3's anti-fibrotic effect post-MI. Methods: Left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery ligation-induced MI mice and TGF-β1-stimulated primary cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were adopted. Echocardiography, hematoxlin-eosin and Masson staining, Western-blot and immunohistochemistry, CCK8 and Edu were used to study the effects of Rg3 on myocardial fibrosis and TGFBR1 signaling. The combination mechanism of Rg3 and TGFBR1 was explored by surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi). Moreover, myocardial Tgfbr1-deficient mice and TGFBR1 adenovirus were adopted to confirm the pharmacological mechanism of Rg3. Results: In vivo experiments, Rg3 ameliorated myocardial fibrosis and hypertrophy and enhanced cardiac function. Rg3-TGFBR1 had the 1.78×10^-7 M equilibrium dissociation constant based on SPRi analysis, and Rg3 inhibited the activation of TGFBR1/Smads signaling dose-dependently. Cardiac-specific Tgfbr1 knockdown abolished Rg3's protection against myocardial fibrosis post-MI. In addition, Rg3 downregulated the TGF-β1-mediated CFs growth together with collagen production in vitro through TGFBR1 signaling. Moreover, TGFBR1 adenovirus partially blocked the inhibitory effect of Rg3. Conclusion: Rg3 improves myocardial fibrosis and cardiac function through suppressing CFs proliferation along with collagen deposition by inactivation of TGFBR1 pathway.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

This research investigated the preparation of activated carbon derived from Krabok (Irvingia malayana) seed shells to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained during biodiesel production. The activated carbon was prepared using a dry chemical activation method with NaOH, utilizing an innovative biomass incinerator. The results revealed that the resulting KC/AC-two-step exhibited favorable physicochemical adsorption properties, with a high surface area of 758.72 m²/g and an iodine number of 611.10 mg/g. These values meet the criteria of the industrial product standard for activated carbon No. TIS 900-2004, as specified by the Ministry of Industry in Thailand. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for methylene blue reached an impressive 99.35 %. This developed activated carbon was then used to improve the quality of crude glycerol obtained from biodiesel production. The experimental results showed that the KC/AC-two-step increased the purity of crude glycerol to 73.61 %. In comparison, commercially available activated carbon (C/AC) resulted in a higher crude glycerol purity of 81.19 %, as analyzed by the GC technique. Additionally, the metal content (Zn, Cu, Fe, Pb, Cd, and Na) in purified glycerol using KC/AC-two-step was below the standards for heavy metals permitted in food and cosmeceuticals by the Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and the European Committee for Food Contact Materials and Articles. As a result, it can be inferred that Krabok seed shells have favorable properties for producing activated carbon suitable as an adsorbent to enhance crude glycerol purity. Furthermore, the improved crude glycerol from this research has potential for various industrial applications.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제62권1호
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• pp.53-63
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• 2024

The intracellular parasite Babesia microti is among the most significant species causing human babesiosis and is an emerging threat to human health worldwide. Unravelling the pathogenic molecular mechanisms of babesiosis is crucial in developing new diagnostic and preventive methods. This study assessed how priming with B. microti surface antigen 1 (BHSA 1) and seroreactive antigen 5-1-1 (BHSA 5-1-1) mediate protection against B. microti infection. The results showed that 500 ㎍/ml rBMSA1 and rBMSA5-1-1 partially inhibited the invasion of B. microti in vitro by 42.0±3.0%, and 48.0±2.1%, respectively. Blood smears revealed that peak infection at 7 days post-infection (dpi) was 19.6%, 24.7%, and 46.7% in the rBMSA1, rBmSA5-1-1, compared to the control groups (healthy mice infected with B. microti only), respectively. Routine blood tests showed higher white blood cell, red blood cell counts, and haemoglobin levels in the 2 groups (BMSA1 and BMSA5 5-1-1) than in the infection control group at 0-28 dpi. Moreover, the 2 groups had higher serum interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α and Interleukin-17A levels, and lower IL-10 levels than the infection control group throughout the study. These 2 potential vaccine candidate proteins partially inhibit in vitro and in vivo B. microti infection and enhance host immunological response against B. microti infection.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권5호
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• pp.929-943
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• 2024

Objective: The present study was executed to explore the molecular mechanism of fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10) gene in bovine adipogenesis. Methods: The bovine FGF10 gene was overexpressed through Ad-FGF10 or inhibited through siFGF10 and their negative control (NC) in bovine adipocytes, and the multiplicity of infection, transfection efficiency, interference efficiency were evaluated through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and fluorescence microscopy. The lipid droplets, triglycerides (TG) content and the expression levels of adipogenic marker genes were measured during preadipocytes differentiation. The differentially expressed genes were explored through deep RNA sequencing. Results: The highest mRNA level was found in omasum, subcutaneous fat, and intramuscular fat. Moreover, the highest mRNA level was found in adipocytes at day 4 of differentiation. The results of red-oil o staining showed that overexpression (Ad-FGF10) of the FGF10 gene significantly (p<0.05) reduced the lipid droplets and TG content, and their down-regulation (siFGF10) increased the measurement of lipid droplets and TG in differentiated bovine adipocytes. Furthermore, the overexpression of the FGF10 gene down regulated the mRNA levels of adipogenic marker genes such as CCAAT enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPα), fatty acid binding protein (FABP4), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and Fas cell surface death receptor (FAS), similarly, down-regulation of the FGF10 gene enriched the mRNA levels of C/EBPα, PPARγ, FABP4, and LPL genes (p<0.01). Additionally, the protein levels of PPARγ and FABP4 were reduced (p<0.05) in adipocytes infected with Ad-FGF10 gene and enriched in adipocytes transfected with siFGF10. Moreover, a total of 1,774 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including 157 up regulated and 1,617 down regulated genes were explored in adipocytes infected with Ad-FGF10 or Ad-NC through deep RNA-sequencing. The top Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways regulated through DEGs were the PPAR signaling pathway, cell cycle, base excision repair, DNA replication, apoptosis, and regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes. Conclusion: Therefore, we can conclude that the FGF10 gene is a negative regulator of bovine adipogenesis and could be used as a candidate gene in marker-assisted selection.