• Development and Reproduction
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.89-99
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• 1998

This study was carried out to investigate the morphological changes of gonadotropes in pituitary gland and spermatogenic cells in testis, obtained from 150 of 3-year-old immature and mature male rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during the reproductive cycles from March to February in the following year. In the maturation cycle of the pituitary gonadotropes of cultured rainbow trout, three periods can be distinguished i.e. a period of resting(March-August), a period of full spermatogenesis (September-November), and a period of breeding (December-February). The ultrastructures of the gonadotropes largely parallel the cyclical changes in the tests. The seminiferous tubules contain all spermatogenetic stages and sperm cells in a period of early maturation. At first, the size of the nucleus and cytoplasm decrease gradually at every stages from spermatogonia to spermatids. In the secondary spermatocytes, the small mitochondria are located over the outer cytoplam. In spermatids, the cytoplasmic masses move toward the posterior part of the nucleus. In spermatids, the two large mitochondria are located over the cytoplasm. In spermatids, the cytoplasmic masses move towark the posterior part of the nucleus. In spermatids, the two large mitochondria are located over the cytoplasm and begin to elongate. In spermatozoa, the surface of the nucleus devreases in volume. Examination by TEM shows that the nuclear envelope and plasma membrane are slightlywrinkled and closely adhered to the nucleus of spermatozoa. Two oval mitochondria are quite separated and the flagellum is inserted into the base of the spermatozoa head.The axoneme in this fish has the typical pattern such as nine peripheral doublets and a central doublet(9+2). there are remarkable individual differences in the size and morphology of spermatozoa head as observed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.770-776
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and anti-cancer activities of squash leaf extract (SLE) in vitro. The total polyphenol and flavonoid levels of SLE were 263.4 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g and 73.6 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g, respectively. The radical-scavenging activity of SLE at the concentration of 300 ${\mu}g/mL$ was 69.4%. SLE significantly inhibited human cancer cell growth (by 60.6-87.9% in HCT116 colon cancer cells and by 73.4-86.4% in H1299 lung cancer cells at the concentrations of 37.5, 75, and 150 ${\mu}g/mL$) and attachment (by 28.4% in HCT116 and by 16.8% in H1299 at the concentration of 150 ${\mu}g/mL$). SLE also altered nucleus morphology and increased nuclear staining intensity (by 42.8-58.2% in HCT116 and by 25.5-32.9% in H1299 at the concentrations of 37.5 and 75 ${\mu}g/mL$), indicating its apoptosis-inducing activity. These results demonstrate the antioxidant and anti-cancer activities of SLE in vitro.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1961-1970
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• 2014

Pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2 (PKM2) was first found in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its expression has been thought to correlate with prognosis. A large number of studies have demonstrated that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial event in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and associated metastasis, resulting in enhanced malignancy of HCC. However, the roles of PKM2 in HCC EMT and metastasis remain largely unknown. The present study aimed to determine the effects of PKM2 in EGF-induced HCC EMT and elucidate the molecular mechanisms in vitro. Our results showed that EGF promoted EMT in HCC cell lines as evidenced by altered morphology, expression of EMT-associated markers, and enhanced invasion capacity. Furthermore, the present study also revealed that nuclear translocation of PKM2, which is regulated by the ERK pathway, regulated ${\beta}$-catenin-TCF/LEF-1 transcriptional activity and associated EMT in HCC cell lines. These discoveries provide evidence of novel roles of PKM2 in the progression of HCC and potential therapeutic target for advanced cases.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.317-324
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• 2004

The present study was conducted to investigate the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in cumulus expansion, oocyte mortality and meiotic maturation of porcine cumulus enclosed oocytes (CEOs) cultured in two different models when gonadotropins, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were presented or not. And the interaction between NO and $\beta$-mercaptoethanol ($\beta$-ME), a free radical scavenger was also investigated. Two models refer to spontaneous maturation model and hypoxanthine (HX) medium model. All the 3,433 eligible CEOs were incubated at $39^{\circ}C$ and the cumulus expansion, oocyte morphology and nuclear phase were evaluated 44 h after incubation. (1) In spontaneous maturation model, NO stimulates the cumulus expansion and $\beta$-ME delayed it. NO doesn't affect the oocyte meiotic resumption but inhibits the oocytes to develop to metaphase II. (2) In HX medium model, NO or $\beta$-ME doesn't affect the expansion in the absence of gonadotropins, but in the presence of gonadotropins, NO or $\beta$-ME inhibits the expansion. In the presence of gonadotropins, NO inhibits the oocyte meiotic resumption and it especially inhibits the oocyte to develop to metaphase II, and $\beta$-ME reverses such inhibitory effects. The cooperation of gonadotropins and $\beta$-ME stimulates the meiotic resumption and especially, promotes the CEOs to develop to metaphase II in both models. Moreover, HX might contribute to the fragility of oocyte zona pellucida and gonadotropins, nitric oxide and $\beta$-ME could alleviate it separately, and cooperatively. It is concluded that NO exerts different functions in two models and $\beta$-ME affected the functions of NO in different models.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.723-728
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• 2006

The species of Grateloupia filicina, Grateloupia divaricata in East Sea were investigated taxonmically in order to clarify taxonomic position. The ecological character, external morphology, anatomy of vegetative structure. Blade length are $15{\sim}40\;cm$, erect from discoidal holdfast of $3{\sim}10\;mm$ in diameter. Stipe $1{\sim}2.5\;cm$ long, narrowly cylindrical below, compressed above Grateloupia filicina. Main axis are long and compressed, $3{\sim}7\;mm$ broad in broadest part. Colors are scarlet to light red. Blade length are $10{\sim}25\;cm$, erect from discoidal holdfast of $3{\sim}8\;cm$ in diameter Grateloupia divaricata. Stipe are single and simple $2{\sim}5\;mm$ broad. Thallus composed of cortex and medulla in section ; cortex composed of $9{\sim}10$ layers of anticlinally arranged cortical cell, divided into outer, middle and inner parts. Partial fragments of nuclear 18S rDNAs from the two species of Grateloupia (Rhodophyta) were amplified using the PCR reaction and sequenced to compare their similarity. The partial sequences showed 98.9% similarity each other. Grateloupia filicina has 371 bp sizes and Grateloupia divaricata has 372 bp size. The G+C contents of Grateloupia filicina is 54.3% and Grateloupia divaricata is 53.64%.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.721-727
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• 2014

Mushroom-derived ${\beta}$-glucan, a polysaccharide (GLP) isolated from the mycelium of Ganoderma lucidum, was previously shown to have inhibitory effects against tumor-bearing mice in vivo. We investigated the apoptotic effect of mushroom-derived ${\beta}$-glucan in a sarcoma-180 tumor cell- bearing mice model using an ELISA to determine the levels of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) in the mice. The morphology of the tumor cells was assessed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). GLP was injected into the tumor-bearing mice at a dose (i.p.) of 20 mg/kg for 10 days. After 30 days, the tumor mass from the inguinal region was collected, weighed, and assayed using TEM and a TNF-${\alpha}$ ELISA kit. The tumors that developed in the mice treated with GLP were 71.4% smaller than those in the control group, showing the ability of GLP to inhibit tumor growth. The levels of TNF-${\alpha}$ in the serum of the sarcoma-180 bearing mice were 12 times greater than in the serum of the nonbearing tumor mice. An ultrastructural study demonstrated that the GLP-treated sarcoma-180 tumor cells were condensed, with rearranged chromatin. In addition, the marginated chromatin in nucleus induced the nuclear compartment, and there were many vacuolization in the cell. GLP could be an effective apoptosis-inducing compound in sarcoma-type cancers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1047-1054
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• 2009

Oral squamous carcinoma (OSC) cells present resistance to chemotherapeutic agents-mediated apoptosis in the late stages of malignancy. Advances in the understanding of bacterial toxins have produced new strategies for the treatment of cancers. It was demonstrated here that Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (PEA) significantly decreased the viability of chemoresistant YD-9 cells in the apoptosis mechanism. Apoptotic manifestations were evident through changes in nuclear morphology and generation of DNA fragmentation. PEA treatment induced caspase-3, -6 and -9 cleavage, and activation. These events preceded proteolysis of the caspase substrates poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), DNA fragmentation factor 45 (DFF45), and lamin A in YD-9 cells. The reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c and SmacjDlABLO from mitochondria to cytosol, andtranslocation of AlF into nucleus were shown. While p53, p21 and $14-3-3{\gamma}$ were upregulated, cyclin Band cdc2 were downregulated by PEA treatment. Taken together, PEA induces apoptosis in chemoresistant YD-9 cells via activation of caspases, mitochondrial events and regulation of cell cycle genes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1130-1136
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of acid extract of Gracilaria verrucosa (AEG) on RC-58T/h/SA#4 primary human prostate cancer cells. AEG significantly decreased the cell viability of prostate cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. AEG also showed relatively low cytotoxicity on normal cell (RWPE-1). The morphology of prostate cancer cells treated with AEG was distorted to shrunken cell masses. In addition, it was revealed that AEG induced cell death as evidenced by increased formation of apoptotic body and nuclear condensation. Furthermore, AEG clearly modulated the down regulation of Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic)/Bax (pro-apoptotic) family and activated caspase-3 as an effector caspase in a dose-dependent manner. AEG inhibited cell proliferation induced by environmental hormones as a bisphenol A in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that AEG act as anti-proliferative effects as a potential therapeutic agent on primary human prostate cancer cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2014

This study was performed to determine the anticancer effects of cultivated Orostachys japonicus (COJ) and wild Orostachys japonicus (WOJ) on primary human prostate cancer cells (RC-58T/h/SA#4 cells). The morphology of cells treated with COJ and WOJ was distorted to shrunken cell masses. In addition, cell death induced by COJ and WOJ was associated with increased population of cells in sub-G1 phase as well as the formation of apoptotic bodies and nuclear condensation. COD and WOJ markedly reduced the number of viable prostate cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner, and cell numbers were lower than control cells. COJ and WOJ also inhibited increases in cell proliferation induced by environmental hormones such as dioxin and bisphenol A in charcoal-treated FBS (cFBS) medium. COJ and WOJ methanol extracts at the tested concentrations (150, 300, and 600 ${\mu}g/mL$) also dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation induced by environmental hormones. These results indicate that COJ and WOJ exert anticancer effects on primary human prostate cancer cells.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.395-401
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• 2010

Over expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ revealed the same phenotype as NFI-C deficient mouse. It has been reported that NFI-C deficient mice demonstrated abnormal odontoblast differentiation and aberrant dentin formation during root development. In the present study, in order to investigate the histological differences between wild type (WT) mouse and NFI-C deficient mouse, we compared morphological characteristics and smad4 expression between those mice. Hematoxyline-eosin (H-E) staining was used to investigate morphological changes and immunohistochemistry was also performed to observe the Smad4 expression pattern. In H-E staining, incisor of NFI-C deficient mouse showed an open area in the lingual root, irregular odontoblasts and osteodentin. Also, NFI-C deficient mouse showed short root and osteodentin in molar. In addition, Smad4 protein was strongly expressed in NFI-C deficient mouse compared with wild type. These findings suggest that NFI-C deficiency affects odontoblast differentiation and result in the formation of abnormal roots. Therefore, balancing between NFI-C and TGF-${\beta}$ signaling including Smad4 is important for the regulation of normal odontoblast differentiation and dentin formation.