• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.799-804
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• 2006

Ingestion of green tea has been shown to decrease prostaglandin $E_2$ levels in human colorectum, suggesting that tea constituents modulate arachidonic acid metabolism. In the present study, we investigated the effects of four purified green tea catechins, (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), and (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), on the catalytic activity of cytosolic phospholipase $A_2$ ($cPLA_2$) and release of arachidonic acid and its metabolites from intact cells. At $50\;{\mu}M$, EGCG and ECG inhibited $cPLA_2$ activity by 19 and 37%, respectively, whereas EC and EGC were less effective. The inhibitory effects of these catechins on arachidonic acid metabolism in intact cells were much more pronounced. At $10\;{\mu}M$, EGCG and ECG inhibited the release of arachidonic acid and its metabolites by 50-70% in human colon adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29) and human esophageal squamous carcinoma cells (KYSE-190 and 450). EGCG and ECG also inhibited arachidonic acid release induced by A23187, a calcium ionophore, in both HT-29 and KYSE-450 cell lines by 30-50%. The inhibitory effects of green tea catechins on $cPLA_2$ and arachidonic acid release may provide a possible mechanism for the prevention of human gastrointestinal inflammation and cancers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.242-247
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• 1989

The effect of ginseng extract and sodium ascorbate (vitamin C) administered separately or in combination on the some cancer cells cultured in vitro have been examined. Mouse leukemic cells (L1210 and P388), human rectal cancer cells (HRT-18) and human colon cancer cells (HCT-48) were used for the experiment. When given separately, the growth rate for each kind of cancer cell was inhibited In proportion to the concentration of ginseng extract or vitamin C. The inhibitory effect on the growth rate of the cancer cells was stronger in ginseng extract than in vitamin C except for the HCT-48 cells. Based on the cytotoxic activity, combined administration of ginseng extract and vitamin C demonstrated a synergistic inhibition of cancer cell growth. The cytotoxic activities of ginseng extract and vitamin C on the mouse leukemic cells were more sensitive than on human colon cancer cells. And the sensitivity of cytotoxic activity was somewhat different in different cancer cell lines.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.499-503
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• 2012

The present study was based on the unexpected discovery that norcantharidin exerted anti-angiogenesis activity when effects on growth of human colon cancer were studied. The aim was to further verify this finding and explore possible mechanisms using a tumor xenograft model in nude mice. We confirmed that norcantharidin (5 or 15 mg/kg) could inhibit angiogenesis of human colon cancer in vivo. In vitro, crossing river assay, cell adhesion assay and tube formation assay indicated that NCTD could reduce the migration, adhesion and vascular network tube formation ability of HUVECs. At the same time, the expression levels of VEGF and VEGFR-2 proteins which play important roles in angiogenesis were reduced as examined by western blotting analysis. Taken together, the results firstly showed NCTD could inhibit angiogenesis of human colon cancer in vivo, probably associated with effects on migration, adhesion and vascular network tube formation of HUVECs and expression levels of VEGF and VEGFR-2 proteins.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.305-320
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• 1996

It is necessary to obtain information about the productivity of the human-influenced forest and to understand the consumption of biomass resources in secondary forest in order to examine the resource flux by human activity in rural landscape. Thus the aims of this study were to elucidate the biomass and their use of secondary Pinus densiflora forests and to discuss sustainable utilization of secondary forests in rural landscape system. This study was carried out in Yanghwa-ri, Kongjugun, Chungcheongnam-do, central Korea. The changes of growth rate and aboveground biomass of a pine forest for 2 years were analyzed to understand forest management regimes in rural pine forests. Through allometric equations deduced from 25 sample trees, biomass was estimated. The biomass increase of pine forest was approximately 16.36 t/ha/yr in the unexploited stand and 12.24 t/ha/yr in the exploited stand. These were nearly equal to those of natural pine forests in central Korea. This result proved that human-influenced pine forest in rural landscape as well as the natural one has high potentiality to provide forest products. Making graveyard in forest-land was the important disturbance and land-use which currently occurring in rural landscape in the study area. Finally, we presented some forest management for stutainable and positive uses of secondary forests as one of the local energy resources in terms of the holistic landscape-ecological view.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.212-216
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• 2009

The short in vivo half-life of GLP-1 prevents it from being used clinically. This short half-life occurs because GLP-1 is rapidly degraded by dipeptidyl peptidases such as DPP-IV. To overcome this obstacle, a GLP-1/Fc was constructed and evaluated to determine if it was degraded by DPP-IV and in serum. When the degradation of GLP-1/Fc by human DPP-IV and rabbit serum was compared with that of GLP-1 it was found to be reduced by approximately 5- and 4-fold, respectively. Furthermore, GLP-1/Fc showed a potent activity for human GLP-1 receptor activation ($EC_{50}$ approximately 6 nM). Taken together, these results indicate that GLP-1/Fc may have an extended half-life in vivo that occurs as a result of inhibition of degradation by human DPP-IV. Due to the extended half life, GLP-1/Fc may be useful for clinical treatments.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.92-100
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• 2008

When designing protective clothing, there are something to be considered such as physiological feature of human body, acting range not to restrict physical activity, and effectiveness of material. Because the primary objective of protective clothing is to protect human body from danger and it is designed through complex designing process not likely general clothing design. However, current evaluation techniques-such as the ISO, the ASTM and the CEN, and KS-provide only the standard to evaluate the primary feature of material (testing, performance requirements, material specification, selection and application, test and care, and so on). There are no standard to evaluate influence for the human body while protective clothing put on. Especially, in Korea, there is KS to evaluate protective clothing, but it is partially translated version from ISO because of lack of core technology about this field. However, developed countries recognize it is new competitive means in the time of Global Standards and they are competing to make their own standard to global standard for the protective clothing. Therefore, it can be great opportunity for Korean clothing and textile industry to revitalize if focusing on research and development for protective clothing design based on physical activity of human body, fit evaluation technique and sizing which is currently no global standard for it and developing our standard to global standard.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.50-54
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• 2018

N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU) and N-nitroso-N-ethylurea (NEU), direct alkylating chemical mutagens and carcinogens, are shown to be the upregulators of cellular $NF-{\kappa}B$, regulating various genes that mediate tumorigenesis and carcinogenesis. Nitric oxide (NO), a toxic reactive radical gas, has been known to induce programmed cell death or apoptosis in various cells. Therefore, the assessment of NO production was examined to elucidate the possible contribution of NO release to the chemical carcinogenic potency of NMU and NEU in human skin cells. NMU and NEU did not alter the NO production, but they caused a significant downregulation of the NO generation on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production at concentrations ranging from $2{\sim}5{\mu}M$. The degree of downregulation of NO by NMU and NEU decreased up to 15% and 20%, respectively, compared to the control. These results demonstrate that the LPS-inducible keratinocytes NO synthase is involved in modulating carcinogenic potency by NMU and NEU, and the regulation of the cellular $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity by NMU and NEU is negatively correlated with the level of LPS-induced NO production in human skin cells. The findings of this study suggest the hypothesis that NMU and NEU-induced carcinogenesis may be associated with the downregulation of NO production, and the inducible NO may play an important role in NMU and NEU-induced carcinogenicity in human epidermal keratinocytes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.355-360
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• 2007

In order to evaluate on the cytotoxicity of methyl mercury (MM) and antioxidant effect of phenolic compound, poncirin against MM-induced cytotoxicity, XTT assay was performed to determine the cell viability after human skin fibroblasts (Detroit 51) were grown in the media containing various concentrations of methylmercuric chloride (MMC). And also, the antioxidant effect of poncirin on the cytotoxicity induced by MMC was examined by cell viability and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity in these cultures. MMC decreased cell viability in dose-dependent manner in these cultures and the midcytotoxicity value was determined at concentration of 30 ${\mu}M$ MMC after human skin fibroblasts were treated with $10\sim50{\mu}M$ MMC for 72 hours, respectively. MMC was highly toxic on cultured human skin fibroblasts by toxic criteria. MMC-mediated cytotoxicity was related with oxidative stress by the diminution of toxic effect according to the treatment of vitamin E. In the antioxidant effect of poncirin, it showed vitamin E-like DPPH radical scavenging activity at 90 ${\mu}g/ml$ poncirin and also, remarkably increased cell viability compared with MMC-treated group. From these results, it is suggested that MMC-mediated cytoxicity was highly toxic and was related with oxidative stress in cultured human skin fibroblasts, and also phenolic compound such as poncirin showed the protection on MMC-induced cytotoxicity by antioxidant effect in these cultures.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.138-144
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• 2007

Previously we showed that the human GM3 synthase gene was expressed during the induction of megakaryocytic differentiation in human leukemia K562 cells by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). In this study we found that treatment of PMA-induced K562 cells with $G{\ddot{o}}6976$, a specific inhibitor of PKC, and U0126, an inhibitor of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) reduced expression of GM3 synthase, whereas wortmannin, an inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) did not. Moreover, activation of ERK and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) was prevented by pretreatment with $G{\ddot{o}}6976$ and U0126. PMA stimulated the promoter activity of the 5'-flanking region from -177 to -83 region of the GM3 synthase gene, and mutation or deletion of a CREB site located around -143 of the promoter reduced PMA-stimulated promoter activity, as did the inhibitors $G{\ddot{o}}6976$ and U0126. Our results demonstrate that induction of GM3 synthase during megakaryocytic differentiation in PMA-stimulated human leukemia K562 cells depends upon the PKC/ERK/CREB pathway.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.554-561
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• 2004

Trichostatin A, an antifungal antibiotics, and HC-toxin are potent and specific inhibitors of histone deacetylase activity. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are new class of chemotherapeutic drugs able to induce tumor cell apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest. In this study, the antiproliferative activities of trichostatin A and HC-toxin were compared between estrogen receptor positive human breast cancer cell MCF-7 and estrogen receptor negative human breast cancer cell MDA-MB-468. Trichostatin A and HC-toxin showed potent antiproliferative activity in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells. In MCF-7 cells that contain high level estrogen receptor, trichostatin A and HC-toxin brought about three-times more potent cell growth inhibitory effect than estrogen receptor negative MDA-MB-468 cells. Both trichostatin A and HC-toxin showed cell cycle arrest at G$_2$/M phases of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells in a dose- and time- depen- dent manner. Trichostatin A and HC-toxin also induced apoptosis from MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Results of this study suggested that antipro-liferative effects of trichostatin A and HC-toxin might be involved in estrogen receptor signaling pathway, but cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of trichostatin A and HC-toxin might not be involved in estrogen receptor system of human breast cancer cells.