• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.88-95
• /
• 2000

Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a chronic destruct8ive disease of the lung affecting women of childbearing ages which eventually leads to respiratory failure. Lung transplantation is the only conclusive therapeutic measure because this disease responds poorly to other therapies, To date only a few reports in the literature describes the clinical experience of the bilateral sequential lung transplantation of this rare condition. We performed a bilateral sequential lung transplantation on a 32-year-old woman suffering from lymphangioleiomyo-matosisw. The heart-lung block was harvested from a 51-year-old donor. We transplanted the left lung first through the clam-shell incision. As the hemodynamics deteriorated suddenly during the dissection of the right lung the right lung was transplanted under the cardio-pulmonary bypass. Although the patient's lung function was initially satisfactory the patient died of sepsis and subsequent cardiogenic shock at the postoperative 18th day. Autopsy findings showed infection of Candida albicans on the pericardium and the left lung which had been initiated possibly from the left bronchial anastomosis site,. Through detailed review of the clinical course we concluded that lung transplantation could have been performed safely on this disease provided that early diagnosis and proper management or the oppor-tunistic infection have been carried out.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.378-383
• /
• 2004

Scopolamine and hyoscyamine are important anticholinergic compounds. To increase the productivity, we have selected various elicitors and developed culture system using a bubble column bioreactor (BCB). As the same manner of elicitation in flask cultures, the elicitors were introduced into BCB cultures and the productivity was investigated. Except the bacterial elicitor of Staphyllococcus aureus, the elicitors inhibited hyoscyamine production. In scopolamine production, the elicitors revealed different responses from the results obtained in flask cultures. The elicitors of KCl and Candida albicans less increased the production than flask cultures. However, methyl jasmonate and S. aureus showed stronger positive effects on tropane alkaloid production. In particular, S. aureus was the most effective elicitor on scopolamine production and the elicitor resulted in the highly increased production, approximately 10 times higher than the control culture.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.550-554
• /
• 2005

YKR049C is a mitochondrial protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is conserved among yeast species, including Candida albicans. However, no biological function for YKR049C has been ascribed based on its primary sequence information. In the present study, NMR spectroscopy was used to determine the putative biological function of YKR049C based on its solution structure. YKR049C shows a well-defined thioredoxin fold with a unique insertion of helices between two $\beta$-strands. The central $\beta$-sheet divides the protein into two parts; a unique face and a conserved face. The 'unique face' is located between ${\beta}2$ and ${\beta}3$. Interestingly, the sequences most conserved among YKR049C families are found on this 'unique face', which incorporates L109 to E114. The side chains of these conserved residues interact with residues on the helical region with a stretch of hydrophobic surface. A putative active site composed by two short helices and a single Cys97 was also well observed. Our findings suggest that YKR049C is a redox protein with a thioredoxin fold containing a single active cysteine.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.299-306
• /
• 1996

6-[(N-3,4-Dibromophenyl)amino]-7-chloro-5,8-quinolinedione(FCK13) was tested for antifungal activities. The MIC values were determined by the two-fold dilution method. The therapeutic potential of RCK13 had been assessed in comparison with ketoconazole and fluconazole against systemic infections with candida albicans in normal mice. RCK13 had ED50,0.80$\pm$0.21 mg/kg but ketoconazole had ED50, 8.00$\pm$0.73 mg/kg respectively. And administered RCK13 at the ED50 for 14 days improved survival rates as well as ketoconazole. Acute oral toxicity studies of RCK13 were carried out in ICR mice of both sexes. These acute oral toxicities of RCK13 were low and LD50 values were over 2,850 mg/kg in ICR mice. The genotoxicities of RCK13 had been evaluated. RCK13 was negative in Ames test with Salmonella typhimurium and chromosomal aberration test in CHL cells. The clastogenicity was tested on the RCK13 with in vivo mouse micronucleus assay. RCK13 did not show any clastogenic effect in mouse peripheral blood and was negative in mouse micronucleus assay. These results indicate that RCK13 has no genotoxic potential under these experimental conditions.

• CELLMED
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.37.1-37.4
• /
• 2012

In the present study, the volatile oil, chloroform extract and methanol extract of the woods of the plants Cedrus deodara and Pinus roxburghii were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus clavatus using the Agar diffusion method. The susceptibilities of the microorganisms to the extracts were compared with each other and with a selected standard antibiotic. It was observed that the volatile oil and chloroform extracts showed the significant antibacterial activities while the least antibacterial activity was recorded with the methanolic extracts. The higher Minimum Inhibitory Concentration value of the extracts and oils against fungus suggested that the plants may possess less antifungal activity. Phytochemical analysis and thin-layer chromatography profiling revealed the presence of flavonoids and terpenoids in the oil and chloroform extracts, which could explain the antimicrobial activity. The findings suggest that the Cedrus deodara and Pinus roxburghii have antimicrobial properties and they can be used in the treatment of infectious diseases. However, further work is required in order to isolate the active constituents of the plants responsible for the antibacterial activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.216-220
• /
• 2005

Periconicin A and B, two new fusicoccane diterpenes originally isolated from the cultures of endophytic fungus Periconia sp. OBW-15, were tested by several biological assays. Periconicin A was consistently more active than periconicin B. In an antifungal activity assay, periconicin A showed potent inhibitory activity against the agents of human mycoses, including Candida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and T. rubrum, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the range of 3.12- 6.25 $\mug$ /ml. In a plant growth regulatory activity assay, periconicins inhibited hypocotyl elongation and root growth of Brassica campestris L. and Raphanus sativus L. At concentrations below 1 μg/ml, however, both compounds accelerated root growth by 110- 135%. From these results, it is apparent that a methyl group positioned in a cyclopentane ring may play an important role in plant and fungal growth inhibitory activity.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.260-265
• /
• 2008

Cyclic voltammetric measurements were performed for Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of 1 : 1 alternating copolymer, poly(3-nitrobenzylidene-1-naphthylamine-co-succinic anhydride) (L) and Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes of 1 : 1 alternating copolymer, poly(3-nitrobenzylidene-1-naphthylamine-co-methacrylic acid) ($L^1$). The in vitro biological screening effects of the investigated compounds were tested against the fungal species including Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizoctonia bataicola and Candida albicans and bacterial species including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumaniae, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by well diffusion method. A comparative study of inhibition values of the copolymers and their complexes indicates that the complexes exhibit higher antimicrobial activity. Copper ions are proven to be essential for the growth-inhibitor effect. The extent of inhibition appeared to be strongly dependent on the initial cell density and on the growth medium. The nuclease activity of the above metal complexes were assessed by gel electrophoresis assay and the results show that the copper complexes can cleave pUC18 DNA effectively in presence of hydrogen peroxide compared to other metal complexes. The degradation experiments using Rhodamine B dye indicate that the hydroxyl radical species are involved in the DNA cleavage reactions.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.284-288
• /
• 1996

Among the bacteria isolated from compost piles of cattle excretion in a pasture located at the suburbs of Chunchon city, Pseudomonas aeruginosa KMCS-1 was selected for the test of antifungal substances produced. Six fractions were separated by silica gel column chromatography, and then the antifungal activity of each fraction was assayed against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Rhizopus sp., Aspergillus nidulans, Coprinus cinereus, and Pyricularia oryzae by paper disc method. Two fractions showed significant suppressive activities against A. nidulans, C. cinereus, and P. oryzae however, their mycelial growth was not affected by neither of these fractions. Inhibitory activities of these fractions to sporulation was assayed at the concentration of 50. 25, 12. 5, and 6.25 $\mu$g/ml and the average inhibition rates against sporulation of A. nidulans, C. cinereus, and P. oryzae were 94.0, 98.3, and 77.9%, respectively. Further purification and analysis of active substances are now being conducted.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.74-80
• /
• 2004

Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the most common fungi in the human environment, both in-doors and out-doors. It is the main causative agent of invasive aspergillosis, a life-threatening mycosis among immunocompromised patients. The genome has been sequenced by an international consortium, including the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (U.K.) and The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR, U.S.A.), and a ten times whole genome shotgun sequence assembly has been made publicly available. In this study, we identified tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzymes of A. fumigatus by comparative analysis with four other fungal species. The open reading frames showed high amino acid sequence similarity with the other fungal citric acid enzymes and well-conserved functional domains. All genes present in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Candida albicans, and Neurospora crassa were also found in A. fumigatus. In addition, we identified four A. fumigatus genes coding for enzymes in the glyoxylate shunt, which may be required for fungal virulence. The architecture of multi-gene encoded enzymes, such as isocitrate dehydrogenase, 2-ketoglutarate, succinyl-CoA synthetase, and succinate dehydrogenase was well conserved in A. fumigatus. Furthermore, our results show that genes of A. fumigatus can be detected reliably using GlimmerM.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.166-172
• /
• 1996

It is well known that actinomycetes would be useful for screening of biologically active compounds. Not only to isolate diverse actinomycete strains but to ferment those strains effectively would be important. Seven hundred and forty six strains were isolated from Cheju province, 216 strains were from Chungnam province, 158 strains were from the natural caves at Chungbuk and Kangwon provinces and 202 strains were from Chungwon area at Chungbuk province. All of these 1,322 strains were fermented on a small scale using two different media and tested for their antimicrobial activities against four bacterial strains and one yeast strain. As the result, 12.3% of those isolates were active against Staphylococcus aureus KCTC 1916, 7.6% were Staphylococcus aureus KCTC 1928, 3.9% were Escherichia coli KCTC 1924, 3.0% were Candida albicans KCTC 1940, and 2.2% were Salmonella typhimurium KCTC 1926. About 40% of those isolates showed antimicrobial activities at both two media but the others showed at either one. According to the genus of isolated strains, Streptomyces and Micromonospora showed activities with higher frequencies than others.