• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

Objectives: Rheum undulatum L. has traditionally been used for the treatment of many diseases in Asia. However, its anti-proliferative activity in cancer has still not been studied. In the present study, we investigated the anti-cancer effects of methanol extract of Rheum undulatum L. (MERL) on human adenocarcinoma gastric cell lines (AGS). Methods: To investigate the anti-cancer effect of MERL on AGS cells, we treated the AGS cells with varying concentrations of MERL and performed 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Cell cycle analyses, measurements of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), caspase activity assays and Western blots were conducted to determine whether AGS cell death occurred by apoptosis. Results: Treatment with MERL significantly inhibited growth of AGS cells in a concentration dependent manner. MERL treatment in AGS cells leaded to increased accumulation of apoptotic sub G1 phase cells in a concentration dependent manner. In control cultures, 5.38% of the cells were in the sub G1 phase. In MERL treated cells, however, this percentage was significantly increased (9.95% at $70{\mu}g/mL$, 15.94% at $140{\mu}g/mL$, 26.56% at $210{\mu}g/mL$ and 38.08% at $280{\mu}g/mL$). MERL treatment induced the decreased expression of pro-caspase-8 and -9 in a concentration dependent manner, whereas the expression of the active form of caspase-3 was increased. A subsequent Western blot analysis revealed increased cleaved levels of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein. Also, treatment with MERL increased the activities of caspase-3 and -9 compared with the control. MERL treatment increased the levels of the pro-apoptotic truncated Bid (tBid) and Bcl2 Antagonist X (Bax) proteins and decreased the levels of the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein, whose is the stabilization of mitochondria. However, inhibitions of p38, extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERKs) and C-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) by MERL treatment did not affect cell death. Conclusion: These results suggest that MERL mediated cell death is associated with an intrinsic apoptotic pathway in AGS cells.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.195-201
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• 2015

The aim of the study is to investigate the anti-cancer effects of Scutellaria barbata in AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. MTT (3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and caspase 3 or 9 activity assay were carried out to examine cell death with Scutellaria barbata. To elucidate the inhibitory effects of Scutellaria barbata, cell cycle (sub-G1) analysis and mitochondrial membrane potential were performed in AGS cells after 24 h incubation with Scutellaria barbata. Scutellaria barbata induced apoptosis in AGS cells by using the MTT assay, the sub-G1 analysis and mitochondrial membrane potential assay. The stronger inhibition effects of AGS cell growth was observed by application of Scutellaria barbata combined with several anti-cancer drugs (paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, ectoposide, doxorubicin and docetaxel) in comparison to the application of Scutellaria barbata or anti-cancer drugs. Our findings provide insight into unraveling the effects of Scutellaria barbata in human gastric cancer cells and developing therapeutic agents against gastric cancer.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2013

Objective: Pyungwi-san (PWS) plays a role in a number of physiologic and pharmacologic functions in many organs. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are pacemaker cells that generate slow waves in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of PWS in mouse small-intestinal ICCs. Methods: Enzymatic digestion was used to dissociate ICCs from the small intestine of a mouse. The whole-cell patch-clamp configuration was used to record membrane potentials from the cultured ICCs. Results: ICCs generated pacemaker potentials in the GI tract. PWS produced membrane depolarization in the current clamp mode. Pretreatment with a $Ca^{2+}$-free solution and a thapsigargin, a $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase, inhibitor in the endoplasmic reticulum, eliminated the generation of pacemaker potentials. However, only when the thapsigargin was applied in a bath solution, the membrane depolarization was not produced by PWS. Furthermore, the membrane depolarizations due to PWS were inhibited not by U-73122, an active phospholipase C inhibitor, but by chelerythrine and calphostin C, protein kinase C inhibitors. Conclusions: These results suggest that PWS might affect GI motility by modulating the pacemaker activity in the ICCs.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.101-110
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer effects of Oldenlandia diffusa extract on WiDr human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Methods : We examined cell death by (3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) MTT assay and the caspase 3 and 9 activity assay with Oldenlandia diffusa extract. To examine the inhibitory effects of Oldenlandia diffusa extract, we performed a cell cycle (sub-G1) analysis and mitochondrial membrane potential for the WiDr cells after 24 hours with Oldenlandia diffusa extract. Results : 1. Oldenlandia diffusa extract induced cell death in WiDr cells. 2. The sub-G1 peak was increased by Oldenlandia diffusa extract in WiDr cells. 3. Oldenlandia diffusa extract leads to increase the mitochondrial membrane depolarization in WiDr cells. 4. Oldenlandia diffusa extract increases caspase 3 and 9 activities in WiDr cells. 5. Oldenlandia diffusa extract combined with several anti-cancer drugs (paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, ectoposide, doxorubicin and docetaxel) markedly inhibited the growth of WiDr cells compared to Oldenlandia diffusa extract and anti-cancer drugs alone. Conclusions : Oldenlandia diffusa extract has an apoptotic role in human colorectal cancer cells and a potential role in developing therapeutic agents against colorectal cancer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1183-1189
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• 2017

Objective: Owing to the public availability of complete genome sequences, including avian species, massive bioinformatics analyses may be conducted for computational gene prediction and the identification of gene regulatory networks through various informatics tools. However, to evaluate the biofunctional activity of a predicted target gene, in vivo and in vitro functional genomic analyses should be a prerequisite. Methods: Due to a lack of quail genomic sequence information, we first identified the partial genomic structure and sequences of the quail SH3 domain containing ring finger 2 (SH3RF2) gene. Subsequently, SH3RF2 was knocked out using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/Cas9 technology and single cell-derived SH3RF2 mutant sublines were established to study the biofunctional activity of SH3RF2 in quail myoblast (QM7) cells during muscle differentiation. Results: Through a T7 endonuclease I assay and genotyping analysis, we established an SH3RF2 knockout (KO) QM7#4 subline with 61 and 155 nucleotide deletion mutations in SH3RF2. After the induction of myotube differentiation, the expression profiles were analyzed and compared between regular QM7 and SH3RF2 KO QM7#4 cells by global RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Conclusion: We did not detect any statistically significant role of SH3RF2 during myotube differentiation in QM7 myoblast cells. However, additional experiments are necessary to examine the biofunctional activity of SH3RF2 in cell proliferation and muscle growth.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.288-293
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• 2008

In this study, we investigated the anticancer activity of Makgeoly (MG). MG was fractionated into four fractions by using solvent partition method, affording hexane (MGH), methanol (MGM), butanol (MGB) and aquous (MGA) soluble fractions. We determined the cytotoxicity of these four fractions in four kinds of cancer cell lines, such as HepG2, MCF-7, B16-F10 and HT29 by MTT assay. Among the various fractions, the MGM showed the strongest cytotoxic effects on all cancer cell lines. The morphological changes such as membrane shrinking and blebbing of cells were also observed by MGM treatment in HepG2 cell. In addition, we observed quinone reductase (QR) activity stimulating effects in all fraction layers of MG on HepG2 cells. QR activity increased approximately 2.6 and 2.1 times in MGM and MGH treated HepG2 cell at $100{\mu}g/mL$, respectively, compared to that in control value. Although further studies are needed, the present work could suggest that the fin of MG has a potential to be used as a chemopreventive agent against cancer.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.323-328
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• 2009

Cryotin F could be used for hydrolyzing shrimp byproducts into bioactive ingredients, which could be used as value-added products. The objective of this study was to investigate the optimum condition for antioxidative activities of the enzymatic hydrolysate produced with Cryotin F using response surface methodology with central composite rotatable design. Shrimp byproducts (shells and heads) were hydrolyzed with Cryotin F. The experimental ranges of the independent variables for 20 experimental runs were 28.2-61.8${^{\circ}C}$ reaction temperature, pH 6-10 and 0.5-5.5% enzyme concentration. The degree of hydrolysis for the reaction products was measured. Their antioxidative activities were measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and Fe-chelating activity. The experimental method with central composite rotatable design was well designed to investigate the optimum condition for biofunctional ingredients with antioxidative activities using Cryotin F because of their high R2 values of 0.97 and 0.95 for DPPH-scavenging activity and Fe-chelating activity, respectively. Change in enzyme concentration did not significantly affect their antioxidative activities (p<0.05). Both DPPH scavenging activity and chelating activity against Fe for the enzyme hydrolysates were more affected by the pH of enzyme hydrolysis than by their action temperature. DPPH-scavenging activity was higher at acidic pH than alkali pH, while chelating activity against Few was inversely affected. Hydrolysate of shrimp byproducts showed high antioxidative activities depending on the treatment condition, so the optimum treatment of enzymatic hydrolysate with Cryotin F and other proteases can be applied to shrimp byproducts (shells) and other protein sources for biofunctional ingredients.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2016

Objectives: Oldenlandia diffusa is traditionally used to relieve the symptoms of and to treat various diseases, but its anti-cancer activity has not been well studied. In the present study, the authors investigated the anti-cancer effects of an ethanol extract of Oldenlandia diffusa (EOD) on HT-29 human adenocarcinoma cells. Methods: Cells were treated with different concentrations of an EOD, and cell death was assessed by using a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Analyses of the sub G1 peak, the caspase-3 and -9 activities, and the mitochondrial membrane depolarizations were conducted to confirm cell death by apoptosis. Also, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was determined using carboxy-H2DCFDA (5-(and-6)-carboxy-20,70-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate). Results: EOD inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 cells for 24 hours by $78.6%{\pm}8.1%$ at $50{\mu}g/mL$, $74.4%{\pm}4.6%$ at $100{\mu}g/mL$, $65.9%{\pm}5.2%$ at $200{\mu}g/mL$, $51.4%{\pm}6.2%$ at $300{\mu}g/mL$, and by $41.7%{\pm}8.9%$ at $400{\mu}g/mL$, and treatment for 72 hours reduced the proliferation at the corresponding concentrations by $43.3%{\pm}8.8%$, $24.3{\pm}5.1mV$, $13.5{\pm}3.2mV$, $6.5{\pm}2.3mV$, and by $2.6{\pm}2.3mV$. EOD increased the number of cells in the sub-G1 peak in a dose-dependent manner. The mitochondrial membrane depolarization was elevated by EOD. Also, caspase activities were dose-dependently elevated in the presence of EOD, and these activities were repressed by a pan-caspase inhibitor (zVAD-fmk). The ROS generation was significantly increased by EOD and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC; a ROS scavenger) remarkably abolished EOD-induced cell death. In addition, a combination of sub-optimal doses of EOD and chemotherapeutic agents noticeably suppressed the growth of HT-29 cancer cells. Conclusion: These results indicate that EOD might be an effective chemotherapeutic for the treatment of human colorectal cancer.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 2001

Transcriptional activation domains are known to be inherently "unstructured" with no tertiary structure. A recent NMR study, however, has shown that the transactivation domain in human p53 is populated with an amphipathic helix and two nascent turns. This suggests that the presence of such local secondary structures within the overall "unstructured" structural framework is a general feature of acidic transactivation domains. These pre-existing local structures in p53, formed selectively by positional conserved hydrophobic residues that are known to be critical for transcriptional activity, thus appear to constitute the specific structural motifs that regulate recognition of the p53 transactivation domain by target proteins. Here, we report the results of a NMR structural comparison between the native human p53 transactivation domain and an inactive mutant (22L,23W$\rightarrow$22R,23S). Results show that the mutant has an identical overall structural topology as the native protein, to the extent that the amphipathic helix formed by the residues 18T 26L within the native p53 transactivating domain is preserved in the double mutant. Therefore, the lack of transcriptional activity in the double mutant should be ascribed to the disruption of the essential hydrophobic contacts between the p53 transactivation domain and target proteins due to the (22L,23W$\rightarrow$22R,23S) mutation.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2011

Objectives: Acupuncture has been shown to relieve pain and modulate biological function by stimulating the organ-specific meridians and enhances parasympathetic activity and suppresses sympathetic activity. The aim of this review is to summarize and understand the effects of acupuncture on autonomic nervous system. Methods: We reviewed a total of 29 studies published from 2000 to 2010 searched by PueMed and various domestic oriental medicine journals to obtain acupuncture studies related with ANS. Each article was classified by ANS measurement index and reviewed for study objectives, outcomes, acupuncture points, experimental and control interventions. Results: In the study of acupuncture about EEG, HRV, SCR, the experiment results are not the same by acupoints. Although same acupoint the results differ by subject's condition. But the study showed some clear tendency. In brief, in normal states acupuncture enhanced either vagal or sympathetic tone depending on the stimulated acupuncture point sites. On the other hand, most of studies demonstrated that acupuncture restored the autonomic dysfunctions in various kinds of tired or stressful states. Conclusions: We reviewed studies that contributed to an understanding of the effects and mechanisms of acupuncture on autonomic nervous system. Although the relationship between acupuncture and ANS response is still uncertain, acupuncture could be a excellent treatment method for modulating autonomic dysfunction.