• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1177-1179
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• 2015

A new approach to obtain broadly cross-reactive antisera against important yeast pathogens by intensive hyperimmunization with polysaccharide-protein conjugates is described here. Surface mannan of Candida albicans and capsular galactoglucoxylomannan of Cryptococcus laurentii were isolated and chemically linked to human serum albumin. Antisera elicited by a 7-week vigorous immunization of rabbits with the conjugates showed effective cross-reactive growth inhibition of different representatives of Candida spp. as well as Cryptococcus spp. IgG antibodies are evidenced as the effective component of the antisera.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.203-208
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• 1998

We isolated and characterized an antifungal peptide from the seeds of Phytolacca americana. Growth inhibition assay with Botrytis cinerea was used to screen inhibitory proteins from 60 different plant species. A 4 kDa antifungal peptide (Pa-AFP) inhibitory to hyphal growth of B. cinerea was found in the seeds of P. americana. The peptide Pa-AFP was purified to homogeneity by chromatographies of Sephadex G-50, DEAE-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-300, and C18 reverse-phase HPLC. Western blot analysis showed that a polyclonal antibody raised against the purified peptide cross-reacted with a 4 kDa protein in seeds but not in root and leaf tissues of P. americana. Pa-AFP inhibited the hyphal growth of Botrytis cinerea, Rihzoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, and Magnaporthe grisea. Pa-AFP exhibited growth inhibition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain BWG7a, which was sensitive to osmotin.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.155-164
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• 2012

It is well established that blocking the interaction of EGFR with growth factors leads to the arrest of tumor growth, resulting in tumor cell death. ER414 is a human monoclonal antibody (mAb) derived by guided selection of the mouse mAb A13. The ER414 exhibited a ~17-fold lower affinity and, as a result, lower efficacy of inhibition of the EGF-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of EGFR when compared with mAb A13 and cetuximab. We performed a stepwise in vitro affinity maturation to improve the affinity of ER414. We obtained a 3D model of ER414 to identify the amino acids in the CDRs that needed to be mutated. Clones were selected from the phage library with randomized amino acids in the CDRs and substitution of amino acids in the HCDR3 and LCDR1 of ER414 led to improved affinity. A clone, H3-14, with a ~20-fold increased affinity, was selected from the HCDR3 randomized library. Then three clones, ER2, ER78 and ER79, were selected from the LCDR1 randomized library based on the H3-14 but did not show further increased affinities compared to that of H3-14. Of the three, ER2 was chosen for further characterization due to its better expression than others. We successfully performed affinity maturation of ER414 and obtained antibodies with a similar affinity as cetuximab. And antibody from an affinity maturation inhibits the EGF-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of EGFR in a manner similar to cetuximab.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5455-5461
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• 2014

Background: Saponins are a major active component for the traditional Chinese medicine, Rubus parvifolius L., which has shown clear antitumor activities. However, the specific effects and mechanisms of saponins of Rubus parvifolius L. (SRP) remain unclear with regard to human chronic myeloid leukemia cells. The aim of this study was to investigate inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis induction effects of SRP in K562 cells and further elucidate its regulatory mechanisms. Materials and Methods: K562 cells were treated with different concentrations of SRP and MTT assays were performed to determine cell viability. Apoptosis induction by SRP was determined with FACS and DAPI staining analysis. Western blotting was used to detect expression of apoptosis and survival related genes. Specific inhibitors were added to confirm roles of STAT3 and AMPK pathways in SRP induction of apoptosis. Results: Our results indicated that SRP exhibited obvious inhibitory effects on the growth of K562 cells, and significantly induced apoptosis. Cleavage of pro-apoptotic proteins was dramatically increased after SRP exposure. SRP treatment also increased the activities of AMPK and JNK pathways, and inhibited the phosphorylation expression level of STAT3 in K562 cells. Inhibition of the AMPK pathway blocked the activation of JNK by SRP, indicating that SRP regulated the expression of JNK dependent oon the AMPK pathway. Furthermore, inhibition of the latter significantly conferred resistance to SRP pro-apoptotic activity, suggesting involvement of the AMPK pathway in induction of apoptosis. Pretreatment with a STAT3 inhibitor also augmented SRP induced growth inhibition and cell apoptosis, further confirming roles of the STAT3 pathway after SRP treatment. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that SRP induce cell apoptosis through AMPK activation and STAT3 inhibition in K562 cells. This suggests the possibility of further developing SRP as an alternative treatment option, or perhaps using it as adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent for chronic myeloid leukemia therapy.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.255-259
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• 2006

The biodegradable hyaluronic acid(HA) membranes cross-linked with lactide using the crosslinking agent, 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide(EDC) were prepared as a potential biocompatible material for tissue engineering. HA membranes having different mechanical properties were synthesised by varying degree of the mole ratio of lactide to HA, EDC concentration, and crosslinking temperature. HA membranes were degradable in water solution and the degradation became slower with the increasing mole ratio of lactide to HA. HA membranes were sterilized using ethylene oxide gas and extracted with cell culture medium for 24 h at $37^{\circ}C$ and 200 rpm. Cytotoxicity of the extract was tested using NIH/3T3 mouse embryo fibroblast as a model cell. Growth inhibition was not observed in the extracts of HA membranes with the mole ratios of lactide to HA, 5 or 10, and 10% EDC concentration, however 11% of growth inhibition was observed in the extract with the mole ratio of 13. Growth inhibition was not observed in the extracts of HA membranes prepared with 5% EDC or 10% EDC and the mole ratio of lactide to HA, 10, however 12% of growth inhibition was observed in the extract with 20% EDC. Cytotoxicity was not observed in the extracts of HA membranes prepared at varying crosslinking temperatures, $15^{\circ}C,\;25^{\circ}C,\;and\;28^{\circ}C$ with the mole ratio of lactide to HA, 10 and 10% EDC.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.743-751
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• 2017

During slaughtering, animal blood is typically discarded, resulting in water pollution. However, this discarded blood has valuable components, such as immunoglobulin (Ig). Although several studies have been conducted to develop methods for effective recycling of slaughterhouse blood, they have not been commercially utilized in Korea. Here, we extracted an Ig-rich fraction from porcine blood that was then subjected to various in vitro tests, including pathogen growth inhibition, antigenic cross-reactivity, and anti-toxin activity. The porcine immunoglobulin concentrate (PIC) was effectively purified by eliminating other components, such as albumin, and consisted of approximately $63.2{\pm}2.9%$ IgG and $7.2{\pm}0.4%$ IgM on a protein basis. The results showed that it significantly suppressed the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and bound to all tested pathogens, including both gram-positive and gram-negative species, although the degree of activity differed according to strain. The PIC bound to two types of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) obtained from Escherichia coli O111:B4 and Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the PIC restored the proliferation activity of the lymphoblast K-562 cells when co-incubated with pathogenic LPS. These results confirm that the PIC prepared in this study is a potentially valuable functional food material or diet supplement as an alternative to antibiotics that can protect animals from pathogenic bacteria.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.134-143
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• 1999

The effects of silicon on galvannealing behavior of interstitial-free (IF) steels were studied. The growth rate of the Fe-Zn alloy layer was retarded as silicon in the steel added. Titanium in steel strongly favors Fe-Zn reaction, in particular outburst structures, whereas silicon inhibit them. Cross-sectional and planar views of galvannealed coatings were investigated to characterize alloy phase development. A possible mechanism to explain the retardation effect of silicon is discussed in terms of concentration on surface and inhibition layer.

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.10
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• pp.540-545
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• 2014

Balanced cell growth is crucial in animal development as well as tissue homeostasis. Concerted cross-regulation of multiple signaling pathways is essential for those purposes, and the dysregulation of signaling may lead to a variety of human diseases such as cancer. The time-honored Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin and recently identified Hippo signaling pathways are evolutionarily conserved in both Drosophila and mammals, and are generally considered as having positive and negative roles in cell proliferation, respectively. While most mainstream regulators of the Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin signaling pathway have been fairly well identified, the regulators of the Hippo pathway need to be more defined. The Hippo pathway controls organ size primarily by regulating cell contact inhibition. Recently, several cross-regulations occurring between the Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin and Hippo signaling pathways were determined through biochemical and genetic approaches. In the present mini-review, we mainly discuss the signal transduction mechanism of the Hippo signaling pathway, along with cross-talk between the regulators of the Wnt/${\beta}$-catenin and Hippo signaling pathways.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.124-131
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• 2008

The biodegradable hyaluronic acid membranes cross-linked with lactide using the crosslinking agent, 1,3-butadiene diepoxide (BD), were prepared as a potential biocompatible material for tissue engineering. The degree of lactide and BD reaction of the crosslinked membrane was determined by the analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy 6% of growth inhibition was observed in case of high BD concentration but the value is low enough not to affect cell growth. As the crosslinking reaction temperature increased, elongation increased and swelling ratio decreased. The rate of degradation was found to increase with the crosslinking temperature. The drug release experiment showed that the transport of drug through the membrane decreased with the crosslinking temperature.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.159-164
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• 2007

Stimulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential in signaling pathway of tumor cells. Thus, EGFR has intensely studied as an anticancer target. We developed hologram quantitative structure activity relationship (HQSAR) models for data set which consists of tricyclic azepine derivatives showing inhibitory activities for EGFR. The optimal HQSAR model was generated with fragment size of 6 to 7 while differentiating fragments having different atom and connectivity. The model showed cross-validated $q^2$ value of 0.61 and non-cross-validated $r^2$ value of 0.93. When the model was validated with an external set excluding one outlier, it gave predictive $r^2$ value of 0.43. The contribution maps generated from this model were used to interpret the atomic contribution of each atom to the overall inhibition activity. This can be used to find more efficient EGFR inhibitors.