• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.433-440
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• 2015

The Apostichopus japonicus is an important species in some Asia countries including Korea, China and Japan. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the differential gene expression of heat shock protein90 (Hsp90) and ferritin as a biomarker for the thermal stress during water temperature rising in the sea cucumber, A. japonicus. The A. japonicus (1.4 g) was cultured in incubator of separate temperature ($15^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$) for each 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 hours. The mRNA expression levels of Hsp90 and ferritin were examined using RT-PCR assay. Results showed that, the expression of Hsp90 mRNA was not significantly changed at $15^{\circ}C$. The expression of Hsp90 mRNA was significantly increased at high temperature such as $20^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$. Furthermore, Hsp90 mRNA was early increased at $25^{\circ}C$ than $20^{\circ}C$. The ferritin mRNA was similar expression pattern with Hsp90. But, Hsp90 mRNA was more sensitive than ferritin mRNA at high thermal stress. These results indicate that Hsp90 and ferritin mRNAs were involved in the temperature changes response and may be play an important role in mediating the thermal stress in A. japonicas.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.225-230
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• 2016

Zingiber officinale Roscoe has been widely used as a folk medicine to treat various diseases, including cancer. This study aims to re-examine the therapeutic potential of co-administration of natural products and cancer chemotherapeutics. Candidate material for this project, ${\alpha}$-zingiberene, was extracted from Zingiber officinale Roscoe, and ${\alpha}$-zingiberene makes up $35.02{\pm}0.30%$ of its total essential oil. ${\alpha}$-Zingiberene showed low $IC_{50}$ values, $60.6{\pm}3.6$, $46.2{\pm}0.6$, $172.0{\pm}6.6$, $80.3{\pm}6.6$ (${\mu}g/mL$) in HeLa, SiHa, MCF-7 and HL-60 cells each. These values are a little bit higher than $IC_{50}$ values of general essential oil in those cells. The treatment of ${\alpha}$-zingiberene produced nucleosomal DNA fragmentation in SiHa cells, and the percentage of sub-diploid cells increased in a concentration-dependent manner in SiHa cells, hallmark features of apoptosis. Mitochondrial cytochrome c activation and an in vitro caspase-3 activity assay demonstrated that the activation of caspases accompanies the apoptotic effect of ${\alpha}$-zingiberene, which mediates cell death. These results suggest that the apoptotic effect of ${\alpha}$-zingiberene on SiHa cells may converge caspase-3 activation through the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c into cytoplasm. It is considered that anti-proliferative effect of ${\alpha}$-zingiberene is a result of apoptotic effects, and ${\alpha}$-zingiberene is worth furthermore study to develop it as cancer chemotherapeutics.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.215-220
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• 2016

Abstract Secondary cell wall is the most abundant biomass produced by plants. Plant secondary cell wall is composed of a complex mixture of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Lignin, a phenolic polymer that hinders the degradation of cell wall polysaccharides to simple sugars destined for fermentation to bio-ethanol. Cell wall biosynthesis pathway-specific biomass engineering offers an attractive 'genetic pretreatment' strategy to improve bioenergy feedstock. Recently, we found a transcription factor, MYB7, which is a transcriptional switch that may turns off the genes necessary for lignin biosynthesis. To gain insights into MYB7 mediated transcriptional regulation, we first established a dominant suppression system in Arabidopsis by expressing MYB7-SRDX. Then we used a transient transcriptional activation assay to confirm that MYB7 suppress the transcription of the lignin biosynthetic gene. Taken together, we conclude that MYB7 function as a repressor of the genes involved in the lignin biosynthesis.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2011

Objectives : Achyranthes japonica (AJ) has been used as an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. However, it is unclear that AJ could show the anti-inflammatory effects in macrophages. In this experiment, we studied whether AJ could inhibit the inflammatory responses in macrophages. Methods : To measure out the cytotoxicity of AJ, we performed the MTT assay. We evaluated the nitric oxide (NO) production, and cytokine production such as interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a. We also investigated the cellular mechanims such as mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK)s and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB). Results : AJ inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production. AJ also inhibited production levels of IL-1b, IL-6 and TNF-a in LPS-stimulated macrophage. Finally, western blot analysis showed that AJ treatment inhibited the activation of p38 but not of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, c-jun NH2-terminal kinase and NF-kB. Conclusions : These results showed that AJ down-regulated the inflammatory response via p38 in macrophages, which suggest that AJ could be a candidate on treating inflammatory diseases.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.427-432
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• 2009

Seashore Paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) is a warm season grass and indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of coastal areas worldwide. The species is used as feed for cattle and horses and has been very successful for golf courses worldwide. One of the most outstanding characteristics of seashore paspalum is its tolerance to saline soils compared to other warm season turfgrasses. The development of new seashore paspalum cultivars with improved traits could be facilitated through the application of biotechnological strategies. The purpose of this study was to product for herbicide resistant seashore paspalum using Arobacterium-mediated transformation and this study is the first report on transformation and herbicideresistant transgenic plants in seashore paspalum. Embryogenic calli were induced from the seeded variety of pseashore paspalum. Embryogenic calli were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 carrying the binary vector pCAMBIA3301 with two genes encoding gusA and bar. Transformed calli and plants were selected on medium containing 3 mg/l PPT. PCR detected the presence of the gusA and bar gene, indicating both genes are integrated into the genome of seashore paspalum. A chlorophenol red assay was used to confirm that the bar gene was expressed. By application of herbicide BASTA, the herbicide resistance in the transgenic seashore paspalum plants was confirmed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.113-118
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• 2009

In this study, we have shown the transcriptional regulation of the human GD3 synthase (hST8Sia I) induced by valproic acid (VPA) in human neuroblastoma SK-N-BE(2)-C cells. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the regulation of hST8Sia I gene expression in VPA-stimulated SK-N-BE(2)-C cells, we characterized the promoter region of the hST8Sia I gene. Functional analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the hST8Sia I gene by the transient expression method showed that the -1146 to -646 region, which contains putative binding sites for transcription factors c-Ets-1, CREB, AP-1 and NF-${\kappa}B$, functions as the VPA-inducible promoter of hST8Sia I in SK-N-BE(2)-C cells. Site-directed mutagenesis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated that the NF-${\kappa}B$ binding site at -731 to -722 was crucial for the VPA-induced expression of hST8Sia I in SK-N-BE(2)-C cells. In addition, the transcriptional activity of hST8Sia I induced by VPA in SK-N-BE(2)-C cells was strongly inhibited by SP600125, which is a c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor, and $G{\ddot{O}}6976$, which is a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, as determined by RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and luciferase assays. These results suggest that VPA markedly modulated transcriptional regulation of hST8Sia I gene expression through PKC/JNK signal pathways in SK-N-BE(2)-C cells.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1140-1148
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• 2017

For the purpose of developing new immunomodulatory agents from broccoli, ethanol extract (BCEE), hot water extract (BCHW), and crude polysaccharide (BCCP) were isolated from broccoli, and their immunomodulatory activities and chemical properties were examined. In the in vitro cytotoxicity analysis, BCHW and BCCP did not affect the growth of tumor cells and normal cells. Murine peritoneal macrophages stimulated with BCCP showed higher production of IL-6, IL-12, and $TNF-{\alpha}$ cytokines than those stimulated with BCHW. Also, BCHW and BCCP did not show proliferation of splenic lymphocytes. In the in vitro assay for intestinal immunomodulatory activities, only BCCP enhanced GM-CSF secretion and the bone marrow cell-proliferating activity via cells in Peyer's patches at $1,000{\mu}g/mL$. Also, BCHW mainly contained 33.7% neutral sugars, such as arabinose, glucose, and galactose, and 30.7% uronic acid, and BCCP consisted of 42.6% neutral sugars, including arabinose, galactose, and glucose, and 50.5% uronic acid. The above results lead us to conclude that crude polysaccharide (BCCP) isolated from broccoli causes considerably high cytokine production in peritoneal macrophages and bone marrow cell proliferation, and the polysaccharide extraction process is indispensable for separation of new immunomodulatory agents from broccoli.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.394-402
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• 2019

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer is widely used to generate genetic transformation of plants and transient assay of temporal exogenous gene expression. Syringe infiltration system into tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaves is a powerful tool for transient expression of target protein to study protein localization, protein-protein binding and protein production. However, the protocol and technical information of transient gene expression, especially double strand RNA (dsRNA), in tobacco using Agrobacterium is not well known. Recently, dsRNA is crucial for insecticidal effect on destructive agronomic pest such as Corn rootworm. In this study, we investigated the factor influencing the dsRNA expression efficiency of syringe agro-infiltration in tobacco. To search the best combination for dsRNA transient expression in tobacco, applied two Agrobacterium cell lines and three plant vector systems. The efficiency of dsRNA expression has estimated by real-time PCR and digital PCR. As a result, pHellsgate12 vector constructs showed the most effective accumulation of dsRNA in the cell. These results indicated that the efficiency of dsRNA expression was depending on the kind of vector rather than Agrobacterium cells. In summary, the optimized combination of transient dsRNA expression system in tobacco might be useful to in vivo dsRNA expression for functional study and risk assessment of dsRNA.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.417-430
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• 2020

Drought stress is one of major environmental stresses in plants; this leads to reduce plant growth and crop yield. In this study, we selected fungal isolate for mitigating drought stress in pepper plants. To do this, 41 fungi were isolated from rhizosphere or bulk soils of various plants in Jeju, Gangneung, Hampyeong in Korea. Out of 41 isolates, we screened two isolates without phytotoxicity through seed germination of tomato, pepper, and cabbage treated with fungal spores; through following plant assay, we selected GL02 as a candidate for alleviating drought stress in pepper plants. As a result of greenhouse test of pepper plants in drought condition, the stomatal conductance on leaves of pepper plants treated with GL02 was increased, whereras the malondialdehyde (MDA) and electrolyte leakage were decreased compared to that in control plants. When stressed plants were rewatered, stomatal conductance of the plants treated with GL02 was increased; the electrolyte leakage was decreased. Based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing analysis, isolate GL02 was belonging to genus Trichoderma. Taken together, drought stress in pepper plants treated with GL02 was alleviated, when it was rewatered after drought-stressed, the plants could be recovered effectively. Therefore, Trichoderma sp. GL02 could be used as a bio-fertilizer to alleviate drought stress in pepper plants.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 2018

We developed a Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) kit for detecting IgG/IgM antibodies against Zika virus (ZIKV) using monoclonal antibodies to the envelope (E) and non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of ZIKV. These proteins were produced using baculovirus expression vector with Sf9 cells. Monoclonal antibodies J2G7 to NS1 and J5E1 to E protein were selected and conjugated with colloidal gold to produce the Zika IgG/IgM RDT kit (Zika RDT). Comparisons with ELISA, plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), and PCR were done to investigate the analytical sensitivity of Zika RDT, which resulted in 100% identical results. Sensitivity and specificity of Zika RDT in a field test was determined using positive and negative samples from Brazil and Korea. The diagnostic accuracy of Zika RDT was fairly high; sensitivity and specificity for IgG was 99.0 and 99.3%, respectively, while for IgM it was 96.7 and 98.7%, respectively. Cross reaction with dengue virus was evaluated using anti-Dengue Mixed Titer Performance Panel (PVD201), in which the Zika RDT showed cross-reactions with DENV in 16.7% and 5.6% in IgG and IgM, respectively. Cross reactions were not observed with West Nile, yellow fever, and hepatitis C virus infected sera. Zika RDT kit is very simple to use, rapid to assay, and very sensitive, and highly specific. Therefore, it would serve as a choice of method for point-of-care diagnosis and large scale surveys of ZIKV infection under clinical or field conditions worldwide in endemic areas.