• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1307-1314
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• 2015

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a member of the IL-6 cytokine family, having pleiotropic actions such as maintaining stem cell pluripotency and enabling blastocyst implantation. Because the action of LIF is mediated by a ligand-receptor interaction with the LIF receptor (LIF-R), an antagonist for LIF-R has been developed to inhibit LIF-induced signaling. In this study, we present a novel method for the production and purification of an antagonist to human LIF-R (hLA). His-tagged hLA was expressed in E. coli, and simple purification methods without any endopeptidase cleavage were designed. In addition, we determined the optimal temperature conditions for enhancing the production of soluble hLA. Finally, the bioactivity of His-tagged hLA was examined using STAT3 phosphorylation and receptivity of human endometrial ECC-1 cells. Our strategy provides a rapid and efficient method to produce biologically active recombinant hLA.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1109-1114
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• 2021

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a type of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria that causes various respiratory tract infections including asthma. Chlamydia species infect humans and cause respiratory infection by rupturing the lining of the respiratory which includes the throat, lungs and windpipe. Meanwhile, the function of interleukin-4 (IL-4) in Ch. pneumoniae respiratory infection and its association with the development of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in adulthood and causing allergic airway disease (AAD) are not understood properly. We therefore investigated the role of IL-4 in respiratory infection and allergy caused by early life Chlamydia infection. In this study, Ch. pneumonia strain was propagated and cultured in HEp-2 cells according to standard protocol and infant C57BL/6 mice around 3-4 weeks old were infected to study the role of IL-4 in respiratory infection and allergy caused by early life Chlamydia infection. We observed that IL-4 is linked with Chlamydia respiratory infection and its absence lowers respiratory infection. IL-4R α2 is also responsible for controlling the IL-4 signaling pathway and averts the progression of infection and inflammation. Furthermore, the IL-4 signaling pathway also influences infection-induced AHR and aids in increasing AAD severity. STAT6 also promotes respiratory infection caused by Ch. pneumoniae and further enhanced its downstream process. Our study concluded that IL-4 is a potential target for preventing infection-induced AHR and severe asthma.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.273-286
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• 2021

Background: Prostate carcinoma is the second most common cancer among men worldwide. Developing new therapeutic approaches and diagnostic biomarkers for prostate cancer (PC) is a significant need. The Chinese herbal medicine Panax quinquefolius saponins (PQS) have been reported to show anti-tumor effects. We hypothesized that PQS exhibits anti-cancer activity in human PC cells and we aimed to search for novel biomarkers allowing early diagnosis of PC. Methods: We used the human PC cell line DU145 and the prostate epithelial cell line PNT2 to perform cell viability assays, flow cytometric analysis of the cell cycle, and FACS-based apoptosis assays. Microarray-based gene expression analysis was used to display specific gene expression patterns and to search for novel biomarkers. Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to demonstrate the expression levels of multiple cancer-related genes. Results: Our data showed that PQS inhibited the viability of DU145 cells and induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. A significant decrease in DU145 cell invasion and migration were observed after 24 h treatment by PQS. PQS up-regulated the expression levels of p21, p53, TMEM79, ACOXL, ETV5, and SPINT1 while it down-regulated the expression levels of bcl2, STAT3, FANCD2, DRD2, and TMPRSS2. Conclusion: PQS promoted cells apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of DU145 cells, which suggests that PQS may be effective for treating PC. TMEM79 and ACOXL were expressed significantly higher in PNT2 than in DU145 cells and could be novel biomarker candidates for PC diagnosis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2022

The aim of the present study was to investigate the physiological role of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) associated with odontogenic differentiation during tooth development in mice. Mouse dental papilla cell-23 (MDPC-23) cells cultured in differentiation media were stimulated with the specific NAMPT inhibitor, FK866, and Visfatin (NAMPT) for up to 10 days. The cells were evaluated after 0, 4, 7, and 10 days. Cell viability was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The mineralization assay was performed by staining MDPC-23 cells with Alizarin Red S solution. After cultivation, MDPC-23 cells were harvested for quantitative PCR or Western blotting. Analysis of variance was performed using StatView 5.0 software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The expression of NAMPT increased during the differentiation of murine odontoblast-like MDPC-23 cells. Furthermore, the up-regulation of NAMPT promoted odontogenic differentiation and accelerated mineralization through an increase in representative odontoblastic biomarkers, such as dentin sialophosphoprotein, dentin matrix protein-1, and alkaline phosphatase in MDPC-23 cells. However, treatment of the cells with the NAMPT inhibitor, FK866, attenuated odontogenic differentiation, as evidenced by the suppression of odontoblastic biomarkers. These data indicate that NAMPT regulated odontoblastic differentiation through the regulation of odontoblastic biomarkers. The increase in NAMPT expression in odontoblasts was closely related to the formation of the extracellular matrix and dentin via the Runx signaling pathway. Therefore, these data suggest that NAMPT is a critical regulator of odontoblast differentiation during tooth development.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.54-64
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• 2023

Background: Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng) is a traditional natural/herbal medicine. The amelioration on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity rely mainly on its main active ingredients that are referred to as ginsenosides. However, the current literature on gut microbiota, gut microbiota-host co-metabolites, and systems pharmacology has no studies investigating the effects of ginsenoside on IBD. Methods: The present study was aimed to investigate the role of ginsenosides and the possible underlying mechanisms in the treatment of IBD in an acetic acid-induced rat model by integrating metagenomics, metabolomics, and complex biological networks analysis. In the study ten ginsenosides in the ginsenoside fraction (GS) were identified using Q-Orbitrap LC-MS. Results: The results demonstrated the improvement effect of GS on IBD and the regulation effect of ginsenosides on gut microbiota and its co-metabolites. It was revealed that 7 endogenous metabolites, including acetic acid, butyric acid, citric acid, tryptophan, histidine, alanine, and glutathione, could be utilized as significant biomarkers of GS in the treatment of IBD. Furthermore, the biological network studies revealed EGFR, STAT3, and AKT1, which belong mainly to the glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways, as the potential targets for GS for intervening in IBD. Conclusion: These findings indicated that the combination of genomics, metabolomics, and biological network analysis could assist in elucidating the possible mechanism underlying the role of ginsenosides in alleviating inflammatory bowel disease and thereby reveal the pathological process of ginsenosides in IBD treatment through the regulation of the disordered host-flora co-metabolism pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.864-874
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• 2023

Natural killer (NK) cell dysfunctions against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a hypoxic environment. Many solid tumors are present in a hypoxic condition, which changes the effector function of various immune cells. The transcription of hypoxic-inducible factors (HIFs) in cancer cells make it possible to adapt to their hypoxic environment and to escape the immune surveillance of NK cells. Recently, the correlation between the transcription of HIF-1α and pro-inflammatory cytokines has been reported. Interleukin (IL)-6 is higher in cancers with a highly invasive ability, and is closely related to the metastasis of cancers. This study showed that the expression of HIF-1α in HCC cells was associated with the presence of IL-6 in the environment of HCC-NK cells. Blocking of IL-6 by antibody in the HCC-NK interaction changed the production of several cytokines including TGF-β, IL-1, IL-18 and IL-21. Interestingly, in a co-culture of HIF-1α-expressed HCC cells and NK cells, blocking of IL-6 increased the production of IL-21 in their supernatants. In addition, the absence of IL-6 significantly enhanced the cytotoxic ability and the expression of the activating receptors (NKG2D, NKp44, and NKG2C) in NK cells to HIF-1α-expressed HCC cells. These effects might be made by the decreased expression of HIF-1α in HCC cells through the inhibited phosphorylation of STAT3. In conclusion, the absence of IL-6 in the interaction of HIF-1α-expressed HCC cells and NK cells could enhance the antitumor activity of NK cells to HCC cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.445-450
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• 2023

The development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is associated with the phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from a contractile to a synthetic state, leading to cell migration and proliferation. Platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) modulates this de-differentiation by initiating a number of biological processes. In this study, we show that gene expression of hyaluronic acid (HA) and proteoglycan link protein 1 (HAPLN1) was upregulated during differentiation of human aortic SMCs (HASMCs) into a contractile state, but downregulated upon during PDGF-BB-induced dedifferentiation. This is the first study showing that the treatment of HASMCs with full-length recombinant human HAPLN1 (rhHAPLN1) significantly reversed PDGF-BB-induced decrease in the protein levels of contractile markers (SM22α, α-SMA, calponin, and SM-MHC), and inhibited the proliferation and migration of HASMCs induced by PDGF-BB. Furthermore, our results show that rhHAPLN1 significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of FAK, AKT, STAT3, p38 MAPK and Raf mediated by the binding of PDGF-BB to PDGFRβ. Together, these results indicated that rhHAPLN1 can suppress the PDGF-BB-stimulated phenotypic switching and subsequent de-differentiation of HASMCs, highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic target for atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.101-107
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• 2022

Tertomotide is a peptide vaccine developed for anti-cancer therapy. Since it has been found to ameliorate inflammatory symptoms in animal studies and clinical test, we investigated anti-inflammation activity of the tertomotide and the mechanism of action in monocyte in order to assess if tertomotide may serve as an anti-inflammatory agent by checking inflammatory cytokines and related signaling pathway following tertomotide treatment. We found that tertomotide reduced the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8 in LPS- or PMA-stimulated monocyte cell line and suppressed NF-κB signaling including the activation of ERK1/2 and P38 MAPK following TNF-α treatment. These results may correlate to the beneficial findings in animal studies, implicating that tertomotide may act as a potential anti-inflammatory agent. This study is an exemplary case for convergence that a computationally designed peptide for immunological purpose exerting unexpected biological activity may elicit novel anti-inflammatory drug.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.15.1-15.17
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• 2023

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are critical immune-response mediators. Although they largely reside in mucosal tissues, the kidney also bears substantial numbers. Nevertheless, kidney ILC biology is poorly understood. BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice are known to display type-2 and type-1 skewed immune responses, respectively, but it is unclear whether this extends to ILCs. We show here that indeed, BALB/c mice have higher total ILCs in the kidney than C57BL/6 mice. This difference was particularly pronounced for ILC2s. We then showed that three factors contributed to the higher ILC2s in the BALB/c kidney. First, BALB/c mice demonstrated higher numbers of ILC precursors in the bone marrow. Second, transcriptome analysis showed that compared to C57BL/6 kidneys, the BALB/c kidneys associated with significantly higher IL-2 responses. Quantitative RT-PCR also showed that compared to C57BL/6 kidneys, the BALB/c kidneys expressed higher levels of IL-2 and other cytokines known to promote ILC2 proliferation and/or survival (IL-7, IL-33, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin). Third, the BALB/c kidney ILC2s may be more sensitive to the environmental signals than C57BL/6 kidney ILC2s since they expressed their transcription factor GATA3 and the IL-2, IL-7, and IL-25 receptors at higher levels. Indeed, they also demonstrated greater responsiveness to IL-2 than C57BL/6 kidney ILC2s, as shown by their greater STAT5 phosphorylation levels after culture with IL-2. Thus, this study demonstrates previously unknown properties of kidney ILC2s. It also shows the impact of mouse strain background on ILC2 behavior, which should be considered when conducting research on immune diseases with experimental mouse models.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.114-125
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• 2024

Objectives: Network pharmacology is an analysis method that explores drug-centered efficacy and mechanism by constructing a compound-target-disease network based on system biology, and is attracting attention as a methodology for studying herbal medicine that has the characteristics for multi-compound therapeutics. Thus, we investigated the potential functions and pathways of Myrrha on Allergic Rhinitis (AR) via network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking. Methods: Using public databases and PubChem database, compounds of Myrrha and their target genes were collected. The putative target genes of Myrrha and known target genes of AR were compared and found the correlation. Then, the network was constructed using STRING database, and functional enrichment analysis was conducted based on the Gene Ontology (GO) Biological process and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathways. Binding-Docking stimulation was performed using CB-Dock. Results: The result showed that total 3 compounds and 55 related genes were gathered from Myrrha. 33 genes were interacted with AR gene set, suggesting that the effects of Myrrha are closely related to AR. Target genes of Myrrha are considerably associated with various pathways including 'Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway' and 'JAK-STAT signaling pathway'. As a result of blinding docking, AKT1, which is involved in both mechanisms, had high binding energies for abietic acid and dehydroabietic acid, which are components of Myrrha. Conclusion: Through a network pharmacological method, Myrrha was predicted to have high relevance with AR by regulating AKT1. This study could be used as a basis for studying therapeutic effects of Myrrha on AR.