• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.156-159
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• 2005

Liposomes are microscopic spherical vesicles that form when lipids are hydrated and have been widely used for biochemical assay, drug delivery and molecular imaging. In particular, they are well known for artificial cell membranes to study cellular functions such as cell fusions and membrane proteins. Here, we firstly report the detection of liposomes by the highly sensitive microfabricated piezoresistive cantilever sensor chip and the phosphatidylserine recognition protein C2A which is chemically immobilized on the sensor surface. The signal created from the bending motion of piezoresistive cantilever after the liposome attachment has been monitored in real time.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.195-207
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• 2006

Stem cells are the primordial, initial cells which usually divide asymmetrically giving rise to on the one hand self-renewals and on the other hand progenitor cells with potential for differentiation. Zygote (fertilized egg), with totipotency, deserves the top-ranking stem cell - he totipotent stem cell (TSC). Both the ICM (inner cell mass) taken from the 6 days-old human blastocyst and ESC (embryonic stem cell) derived from the in vitro cultured ICM have slightly less potency for differentiation than the zygote, and are termed pluripotent stem cells. Stem cells in the tissues and organs of fetus, infant, and adult have highly reduced potency and committed to produce only progenitor cells for particular tissues. These tissue-specific stem cells are called multipotent stem cells. These tissue-specific/committed multipotent stem cells, when placed in altered environment other than their original niche, can yield cells characteristic of the altered environment. These findings are certainly of potential interest from the clinical, therapeutic perspective. The controversial terminology 'somatic stem cell plasticity' coined by the stem cell community seems to have been proved true. Followings are some of the recent knowledges related to the stem cell. Just as the tissues of our body have their own multipotent stem cells, cancerous tumor has undifferentiated cells known as cancer stem cell (CSC). Each time CSC cleaves, it makes two daughter cells with different fate. One is endowed with immortality, the remarkable ability to divide indefinitely, while the other progeny cell divides occasionally but lives forever. In the cancer tumor, CSC is minority being as few as 3-5% of the tumor mass but it is the culprit behind the tumor-malignancy, metastasis, and recurrence of cancer. CSC is like a master print. As long as the original exists, copies can be made and the disease can persist. If the CSC is destroyed, cancer tumor can't grow. In the decades-long cancer therapy, efforts were focused on the reducing of the bulk of cancerous growth. How cancer therapy is changing to destroy the origin of tumor, the CSC. The next generation of treatments should be to recognize and target the root cause of cancerous growth, the CSC, rather than the reducing of the bulk of tumor, Now the strategy is to find a way to identify and isolate the stem cells. The surfaces of normal as well as the cancer stem cells are studded with proteins. In leukaemia stem cell, for example, protein CD 34 is identified. In the new treatment of cancer disease it is needed to look for protein unique to the CSC. Blocking the stem cell's source of nutrients might be another effective strategy. The mystery of sternness of stem cells has begun to be deciphered. ESC can replicate indefinitely and yet retains the potential to turn into any kind of differentiated cells. Polycomb group protein such as Suz 12 repress most of the regulatory genes which, activated, are turned to be developmental genes. These protein molecules keep the ESC in an undifferentiated state. Many of the regulator genes silenced by polycomb proteins are also occupied by such ESC transcription factors as Oct 4, Sox 2, and Nanog. Both polycomb and transcription factor proteins seem to cooperate to keep the ESC in an undifferentiated state, pluripotent, and self-renewable. A normal prion protein (PrP) is found throughout the body from blood to the brain. Prion diseases such as mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) are caused when a normal prion protein misfolds to give rise to PrP$^{SC}$ and assault brain tissue. Why has human body kept such a deadly and enigmatic protein? Although our body has preserved the prion protein, prion diseases are of rare occurrence. Deadly prion diseases have been intensively studied, but normal prion problems are not. Very few facts on the benefit of prion proteins have been known so far. It was found that PrP was hugely expressed on the stem cell surface of bone marrow and on the cells of neural progenitor, PrP seems to have some function in cell maturation and facilitate the division of stem cells and their self-renewal. PrP also might help guide the decision of neural progenitor cell to become a neuron.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.228-235
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• 1991

Pulmonary surfactant is a lipoprotein complex composed primarily of phospholipid and lungspecific apoproteins that reduces surface tension in the alveolus and maintains alveolar stability at low lung volume. Three families of lung-specific apoproteins have been described: SP-A, a glycoprotein with a reduced molecular weight of 28~36 KDa. SP-B a hydrophobic protein with a nonreduced molecular weight of 18 KDa, and SP-C a hydrophobic protein with a non-reduced molecular weight of 5~8 KDa. Surfactant proteins have important roles in regulating surfactant metabolism as well as in determining its physical properties. The synthesis of the active surfactant peptides appears to be modulated by system with considerable complexity, including numerous levels of regulation such as cell-specific, hormonal and developmental controls. Endotoxin appears to alter surfactant protein mRNAs differentially. It is hoped that the elucidation of the factors controlling the synthesis and metabolism of the surfactant proteins will aid in understanding the pathogenesis of hyaline membrane disease and offer new avenues for the therapy and diagnosis of ther pulmonary disorders as well.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.198-198
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• 1998

Muc1 mucin is found in a variety of epithelial tissue and is overexpressed in several epithelial cancer. Recently it is alsol reported that primary Hamster tracheal surface epithelial(HTSE) cells express Muc1 protein and cDNA encoding HTSE muc1 protein has been cloned. Although numerous monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to human muncins, particularly Muc1 have been produced, no such antibodies to murine Muc1 have been described. We now describe monoclonal antibody, called mAb M1CT, produced to C-terminal region of HTSE Muc1 protein by immunising mice with a glutathion-s-transferase linked fusion protein. In this study, using this antibody(mAb M1CT) we investigated the effect of RA on the expression of Muc1 in HTSE cells. Retinoic acid(RA) plays an essential role in maintaining normal differentiation of tracheal epithelial cells. With RA-deficiency tracheocytes undergo squamous metaplasia, an abnormal differentiation that can be reversed by RA. We had primary culture of HTSE cells under different concentrations of RA. Culture was maintained until the direction of differentiation was determined. Then Western blot analysis with mAb M1CT was performed with the cell lysates from the culture. The expression of Muc1 protein was decreased in dose-dependent manner as the concentration of retinoic acid was decreased. Our result indicates that the expression of Muc1 protein is coordinately regulated with airway mucous cell differentiation by RA pathway. And the antibody, mAb M1CT, produced in this study should provide useful tool to study the expression of Muc1 mucin in differentiation process or disease.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.298-306
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• 2017

Background: Compound K (CK) is a bioactive derivative of ginsenoside Rb1 in Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng). Its biological and pharmacological activities have been studied in various disease conditions, although its immunomodulatory role in innate immunity mediated by monocytes/macrophages has been poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the regulatory role of CK on cellular events mediated by monocytes and macrophages in innate immune responses. Methods: The immunomodulatory role of CK was explored by various immunoassays including cell-cell adhesion, fibronectin adhesion, cell migration, phagocytic uptake, costimulatory molecules, reactive oxygen species production, luciferase activity, and by the measurement of mRNA levels of proinflammatory genes. Results: Compound K induced cell cluster formation through cell-cell adhesion, cell migration, and phagocytic activity, but it suppressed cell-tissue interactions in U937 and RAW264.7 cells. Compound K also upregulated the surface expression of the cell adhesion molecule cluster of differentiation (CD) 43 (CD43) and costimulatory molecules CD69, CD80, and CD86, but it downregulated the expression of monocyte differentiation marker CD82 in RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, CK induced the release of reactive oxygen species and induced messenger RNA expression of proinflammatory genes, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by enhancing the nuclear translocation and transcriptional activities of nuclear factor kappa-B and activator protein-1. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CK has an immunomodulatory role in innate immune responses through regulating various cellular events mediated by monocytes and macrophages.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.751-763
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• 2005

Statement of problem. To improve a direct implant fixation to the bone, various strategies have been developed focusing on the surface of materials. The surface quality of the implant depends on the chemical, physical, mechanical and topographical properties of the surface. The different properties will interact with each other and a change in thickness of the oxide layer may also result in a change in surface energy, the surface topography and surface, chemical composition. However, there is limited the comprehensive study with regard to changed surface and biologic behavior of osteoblast by anodization. Purpose of study. The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of an oxide layer formed and to evaluate the cellular biologic behaviors on titanium by anodic oxidation (anodization) by cellular proliferation, differentiation, ECM formation and gene expression. And the phospholipase activity was measured on the anodized surface as preliminary study to understand how surface properties of Ti implant are transduced into downstream cellular events. Methods and Materials. The surface of a commercially pure titanium(Grade 2) was modified by anodic oxidation. The group 1 samples had a machined surface and other three experimental specimens were anodized under a constant voltage of 270 V(Group 2), 350 V(Group 3), and 450 V(Group 4). The specimen characteristics were inspected using the following five categories; the surface morphology, the surface roughness, the thickness of oxide layer, the crystallinity, and the chemical composition of the oxide layer. Cell numbers were taken as a marker for cell proliferation. While the expression of alkaline phosphatase and Runx2 (Cbfa1) was used as early differentiation marker for osteoblast. The type I collagen production was determined, which constitutes the main structural protein of the extracellular matrix. Phospholipase $A_2$ and D activity were detected. Results. (1) The anodized titanium had a porous oxide layer, and there was increase in both the size and number of pores with increasing anodizing voltage. (2) With increasing voltage, the surface roughness and thickness of the oxide film increased significantly (p<0.01), the $TiO_2$phase changed from anatase to rutile. During the anodic oxidization, Ca and P ions were more incorporated into the oxide layer. (3) The in vitro cell responses of the specimen were also dependant on the oxidation conditions. With increasing voltage, the ALP activity, type I collagen production, and Cbfa 1 gene expression increased significantly (p<0.01), while the cell proliferation decreased. (4) In preliminary study on the relation of surface property and phospholipase, PLD activity was increased but $PLA_2$ activity did not changed according to applied voltage. Conclusion. The anodized titanium shows improved surface characteristics than the machined titanium. The surface properties acquired by anodization appear to give rise more mature osteoblast characteristics and might result in increased bone growth, and contribute to the achievement of a tight fixation. The precise mechanism of surface property signaling is not known, may be related to phospholipase D.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.111-116
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• 2008

Diethylstilbestrol (DESB) is a synthetic estrogen not only that routinely prescribed, but also that known to be a teratogen. In this study, we found a novel pharmacological feature that DESB is able to positively modulate CD29 $({\beta}1-integrin)$ function. Thus, DESB up-regulated homotypic cell-cell adhesion of monocytic U937 cells mediated by CD29. However, DESB did not increase the surface level of CD29 and its binding activity to ligand (fibronectin), according to flow cytometric analysis and cell-fibronectin adhesion assay. Instead, the DESB-mediated up-regulation of cell-cell adhesion was blocked by several signaling enzyme inhibitors. Treatment of U0126 [an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) inhibitor], SB20358 (a p38 inhibitor) or Rp-8-pCPT-cGMP (a protein kinase G inhibitor) clearly inhibited DESB-mediated up-regulation of cell-cell adhesion induced by CD29. However, estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780 failed to abrogate DESB effect. Therefore, our data suggest that DESB may up-regulate CD29-mediated cell-cell adhesion via modulating intracellular signaling enzymes such as ERK, PKG, and p38, independent of estrogen receptor function.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2015

The beta2-adrenergic receptor (${\beta}2AR$) belongs to the G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family, which is the largest family of cell surface receptors in humans. Extra attention has been focused on the human GPCRs because they have been studied as important protein targets for pharmaceutical drug development. In fact, approximately 40% of marketed drugs directly work on GPCRs. GPCRs respond to various extracellular stimuli, such as sensory signals, neurotransmitters, chemokines, and hormones, to induce structural changes at the cytoplasmic surface, activating downstream signaling pathways, primarily through interactions with heterotrimeric G proteins or through G-protein independent pathways, such as arrestin. Most GPCRs, except for rhodhopsin, which contains covalently linked 11 cis-retinal, bind to diffusible ligands, having various conformational states between inactive and active structures. The first human GPCR structure was determined using an inverse agonist bound ${\beta}2AR$ in 2007 and since then, more than 20 distinct GPCR structures have been solved. However, most GPCR structures were solved as inactive forms, and an agonist bound fully active structure is still hard to obtain. In a structural point of view, ${\beta}2AR$ is relatively well studied since its fully active structure as a complex with G protein as well as several inactive structures are available. The structural comparison of inactive and active states gives an important clue in understanding the activation mechanism of ${\beta}2AR$. In this review, structural features of inactive and active states of ${\beta}2AR$, the interaction of ${\beta}2AR$ with heterotrimeric G protein, and the comparison with ${\beta}1AR$ will be discussed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.624-629
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• 2015

Lysozyme protects us from the ever-present danger of bacterial infection and binds to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with high affinity. Beyond its role in the activation of protein C, the endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) plays an important role in the cytoprotective pathway. EPCR can be shed from the cell surface, which is mediated by tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE). However, little is known about the effects of lysozyme on EPCR shedding. We investigated this issue by monitoring the effects of lysozyme on phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-, interleukin (IL)-1βand cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-mediated EPCR shedding and underlying mechanism. Data demonstrate that lysozyme induced potent inhibition of PMA-, TNF-α-, IL-1β-, and CLP-induced EPCR shedding. Lysozyme also inhibited the expression and activity of PMA-induced TACE in endothelial cells. These results demonstrate the potential of lysozyme as an anti-EPCR shedding reagent against PMA-mediated and CLP-mediated EPCR shedding.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.29-29
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• 2003

Incompatible plant-pathogen interactions result in the rapid cell death response known as hypersensitive response (HR) and activation of host defense-related genes. To understand the molecular and cellular mechanism controlling defense response better, several approaches including isolation and characterization of novel genes, promoter analysis of those genes, protein-protein interaction analysis and reverse genetic approach etc. By using the yeast two-hybrid system a clone named Tsipl, Tsil -interacting protein 1, was isolated whose translation product apparently interacted with Tsil, an EREBP/AP2 type DNA binding protein. RNA gel blot analysis showed that the expression of Tsipl was increased by treatment with NaCl, ethylene, salicylic acid, or gibberellic acid. Transient expression analysis using a Tsipl::smGFP fusion gene in Arabidopsis protoplasts indicated that the Tsipl protein was targeted to the outer surface of chloroplasts. The targeted Tsipl::smGFP proteins were diffused to the cytoplasm of protoplasts in the presence of salicylic acid (SA) The PEG-mediated co-transfection analysis showed that Tsipl could interact with Tsil in the nucleus. These results suggest that Tsipl-Tsil interaction might serve to regulate defense-related gene expression. Basically the useful promoters are valuable tools for effective control of gene expression related to various developmental and environmental condition.(중략)