• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.23 no.10
• /
• pp.1386-1394
• /
• 2013

In our previous study, the 25-mer antimicrobial peptide pleurocidin (Ple) had been thought to induce apoptosis in Candida albicans. This study demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was a major cause of Ple-induced apoptosis. Four truncated analogs were synthesized to understand the functional roles in the N- and C-terminal regions of Ple on the apoptosis. Ple, Ple (4-25), Ple (1-22), and Ple (1-19) produced ROS, including hydroxyl radicals, on the order of [Ple > Ple (1-22) > Ple (4-25) > Ple (1-19)], whereas Ple (7-25) did not induce any ROS production. The results suggested that the N-terminal deletion affected the ROS-inducing activities much more than that of the C-terminal deletion, and net hydrophobicity [Ple > Ple (1-22) > Ple (4-25) > Ple (1-19) > Ple (7-25)] was related to ROS generation rather than other primary factors like net charge. Hence, we focused on the N-terminal-truncated peptides, Ple (4-25) and Ple (7-25), and examined other apoptotic features, including mitochondrial membrane depolarization, caspase activation, phosphatidylserine externalization, and DNA and nuclear fragmentation. The results also confirmed the disappearance of apoptotic activity of Ple (7-25) by the truncation of the N-terminal region (1-6) and the specific activity patterns between Ple and analogs. In conclusion, the N-terminal region of Ple played an important role in apoptosis.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.135-145
• /
• 1998

Bupleury radix has been used for the treatment of fever, liver disease, inflammation in traditional medicine. The present study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant effects of Bupleury radix aqua-acupuncture solution (BRAS) in vitro. Oxygen derived free radicals produced in the course of normal aerobic life, such as superoxide anion radical($O_2^-$ ), hydroxyl radicaI( OH), hydrogen peroxide($H_2O_2$) and singlet oxygen($^1O_2$) can attack polyunsaturated fatty acid in cell membranes, enzymes, other cell compounds, and give rise to lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, lipofuscin accumulation, structure alteration of cell membrane and cell death. In this study, antioxidant effects of BRAS on lipid peroxidation were determined according to the method of TBA. BRAS inhibited markedly peroxidation of linoleic acid during the autoxidation, and also inhibited lipid peroxidation induced by hydroxyl radical derived from $H_2O_2-Fe^{2+}$ in rat liver homogenate. And BRAS showed 30% scavenging effect on DPPH radical, also exhibited a 30% inhibitory effect on superoxide generation from xanthine-xanthine oxidase system. In addition, BRAS protected the cell death induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide(t-BHP) and significantly increased cell viability in the normal rat liver cell(Ac2F).

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.422-431
• /
• 2007

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) is very interesting power source due to high power density, simple construction and operation at low temperature. But it has problems such as high cost, improvement of performance and effect of temperature. These problems can be approached to be solved by using mathematical models which are useful tools for analysis and optimization of fuel cell performance and for heat and water management. In this paper, the present work is to develop an electrochemical model to examine the electrochemical process inside PEM fuel cell. A complete set of considerations of mass, momentum, species and charge is developed and solved numerically with proper account of electrochemical kinetics. When depth of gas channel becomes thinner, diffusion of reactant makes well into gas diffusion layer(GDL) and the performance increases. Although at low current region there is little voltage difference between experimental data of PEM fuel cell and numerical data. When the porosity size of gas diffusion layer for PEM fuel cell is bigger, oxygen diffusion occurs well and oxygen mass fraction appears high in catalyst layer.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.318-323
• /
• 2015

For commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicles, one of the key objectives is to improve durability of MEA and electrocatalysts. Regarding electrocatalysts, the major issue is to reduce carbon corrosion and dissolution of Pt caused by harsh conditions, for example, SU/SD (Start-up/Shut-down). In this research, OER (Oxygen Evolution Reaction) catalyst has been developed improvement of durability. A modified polyol process is developed by controlling the pH of the solvent to synthesize the PtIr nanocatalysts on carbon supports. Each performance of the MEAs applying PtIr and Pt are equivalent because PtIrnanocatalysts have both ORR and OER activity. Breadboard test for catalyst durability in harsh conditions and high potentialsis found that the MEA applying PtIrnanocatalysts durability is improved more than the MEA applying Pt nanocatalysts.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.50 no.4
• /
• pp.214-219
• /
• 2017

Mitochondria play pivotal roles in the ATP production, apoptosis and generation of reactive oxygen species. Although dynamic regulation of mitochondria morphology is a critical step to maintain cellular homeostasis, the regulatory mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated. In this study, we identified miR-200a-3p as a novel regulator of mitochondrial dynamics by targeting mitochondrial fission factor (MFF). We demonstrated that the ectopic expression of miR-200a-3p enhanced mitochondrial elongation, mitochondrial ATP synthesis, mitochondrial membrane potential and oxygen consumption rate. These results indicate that miR-200a-3p positively regulates mitochondrial elongation by downregulating MFF expression.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.02a
• /
• pp.15-15
• /
• 2011

Atom-thick graphene membrane and nano-sized graphene objects (NGOs) hold substantial potential for applications in future molecular-scale integrated electronics, transparent conducting membranes, nanocomposites, etc. To realize this potential, chemical properties of graphene need to be understood and diagnostic methods for various NGOs are also required. To meet these needs, chemical properties of graphene and optical diagnostics of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have been explored by Raman spectroscopy, AFM and STM scanning probes. The first part of the talk will illustrate the role of underlying silicon dioxide substrates and ambient gases in the ubiquitous hole doping of graphene. An STM study reveals that thermal annealing generates out-of-plane deformation of nanometer-scale wavelength and distortion in $sp^2$ bonding on an atomic scale. Graphene deformed by annealing is found to be chemically active enough to bind molecular oxygen, which leads to a strong hole-doping. The talk will also introduce Raman spectroscopy studies of GNRs which are known to have nonzero electronic bandgap due to confinement effect. GNRs of width ranging from 15 nm to 100 nm have been prepared by e-beam lithographic patterning of mechanically exfoliated graphene followed by oxygen plasma etching. Raman spectra of narrow GNRs can be characterized by upshifted G band and strong disorder-related D band originating from scattering at ribbon edges. Detailed analysis of the G, D, and 2D bands of GNRs proves that Raman spectroscopy is still a reliable tool in characterizing GNRs despite their nanometer width.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.1505-1510
• /
• 2009

Arginyl-fructose (AF) and arginyl-fructosyl-glucose (AFG) were chemically synthesized and purified. Their in vitro and cellular antioxidant activity was investigated using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and cellular antioxidant activity assay, respectively. The peroxyl radical scavenging activity of AF was much higher than that of AFG, which was in good agreement with their reduction capacity to donate electrons or hydrogen atoms. On the other hand, the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of AF was weaker than that of AFG, which was consistent with their metal chelating activity, suggesting that AFG-$Cu^{2+}$ complex may be less redox-active than AF-$Cu^{2+}$ complex due to 1 glucose molecule attached. The cellular antioxidant activity of AF and AFG appeared to depend on both their permeability into cell membrane and the scavenging activity on peroxyl or hydroxyl radicals. These results indicate that AF and AFG, Maillard reaction products, may have a high potential as a material for the development of nutraceutical food with antioxidant activity.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.201-208
• /
• 2014

A Pt catalyst ($Pt/G_xC_y$) supported on the hybrid supporting materials composed of graphene oxide (GO) and carbon black (C) was fabricated using polyol method to improve the durability of electrocatalysts. The electrochemical performances measured by cyclic voltammograms using three-electrode system revealed that the properly designed $Pt/G_xC_y$ catalyst exhibited higher durability than that of Pt/C catalyst without sacrificing an electrocatalytic acivity. In the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performed in acid solution with the rotating disk electrode, the $Pt/G_xC_y$ catalyst showed greater mass and area-specific activity than those of Pt/C catalyst.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.41 no.8
• /
• pp.560-567
• /
• 2008

The importance of lipids in cell signaling and tissue physiology is demonstrated by the many CNS pathologies involving deregulated lipid metabolism. One such critical metabolic event is the activation of phospholipase $A_2$ ($PLA_2$), which results in the hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids and the release of free fatty acids, including arachidonic acid, a precursor for essential cell-signaling eicosanoids. Reactive oxygen species (ROS, a product of arachidonic acid metabolism) react with cellular lipids to generate lipid peroxides, which are degraded to reactive aldehydes (oxidized phospholipid, 4-hydroxynonenal, and acrolein) that bind covalently to proteins, thereby altering their function and inducing cellular damage. Dissecting the contribution of $PLA_2$ to lipid peroxidation in CNS injury and disorders is a challenging proposition due to the multiple forms of $PLA_2$, the diverse sources of ROS, and the lack of specific $PLA_2$ inhibitors. In this review, we summarize the role of $PLA_2$ in CNS pathologies, including stroke, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple sclerosis-Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and Wallerian degeneration.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.399-405
• /
• 2012

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used nanoparticles and they are mainly used in antibacterial and personal care products. In this study, we evaluated the effect of AgNPs on cell death induction in the murine dendritic cell line DC2.4. DC2.4 cells exposed to AgNPs showed a marked decrease in cell viability and an induction of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In addition, AgNPs promoted reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent apoptosis and AgNP-induced ROS triggered a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. The activation of the intracellular signal transduction pathway was also observed in cells cultured with AgNPs. Taken together, our data demonstrate that AgNPs are able to induce a cytotoxic effect in DCs through ROS generation. This study provides important information about the safety of AgNPs that may help in guiding the development of nanotechnology applications.