• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.313.3-314
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• 2002

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme expressed in response to a variety of cytokines and other proinflammatory stimuli. It has been known that aberrant up-regulation of COX-2 is associated with resistance to apoptosis. Contrary to the above notion. treatment of MCF10A-ras cells with the anti-tumor agent ET -18-O-$CH_3$ caused increased expression of COX-2 and its mRNA transcript. while inducing apoptosis as revealed by proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase. caspase-3 activation, and positive TUNEL staining. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.80-80
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• 2002

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme expressed in response to a variety of cytokines. The presence of oncogenic ras has been associated with sustained induction of COX-2, which confers resistance to apoptosis. Contrary to the above notion, we found that MCF10A-ras cells treated with an anti-tumor agent, ET-18-O-$CH_3$, underwent apoptosis as revealed by proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase, pro-caspase 3 activity, and TUNEL staining, while the same treatment caused an increased expression of COX-2 as well as the elevated production of prostaglandin E$_2$(PGE$_2$).(omitted)

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 1996

Taking advantage of the heat inducible HSP82 gene in yeast, chromatin structure after transcription cessation was investigated. Alteration of chromating conformation within the HSP82 gene transcription unit into an active state has been shown to correlate with its transcriptional induction. It was thus of interest to examine whether the active chromatin state within the HSP82 mRNA analysis, the gene ceased its transcription within a few hours of cultivation at a normal condition after heat induction. In this condition, an active chromatin conformation in the HSP82 gene body was changed into an inactie state which was revealed by DNase I resistance and by typical nucleosomal cutting periodicity in the corresponding chromatin. These results thus ruled out the possibility of a long-term maintenance of the DNase I sensitive chromatin after transcription cessation. DNA replication may be a critical event for the chromatin reprogramming.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.249-256
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• 1996

Beet curly top virus is the DNA virus that is providing useful for basic studies of the infection of Arabidopsis thaliana with viral host and provides a system for studying both resistance and the molecular basis of symptom development. An importnat aspect of symptom development observed in BCTV-infected A. thaliana (ecotype Sei-O) was the induction of cell division on phloem and surrounding cortex cells. Analysis of the expression of GUS reporter gene activity in transgenic plants containing constructs with promoter of the auxin-inducible saur gene showed that saur promoter activity was induced concomitantly in symptomatic tissues at the inflorescence shoot tips of the transgenic lines. The auxin sensitivity tests showed that hypersusceptible ecotype, Sei-O produced more amounts of callus than susceptible ecotype, Col-O. These studies indicated that changes in auxin concentration were involved in the induction of cell division in BCTV-infected plants and clearly demonstrated that there was a strong correlation between auxin-induced gene expression and the activation of cell division.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.335.1-335.1
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• 2002

The ermK gene from Bacillus lichenformis encodes an inducible rANA methylase that confers resistance to the macrolide-lincosamide-streptograminB antibiotics. The ermKmANA leader sequence has a total length of 357 nucleotides and encodes a 14-amino acid leader peptide together with its ribosome binding site. The secondary structure of erm leader RNA and a leader peptide have been reported as the elements that control expression. (omitted)

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.477-487
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• 2022

Probiotics provide a symbiotic relationship and beneficial effects by balancing the human intestinal microbiota. The relationships between microbiota changes and various diseases may predict health abnormalities and diseases. Treatment with vitamins and probiotics is one therapeutic approach. To evaluate the effect of probiotics on vitamin absorption, we chose Lactobacillus rhamnosus CBT-LR5 treatment, which has resistance to vitamin C-inducible toxicity, with vitamins in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity models. CBT-LR5 affected the absorption of micronutrients, such as ionic minerals and water-soluble vitamins. An increase in vitamin C absorption by CBT-LR5 enhanced the antioxidant response in HFD-induced obesity models. Increased vitamin B absorption by CBT-LR5 regulated lipid metabolism in HFD-induced obesity models. These favorable effects of CBT-LR5 on the absorption of vitamins should be investigated as candidate therapeutic target treatments for metabolic diseases.

• Plant Resources
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.202-208
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• 2005

Osmotic stress is one of major limiting factors in crop production. In particular, seasonal drought often causes the secondary disease in the field, resulting in severe reduction in both quality and productivity. Recent efforts have revealed that many genes encoding protein kinases play important roles in osmotic stress signal transduction pathways. Previously, the AtSIK (Arabidopsis thaliana Stress Inducible Kinase) mutants have shown to enhance tolerance to abiotic stresses, accompanying with higher expression of abiotic stress-related genes than did the wild-type plants. In this study, we have transformed potato (cv. Taedong Valley) with the AtSIK expression cassette. Both PCR and RT-PCR using AtSIK-specific primers showed stable integration and expression of the AtSIK gene in individual transgenic lines, respectively. Foliar application of herbicide ($Basta^{(R)}$) at commercial application rate (0.3% (v/v)) revealed another evidence of stable gene introduction of T-DNA which includes the bar gene for herbicide resistance. Overexpression of the AtSIK gene under dual CaMV35S promoter increased sensitivity to salt stress (300 mM NaCl), which was demonstrated by the reduction rate of chlorophyll contents in leaves of transgenic potato lines. These results suggest that possible increase of osmotic tolerance in potato plants may be achieved by antisense expression of AtSIK gene.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.710-722
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• 2021

Hypoxia, or low oxygen tension, is a hallmark of the tumor microenvironment. The hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) subunit plays a critical role in the adaptive cellular response of hypoxic tumor cells to low oxygen tension by activating gene-expression programs that control cancer cell metabolism, angiogenesis, and therapy resistance. Phosphorylation is involved in the stabilization and regulation of HIF-1α transcriptional activity. HIF-1α is activated by several factors, including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily. MAPK phosphatase 3 (MKP-3) is a cytoplasmic dual-specificity phosphatase specific for extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2). Recent evidence indicates that hypoxia increases the endogenous levels of both MKP-3 mRNA and protein. However, its role in the response of cells to hypoxia is poorly understood. Herein, we demonstrated that small-interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of MKP-3 enhanced HIF-1α (not HIF-2α) levels. Conversely, MKP-3 overexpression suppressed HIF-1α (not HIF-2α) levels, as well as the expression levels of hypoxia-responsive genes (LDHA, CA9, GLUT-1, and VEGF), in hypoxic colon cancer cells. These findings indicated that MKP-3, induced by HIF-1α in hypoxia, negatively regulates HIF-1α protein levels and hypoxia-responsive genes. However, we also found that long-term hypoxia (>12 h) induced proteasomal degradation of MKP-3 in a lactic acid-dependent manner. Taken together, MKP-3 expression is modulated by the hypoxic conditions prevailing in colon cancer, and plays a role in cellular adaptation to tumor hypoxia and tumor progression. Thus, MKP-3 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer treatment.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.421-430
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• 2019

Background: The ginsenoside Rg3, one of active components of red ginseng, has chemopreventive and anticancer potential. Cancer stem cells retain self-renewal properties which account for cancer recurrence and resistance to anticancer therapy. In our present study, we investigated whether the standardized Korean Red Ginseng extract (RGE) and Rg3 could modulate the manifestation of breast cancer stem cell-like features through regulation of self-renewal activity. Methods: The effects of RGE and Rg3 on the proportion of $CD44^{high}/CD24^{low}$ cells, as representative characteristics of stem-like breast cancer cells, were determined by flow cytometry. The mammosphere formation assay was performed to assess self-renewal capacities of breast cancer cells. Aldehyde dehydrogenase activity of MCF-7 mammospheres was measured by the ALDEFLUOR assay. The expression levels of Sox-2, Bmi-1, and P-Akt and the nuclear localization of hypoxia inducible $factor-1{\alpha}$ in MCF-7 mammospheres were verified by immunoblot analysis. Results: Both RGE and Rg3 decreased the viability of breast cancer cells and significantly reduced the populations of $CD44^{high}/CD24^{low}$ in MDA-MB-231 cells. RGE and Rg3 treatment attenuated the expression of Sox-2 and Bmi-1 by inhibiting the nuclear localization of hypoxia inducible $factor-1{\alpha}$ in MCF-7 mammospheres. Suppression of the manifestation of breast cancer stem cell-like properties by Rg3 was mediated through the blockade of Akt-mediated self-renewal signaling. Conclusion: This study suggests that Rg3 has a therapeutic potential targeting breast cancer stem cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.78-83
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• 2023

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has a markedly improved prognosis with the use of breakpoint cluster region-abelson 1 (BCR-ABL1) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BCR-ABL1 TKIs). However, approximately 40% of patients are resistant or intolerant to BCR-ABL1 TKIs. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) is a hypoxia response factor that has been reported to be highly expressed in CML patients, making it a therapeutic target for BCR-ABL1 TKI-sensitive CML and BCR-ABL1 TKI-resistant CML. In this study, we examined whether HIF-1α inhibitors induce cell death in CML cells and BCR-ABL1 TKI-resistant CML cells. We found that echinomycin and PX-478 induced cell death in BCR-ABL1 TKIs sensitive and resistant CML cells at similar concentrations while the cell sensitivity was not affected with imatinib or dasatinib in BCR-ABL1 TKIs resistant CML cells. In addition, echinomycin and PX-478 inhibited the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), Akt, and extracellular-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) activation via suppression of BCR-ABL1 and Met expression in BCR-ABL1 sensitive and resistant CML cells. Moreover, treatment with HIF-1α siRNA induced cell death by inhibiting BCR-ABL1 and Met expression and activation of JNK, Akt, and ERK1/2 in BCR-ABL1 TKIs sensitive and resistant CML cells. These results indicated that HIF-1α regulates BCR-ABL and Met expression and is involved in cell survival in CML cells, suggesting that HIF-1α inhibitors induce cell death in BCR-ABL1 TKIs sensitive and resistant CML cells and therefore HIF-1α inhibitors are potential candidates for CML treatment.