• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.116-121
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• 2018

Background: Black ginseng (BG) has greatly enhanced pharmacological activities relative to white or red ginseng. However, the effect and molecular mechanism of BG on muscle growth has not yet been examined. In this study, we investigated whether BG could regulate myoblast differentiation and myotube hypertrophy. Methods: BG-treated C2C12 myoblasts were differentiated, followed by immunoblotting for myogenic regulators, immunostaining for a muscle marker, myosin heavy chain or immunoprecipitation analysis for myogenic transcription factors. Results: BG treatment of C2C12 cells resulted in the activation of Akt, thereby enhancing hetero-dimerization of MyoD and E proteins, which in turn promoted muscle-specific gene expression and myoblast differentiation. BG-treated myoblasts formed larger multinucleated myotubes with increased diameter and thickness, accompanied by enhanced Akt/mTOR/p70S6K activation. Furthermore, the BG treatment of human rhabdomyosarcoma cells restored myogenic differentiation. Conclusion: BG enhances myoblast differentiation and myotube hypertrophy by activating Akt/mTOR/p70S6k axis. Thus, our study demonstrates that BG has promising potential to treat or prevent muscle loss related to aging or other pathological conditions, such as diabetes.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.10-18
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• 1995

Recycling of GaAs scrap which occurs durmg the manufachre of GaAs waters is. therefore, required to solve the environmentalproblcrns caused by arsenic metal and to reutilize gallium which is a expensive metal. A thema-analyticalstudy (thermogravimeg. and derivative thermogravimetry) tor the evaporation behavior of Fa, As from Gak\ulcorner scrap powdersat vacuum atmosphere(2-2.5X 10'mmHg); was primarily performed to identi j the possibility of Ga extraction. Until79YC, the weight change of G d s porvder does not take place, at 800-970C range GaAs vaporizes as the GaAs compound,and over 1WO"C it decamposes mto Ga and As md then As vaporizes rapidly as a result of the difference af vaporprcssure for Ga and As, liquid Ga rcmains eventually.mains eventually.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.205-210
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• 1999

16brio cholerne is an important pathogenic organism that causes dimhea in human beings. V ciaoleroe KNIH002 was isolated from patients suffering with dian.heal disease in Korea. From Southern hybridization using the amplified PCR product of 307 bp as a probe. which was obtained from PCR reaction using primer detecting cholera toxin gene, we have found that the c b gene located in 4.5-kb fragmenl double digested with Pstl and BgllI of the chromosome. Therefore, we made mini-libraries of the isolate using PstI and Bgm restriction endonuclease and pBluescript SKU(+) vector. As a result. we cloned 4.5-kb PstI-BglII fragment containing the c a gene encoding a cholera toxin from the constructed mini-libraries of V olzolerae KNlH002 by colony hybridization using the same probes. This recombinant plasmid was named pCTX75. E. coii XL1- Blue harboring pCTX75 showed the cytotoxicity on Chinese Hamster Ovary cells. From the sequencing of he cloned recombinant plasmid, we confinned that it has virulence gene cassette consisting of ace, zot, ctx.4 and cf"~B gene. The ace and zot genes were composed of 291 hp and 1.200 bp with ATG initiation codon and TGA lennination codon, respectively. Nucleotide sequence of the ace gene exhibited 100% identity with that of V cholera E7946 El Tor Ogawa strains. But, nucleolide and amino acid sequence comparison of the zot gene exhibited 99% and 98.8% identity with that of V cholerae 395 Classical Ogawa stram, respectively. Specially. the Ala-100, Ala-272 and Ala-281 sites of Zoi polypeptide presented in V choleme 395 Classical Ogawa strain are replaced by Val in V cholerae KNIH002.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.112-121
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• 2022

Calorie restriction (CR) and the activation of autophagy extend healthspan by delaying the onset of age-associated diseases in most living organisms. Because protein kinase CK2 (CK2) downregulation induces cellular senescence and nematode aging, we investigated CK2's role in CR and autophagy. This study indicated that CR upregulated CK2's expression, thereby causing SIRT1 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. CK2α overexpression, including antisense inhibitors of miR-186, miR-216b, miR-337-3p, and miR-760, stimulated autophagy initiation and nucleation markers (increase in ATG5, ATG7, LC3BII, beclin-1, and Ulk1, and decrease in SQSTM1/p62). The SIRT1 deacetylase, AKT, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), AMPK, and forkhead homeobox type O (FoxO) 3a were involved in CK2-mediated autophagy. The treatment with the AKT inhibitor triciribine, the AMPK activator AICAR, or the SIRT1 activator resveratrol rescued a reduction in the expression of lgg-1 (the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of LC3B), bec1 (the C. elegans ortholog of beclin-1), and unc-51 (the C. elegans ortholog of Ulk1), mediated by kin-10 (the C. elegans ortholog of CK2β) knockdown in nematodes. Thus, this study indicated that CK2 acted as a positive regulator in CR and autophagy, thereby suggesting that these four miRs' antisense inhibitors can be used as CR mimetics or autophagy inducers.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.136-141
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the action mechanism of the roots of Adenophora triphylla var. japonica extract (ATE) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Cell toxicity test by MTT assay and lipid accumulation was performed to evaluate the inhibitory effect on the differentiation of adipocyte from preadipocytes induced by MDI differentiation medium, while adipogenesis related proteins expression level were evaluated by western blotting. As a result, ATE inhibited MDI-induced adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells dose-dependently without cytotoxicity. Our results showed that ATE inhibited the phosphorylation of IRS1, thereby decreasing the expression of PI3K110α and reducing the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR, resulting in attenuated protein expression of C/EBPα, PPARγ, ap2 and FAS in 3T3-L1 cells. These results suggest anti-adipogenic functions for ATE, and identified IRS1 as a novel target for ATE in adipogenesis.

• The Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 1988

Epoxy, noticed as a new insulation material tor electrical installation, may become an excellent cured material from the crosslink reaction with some curing agents. The characteristics of cured Epoxy is determined by the kind of the curing agents and the method of lattice formation. The purpose of this paper, varing the process of lattice formation by various surrounding temperatures during the curing process, is to obtain the optimum curing temperature for electrical insulation from the results of investigation on the properties of cured Epoxy. In the experiment, Epoxy was cured at various temperatures between $20[^{\circ}C] and 50^[{\circ}C]$ which differ by $5^[{\circ}C]$, and then examined on the electrical insulation haracteristics as well as the thermal and mechanical stability. As a result, it is concluded that the optimum electrical insulation characteristis and mechanical strength of cured Epoxy can be obtained when cured at a surrounding temperature at $30[^{\circ}C]$.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.242-250
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• 2013

The autophagy-lysosomal pathway is an important protein degradation system, and its dysfunction has been implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease. Raphani Semen, one of the herbs of Yeoldahanso-tang (YH), has neuroprotective effects via the autophagy pathway. The activity-guided method was used to isolate and identify the components of Raphani Semen. In this experiment, the total extract of Raphani Semen was partitioned to n-butanol, methylene chloride, and water fractions. Flow cytometry data showed that only the water fraction showed autophagy-inducing activity in vitro. Compounds 1 and 2 were isolated from this water fraction by preparative HPLC separation. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were identified as stachyose and raffinose, respectively, by the analysis of various spectral data ($^1H$ NMR, $^{13}C$ NMR, and MS) and comparisons with standard stachyose and raffinose. Of these two compounds, raffinose showed autophagy-inducing activity in PC12 cells through the mTOR pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.495-505
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• 2024

Gromwell (Lithospermum erythrorhizon, LE) can mitigate obesity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy in C2C12 myotubes and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-skeletal muscle atrophy effects of LE and the underlying molecular mechanism. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with LE or shikonin, and active component of LE, for 24 h and then treated with 500 μM palmitic acid (PA) for an additional 24 h. Additionally, mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induced obesity, and then fed either the same diet or a version containing 0.25% LE for 10 weeks. LE attenuated PA-induced myotubes atrophy in differentiated C2C12 myotubes. The supplementation of LE to obese mice significantly increased skeletal muscle weight, lean body mass, muscle strength, and exercise performance compared with those in the HFD group. LE supplementation not only suppressed obesity-induced skeletal muscle lipid accumulation, but also downregulated TNF-α and atrophic genes. LE increased protein synthesis in the skeletal muscle via the mTOR pathway. We observed LE induced increase of mitochondrial biogenesis and upregulation of oxidative phosphorylation related genes in the skeletal muscles. Furthermore, LE increased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha and the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase. Collectively, LE may be useful in ameliorating the detrimental effects of obesity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy through the increase of protein synthesis and mitochondrial biogenesis of skeletal muscle.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.23-56
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• 2014

The significant growth of the Si photovoltaic industry has been so far limited due to the high cost of the Si photovoltaic system. In this regard, the most expensive factors are the intrinsic cost of silicon material and the Si solar cell fabrication processes. Conventional Si solar cells have p-n junctions inside for an efficient extraction of light-generated charge carriers. However, the p-n junction is normally formed through very expensive processes requiring very high temperature (${\sim}1000^{\circ}C$). Therefore, several systems are currently under study to form heterojunctions at low temperatures. Among them, carbon nanotube (CNT)/Si hybrid solar cells are very promising, with power conversion efficiency up to 15%. In these cells, the p-type Si layer is replaced by a semitransparent CNT film deposited at room temperature on the n-doped Si wafer, thus giving rise to an overall reduction of the total Si thickness and to the fabrication of a device with cheaper methods at low temperatures. In particular, the CNT film coating the Si wafer acts as a conductive electrode for charge carrier collection and establishes a built-in voltage for separating photocarriers. Moreover, due to the CNT film optical semitransparency, most of the incoming light is absorbed in Si; thus the efficiency of the CNT/Si device is in principle comparable to that of a conventional Si one. In this paper an overview of several factors at the basis of this device operation and of the suggested improvements to its architecture is given. In addition, still open physical/technological issues are also addressed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.609-617
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• 2017

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal and aggressive cancers in the world. However, no effective treatment is currently available for pancreatic cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the anti-pancreatic cancer effect of ${\alpha}$-mangostin (${\alpha}M$) and ${\gamma}$-mangostin (${\gamma}M$) extracted from the pericarp of Garcinia mangostana L.. Both ${\alpha}$M and ${\gamma}M$ reduced the viability of pancreatic cancer cells MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 in a dose-dependent manner. These compounds induced apoptosis by increasing c-PARP and c-Caspase 3 levels. They also induced autophagy by increasing levels of microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3II) in both cell lines while decreasing sequestosome 1 (p62) in MIA PaCa-2. Both ${\alpha}$M and ${\gamma}M$ induced autophagy through increasing phosphorylation levels of AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and p38-mitogen activated protein kinase (p-p38) while decreasing phosphorylation level of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (p-mTOR). Of various microRNAs (miRNA), miR-18a was found to be a putative regulatory miRNA for autophagy induced by ${\alpha}$M or ${\gamma}M$. In combination with gemcitabine, a compound frequently used in pancreatic cancer treatment, ${\alpha}$M and ${\gamma}M$ showed synergistic anti-cancer effects in MIA PaCa-2. Collectively, these results suggest that ${\alpha}$M and ${\gamma}M$ can induce apoptosis and autophagy in pancreatic cancer cells and that their anti-cancer effect is likely to be associated with miR-18a. In conclusion, ${\alpha}$M and ${\gamma}M$ might be used as a potential new therapy for pancreatic cancer.