• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2016

miR-101 is considered to play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated. Here, we aimed to confirm whether Girdin is a target gene of miR-101 and determine the tumor suppressor of miR-101 through Girdin pathway. In our previous studies, we firstly found Girdin protein was overexpressed in HCC tissues, and it closely correlated to tumor size, T stage, TNM stage and Edmondson-Steiner stage of HCC patients. After specific small interfering RNA of Girdin was transfected into HepG2 and Huh7.5.1 cells, the proliferation and invasion ability of tumor cells were significantly inhibited. In this study, we further explored the detailed molecular mechanism of Girdin in HCC. Interestingly, we found that miR-101 significantly low-expressed in HCC tissues compared with that in matched normal tissues while Girdin had a relative higher expression, and miR-101 was inversely correlated with Girdin expression. In addition, after miR-101 transfection, the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of HepG2 cells were weakened. Furthermore, we confirmed that Girdin is a direct target gene of miR-101. Finally we confirmed Talen-mediated Girdin knockout markedly suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HCC while downregulation of miR-101 significantly restored the inhibitory effect. Our findings suggested that miR-101/Girdin axis could be a potential application of HCC treatment.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1843-1849
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• 2004

Conventional medicines have usually sorted to a number of treatments such asoperation, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The existing anti-cancer agents, designed to eradicate cancer cells, have strong toxicities, also with leading to harmful side effects. Recently, a number of researches on natural products have been actively carried out in efforts to develop new treatments that can decrease side effects or increase anti-cancer effects. We performed this study to understand the molecular basis underlying the antitumor effects of Pharbitis nil, and Plantago asiatica, which have been used for herbal medicinal treatments against cancers in East Asia. We analyzed the effects of these medicinal herbs on proliferation and on expression of cell growth/apoptosis related molecules, with using an AGS gastric cancer cell line. The treatment of Pharbitis nil dramatically reduced cell viabilities in a dose and time-dependent manner, but Plantago asiatica didn't. FACS analysis and Annexin V staining assay also showed that Pharbitis nil induce apoptotic cell death of AGS. Expression analyses via RT-PCR and Western blots revealed that Pharbitis nil didn't increase expression of the p53 and its downstream effector p21/sup wafl/, and that the both increased expression of apoptosis related Sax and cleavage of active caspase-3 protein. We also confirmed the translocation of Sax to mitochondria. Collectively, our data demonstrate that Pharbitis nilinduce growth inhibition and apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells, and these effects are correlated with down- and up-regulation of growth-regulating apoptotic and tumor suppressor genes, respectively.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.12
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• pp.1348-1357
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• 2009

Purpose:The aims of this study were to identify the clinical characteristics and determine the changes in the expression of cytokines and apoptosis-related genes in children with infectious mononucleosis. Methods:Serological examinations of 15 pediatric patients diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis were performed prospectively. Peripheral blood from the patients was used to compare the composition of T cell subsets, cytokines, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA, and the expression of apoptosis-related genes with those in 10 healthy children. Results:Mean age of the patient group was $5.7{\pm}3.4$ (range, 3-9) years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1.5:1. Fever, sore throat, pharyngitis/tonsillitis, and cervical lymph node enlargement were the most common symptoms and signs. The proportions of CD3+ T cells, CD8+ suppressor cells, and CD56+ natural killer (NK) cells were higher in the patient group than in the control group (P<0.01). The IL-2, IL-6, and interferon $(INF)-{\gamma}$ levels were higher in the early symptomatic period (P<0.01). Mean amount of EBV DNA in the patients was $10^{2.38}copies/{\mu}g$, and the amount was the highest at the beginning of the symptomatic period and normalized during the convalescent phase. Bcl-2 expression increased during the initial phase, while Bax expression increased during the convalescent phase. Further, FasL expression increased 1 week after symptom presentation and decreased during the convalescent phase. There was no significant change in Fas expression. Conclusion:We analyzed the clinical characteristics and changes in the expression ofcytokines and apoptosis-related genes in the patients with infectious mononucleosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5181-5186
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• 2014

Tumors have evolved numerous mechanisms by which they can escape from immune surveillance. One of these is to produce immunosuppressive cytokines. Transforming growth factor-${\beta}$(TGF-${\beta}$) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a crucial function in mediating immune suppression, especially in the tumor microenvironment. TGF-${\beta}$ produced by T cells has been demonstrated as an important factor for suppressing antitumor immune responses, but the role of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ in this process is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ using shRNA resulted in dramatically reduced tumor size, slowing tumor formation, prolonging survival rate of tumor-bearing mice and inhibiting metastasis. We revealed possible underlying mechanisms as reducing the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and $CD4^+Foxp3^+$ Treg cells, and consequently enhanced IFN-${\gamma}$ production by CTLs. Knockdown of tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ also significantly reduced the conversion of na$\ddot{i}$ve $CD4^+$ T cells into Treg cells in vitro. Finally, we found that knockdown of TGF-${\beta}$ suppressed cell migration, but did not change the proliferation and apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro. In summary, our study provided evidence that tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ is a critical factor for tumor progression and evasion of immune surveillance, and blocking tumor-derived TGF-${\beta}$ may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1036-1046
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• 2015

Extracts from Asian medicinal herbs are known to be successful therapeutic agents against cancer. In this study, the effects of three types of herbal extracts on anti-tumor growth were examined. Among the three types of herbal extracts, H9 showed stronger anti-tumor growth effects than H5 and H11 in vivo. To find the molecular mechanism by which H9 inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines, the levels of apoptotic markers were examined. Proapoptotic markers, including cleaved PARP and cleaved caspases 3 and 9, were increased, whereas the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl-2 was decreased by H9 treatment. Next, the combined effect of H9 with the chemotherapeutic drugs doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) on tumor growth was examined using 4T1-tumor-bearing mice. The combined treatment of H9 with AC did not show additive or synergetic anti-tumor growth effects. However, when tumor-bearing mice were co-treated with H9 and the targeted anti-tumor drug trastuzumab, a delay in tumor growth was observed. The combined treatment of H9 and trastuzumab caused an increase of natural killer (NK) cells and a decrease of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Taken together, H9 induces the apoptotic death of tumor cells while increasing anti-tumor immune activity through the enhancement of NK activity and diminishment of MDSC.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.1389-1395
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• 2000

Cervical cancer has been one of the leading causes of female death from cancer worldwide with about 500,000 deaths per year. A strong association between certain human papillomaviruses (HPV types 16 and 18) and cervical cancer has been well known. An extract of natural products, Rhus, has been used to investigate whether this agent has the ability of inhibiting the oncogenes E6 and E7 of HPV type 16. This Rhus inhibited the proliferation of human cervical cancer cell lines (C-33A, SiHa, Caski) and HaCaT keratinocytes in a dose response manner. In vitro binding assay and ELISA showed that Rhus inhibited the in vitro binding of E6 and E6AP which are essential for the binding and degradation of the tumor suppressor p53. In addition, Rhus inhibited the in vitro binding of E7 and Rb which essential tumor suppressor for the control of cell cycle. The level of mRNA for E6 was also decreased by Rhus while that of E7 mRNA was not changed. Our data suggested that Rhus inhibited the oncogenecity of E6 and E7 of HPV 16 type, thus can be used as a putative anti-HPV agent for the treatment of cervical carcinomas by HPV.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.3 s.70
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• pp.323-331
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• 2005

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of $\beta-lapachone$, a quinone obtained from the bark of the lapacho tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) in South America, on the cell growth of human hepatoma (HepG2) and bladder (T24) carcinoma cells. Exposure of cancer cells to $\beta-lapachone$ resulted in growth inhibition, morphological changes and apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, which could be proved by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analyses revealed that $\beta-lapachone$ did not affect the levels of tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21 (WAFl/CIPl) expression. However, the transcriptional factor Sp-l and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein levels were significantly down-regulated by $\beta-lapachone$ in both cell lines. Moreover, $\beta-lapachone$ treatment caused a dose-dependent inhibition of the expression of telomere regulatory gene products such as human telomere reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and telomerase-associated protein-l (TEP-l). Taken together, these findings suggest that $\beta-lapachone$-induced inhibition of human hepatoma and bladder carcinoma cell proliferation is associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death via modulation of several major growth regulatory gene products, and provide important new insights into the additional mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of $\beta-lapachone$.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.287-299
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• 1994

Plasma protein which has been known as one of nonspecific immunostimulators was added to feedstuff to examine its effect on the enhancement of cellular immune response in porcine immune system. A total of 40 piglets, 20 male and 20 female each, were fed for 30 days with or without plasma protein. The peripheral blood were collected and analyzed for the investigation of leukocyte subpopulations and their activities by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies specific to porcine leukocyte differentiation antigens and flow cytometry. The results obtained as follows. 1. Subpopulations expressing major histocompatibility complex(MHC) class I antigen were $96.2{\pm}3.1%$ and $86.6{\pm}3.8%$ in piglets fed with plasma protein and in piglets fed without plasma protein, respectively. 2. Proportion of leukocyte subpopulation expressing MHC class II antigens were significantly higher in the piglets fed with plasma protein than ones without plasma protein. The proportion was $27.6{\pm}3.6%$ and $16.6{\pm}2.2%$ in MHC class II DQ antigen, and $28.1{\pm}2.0%$ and $20.0{\pm}0.3%$ in MHC class II DR antigen, respectively. 3. A significant increase in the proportion of cells expressing poCD2 was not found in piglets fed plasma protein. 4. Proportion of subpopulation expressed porcine(Po) CD4 antigens which specific to helper T lymphocytes were not increased (18.3-19.1% vs. 25.6-28.8%), rather slightly decreased, in plasma protein-treated group. 5. The most important increase of proportion in plasma protein-treated group was the leukocyte subpopulation specific to $poCD8^+$ T cytotoxic/suppressor lymphocytes. The expression level was significantly higher up to 45.9-47.1% in plasma protein-treated group in comparing with 29.7-33.0% in non-plasma protein-treated group. 6. Lymphoblastogenetic responses using different concentrations of Con A mitogen and plasma protein has found that the responses of lymphocyte from piglets fed plasma protein was significantly activated (p<0.01). The activities measured by 3[H]-thymidine incorporation showed 3-6 times stronger in plasma protein-treated group than those in non-plasma protein-treated group. The study has concluded that plasma protein, which has known as a nonspecific immunostimulator, may have an immunoenhancing activities in porcine lymphoid system by increase the activated cell proportions and their blastogenetic properties which is critical to host immune responses.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.224-234
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• 2006

We employed human SK-MEL-28 cells as a model system to identify cellular proteins that accompany N-(4-methyl)phenyl-O-(4-methoxy)phenyl-thionocarbamate (MMTC)-induced apoptosis based on a proteomic approach. Cell viability tests revealed that SK-MEL-28 skin cancer cells underwent more cell death than normal HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner after treatment with MMTC. Two-dimensional electrophoresis in conjunction with matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry analysis or computer matching with a protein database further revealed that the MMTC-induced apoptosis is accompanied by increased levels of caspase-1, checkpoint suppressor-1, caspase-4, NF-kB inhibitor, AP-2, c-Jun-N-terminal kinase, melanoma inhibitor, granzyme K, G1/S specific cyclin D3, cystein rich protein, Ras-related protein Rab-37 or Ras-related protein Rab-13, and reduced levels of EMS (oncogene), ATP synthase, tyrosine-phosphatase, Cdc25c, 14-3-3 protein or specific structure of nuclear receptor. The migration suppressing effect of MMTC on SK-MEL-28 cell was tested. MMTC suppressed the metastasis of SK-MEL-8 cells. It was also identified that MMTC had little angiogenic effect because it did not suppress the proliferation of HUVEC cell line. These results suggest that MMTC is a novel chemotherapeutic and metastatic agents against the SK-MEL-28 human melanoma cell line.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.635-646
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• 1996

To establish the effective ways to prevent bovine mastitis, the study has been performed to investigate the attributable factors causing down-regulation of immune responses in mammary gland of non-lactating cows. Lymphocytes from peripheral blood and mammary gland secretions(MGS) were obtained from normal healthy cows and mastitic cows, respectively. Cellular immune responses were examined by comparison of proportion of lymphocyte subpopulations using a set of monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. The results obtained are as follows. 1. Proportions of peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations expressing BoCD2 and BoCD4 molecules were 32.9%, 15.4% in mastitic cows and 43.3%, 28.3% in normal healthy cows, respectively. The ratios of BoCD4 to BoCD8 were 0.76 and 1.47, respectively. 2. Proportions of mammary gland lymphocyte subpopulations expressing BoCD2 and BoCD4 molecules were 18.5%, 8.3% in mastitic cows and 38.2%, 14.2% in normal healthy cows, respectively. The ratios of BoCD4 to BoCD8 were 0.6 and 2.0, respectively. 3. Proportions of T lymphocyte subpopulations from MGS were significantly lower than those from peripheral blood both in mastitic cows and normal healthy cows. However, lymphocyte subpopulations expressing ACT2 and ACT3, which represent activated T suppressor cells, were significantly higher in MGS than those in peripheral blood.