• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2002

The TNF receptor-associated factor (TRAF) family is a group of adapter proteins that link a wide variety of cell surface receptors. Including the TNF and IL-1 receptor superfamily to diverse signaling cascades, which lead to the activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ and mitogen-activated protein kinases. In addition, TRAFs interact with a variety of proteins that regulate receptor-induced cell death or survival. Thus, TRAF-mediated signals may directly induce cell survival or interfere with the death receptor-induced apoptosis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2013

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor family of cytokines. TRAIL selectively induces apoptotic cell death in various tumors and cancer cells, but it has little or no toxicity in normal cells. Agonism of TRAIL receptors has been considered to be a valuable cancer-therapeutic strategy. However, more than 85% of primary tumors are resistant to TRAIL, emphasizing the importance of investigating how to overcome TRAIL resistance. In this report, we have found that nemadipine-A, a cell-permeable L-type calcium channel inhibitor, sensitizes TRAIL-resistant cancer cells to this ligand. Combination treatments using TRAIL with nemadipine-A synergistically induced both the caspase cascade and apoptotic cell death, which were blocked by a pan caspase inhibitor (zVAD) but not by autophagy or a necrosis inhibitor. We further found that nemadipine-A, either alone or in combination with TRAIL, notably reduced the expression of survivin, an inhibitor of the apoptosis protein (IAP) family of proteins. Depletion of survivin by small RNA interference (siRNA) resulted in increased cell death and caspase activation by TRAIL treatment. These results suggest that nemadipine-A potentiates TRAIL-induced apoptosis by down-regulation of survivin expression in TRAIL resistant cells. Thus, combination of TRAIL with nemadipine-A may serve a new therapeutic scheme for the treatment of TRAIL resistant cancer cells, suggesting that a detailed study of this combination would be useful.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1271-1284
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• 1997

Background : Tumor necrosis factor(TNF) has been considered as an important candidate for cancer gene therapy based on its potent anti-tumor activity. However, since the efficiency of current techniques of gene transfer is not satisfactory, the majority of current protocols is aiming the in vitro gene transfer to cancer cells and re-introducing genetically modified cancer cells to host. In the previous study, it was shown that TNF-sensitive cancer cells transfected with TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA would become highly resistant to TNF, and the probability was shown that the acquired resistance to TNF might be associated with synthesis of some protective protein. Understanding the mechanisms of TNF-resistance in TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfected cancer cells would be an important step for improving the efficacy of cancer gene therapy as well as for better understandings of tumor biology. This study was designed to evaluate whether the levels of TNF receptor mRNA expression and soluble TNF receptor release from cancer cells are changed after TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfection. Method : We transfected TNF-$\alpha$ c-DNA to WEHI164(murine fibrosarcoma cell line), NCI-H2058(human mesothelioma cell line), A549(human non-small cell lung cancer cell line), ME180(human cervix cancer cell line) cells using retroviral vector(pLT12SN(TNF)) and confirm the expression of TNF with PCR, EUSA, MTT assay. Then we determined the TNF resistance of TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfected cells(WEHI164-TNF, NCIH2058-TNF, A549-TNF, ME180-TNF) and evaluated the TNF receptor mRNA expression with Northern blot analysis and soluble TNF receptor release with EUSA. Results : The TNF receptor mRNA expressions of parental cells and genetically modified cells were not significantly different. The soluble TNF receptor levels of media from genetically modified cells were lower than those from parental cells. Conclusion : The acquired resistance to TNF after TNF-$\alpha$ cDNA transfection may not be associated with the change in the TNF receptor and the soluble TNF receptor expression.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.76.1-76.1
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• 2006

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.292-296
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• 2004

The recombinant soluble human tumor necrosis factor-alpha (hTNF-$\alpha$) was expressed in a yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its cytotoxicity was evaluated. A cDNA encoding hTNF-$\alpha$ was placed under the control of two different promoters: a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) promoter and a yeast hybrid ADH2-GPD promoter, consisting of alcohol dehydrogenase II (ADH2) and the GPD promoter. A Northern blot analysis revealed that, although variation in the expression level of hTNF-$\alpha$ existed among transformants, the higher expression was obtained with the GPD promoter. Expressed hTNF-$\alpha$ protein (rhTNF-$\alpha$) was successfully secreted into the culture medium, producing 2.5 mg per liter of culture filtrate, with no changes in cell growth. The bioassay for observing the cytotoxicity to the murine L929 fibroblast cell line, with serial dilution of rhTNF-$\alpha$, indicated that the secreted rhTNF-$\alpha$ was bioactive and its dose-response was improved eight to ten times over that of the E. coli-derived rhTNF-$\alpha$.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.149-153
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• 2010

Biological and structural mechanisms of the nematode disease development in chili pepper caused by the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, were investigated. Out of 39 chili pepper cultivars/lines tested, six were found resistant, while 33 were susceptible to M. incognita, of which a susceptible cultivar Chilseongcho and three resistant cultivar/lines CM334, 02G132 and 03G53 with different resistance degrees were selected for microscopic studies on the disease development. Gall formation was greatly reduced in the resistant cultivars/lines. Nematode penetration occurred both in the susceptible and resistant chili pepper roots; however, the penetration rates were significantly lowered in the three resistant peppers compared to the susceptible pepper cv. Chilseongcho. In the susceptible pepper, giant cells were extensively formed with no discernible necrosis around the nematode feeding sites. In the highly resistant pepper cultivar CM334, no giant cell was formed, but extensive necrosis formation was observed around the penetrating nematodes. In the other two resistant pepper lines (02G132 and 03G53), both giant cells and prominent necroses were formed, and the necrotic responses appeared to inhibit the further development of giant cells or accelerate their early degeneration. Although the nematode penetration was retarded significantly in the resistant cultivar/lines, all of the above results suggest that the disease resistance of pepper may be related to post-infectional defense mechanisms (nematode growth and development) more than pre-infectional ones (penetration and establishment). Variations in structural modifications in the resistant cultivar/lines may reflect their genetic differences related to the nematode resistance.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2000

Tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}\;(TNF-{\alpha})$ plays important roles in inflammatory responses. Some of tetrahydroisoquinoline (THI) compounds exhibited to inhibit iNOS expression in animal studies and RAW 264.7 cells, but the action of THI on inflammatory reaction was not fully investigated. In the present study, we examined a limited series of THIs (higenamine, YS-51 and THI-52) on the $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages by Northern analysis. When thioglycollate-stimulated peritoneal macrophages were incubated with LPS (100 ng/ml), expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$ mRNA was evident and reached its maximum at 2.5 h, which was reduced concentration-dependently by treatment with THIs. When the $TNF-{\alpha}$ activity of macrophage-conditioned media was measured using a TNF-sensitive L929 fibroblast cell line, CCL 1, all THIs increased the cell viability in a concentration dependent manner. The concentrations of THIs used are not cytotoxic by itself when analysed by MTT. Furthermore, nitrite/nitrate level was significantly reduced by the presence of THIs in cells treated with $LPS+interferon-{\gamma}\;(IFN-{\gamma}).$ It is concluded, thus, that these results strongly indicated that THIs can suppress the $TNF-{\alpha}$ expression and reduce NO, which may be useful for the inflammatory disorders.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.697-701
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• 2012

Activated protein C (APC) has an anticoagulant effect and a non-hemostatic effect such as regulation of cell metastasis and modulation of inflammation. In this study, we investigated whether APC could modulate apoptosis in cancer cells. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, cyclohexamide, and FAS markedly induced apoptosis in human renal carcinoma Caki cells. When Caki cells were pretreated with APC, the percentage of death receptor-induced apoptosis did not change. Furthermore, we checked the effect of APC on tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis in human glioma T98G and human breast carcinoma MDA231 cells. APC also had no effect on TRAIL-induced apoptosis in both cell lines. However, pretreatment with APC inhibited combination treatment (kahweol plus TRAIL and kahweol plus melatonin)-induced apoptosis and PARP cleavage in Caki cells. Taken together, our results suggest that APC can modulate anti-cancer therapeutic efficiency.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2001

Present study was aimed to verify the role of insulin and TNF-$\alpha$ in development of preimplantation embryos. Mouse morula were cultured for 40 hr in the presence or absence of insulin(400 ng/ml) and TNF-$\alpha$ (50 ng/ml). The morphological development, cell number of blastomeres per blastocyst, and mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK) activity were examined. The developmental rate and cell number per embryo were the highest in insulin treatment group and the lowest in TNF-$\alpha$ treatment group. There was no significant difference in developmental rate between control and insulin plus TNF-$\alpha$ group. Taken together, it suggested that TNF-$\alpha$ impaired embryonic development and that insulin rescued developmental impairment imposed by TNF-$\alpha$. In blastocysts, insulin treatment significantly increased MAPK activity. TNF-$\alpha$ decreased the MAPK activity in a concentration-dependent manner. In the TNF-$\alpha$(50 ng/ml) -primed embryos, activation of MAPK by insulin was attenuated. In conclusion, these results suggest that there was a cross talk between insulin and TNF-$\alpha$ by means of activation of MAPK in preimplantation embryos and that insulin might rescue damage of embryos exposed to TNF-$\alpha$.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2010

Here, we evaluated the effect of thrombin on the interleukin-6 production induced by tumor-necrosis-factor-$\alpha$ in endothelial cells. It is well known that tumor-necrosis-factor-$\alpha$ mediates inflammatory responses by activation of nuclear factor-kappa-B in endothelial cells. Here, we showed that lower concentration of thrombin decreased the production of interleukin-6 induced by tumor-necrosis-factor-$\alpha$ and this inhibitory effect of thrombin on interleukin-6 production was mediated by interacting with protease-activated-receptor-1. In addition, phosphoinositide-3-kinase was also involved the anti-inflammatory responses by lower concentration of thrombin in endothelial cells. These results suggested that lower concentration of thrombin mediated anti-inflammatory responses by interacting with protease-activated-receptor-1 on the cell membrane and phosphoinositide-3-kinase in the cell. These findings will provide the important evidence in the development of new medicine for the treatment of severe sepsis and inflammatory diseases and good clue for understanding unknown mechanisms by which thrombin showed the pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory activities in endothelial cells.