• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.6 s.73
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• pp.895-903
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• 2005

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a negative regulator in tumor growth and angiogenesis, is cell-type specifically regulated under pathological conditions or by extracellular stimuli, and the regulation of TSP-1 gene expression is important for developing new approaches in tumor therapy. Mistletoe is a parasitir plant that have been used for immunomodulation and antitumor therapy. Helixor A is an aqueous part of mistletoes extract. Here we showed that TSP-1 expression was significantly induced at both mRNA and protein levels in the Hepatocarcinorna cell line (Hep3B) and primary bovine endothelial cell line (BAE) exposed to Helixor A. Our promoter analysis confirmed that the expression of TSP-1 gene was regulated by Helixor A at the transcriptional level. In cell invasion assay, the conditioned media obtained from treatment of these cells significantly reduced the number of invasive cells and also inhibited capillary-like tube formation of BAE cells on Matrigel. Moreover, the inhibitory efforts of the conditioned media on cell invasion and tube formation were reversed by blocking with anti-TSP-1 neutralizing antibodies, suggesting that TSP-1 is involved in Helixor A-indured antiangiogenic effect. Taken together, our results suggest that Helixor A have an antiangiogenic effects through upregulation of TSP-1.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1258-1266
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• 2019

Yangkyuksanhwa-Tang (YKSH), consisting of nine different herbs, is commonly used in Soyangin-type individuals with stroke, based on the Sasang Constitution Theory in Korea. However, no evidence has yet confirmed a beneficial effect of YKSH in ischemic stroke treatment. In this study, we investigated the effects of YKSH on ischemic brain injury in a mouse model of cerebral ischemia. Focal cerebral ischemia in mice was induced by photothrombosis, and behavioral recovery was evaluated. Infarct volume, inflammation, and newly generated cells were evaluated by histology and immunochemistry. YKSH treatment resulted in a significant recovery from the motor impairments induced by focal cerebral ischemia, as determined with wire grip and rotarod tests. YKSH treatment also decreased the infarct volume and the number of cells positive for tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ and myeloperoxidase when compared with a vehicle-treated control group. By contrast, YKSH treatment considerably increased the number of cells positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1, as well as the number of cells doubly positive for Ki67/doublecortin when compared with the vehicle-treated group. These results suggest that YKSH treatment attenuated the infarct size by anti-inflammatory action, astrocyte and microglia activation, and neuronal proliferation, thereby facilitating neurofunctional recovery from a cerebral ischemic assault. YKSH could therefore be a potential treatment for neurofunctional restoration of the injured brains of patients with stroke.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.270-286
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• 2019

Purpose: Despite the well-known anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D in periodontal health, its mechanism has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, the effect of vitamin D on strengthening E-cadherin junctions (ECJs) was explored in human gingival keratinocytes (HGKs). ECJs are the major type of intercellular junction within the junctional epithelium, where loose intercellular junctions develop and microbial invasion primarily occurs. Methods: HOK-16B cells, an immortalized normal human gingival cell line, were used for the study. To mimic the inflammatory environment, cells were treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($TNF-{\alpha}$). Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the culture medium were assessed by an MMP antibody microarray and gelatin zymography. The expression of various molecules was investigated using western blotting. The extent of ECJ development was evaluated by comparing the average relative extent of the ECJs around the periphery of each cell after immunocytochemical E-cadherin staining. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression was examined via immunohistochemical analysis. Results: $TNF-{\alpha}$ downregulated the development of the ECJs of the HGKs. Dissociation of the ECJs by $TNF-{\alpha}$ was accompanied by the upregulation of MMP-9 production and suppressed by a specific MMP-9 inhibitor, Bay 11-7082. Exogenous MMP-9 decreased the development of ECJs. Vitamin D reduced the production of MMP-9 and attenuated the breakdown of ECJs in the HGKs treated with $TNF-{\alpha}$. In addition, vitamin D downregulated $TNF-{\alpha}$-induced nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) signaling in the HGKs. VDR was expressed in the gingival epithelium, including the junctional epithelium. Conclusions: These results suggest that vitamin D may avert $TNF-{\alpha}$-induced downregulation of the development of ECJs in HGKs by decreasing the production of MMP-9, which was upregulated by $TNF-{\alpha}$. Vitamin D may reinforce ECJs by downregulating $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling, which is upregulated by $TNF-{\alpha}$. Strengthening the epithelial barrier may be a way for vitamin D to protect the periodontium from bacterial invasion.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.639-652
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• 2022

The prolyl 3-hydroxylase family member 4 (P3H4), is associated with post-translational modification of fibrillar collagens and aberrantly activated in cancer leading to tumor progression. However, its role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is still unknown. Here we reported that P3H4 was highly expressed in renal cancer tissues and significantly positive correlated with poor prognosis. Knockdown of P3H4 inhibited the proliferation, migration and metastasis of renal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, and also, overexpression of it enhanced the oncogenic process. Mechanistically, P3H4 depletion decreased the levels of GDF15-MMP9 axis and repressed its downstream signaling. Further functional studies revealed that inhibition of GDF15 suppressed renal cancer cell growth and GDF15 recombinant human protein (rhGDF15) supplementation effectively rescued the inhibitory effect induced by P3H4 knockdown. Moreover, decreased levels of MMP9 caused by inhibition of P3H4-GDF15 signaling constrained the expression of PD-L1 and suppression of P3H4 accordingly promoted anti-tumor immunity via stimulating the infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in syngeneic mice model. Taken together, our findings firstly demonstrated that P3H4 promotes ccRCC progression by activating GDF15-MMP9-PD-L1 axis and targeting P3H4-GDF15-MMP9 signaling pathway can be a novel strategy of controlling ccRCC malignancy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.306-313
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• 2023

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response, with manifestations in multiple organs by pathogenic infection. Currently, there are no promising therapeutic strategies. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a cell signaling transcription factor. Niclosamide is an anti-helminthic drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a potential STAT3 inhibitor. C57BL/6 mice were treated with an intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Niclosamide was administered orally 2 hours after the LPS injection. This study found that Niclosamide improved the survival and lung injury of LPS-induced mice. Niclosamide decreased the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum. The effects of Niclosamide on phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), AKT, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and STAT3 signaling pathways were determined in the lung tissue by immunoblot analysis. Niclosamide reduced phosphorylation of PI3K, AKT, NF-κB, and STAT3 significantly. Furthermore, it reduced the phosphorylation of STAT3 by LPS stimulation in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Niclosamide also reduced the LPS-stimulated expression of proinflammatory mediators, including IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Niclosamide provides a new therapeutic strategy for murine sepsis models by suppressing the inflammatory response through STAT3 inhibition.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.320-324
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• 2012

Osteoporosis is an important public health issue in postmenopausal women. It is a major public health concern and is widely believed that osteoporosis results from imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. Recently natural products from plants have been extensively studied as therapeutic drugs to treat and prevent various diseases. Hoelen (scientific name, Poria cocos) is a mushroom that is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Hoelen exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and has a protective effect on tumor progression. However, the effect of hoelen in osteoclast differentiation remains unknown. Thus, we examined the effect of hoelen in receptor activator of nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation. Hoelen significantly inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) in dose dependent manner without toxicity. Also, we showed that hoelen significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of tartrate-resistant acid phophatase (TRAP) and nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) in BMMs treated with RANKL. In Particular, hoelen greatly inhibited the protein expression of NFATc1. Ectopic expression of NFATc1 partially reverses hoelen-mediated inhibition of osteoclast differentiation. Taken together, our results demonstrated that hoelen may be useful treatment option of bone-related disease such as osteoporosis, reumatoid arthritis, and periodontitis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.835-846
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• 2016

Chemo-resistance is the biggest issue of effective cancer therapy. ABCG2 is highly correlated with multi-drug resistance, and represent a typical phenotype of multiple cancer stem-like cells. Accumulating evidence recently reported that oncolytic viruses represent a new strategy for multiple aggressive cancers and drug resistant cancers including cancer stem cell-like cells and ABCG2 expressing cells. In this study, we generated an evolutionally engineered vaccinia virus, SLJ-496, for drug-resistant cancer therapy. We first showed that SLJ-496 treatment enhanced tumor affinity using cytopathic effect assay, plaque assay, as well as cell viability assay. Next, we clearly demonstrated that in vitro SLJ-496 treatment represents significant cytotoxic effect in multiple cancers including colorectal cancer cells (HT-29, HCT-116, HCT-8), gastric cancer cells (AGS, NCI-N87, MKN-28), Hepatocellular carcinoma cells (SNU-449, SNU-423, SNU-475, HepG2), as well as mesothelioma cell (NCI-H226, NCI-H28, MSTO-221h). Highly ABCG2 expressing HT-29 cells represent cancer stem like phenotype including stem cell marker expression, and self-renewal bioactivities. Interestingly, we demonstrated that in vitro treatment of SLJ-496 showed significant cytotoxicity effect, as well as viral replication capacity in ABCG2 overexpressing cell. In addition, we also demonstrated the cytotoxic effect of SLJ-496 in Adriamycin-resistant cell lines, SNU-620 and ADR-300. Taken together, these findings provide us a pivotal clue that cancer therapy using SLJ-496 vaccinia virus might be new therapeutic strategy to overcome ABCG2 expressing cancer stem-like cell and multiple chemo-resistance cancer cells.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.208-217
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• 2016

Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc. (P. densiflora) contains several phenolic compounds that exhibit biological activities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antihypertensive effects. However, the anti-inflammatory effect of P. densiflora on skin has rarely been reported. Malassezia furfur (M. furfur) is a commensal microbe that induces skin inflammation and is associated with several chronic disorders, such as dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, papillomatosis, and sepsis. The aim of our study was to identify the anti-inflammatory effects of P. densiflora needle extracts on skin health subjected to M. furfur-induced inflammation. The methanolic extract of the pine needles was partitioned into n-hexane, EtOAc, n-BuOH, and water layers. We measured the anti-inflammatory effects (in macrophages) as well as the antioxidant, antifungal, and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of each of these layers. The antioxidant activity of the individual layers was in the order EtOAc layer > n-BuOH layer > water layer. Only the n-BuOH, EtOAc, and n-hexane layers showed antifungal activity. Additionally, all the layers possessed tyrosinase inhibition activity similar to that of ascorbic acid, which is used as a commercial control. The EtOAc layer was not cytotoxic toward the RAW 264.7 cell line. Interleukin 1 beta and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α expression levels in M. furfur-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells treated with the EtOAc layer were decreased markedly compared to those in cells treated with the other layers. Taken together, we believe that the needle extracts of P. densiflora have potential application as alternative anti-inflammatory agents or cosmetic material for skin health improvement.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.613-621
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• 2015

In this study, the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of water extract (ASSW) and 70% ethanol extract (ASSE) of Allium sativum L. stems were investigated using Raw 264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ABTS radical scavenging activities of ASSW and ASSE at $1000{\mu}g/mL$ concentration were 96.9% and 97.8%, respectively. In order to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory effects of ASSW and ASSE, nitric oxide (NO), pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor including ${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$), and prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2) were measured. ASSW and ASSE at $100{\mu}g/mL$ concentration showed inhibitory effects against NO production by 18% and 23%, respectively. Production of IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 after treatment with ASSW and ASSE at $100{\mu}g/mL$ decreased by approximately 28% and 15% for ASSW and 17% and 12% for ASSE, respectively. In addition, production of TNF-${\alpha}$ after treatment of $100{\mu}g/mL$ of ASSW and ASSE decreased by 24% and 23%, respectively. In addition, the treatment of $100{\mu}g/mL$ of ASSW and ASSE showed inhibitory expressions against PGE2 by 45.47% and 33.87%, respectively. These results suggested that ASSE showed greater inhibitory activity than that of the ASSW by the suppression of inflammatory mediators, including NO, IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$ and PGE2 production, and the expressions of iNOS and COX-2 in macrophages. In conclusion, ASSW and ASSE may have some ancillary effects on inflammatory factors as potential anti-inflammatory agents.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.729-733
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• 2014

Laminaria japonica roots have not been used practically in Korea. In this study, in order to promote the use of these by-products, the anti-inflammatory activity of an ethanol extract of Laminaria japonica root (LJREE) was investigated using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce an inflammatory response in RAW 264.7 cells. To examine the potential anti-inflammatory effects of LJREE, levels of nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), and interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$), and cell proliferation were measured. We found that NO levels decreased in a dose-dependent manner, the production of IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$, and IL-$1{\beta}$ was suppressed, and the production of IL-$1{\beta}$ was inhibited over 30% after treatment with $100{\mu}g/mL$ LJREE. In conclusion, the proliferation of RAW 264.7 cells, measured by MTT assay, confirmed that LJREE may have significant effects on inflammatory factors without any cytotoxicity, making it a potential anti-inflammatory agent.