• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.468-473
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• 2008

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) induces cell proliferation in human aortic smooth muscle cells (hAoSMCs), which may be involved in atherogenesis and intimal hyperplasia. Recent studies have demonstrated that $Cl^-$ channels are related to vessel cell proliferation induced by a variety of stimuli. In this study, we investigated a potential role of $Cl^-$ channels in the signaling pathway of LDL effects on hAoSMC proliferation with a focus on the activation of Erk1/2-PI3K/Akt and the subsequent upregulation of Egr-1. $Cl^-$ channel blockers, DIDS, but neither NPPB nor Furosemide, completely abolished the LDL-induced DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Moreover, DIDS, but not NPPB, significantly decreased LDL-stimulated $Cl^-$ concentration, as judged by flow cytometry analysis using MQAE as a $Cl^-$-detection dye. DIDS pretreatment completely abolished the activation of Erk1/2 and PI3K/Akt in a dose-dependent manner that is the hallmark of LDL activation, as judged by Western blot and proliferation assays. Moreover, pretreatment with DIDS ($Cl^-$ channel blockers) but not LY294002 (PI3K inhibitors) completely abolished the LDL-induced upregulation of Egr-1 to the same extent as PD98059 (MEK inhibitors to inhibit Erk), as judged by Western blot and luciferase reporter assays. This is the first report, to our knowledge, that DIDS-sensitive $Cl^-$-channels play a key role in the LDL-induced cell proliferation of hAoSMCs via the activation of Erk1/2 and PI3K/Akt and the upregulation of Egr-1.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.4B
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• pp.253-259
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• 2012

Wastewater-adapted microalgae such as Chlorella vulgaris AG10032, Ankistrodesmus gracilis SAG278-2 and Scenedesmus quadricauda AG10308 are useful biological resources for recovering biofuel and other bio-based materials from wastewater because of their efficient removals of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater and their high fatty acid contents in biomass. Although the concentrations of phosphorus typically vary in wastewater environment, very little is known about the effect of phosphorus concentration, especially phosphorus starvation, on microalgal fatty acid synthesis. This is partially due to the lack of methodological establishment for algal fatty acid analysis. In this study, we compared the analysis performances of microalgal fatty acids by two different methods; one is a non-polar GC (gas chromatography) column based method, which is generally used for microbial fatty acids, and the other is a polar WAX-type GC column method, which is typically used for plant fatty acids. And then, we explored the effect of phosphorus concentration levels on fatty acid production in microalgae cultivated from wastewater. As results, the polar WAX-type column method has better ability to separate poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) including $C_{18:3}$ (linolenic acid), and was found to be more applicable in analyzing fatty acids from wastewater-cultivated microalgae than the non-polar column method. The fatty acid characterization by the WAX-type column method revealed little effect of phosphorus starvation on the quantity and composition of fatty acids from wastewater-cultivated microalgae.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1494-1499
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• 2011

${\beta}$-lapachone, a quinone of lapachol extracted from the bark of the lapacho tree, has been found to induce apoptosis in various human cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated further possible mechanisms by which ${\beta}$-lapachone exerts its pro-apoptotic action in cultured human lung cancer A549 cells. ${\beta}$-lapachone treatment resulted in inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, as determined by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. The induction of apoptosis by ${\beta}$-lapachone was associated with up-regulation of the expression of p53 and p21 in both transcriptional and translational levels, and the phosphorylation of p53. In addition, ${\beta}$-lapachone activated caspase-3 and -9, and induced degradation of caspase-3 target proteins such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and ${\beta}$-catenin. Furthermore, ${\beta}$-lapachone treatment caused a progressive decrease in the expression levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 without significant changes in the levels of COX-1, which was correlated with a decrease in prostaglandin E2 synthesis. Taken together, these results indicated that ${\beta}$-lapachone may have therapeutic potential in human lung cancer treatment.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1176-1183
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• 2015

Ulmus macrocarpa has been used in Korean medicinal food material to physical disorder or tonic material. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate splenocyte life span expansion effects of Ulmus macrocarpa water extract (UMWE) in general cell culture condition. Splenocytes were handled in the presence of 100 μg/ml UMWE for several different time conditions. Live cells were detected with Hoechst 33,342 dye and cell survival molecules were identified through Western blot. Changes in level of cytokine synthesis were evaluated by ELISA. UMWE showed an effect on increased splenocyte survival. UMWE elevated slightly PI3K phosphorylation and ERK1/2 phosphorylation used at 48 hr and 96 hr. Moreover, Bcl-2 was elevated at 48 hr and 96 hr in UMWE-treated splenocytes. UMWE decreased caspase-3 level at 48 hr and 96 hr. ICAD protein increased at 48 hr culturing time. Hematopoietin IL-2 cytokine was down-regulated, however IL-4 hematopoietin cytokine was up-regulated in UMWE treated cell culture media. Increased IFN-γ levels were verified in the supernatant of UMWE-treated cells in all periods (48 hr and 96 hr). Increased patterns in the production of IL-12 cytokine occurred as compared with control after 48 and 96 hr in UMWE-treated-cell cultures. These results suggested that UMWE can prolong splenocyte life span by controlling various signal factors and cytokines.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2016

It has been found that 4-isopropyl-2,6-bis(1-phenylethyl)phenol (KTH-13), a novel compound isolated from Cordyceps bassiana, is able to suppress tumor cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis. To mass-produce this compound, we established a total synthesis method. Using those conditions, we further synthesized various analogs with structural similarity to KTH-13. In this study, we aimed to test their anti-cancer activity by measuring anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activities. Of 8 compounds tested, 4-methyl-2,6-bis(1-phenylethyl)phenol (KTH-13-Me) exhibited the strongest anti-proliferative activity toward MDA-MB 231 cells. KTH-13-Me also similarly suppressed the survival of various cancer cell lines, including C6 glioma, HCT-15, and LoVo cells. Treatment of KTH-13-Me induced several apoptotic signs in C6 glioma cells, such as morphological changes, induction of apoptotic bodies, and nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation. Concordantly, early-apoptotic cells were also identified by staining with FITC-Annexin V/PI. Moreover, KTH-13-Me highly enhanced the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, and decreased the protein level of Bcl-2. In addition, the phosphorylation levels of Src and STAT3 were diminished in KTH-13-Me-treated C6 cells. Therefore, these results suggest that KTH-13-Me can be developed as a novel anti-cancer drug capable of blocking proliferation, inducing apoptosis, and blocking cell survival signaling in cancer cells.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2010

This study was aimed to investigate the contents of flavonoids and the biological activity of fermented beverage of medical plants, DeulBit (DB). 50 g of Cassia semen (Cassia tora L.), 50 g of Omija (Schisandra chinensis Baillon.), 50 g of Gugija (Lycium chinense Mill), 50g of Menthae herba, 75 g of Chrysanthemum indicum Linne, 25 g of Dioscorea batatas, 5 g of Lindera obtusiloba Blume, 150 g of Polygonatum odoratum, 25 g of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, 25 g of Acanthopanacis cortex, 100 g of green tea (Camellia sinensis), and 100 g of Laminaria japonica was fermented with sucrose ($50.0{\sim}60.0^{\circ}Brix$.) and 0.5% of deep sea water in 10 L of distilled water for six months at room temperature. Total flavonoids contents of DB was calculated to $3.4{\pm}0.5\;{\mu}g/g$ and antioxidative activity of DB was measured by using DPPH radical scavenging and SOD-like activity. DPPH radical scavenging and SOD-like activity of DB was 96% and 29% at 100% of DB, respectively. In addition, DB indicated about 88% and 66% of the xanthine oxidase and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activities at 1% and 10% of DB, respectively and showed fibrinolytic activity. Nitric oxide (NO) synthesis was increased to 15 times by addition of DB. In addition, NO productions of the macrophages RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were reduced to 40.4% by addition of DB. These results suggested that DB is significant role for antioxidative and fibrinolytic activity, and have the strong xanthine oxidase and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activities.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.90-101
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• 2018

Strawberry (Fragaria ${\times}$ ananassa) is a globally-cultivated and popular fruit crop, prized for its flavor and nutritional value. Sweetness, a key determinant of fruit quality, depends on the sugar composition and concentration. We selected eight strawberry cultivars based on the fruit soluble solids content to represent high and low sugar content groups. The average soluble solid content was $13.6^{\circ}Brix$ (Okmae, Geumsil, Aram, and Maehyang) and $2.9^{\circ}Brix$ (Missionary, Camino Real, Portola, and Gilgyung53), for the high and low sugar content groups, respectively. Sucrose was the main sugar in the cultivars with high sugar content, whereas fructose was the main component in the low sugar content cultivars. Fruit starch concentration ranged from $3.247{\pm}0.056$ to $3.850{\pm}0.055g/100g$, with a 12% higher concentration in the high sugar content cultivars. Additionally, we identified 41 sugar metabolism-related genes in Fragaria ${\times}$ ananassa and analyzed the relationship between their transcripts and the sugar accumulation in fruit. FaGPT1, FaTMT1, FaHXK1, FaPHS1, FaINVA-3, and FacxINV2-1 were highly expressed in the high sugar content cultivars, while FapGlcT, FaTMT2-1, FaPHS2-1, FaSUSY1-1, and FaSUSY1-2 were highly expressed in the low sugar content cultivars. In general, a greater number of genes encoding sugar transporters or involved in sugar synthesis were highly expressed in the high sugar content cultivars. Contrarily, genes involved in sugar degradation were preferentially transcribed in the low sugar content cultivars. Although gene expression was not perfectly proportional to sugar content or concentration, our analysis of the genes involved in sugar metabolism and accumulation in strawberries provides a framework for further studies and for the subsequent engineering of sugar metabolism to enhance fruit quality.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.270-278
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• 2011

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the skin whitening effect of the extracts, Lycii fructus (LF), Dry-L. foilum (DLF) and Fresh-L. folium (FLF). Tyrosinase inhibition activities was 44% in DLF ethanol extracts at a $500{\mu}g/mL$. When the tyrosinase activities in B16F10 murine melanoma cell were tested, the activities in DLF ethanol extracts was 14% at a $50{\mu}g/mL$ concentration. The protein expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, tyrosinase related protein 1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, and tyrosinase, which are all melanin related factors, showed that LF, DLF and FLF extracts inhibited the protein bio-synthesis in B16F10 melanoma cell. Especially the DLF extract showed greater decrease of protein expressions. Results indicate that the DLF extract tested in the present study had skin whitening activity and can be used as a function a ingredients for food and cosmetic compositions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4086-4092
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• 2013

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are UV-absorbing substances, and diverse marine organisms have the evolved the capacity to diminished the direct and indirect damaging effects of environmental ultraviolet radiation by synthesis and accumulation of MAAs. In this study, we manufactured a radiofrequency (RF) generation device and applied to microalgal culture. $0.35{\pm}0.05$ mHz of RF was supplied to culture vessel for Chlamydomonas sp. and samples were harvested at the designated time intervals (1, 0.5, 1 and 2 hr). MAAs biosynthetic genes, dehydroquinate synthase homolog (DHQS-like) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase homolog (NRPS-like), were cloned from Chlamydomonas sp. and their gene expressions under the RF exposure were analyzed using qRT-PCR. DHQS-like and NRPS-like gene expressions of Chlamydomonas sp. exposed to RF were increased 1.46 and 1.19 fold at 1 hr, respectively. These results means that DHQS-like and NRPS-like genes can be good biomarker candidates for diagnosis of MAAs biosynthesis in the Chlamydomonas sp.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.22-29
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• 2018

Incorporation of unique barcodes into fission yeast gene deletion collections has enabled the identification of gene functions by growth fitness analysis. For fine tuning, it is important to examine barcode sequences, because mutations arise during strain construction. Out of 8,708 barcodes (4,354 strains) covering 88.5% of all 4,919 open reading frames, 7,734 barcodes (88.8%) were validated as high-fidelity to be inserted at the correct positions by Sanger sequencing. Sequence examination of the 7,734 high-fidelity barcodes revealed that 1,039 barcodes (13.4%) deviated from the original design. In total, 1,284 mutations (mutation rate of 16.6%) exist within the 1,039 mutated barcodes, which is comparable to budding yeast (18%). When the type of mutation was considered, substitutions accounted for 845 mutations (10.9%), deletions accounted for 319 mutations (4.1%), and insertions accounted for 121 mutations (1.6%). Peculiarly, the frequency of substitutions (67.6%) was unexpectedly higher than in budding yeast (~28%) and well above the predicted error of Sanger sequencing (~2%), which might have arisen during the solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis and PCR amplification of the barcodes during strain construction. When the mutation rate was analyzed by position within 20-mer barcodes using the 1,284 mutations from the 7,734 sequenced barcodes, there was no significant difference between up-tags and down-tags at a given position. The mutation frequency at a given position was similar at most positions, ranging from 0.4% (32/7,734) to 1.1% (82/7,734), except at position 1, which was highest (3.1%), as in budding yeast. Together, well-defined barcode sequences, combined with the next-generation sequencing platform, promise to make the fission yeast gene deletion library a powerful tool for understanding gene function.