• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.15-29
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• 2024

The development and differentiation of endothelial cells (ECs) are fundamental processes with significant implications for both health and disease. ECs, which are found in all organs and blood vessels, play a crucial role in facilitating nutrient and waste exchange and maintaining proper vessel function. Understanding the intricate signaling pathways involved in EC development holds great promise for enhancing vascularization, tissue engineering, and vascular regeneration. Hematopoietic stem cells originating from hemogenic ECs, give rise to diverse immune cell populations, and the interaction between ECs and immune cells is vital for maintaining vascular integrity and regulating immune responses. Dysregulation of vascular development pathways can lead to various diseases, including cancer, where tumor-specific ECs promote tumor growth through angiogenesis. Recent advancements in single-cell genomics and in vivo genetic labeling have shed light on EC development, plasticity, and heterogeneity, uncovering tissue-specific gene expression and crucial signaling pathways. This review explores the potential of ECs in various applications, presenting novel opportunities for advancing vascular medicine and treatment strategies.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.7.1-7.27
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• 2023

The mammalian intestines harbor trillions of commensal microorganisms composed of thousands of species that are collectively called gut microbiota. Among the microbiota, bacteria are the predominant microorganism, with viruses, protozoa, and fungi (mycobiota) making up a relatively smaller population. The microbial communities play fundamental roles in the maturation and orchestration of the immune landscape in health and disease. Primarily, the gut microbiota modulates the immune system to maintain homeostasis and plays a crucial role in regulating the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of inflammatory, neuronal, and metabolic disorders. The microbiota modulates the host immune system through direct interactions with immune cells or indirect mechanisms such as producing short-chain acids and diverse metabolites. Numerous researchers have put extensive efforts into investigating the role of microbes in immune regulation, discovering novel immunomodulatory microbial species, identifying key effector molecules, and demonstrating how microbes and their key effector molecules mechanistically impact the host immune system. Consequently, recent studies suggest that several microbial species and their immunomodulatory molecules have therapeutic applicability in preclinical settings of multiple disorders. Nonetheless, it is still unclear why and how a handful of microorganisms and their key molecules affect the host immunity in diverse diseases. This review mainly discusses the role of microbes and their metabolites in T helper cell differentiation, immunomodulatory function, and their modes of action.

• 한국식품영양과학회지
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• 제35권10호
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• pp.1329-1335
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• 2006

AIDS로의 진행과정은 단순히 몇몇 기작에 의한 것이 아니라 여러 경로를 거쳐 발생하며 그 진행속도도 개개인에 따라 다양하게 나타나고 있다. 본 연구에서는 쥐 AIDS 모델을 이용하여 항산화호르몬으로 알려진 DHEAS의 면역조절 효과를 확인하고자 하였다. DHEAS의 투여는 LP-BM5 retrovirus 감염으로 인한 T와 B 임파구의 mitogenesis를 증가시켰으며 Th1/Th2 type cytokines의 발현에도 영향을 미쳤는데 주로 전사수준에서 작용한 것으로 생각된다/ 또한 retrovirus 감염으로 인한 간조직의 지질과산화 유발을 억제하여 조직 내의 항산화제인 vitamin E의 함량을 유지시킴으로 NF-kB의 활성화를 통한 retrovirus의 복제를 억제시켜 Th1/Th2 type cytokines의 불균형적인 발현을 저해하였을 것으로 여겨진다. 따라서 쥐 AIDS모델에 있어서 DHEAS의 면역조절 효과를 확인한 본 연구는 향후 HIV감염 이후 AIDS로의 진행 과정 시 항산화제의 역할과 기작 규명에 대한 가능성을 제시할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제48권7호
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• pp.369-370
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• 2015

Actin dynamics is critical for the formation and sustainment of the immunological synapse (IS) during T cell interaction with antigen-presenting cells (APC). Thus, many actin regulating proteins are involved in spatial and temporal actin remodeling at the IS. However, little is known whether or how actin stabilizing protein controls IS and the consequent T cell functions. TAGLN2 − an actin-binding protein predominantly expressed in T cells − displays a novel function to stabilize cortical F-actin, thereby augmenting F-actin contents at the IS, and acquiring leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 activation following T cell activation. TAGLN2 also competes with cofilin to protect F-actin in vitro and in vivo. During cytotoxic T cell interaction with cancer cells, the expression level of TAGLN2 at the IS correlates with the T cell adhesion to target cancer cells and production of lytic granules such as granzyme B and perforin, thus expressing cytotoxic T cell function. These findings identify a novel function for TAGLN2 as an actin stabilizing protein that is essential for stable immunological synapse formation, thereby regulating T cell immunity. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(7): 369-370]

• 한국식품영양학회지
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.125-133
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• 2007

Ginger(Zingiber officinale Roscoe) has long been used as a food source in Korea, and it is widely used as a dietary condiment throughout the world. The present study focused on the immunomodulative effects of ginger extracts via in vitro experiments. To identify the immune-activation fractions of the plant, we performed the systematic fractionation of ginger with methanol, hexane, chloroform, butanol and water for separation and refining. The results showed that the chloroform fraction had the highest immune cell activation properties. In conclusion, this study suggests that ginger extracts may enhance immune function by regulating the splenocyte proliferation as well as the cytokine production capacity of activated macrophages.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.26.1-26.19
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• 2024

Recent advancements in various technologies have shed light on the critical role of metabolism in immune cells, paving the way for innovative disease treatment strategies through immunometabolism modulation. This review emphasizes the glucose metabolism of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), an emerging pivotal immunosuppressive factor especially within the tumor microenvironment. MDSCs, an immature and heterogeneous myeloid cell population, act as a double-edged sword by exacerbating tumors or mitigating inflammatory diseases through their immune-suppressive functions. Numerous recent studies have centered on glycolysis of MDSC, investigating the regulation of altered glycolytic pathways to manage diseases. However, the specific changes in MDSC glycolysis and their exact functions continue to be areas of ongoing discussion yet. In this paper, we review a range of current findings, including the latest research on the alteration of glycolysis in MDSCs, the consequential functional alterations in these cells, and the outcomes of attempts to modulate MDSC functions by regulating glycolysis. Ultimately, we will provide insights into whether these research efforts could be translated into clinical applications.

• 대한암한의학회지
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.75-84
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• 2009

Gekko has been used for several diseases including cancer in Oriental medicine and fork herbalogy. Nevertheless, its origin as herbal medicine and its efficacy and mechanism as anti-tumor drug have not yet been thoroughly reported in Korea. This study aimed to investigate anti-tumor effect of Gekko through selected articles from cqvip database in China. In vitro and In vivo, Gekko could obviously inhibit tumor growth, induce tumor cells apoptosis, reduce micro-vessel density in tumor tissue through down regulating VEGF & bFGF protein expression, promote cytotoxicity of lymphocyte. Gekko could improve survival rate, relive clinical symptoms, improve quality of life, and relieve anti-tumor treatment reaction, suggesting that Gekko might be a effective anti-tumor drug.

• BMB Reports
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• 제52권10호
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• pp.613-618
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• 2019

Microglial cells are known as the main immune cells in the central nervous system, both regulating its immune response and maintaining its homeostasis. Furthermore, the antioxidant ${\alpha}-lipoic$ acid (LA) is a recognized therapeutic drug for diabetes because it can easily invade the blood-brain barrier. This study investigated the effect of ${\alpha}-LA$ on the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated BV-2 microglial cells. Our results revealed that ${\alpha}-LA$ significantly attenuated several inflammatory responses in BV-2 microglial cells, including pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-6, and other cytotoxic molecules, such as nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species. In addition, ${\alpha}-LA$ inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK and p38 and its pharmacological properties were facilitated via the inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway. Moreover, ${\alpha}-LA$ suppressed the activation of NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes, multiprotein complexes consisting of NLRP3 and caspase-1, which are involved in the innate immune response. Finally, ${\alpha}-LA$ decreased the genes accountable for the M1 phenotype, $IL-1{\beta}$ and ICAM1, whereas it increased the genes responsible for the M2 phenotype, MRC1 and ARG1. These findings suggest that ${\alpha}-LA$ alleviates the neuroinflammatory response by regulating microglial polarization.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권11호
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• pp.1626-1639
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• 2020

In Caenorhabditis elegans, SHN-1 is the homologue of SHANK, a scaffolding protein. In this study, we determined the molecular basis for SHN-1/SHANK in the regulation of innate immune response to fungal infection. Mutation of shn-1 increased the susceptibility to Candida albicans infection and suppressed the innate immune response. After C. albicans infection for 6, 12, or 24 h, both transcriptional expression of shn-1 and SHN-1::GFP expression were increased, implying that the activated SHN-1 may mediate a protection mechanism for C. elegans against the adverse effects from fungal infection. SHN-1 acted in both the neurons and the intestine to regulate the innate immune response to fungal infection. In the neurons, GLR-1, an AMPA ionotropic glutamate receptor, was identified as the downstream target in the regulation of innate immune response to fungal infection. GLR-1 further positively affected the function of SER-7-mediated serotonin signaling and antagonized the function of DAT-1-mediated dopamine signaling in the regulation of innate immune response to fungal infection. Our study suggests the novel function of SHN-1/SHANK in the regulation of innate immune response to fungal infection. Moreover, our results also denote the crucial role of neurotransmitter signals in mediating the function of SHN-1/SHANK in regulating innate immune response to fungal infection.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.434-445
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• 2023

We investigated whether FTY-720 might have an effect on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis through inhibiting TGF-β1 pathway, and up-regulating autophagy. The pulmonary fibrosis was induced by bleomycin. FTY-720 (1 mg/kg) drug was intraperitoneally injected into mice. Histological changes and inflammatory factors were observed, and EMT and autophagy protein markers were studied by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The effects of bleomycin on MLE-12 cells were detected by MTT assay and flow cytometry, and the related molecular mechanisms were studied by Western Blot. FTY-720 considerably attenuated bleomycin-induced disorganization of alveolar tissue, extracellular collagen deposition, and α-SMA and E-cadherin levels in mice. The levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 cytokines were attenuated in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, as well as protein content and leukocyte count. COL1A1 and MMP9 protein expressions in lung tissue were significantly reduced. Additionally, FTY-720 treatment effectively inhibited the expressions of key proteins in TGF-β1/TAK1/P38MAPK pathway and regulated autophagy proteins. Similar results were additionally found in cellular assays with mouse alveolar epithelial cells. Our study provides proof for a new mechanism for FTY-720 to suppress pulmonary fibrosis. FTY-720 is also a target for treating pulmonary fibrosis.