• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.463-468
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• 2002

We have previously reported on the identification of the endogenous transmethylation inhibitor oligosaccharide-linked acyl carrier protein (O-ACP), In this study, the role of the transmethylation reaction on cell cycle progression was evaluated using various transmethylase inhibitors, including O-ACP. O-ACP significantly inhibited the growth of various cancer cell lines, including NIH3T3, ras-transformed NIH3T3, MDA-MB-231, HT-1376, and AGS. In addition, exposure of ras-transformed NIH3T3 to O-ACP caused cell cycle arrest at the $G_0/G_1$ phase, which led to a decrease in cells at the S phase, as determined by flow cytometry. In contrast, transmethylase inhibitors did not affect the expression of $p21^{WAF1/Cip1}$, a well known inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinase, indicating that the cell cycle arrest by transmethylase inhibitors might be mediated by a $p21^{WAF1/Cip1}$-independent mechanism. Therefore, O-ACP, a novel transmethylase inhibitor, could be a useful tool for elucidating the novel role of methylation in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.92-97
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• 2014

Cordycepin, an active component originally isolated from the traditional medicine Cordyceps militaris, is a derivative of the nucleoside adenosine, which has been shown to possess a number of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, immunological stimulation, and antitumor effects. This study was conducted on cultured human prostate carcinoma LNCap cells to elucidate the possible mechanisms by which cordycepin exerts its anticancer activity, which, until now, has remained poorly understood. Cordycepin treatment of LNCap cells resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth and the induction of apoptotic cell death as detected by an MTT assay, cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase, and annexin V-FITC staining. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that cordycepin resulted in G2/M arrest in cell cycle progression and downregulation of cyclin B1 and cyclin A expression in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the incubation of cells with cordycepin caused a striking induction in the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p21Waf1/Cip1 without affecting the expression of the tumor suppressor p53. It also resulted in a significant increase in the binding of CDK2 and CDC2 to p21. These findings suggest that cordycepin-induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis in human prostate carcinoma cells is mediated through p53-independent upregulation of the CDK inhibitor p21.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.143-143
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• 2003

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1666-1677
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• 2011

The regulation of gene expression plays an important role in cell cycle controls. In this study, a novel gene, the $mas1^+$($\underline{mi}$tosis $\underline{as}$sociated protein) gene, a homolog of human CIP29/Hcc1, was isolated and characterized from fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) using a gene-specific polymerase chain reaction. The isolated gene contained a complete open reading frame capable of encoding 245 amino acid residues with a typical promoter, as judged by nucleotide sequence analysis. It was also found that a PCB ($\underline{p}$ombe cell $\underline{c}$ycle $\underline{b}$ox) is located in the promoter region, which controls M-$G_1$ specific transcription in S. pombe. The quantitative analysis of the $mas1^+$ transcript against $adh1^+$ showed that the pattern of expression is similar to that of the septation index. Cytokinesis of mas1 mutant was greatly delayed at $25^{\circ}C$ and $36^{\circ}C$, and a large number of multi-septate cells were produced. The mas1 mutant had 2C, 4C and 6C DNA contents, as determined by FACS analysis. In addition, the number of multi-septate cells significantly increased. When cells were cultured in nitrogen starvation medium to increase proliferation, the abnormal phenotypes of mas1 mutant dramatically increased. These phenotypes could be rescued by an overexpression of the $mas1^+$ gene. The mas1 protein localized in the nuclei of S. pombe and human HeLa cells, as evidenced by Mas1-EGFP signals. The abnormal growth pattern and the morphology of mas1 mutant were complemented by a plasmid carrying human CIP29/Hcc-1cDNA. In addition, CIP29 /Hcc-1 transcript level increased in active cell proliferation stages in the developing mouse embryos. These results indicate that the $mas1^+$ ishomologous to the human CIP29/Hcc1 gene and is involved in cytokinesis and cell shape control.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.281-291
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• 2010

We investigated the antioxidant effects of hederagenin 3-O-b-D-glucopyranosyl($1{\rightarrow}3$)-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl($1{\rightarrow}2$)-a-L-arabinopyranoside (HDL) isolated from root bark of Ulmus davidiana on the activity of enzymes related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human osteosarcoma U2OS cells. Cobalt chloride ($CoCl_2$), a transition metal, was used as an inducer of oxidative stress, generating hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) via increasing xanthine oxidase (XO) activity. The increased levels of $H_2O_2$, XO, ferritin, and ferritin iron by $CoCl_2$ were diminished effectively by co-treatment with HDL in U2OS cells. Furthermore, decreased levels of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) by $CoCl_2$ were highly increased by co-treatment with HDL in U2OS cells; however, the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) did not change. The increased contents of TBARS related to lipid peroxidation were significantly reduced by HDL in U2OS cells. The concentration of GSH changed in a pattern that went against regulated TBARS by $CoCl_2$ and HDL. We examined the expression of p53, $p21^{CIP1/WAF1}$, and $p27^{KIP1}$ proteins related to oxidative stress and cell cycle regulation. As a result, the expression of $p27^{KIP1}$ modulated by $CoCl_2$ was not changed by HDL. However, the expression of p53 and $p21^{CIP1/WAF}$ increased by $CoCl_2$ was reduced by HDL in U2OS cells. Together with alteration of p53 and $p21^{CIP1/WAF1}$ proteins, the accumulated cells at G1 phase by $CoCl_2$ was decreased by HDL in U2OS cells. Our data suggests that HDL inhibits $CoCl_2$-generated ROS in U2OS cells, providing potentially new antioxidant compounds that are isolated from natural products.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2001.10b
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• pp.150-150
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• 2001

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1163-1170
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• 2017

Clostridium difficile releases two exotoxins, toxin A and toxin B, which disrupt the epithelial cell barrier in the gut to increase mucosal permeability and trigger inflammation with severe diarrhea. Many studies have suggested that enteric nerves are also directly involved in the progression of this toxin-mediated inflammation and diarrhea. C. difficile toxin A is known to enhance neurotransmitter secretion, increase gut motility, and suppress sympathetic neurotransmission in the guinea pig colitis model. Although previous studies have examined the pathophysiological role of enteric nerves in gut inflammation, the direct effect of toxins on neuronal cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying toxin-induced neuronal stress remained to be unveiled. Here, we examined the toxicity of C. difficile toxin A against neuronal cells (SH-SY5Y). We found that toxin A treatment time- and dose-dependently decreased cell viability and triggered apoptosis accompanied by caspase-3 activation in this cell line. These effects were found to depend on the up-regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the subsequent activation of p38 MAPK and induction of $p21^{Cip1/Waf1}$. Moreover, the N-acetyl-$\text\tiny L$-cysteine (NAC)-induced down-regulation of ROS could recover the viability loss and apoptosis of toxin A-treated neuronal cells. These results collectively suggest that C. difficile toxin A is toxic for neuronal cells, and that this is associated with rapid ROS generation and subsequent p38 MAPK activation and $p21^{Cip1/Waf1}$ up-regulation. Moreover, our data suggest that NAC could inhibit the toxicity of C. difficile toxin A toward enteric neurons.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.832-837
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• 2013

In this study, it was investigated the possible mechanisms by which glutamine deprivation exerts its anti-proliferative action in cultured human prostate carcinoma PC3 cells. Glutamine deprivation resulted in inhibition of growth and G2/M arrest of the cell cycle in a time-dependent manner without apoptosis induction, as determined by MTT assay, DAPI staining and flow cytometry analyses. The induction of G2/M arrest by glutamine deprivation was associated with the inhibition of expression of Cdc2, cyclin A and cyclin B1, and up-regulation of the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1) in both transcriptional and translational levels. Moreover, glutamine deprivation increased the phosphorylation of checkpoint kinase (Chk)1 and Chk2; however, the levels of Cdc25C phosphorylation were decreased in response to glutamine deprivation in a time-dependent manner. Our data provide a first biochemical evidence that glutamine deprivation suppresses cell viability through G2/M phase arrest without induction of apoptosis in PC3 cells.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.184.1-184.1
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.164.1-164.1
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• 2002