• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• 제34권3호
• /
• pp.205-211
• /
• 2010

Korean red ginseng (KRG) has been used worldwide as a traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. In this study, we determined the effect of KRG on the responses of HaCaT cells to peroxynitrite ($ONOO^-$). Cells has been used worldwide as a traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. In this study, we determined the effect of KRG on the responses of HaCaT cells to peroxynitrite ($ONOO^-$). Cells treated with $ONOO^-$ (2 mM) prior to incubation with control medium for 12 hours displayed reduced viability, as determined using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay (viability about 48% of that of non-treated control cells). When KRG was added to the post-incubation medium, the negative effects of $ONOO^-$ on cell viability were significantly reduced. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that KRG alone did not significantly alter p53 or "growth arrest and DNA damage" (GADD)45 mRNA levels. However, the addition of KRG to the post-incubation medium significantly and dose-dependently reduced levels of p53 and GADD45 mRNA in $ONOO^-$-treated cells. Western blot analyses revealed that incubation with KRG decreased p53 and GADD45 protein levels in $ONOO^-$-treated cells, relative to those in cells incubated with control medium. Collectively, these results suggest that Korean red ginseng extract protects cells against $ONOO^-$-induced genotoxicity by increasing cell viability through modulating the expression of p53 signaling intermediates.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• 제48권3호
• /
• pp.308-318
• /
• 2024

Background: Many plants compensate for the damage caused by herbivorous insects through tolerance responses. Besides directly causing plant tissue loss and seed production reduction, herbivory causes phenological changes in the host plant. However, little is known about the fitness costs of phenological changes caused by tolerance responses to herbivorous attacks. Results: The girdling beetle Phytoecia rufiventris caused a short-term decrease in the number of flowers of the host plant Erigeron annuus. However, accelerated growth restored the number of flowers, but after a 2-week delay. With an objective to examine whether the tolerance response with such a delay fully compensates the fitness, we experimentally reproduced a 2-week delay in germination under greenhouse and field settings. Under both conditions, intraspecific competition resulted in serious defects in the growth and reproduction of E. annuus plants which of germination was delayed. However, delayed germination (DG) resulted in better growth when competition and herbivory were eliminated from the field. Thus, we showed that the tolerance response to restore reproductive production does not fully compensate for the fitness loss caused by insect attack; rather, the delay in seed production in attacked plants leads to DG and subsequent inferiority in intraspecific competition. Conclusions: Our results imply that compensation for floral production after an herbivore attack does not fully restore offspring fitness in the presence of intraspecific competition and herbivory. Assessing the ecological consequences of defense traits in an appropriate layer of interaction is critical to interpreting adaptive values.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제21권3호
• /
• pp.443-443
• /
• 2006

• 한국수산과학회지
• /
• 제44권1호
• /
• pp.71-77
• /
• 2011

The effects of temperature, light, and salinity on the growth of Costaria costata and Undaria pinnatifida juveniles were examined in laboratory cultures. In a cultivation farm, the monthly yield and density were also investigated between December and April for C. costata and between December and March in 2007 and 2008 for U. pinnatifida. The relative growth rates (RGRs) were greater at $20{\sim}60\;{\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$ than at low ($0{\sim}10\;{\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$) and high ($100{\sim}180\;{\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$) irradiance levels. The optimal growth conditions for the two species were $17^{\circ}C$, 35 psu, $60\;{\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$, and a daylength of 12 h, indicating that C. costata and U. pinnatifida have very similar growth responses to temperature, light, and salinity. However, the growth responses of the two species to various environmental factors were different; C. costata grew faster than U. pinnatifida but the latter species grew well at low salinity. The monthly yield of C. costata and U. pinnatifida increased steadily over the study period, and it was maximal in March for both species, but the yield of U. pinnatifida was greater than that of C. costata.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• 제47권1호
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 2023

Background: Hyperactivated airway mucosa cells overproduce mucin and cause severe breathing complications. Here, we aimed to identify the effects of saponins derived from Panax ginseng on inflammation and mucin overproduction. Methods: NCI-H292 cells were pre-incubated with 16 saponins derived from P. ginseng, and mucin overproduction was induced by treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Mucin protein MUC5AC was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and mRNA levels were analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Moreover, we performed a transcriptome analysis of PMA-treated NCI-H292 cells in the absence or presence of Rg5, and differential gene expression was confirmed using qPCR. Phosphorylation levels of signaling molecules, and the abundance of lipid droplets, were measured by western blotting, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy. Results: Ginsenoside Rg5 effectively reduced MUC5AC secretion and decreased MUC5AC mRNA levels. A systematic functional network analysis revealed that Rg5 upregulated cholesterol and glycerolipid metabolism, resulting in the production of lipid droplets to clear reactive oxygen species (ROS), and modulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor (NF)-kB signaling pathways to regulate inflammatory responses. Rg5 induced the accumulation of lipid droplets and decreased cellular ROS levels, and N-acetyl-ⳑ-cysteine, a ROS inhibitor, reduced MUC5AC secretion via Rg5. Furthermore, Rg5 hampered the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 proteins, affecting the NF-kB signaling pathway and pro-inflammatory responses. Conclusion: Rg5 alleviated inflammatory responses by reducing mucin secretion and promoting lipid droplet-mediated ROS clearance. Therefore, Rg5 may have potential as a therapeutic agent to alleviate respiratory disorders caused by hyperactivation of mucosa cells.

• 대한핵의학회지
• /
• 제26권1호
• /
• pp.8-13
• /
• 1992

Low doses of ionizing radiation from external or internal sources cause heterogeneous distribution of energy deposition events in the exposed biological system. With the cell being the individual element of the tissue system, the fraction of cells hit, the dose received by the hit, and the biological response of the cell to the dose received eventually determine the effect in tissue. The hit cell may experience detriment, such as change in its DNA leading to a malignant transformation, or it may derive benefit in terms of an adaptive response such as a temporary improvement of DNA repair or temporary prevention of effects from intracellular radicals through enhanced radical detoxification. These responses are protective also to toxic substances that are generated during normal metabolism. Within a multicellular system, the probability of detriment must be weighed against the probability of benefit through adaptive responses with protection against various toxic agents including those produced by normal metabolism. Because irradiation can principally induce both, detriment and adaptive responses, one type of affected cells may not be simply summed up at the expense of cells with other types of effects, in assessing risk to tissue. An inventory of various types of effects in the blood forming system of mammals, even with large ranges of uncertainty, uncovers the possibility of benefit to the system from exposure to low doses of low LET radiation. This experimental approach may complement epidemiological data on individuals exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation and may lead to a more rational appraisal of risk.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• 제60권1호
• /
• pp.55-59
• /
• 2017

Although wheat is a common staple food in the world, some people suffer from a variety of wheat allergies. For example, wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis is induced in the gastrointestinal tract by wheat proteins. Relatively high molecular weight proteins that are salt-insoluble induce many wheat allergies. In the present study, we investigated the induction of an allergy response using crude wheat proteins, which are relatively low molecular weight, salt-soluble proteins. The crude antigen used in this study was extracted using phosphate buffered saline. When the antigen extracts from various wheat cultivars were orally administered, differentiable degrees of allergy responses were observed as measured by serum IgE and histamine secretion compared to the control. Serum IgE levels increased following administration of three of the wheat extracts. This evidence suggests that a combination of salt-soluble wheat proteins could be antigens for the induction of various allergy responses.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• 제45권3호
• /
• pp.143-151
• /
• 2021

Background: Plants are able to optimize defense responses induced by various herbivores, which have different feeding strategies. Local and systemic responses within a plant after herbivory are essential to modulate herbivore-specific plant responses. For instance, leaf-chewing herbivores elicit jasmonic acid signaling, which result in the inductions of toxic chemicals in the attacked leaf (tissue-specific responses) and also in the other unattacked parts of the plant (systemic responses). Root herbivory induces toxic metabolites in the attacked root and alters the levels of transcripts and metabolites in the unattacked shoot. However, we have little knowledge of the local and systemic responses against stem-boring herbivores. In this study, we examined the systemic changes in metabolites in the wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata, when the stem-boring herbivore Trichobaris mucorea attacks. Results: To investigate the systemic responses of T. mucorea attacks, we measured the levels of jasmonic acid (JA), JA-dependent secondary metabolites, soluble sugars, and free amino acids in 7 distinct tissues of N. attenuata: leaf lamina with epidermis (LLE), leaf midrib (LM), stem epidermis (SE), stem pith (SP), stem vascular bundle (SV), root cortex with epidermis (RCE), and root vascular bundle (RV). The levels of JA were increased in all root tissues and in LM by T. mucorea attacks. The levels of chlorogenic acids (CGAs) and nicotine were increased in all stem tissues by T. mucorea. However, CGA was systematically induced in LM, and nicotine was systematically induced in LM and RCE. We further tested the resource allocation by measuring soluble sugars and free amino acids in plant tissues. T. mucorea attacks increased the level of free amino acids in all tissues except in LLE. The levels of soluble sugars were significantly decreased in SE and SP, but increased in RV. Conclusions: The results reveal that plants have local- and systemic-specific responses in response to attack from a stem-boring herbivore. Interestingly, the level of induced secondary metabolites was not consistent with the systemic inductions of JA. Spatiotemporal resolution of plant defense responses against stem herbivory will be required to understand how a plant copes with attack from herbivores from different feeding guilds.

• 한국국방경영분석학회지
• /
• 제29권2호
• /
• pp.26-44
• /
• 2003

This study Is to forecast the damage of smallpox as a biological weapon and to measure the effect of potential responses (quarantine, vaccination and cure) to the spread of smallpox infection when a smallpox bioterrorism attack occurs. We designed the smallpox spreading simulation model through the literature study on a basis of some existing infectious disease models such as SIR, SEIR model by using Vensim program. In order to evaluate the performance of responses to smallpox, we measure the total infection population, infection sustaining duration, average infection rate and the infection spreading behavior of the smallpox. This study can help those who are related to the bioterrorism forecast the present and possible demage, and take more effective actions for minimizing the damage by smallpox bioterrorism.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• 제44권1호
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2017

Evolutionary studies conducted on NAC (NAM, ATAF1&2, and CUC2) genes for all major groups of land plants, indicate the presence of the NAC subfamilies, even in the early land plants. The varied roles played by NAC proteins in plant growth and development range from the formation of shoot apical meristem, floral organ development, reproduction, lateral shoot development, and defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Considering the value and importance of solanaceous crops, the study of NAC proteins in these plants needs to be intensified. This will help to identify and functionally characterize their promoters, which will subsequently aid in engineering plants with improved performance under stressful conditions. In this review, the functionally characterized NAC transcription factors specific to tomato, potato, tobacco, chili pepper and eggplant (aubergine) are summarized, clearly indicating their biological functions in the defense mechanism of the plants, against biotic and abiotic stresses.