• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.8
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• pp.701-707
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• 2007

This study was to investigate lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activity and DNA damage after exercise, and the protective effect of garlic against exercise-induced oxidative stress. Male Sprague-Dawley rats(4 weeks old) were randomly divided into three groups of 6 rats each; control group(Con) without garlic and exercise, Ex group with exercise alone, and Ex-G group with 2% garlic and exercise. For 4 weeks, rats were given diets containing 15% corn oil and 1% cholesterol with or without garlic. The swimming was selected as a model for exercise performance. Rats swam for 40 min a day, for 5 days a week. Group Ex and Ex-G showed significant lowering in body weight gain and fat accumulation compared to control. No significant changes were observed in levels of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride among three groups, demonstrating that exercise and garlic had no effects on changes of blood lipid. This finding of blood lipid seems to be due to higher plant sterol content in corn oil. The DNA tail moment of lymphocytes showed greater tendency in Ex and Ex-G than in control, but garlic supplements failed to suppress DNA damages. Compared to control, Ex had higher plasma TBARS which was lowered to the control's level in Ex-G with 2% garlic supplementation(p<0.05). Ex-G led to a higher hepatic superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity than control and Ex(p<0.05). Activity of hepatic catalase was also increased in Ex-G, while in Ex it was significantly low(p<0.05). It seemed that TBARS levels were related to the activities of SOD and catalase, and that garlic contributed to increasing the enzyme activities and led to decrease of TBARS. These results demonstrate that lipid peroxidation and DNA damage occur as a consequences of oxidative stress after exercise, and that antioxidant defense against oxidative stress could be enhanced by garlic supplementation through the induction of antioxidant enzymes. However, further investigations should be done on the garlic effect on DNA damage.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.281-286
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• 2013

We examined the effect of parental folate deficiency on the folate content, global DNA methylation, folate receptor-alpha (FR${\alpha}$), insulin-like-growth factor-2 (IGF-2) and -1 receptor (IGF-1R) in the liver and plasma homocysteine in the postnatal rat. Male and female rats were randomly fed a folic acid-deficient (paternal folate-deficient, PD and maternal folate-deficient, MD), or folic acid-supplemented diet (paternal folate-supplemented, PS and maternal-folate-supplemented, MS) for four weeks. They were mated and grouped accordingly: $PS{\times}MS$, $PS{\times}MD$, $PD{\times}MS$, and $PD{\times}MD$. Pups were killed on day 21 of lactation. The hepatic folate content was markedly reduced in the $PD{\times}MD$ and $PS{\times}MD$ and $PD{\times}MS$ as compared with the $PS{\times}MS$ group. The hepatic global DNA methylation was decreased in the $PD{\times}MS$ and $PS{\times}MD$ groups as much as in the $PD{\times}MD$ group, and all the three groups were significantly lower as compared to the $PS{\times}MS$ group. There were no significant differences in the hepatic FR${\alpha}$, IGF-2 and IGF-1R expressions among the groups. Positive correlations were found between the hepatic folate content and global DNA methylation and protein expressions of FR${\alpha}$, IGF-2 and IGF-1R, whereas an inverse correlation was found between hepatic folate content and plasma homocysteine level in the 3-week-old rat pup. The results of this study show that both paternal and maternal folate deficiency at mating can influence the folate content and global DNA methylation in the postnatal rat liver.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.352-358
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• 2005

Microsatellites are short tandem repeated nucleotide sequences that are present throughout the human genome. Variations in the repeat number or a loss of heterozygosity around the microsatellites have been termed a microsatellite alteration (MA). A MA reflects the genetic instability caused by an impairment in the DNA mismatch repair system and is suggested to be a novel tumorigenic mechanism. A number of studies have reported that MA in the DNA extracted from the plasma occurs at varying frequencies among patients with a non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The genomic DNA from 9 subjects with a non-small cell lung cancer (squamous cell cancer 6, adenocarcinoma 2, non-small cell lung cancer1) and 9 age matched non-cancer control subjects (AMC: tuberculosis 3, other inflammatory lung disease 6) and 12 normal control subjects (NC) were extracted from the peripheral blood leukocytes and plasma. Three microsatellite loci were amplified with the primers targeting the Gene Bank sequence D21S1245, D3S1300, and D3S1234. MA in the form of an allelic loss or a band shift was examined with 6% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. None (0/12) of the NC subjects less than 40 years of age showed a MA in any of the three markers, while 88.9%(8/9) of the AMC above 40 showed a MA in at least one of the three markers (p<0.05). Sixty percent(6/10) of the control subjects with a smoking history showed a MA in one of the three markers, while 9.1%(1/11) of the control subjects without smoking history showed a MA (p<0.05). However, not only did 66.7%(6/9) of lung cancer patients show a MA in at least one of the three markers but so did 88.9%(8/21) of the AMC patients (p>0.05). In conclusion, a MA in the D21S1245, D3S1300, and D3S1234 loci using DNA extracted from the plasma was detected in 66.7% of lung cancer while no MA was found in the young non-smoking control subjects. However, many of the non-cancer control subjects (aged smokers) also showed a MA, which compromised the specificity of the MA analysis as a screening test. Therefore, a further study with a larger sample size will be needed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.281-290
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• 2004

The purpose of this project was to evaluate whether daily fruit juice consumption could reduce the DNA damage in healthy subjects. The study was performed using 67 healthy volunteers (29 smokers, 38 nonsmokers) who were supple-mented with 480 m1 of grape juice for 8 weeks. Eight weeks of grape juice consumption did not change any anthropometric parameters. Lymphocyte DNA damage before the study was significantly greater (p<0.05) in smoker than nonsmoker, but, grape juice consumption significantly reduced DNA damage in both smoker (26%) and nonsmoker (I7%) to the level where there was no difference remained between the two groups after the intervention trial. This preventive effect of grape juice against DNA damage was not affected by sex of the subjects in non-smokers. Plasma $\alpha$-carotene, Iyco-pene and ${\gamma}$-totopherol was significantly increased after the trial in smokers, while erythrocyte catalase was significan-tly increased in both smokers and nonsmokers. Total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) level in all subjects was significantly reduced after the intervention, while GSH-Px activity was increased only in nonsmokers. These results suggests that daily consumption of grape juice may protect DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes, and supports the hypothesis that grape juice might exert their effect partially via a decrease in oxidative damage to DNA in humans partly by improving their antioxidative defense system.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.93-99
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• 2005

Intracellular trafficking of transferrin-conjugated dimethyldioctadecyl-ammonium bromide liposome $(T_f-liposome)/DNA$ complexes in HeLa cells was studied using the double-labeled fluorescence technique and confocal microscopy. The size of the $T_f-liposome/DNA$ complex was about 367 nm in diameter and the zeta-potential of it at a 5:1 (w/w) ratio was almost neutral. The intracellular pathway of the $T_f-liposome/DNA$ complex, noted as green (FITC), red (rhodamine) or yellow (FITC + rhodamine) fluorescence, was elucidated from the plasma membrane to the endosome (or lysosome), and finally to the nucleus. The results of this study indicate that plasmid DNA enters into the nucleus not only as a free form but as an associated form complexed with $T_f-liposome$. More interestingly, the $T_f-liposome$ undergoes a nuclear location in the form of ordered structures. This could be a very useful piece of information in designing a safe and advanced gene delivery system.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.304-311
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• 2024

There are concerns about the introduction and spread of plant pests and pathogens with globalization and climate change. As commercial control agents have not been developed for plant viruses, it is important to prevent virus spread. In this study, we developed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection method to rapidly diagnose and control three DNA (papaya golden mosaic virus, Lindernia anagallis yellow vein virus, and melon chlorotic leaf curl virus) and two RNA (papaya leaf distortion mosaic virus and lettuce chlorosis virus) viruses that infect papaya. Specific primer sets were designed for the virus coat protein. Performing PCR, clear bands were observed with no non-specific reaction. Our multiplex PCR method can simultaneously detect small amounts of DNA/RNA to diagnose five viruses infecting papaya and prevent the spread of the virus.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.399-407
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• 2006

We evaluated the effects of butterbur (Petasites japonicus Maxim) addition to the diet on lipid profiles and antioxidant biomarkers such as total glutathionine, TBARS value, carbonyl value, GPx, GR, SOD and paraoxonase activity in the plasma or liver of mice. The distribution of body fat deposition, total cholesterol (TC) contents, and atherogenic index in the plasma were significantly decreased in the butterbur group. The levels of GSH and the activity of GR and SOD were significantly higher in the liver of the butterbur group than in that of the control group. Lipid oxidation of the liver and kidney and protein oxidation of the liver and heart were decreased in the butterbur group. Additionally, the DNA damage, as determined using the comet assay (single cell gel assay) with alkaline electrophoresis and as quantified by measuring the tail length (TL), was decreased in the butterbur group. The results of the present study showed that a diet with added butterbur exerts degenerative disease-protective effects on oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.362-369
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• 2004

The human folate receptor (hFR) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) linked plasma membrane protein that mediates delivery of folates into cells. We studied the sorting of the hFR using transfection of the hFR cDNA into MDCK cells. MDCK cells are polarized epithelial cells that preferentially sort GPI-linked proteins to their apical membrane. Unlike other GPI-tailed proteins, we found that in MDCK cells, hFR is functional on both the apical and basolateral surfaces. We verified that the same hFR cDNA that transfected into CHO cells produces the hFR protein that is GPI-linked. We also measured the hFR expression on the plasma membrane of type III paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) human erythrocytes. PNH is a disease that is characterized by the inability of cells to express membrane proteins requiring a GPI anchor. Despite this defect, and different from other GPI-tailed proteins, we found similar levels of hFR in normal and type III PNH human erythrocytes. The results suggest the hypothesis that there may be multiple mechanisms for targeting hFR to the plasma membrane.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.414-420
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• 2006

The present study evaluated the effects of pomegranate peel (Granati pericarpium) extract on the lipid profiles and antioxidant biomarkers in mice fed a high fat and cholesterol diet: the measured biomarkers included the TBARS value, GPx, GR, SOD and GST activities. Body fat depositions were significantly decreased in the group that received pomegranate peel. In addition, the activities of GPx, GST and SOD were significantly higher in the liver and plasma of the pomegranate peel group than in the control group. Also, the pomegranate peel diet decreased lipid peroxidation of the liver and kidney. Alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) showed that the DNA damage in the plasma of the pomegranate peel group was decreased compared to that of control. The present results show that a diet with added pomegranate peel exerts protective effects against oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation possibly via effects on the free radical levels in mice fed a high fat and cholesterol diet.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.373-379
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• 2013

The consumption of fruits and vegetables that have high polyphenol content has been previously associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease. We investigated the effects of onion peel extract on plasma total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation, and leukocyte DNA damage. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Healthy female subjects received either onion peel extract or placebo (dextrin) for two weeks, underwent a 1-week washout period, and then received the other treatment for an additional two weeks. After two weeks of onion peel extract supplementation, the total cholesterol level, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and atherogenic index significantly decreased (P < 0.05). No changes were observed in activities of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes or levels of lipid peroxidation markers following onion peel extract supplementation. Additionally, no significant difference was found in plasma antioxidant vitamin (retinol, tocopherols, carotenoids, and coenzyme Q10) levels or ex vivo $H_2O_2$-provoked oxidative DNA damage after onion peel extract supplementation. The present interventional study provides evidence of the health benefits of onion peel extract and demonstrates its effects in modulating lipid profiles in healthy young Korean women.