• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2023

The implications of nutrient starvation due to aging on the degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is yet to be fully explored. We examined the involvement of AMPK activation in mitochondrial homeostasis and its relationship with the maintenance of a healthy mitochondrial population and epithelial characteristics of RPE cells under nutrient starvation. Nutrient starvation induced mitochondrial senescence, which led to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in RPE cells. As nutrient starvation persisted, RPE cells underwent pathological epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via the upregulation of TWIST1, a transcription regulator which is activated by ROS-induced NF-κB signaling. Enhanced activation of AMPK with metformin decelerated mitochondrial senescence and EMT progression through mitochondrial biogenesis, primed by activation of PGC1-α. Thus, by facilitating mitochondrial biogenesis, AMPK protects RPE cells from the loss of epithelial integrity due to the accumulation of ROS in senescent mitochondria under nutrient starvation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.529-537
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• 2021

Most animals face frequent periods of starvation throughout their entire life and thus need to appropriately adjust their behavior and metabolism during starvation for their survival. Such adaptive responses are regulated by a complex set of systemic signals, including hormones and neuropeptides. While much progress has been made in identifying pathways that regulate nutrient-excessive states, it is still incompletely understood how animals systemically signal their nutrient-deficient states. Here, we showed that the FMRFamide neuropeptide FLP-20 modulates a systemic starvation response in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that mutation of flp-20 rescued the starvation hypersensitivity of the G protein β-subunit gpb-2 mutants by suppressing excessive autophagy. FLP-20 acted in AIB neurons, where the metabotropic glutamate receptor MGL-2 also functions to modulate a systemic starvation response. Furthermore, FLP-20 modulated starvation-induced fat degradation in a manner dependent on the receptor-type guanylate cyclase GCY-28. Collectively, our results reveal a circuit that senses and signals nutrient-deficient states to modulate a systemic starvation response in multicellular organisms.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.260-265
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• 2021

Dysregulation of inflammation induced by noninfectious stress conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, causes tissue damage and intestinal permeability, resulting in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases. We studied the effect of autophagy on cytokine secretion related to intestinal permeability under nutrient deprivation. Autophagy removes NLRP3 inflammasomes via ubiquitin-mediated degradation under starvation. When autophagy was inhibited, starvation-induced NLRP3 inflammasomes and their product, IL-1β, were significantly enhanced. A prolonged nutrient deprivation resulted in an increased epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), leading to intestinal permeability. Under nutrient deprivation, IL-17E/25, which is secreted by IL-1β, demolished the intestinal epithelial barrier. Our results suggest that an upregulation of autophagy maintains the intestinal barrier by suppressing the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and the release of their products, including pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-17E/25, under nutrient deprivation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.91-95
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• 2015

Production of biodiesel from microalgae is dependent on the microalgal lipid content and free fatty acid composition. Both lipid and free fatty acid are regulated by nutrient sources. In this study, newly developed mutant Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with higher lipid content was investigated for the effect of nutrient limitation. Nitrogen $NO_3{^{-}}$ and phosphate $PO_4{^{3-}}$ were limited for nutrient starvation during the cultivation. Under nutrient starvation, total lipid content level was increased to 27~33% and C16:0 fatty acid content constituted over 31~43% of total fatty acid. Interestingly, we also found that the expression of fatty acid desaturase (FAD7) was decreased when nutrients were starved.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.81-88
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• 2019

In this study, effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) starvation on the cell growth and fatty acid (FA) production of newly isolated freshwater microalgae were investigated. The microalgae were identified as Chlorella sp. and Parachlorella sp. through 18S rRNA sequencing. Optimal culture temperature and light intensity were investigated using a high-throughput photobioreator, and the result was validated in 0.5 L bubble column photobioreactors using BG-11 without NaNO₃ and/or K₂HPO₄. Under nutrient starvation conditions, total FA contents of the microalgae were significantly changed rather than FA composition. Starvation of both N and P was most effective for increasing FA contents in Parachlorella sp (24.4±0.1%) whereas highest FA contents (42.6±1.8%) was achieved when only P was starved in Chlorella sp. among tested conditions. These results suggest an effective strategy for increasing FA production from microalgae using appropriate nutrient starvation.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.19-28
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of nutrient solution strength and duration of nutrient starvation on the growth and development of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) 'Maehyang' and 'Sulhyang' at the flowering stage. Cuttings of runner plants were stuck on November 23th, 2017 and were covered with a layer of black plastic film to block light from penetrating and keep the relative humidity high. The black plastic film was removed after 16 days and rooted plants were cultivated for one month with irrigation of water. The Yamazaki nutrient solution with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.85 or 3.71 dS·m-1 (1x or 2x ionic strength, respectively) and pH 5.55 was fed to plants after either 0 (control), 1, 3 or 5 weeks of nutrient starvation to the end of experiment. Plant height in both cultivars decreased gradually with the increase in duration of nutritional starvation. The earlier the nutritional starvation started, the smaller the shoot fresh weight of 'Maehyang'. Hence the greatest shoot fresh weight was obtained in the control which was supplied with the nutrient solution continuously. Shoot fresh weight of 'Sulhyang' was the greatest in 1x ionic strength and one week of nutrient starvation before planting. Although number of flowers on the first flower cluster of 'Maehyang' and 'Sulhyang' showed no significant differences, 'Maehyang' had the greatest number of flowers in the 2x ionic strength solution and one week of nutrient starvation before planting, while 'Sulhyang' had that in the 1x ionic strength treatment. These results suggest that it is considered effective to supply a nutrient solution at a low concentration for a short period of time for increasing the number of flower differentiated on the first flower cluster in both cultivars.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.678-682
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• 2005

The promoter region of a carbon starvation gene isolated from Pseudomonas putida was cloned and analyzed for its potential use for in situ bioremediation and bioprocessing. We constructed a recombinant plasmid pMKD101 by cloning the 0.65 kb promoter region of the gene into the promoter proving vector, pMK301, which contains the lacZ for ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity as a reporter gene. pMKD101 was transformed into the wild-type P. putida MK1, resulting in P. putida RPD101, and analyzed for ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity under different culture conditions. When RPD101 was grown on the minimal medium plus $0.1\%$ glucose as a sole carbon source in batch cultures, ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity was found to be 3.2-fold higher during the stationary phase than during the exponential phase. In chemostat cultures, ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity was found to be 3.1-fold higher at the minimal growth rate (dilution rate=$0.05\;h^{-1}$) than at the maximal growth rate (dilution rate=$0.173;h^{-1}$). The results suggest that a carbon starvation promoter can be utilized to maximize the expression of a desired gene under nutrient limitation.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.61-65
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• 1997

A novel strategy was developed for isolating suppressors from sporulation-deficient mutants. The mutation in the BCY1 gene, which codes for the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, when homozygous, results in diploids being meiosis and sporulation deficient. Two plasmids, YCp-MAT.alpha. and YEp-SPOT7-lacZ, were introduced into MAT.alpha. BCY1$\^$+/ or MAT.alpha. bcy1 haploid cells. The transformant of the BCY1$\^$+/ haploid cell produced .betha.-galactosidase under nutrient starvation, but the bcy1 transformant did not. Using this system, the mutagenesis experiment performed on the bcy1 transformant strain resulted in a number of sporulation mutants that produced .betha.-galactosidase under nutrient starvation. One complementation group, sob1, was identified from the isoalted suppressor mutants and characterized as a single recessive mutation by tetrad analysis. Genetic analysis revealed that the sob1 mutation suppressed the sporulation deficiency, the failure to arrest at the G1 phase of the cell cecle, and the sensitivity to heat or nitrogen starvation caused by the bcy1 mutation. However, the sob1 mutation did not suppress the sporulation deficiency of ime1 and of ime2 diploids. These results suggest that the sob1 mutation affects a gene which functions as a downstream regulator in both meiosis and cell cycle regulation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.600-605
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• 2023

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a bile duct cancer and a rare malignant tumor with a poor prognosis owing to the lack of an early diagnosis and resistance to conventional chemotherapy. A combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin is the typically attempted first-line treatment approach. However, the underlying mechanism of resistance to chemotherapy is poorly understood. We addressed this by studying dynamics in the human ICC SCK cell line. Here, we report that the regulation of glucose and glutamine metabolism was a key factor in overcoming cisplatin resistance in SCK cells. RNA sequencing analysis revealed a high enrichment cell cycle-related gene set score in cisplatin-resistant SCK (SCK-R) cells compared to parental SCK (SCK WT) cells. Cell cycle progression correlates with increased nutrient requirement and cancer proliferation or metastasis. Commonly, cancer cells are dependent upon glucose and glutamine availability for survival and proliferation. Indeed, we observed the increased expression of GLUT (glucose transporter), ASCT2 (glutamine transporter), and cancer progression markers in SCK-R cells. Thus, we inhibited enhanced metabolic reprogramming in SCK-R cells through nutrient starvation. SCK-R cells were sensitized to cisplatin, especially under glucose starvation. Glutaminase-1 (GLS1), which is a mitochondrial enzyme involved in tumorigenesis and progression in cancer cells, was upregulated in SCK-R cells. Targeting GLS1 with the GLS1 inhibitor CB-839 (telaglenastat) effectively reduced the expression of cancer progression markers. Taken together, our study results suggest that a combination of GLUT inhibition, which mimics glucose starvation, and GLS1 inhibition could be a therapeutic strategy to increase the chemosensitivity of ICC.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.236-250
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• 2020

Currently, many available anti-cancer therapies are targeting apoptosis. However, many cancer cells have acquired resistance to apoptosis. To overcome this problem, simultaneous induction of other types of programmed cell death in addition to apoptosis of cancer cells might be an attractive strategy. For this purpose, we initially investigated the inhibitory role of TRIP-Br1/XIAP in necroptosis, a regulated form of necrosis, under nutrient/serum starvation. Our data showed that necroptosis was significantly induced in all tested 9 different types of cancer cell lines in response to prolonged serum starvation. Among them, necroptosis was induced at a relatively lower level in MCF-7 breast cancer line that was highly resistant to apoptosis than that in other cancer cell lines. Interestingly, TRIP-Br1 oncogenic protein level was found to be very high in this cell line. Up-regulated TRIP-Br1 suppressed necroptosis by repressing reactive oxygen species generation. Such suppression of necroptosis was greatly enhanced by XIAP, a potent inhibitor of apoptosis. Our data also showed that TRIP-Br1 increased XIAP phosphorylation at serine87, an active form of XIAP. Our mitochondrial fractionation data revealed that TRIP-Br1 protein level was greatly increased in the mitochondria upon serum starvation. It suppressed the export of CypD, a vital regulator in mitochondria-mediated necroptosis, from mitochondria to cytosol. TRIP-Br1 also suppressed shikonin-mediated necroptosis, but not TNF-α-mediated necroptosis, implying possible presence of another signaling pathway in necroptosis. Taken together, our results suggest that TRIP-Br1/XIAP can function as onco-proteins by suppressing necroptosis of cancer cells under nutrient/serum starvation.