• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.443-452
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• 2024

This study aimed to examine the influence of 3,6-anhydroxygalactose (L-AHG) on the pro-inflammatory M1 polarization and pro-inflammatory responses observed in the RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cell line following stimulation with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). L-AHG exhibited a significant and dose-dependent inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, a hallmark of M1 polarization, and subsequent NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, the LPS-induced upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which drives the production of prostaglandin E2, an inflammatory mediator, was also inhibited by L-AHG. L-AHG did not affect the LPS-triggered Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated pro-inflammatory signaling pathway, which culminated in the activation of transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). However, it was observed to inhibit the generation of reactive oxugen species (ROS) in a dose-dependent manner, as well as the TAK1-driven activation of JNK and p38 MAPK. Given that the active p38 MAPK is known to contribute to the assembly of active nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, which catalyzes the intracellular generation of pro-inflammatory ROS in LPS-stimulated macrophages, the dose-dependent reduction in the LPS-induced ROS generation by L-AHG may be mainly due to the prevention of TAK1-driven activation of p38 MAPK. Together, these results demonstrate that the L-AHG-mediated inhibition of the TAK1-JNK/p38 MAPK activation phase of the pro-inflammatory signaling pathway in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells by L-AHG represents a promising mechanism for suppressing M1 polarization and pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages.

• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.1131-1137
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• 2018

Purpose: Previous reports have shown that hyperglycemia-induced inhibition of transient receptor potential vanilloid sub type 4 (TRPV4), a transient receptor potential ion channel, affects the severity of hearing impairment (HI). In this study, we explored the role of TRPV4 in HI using HEI-OC1 cells exposed to high glucose (HG). Materials and Methods: HEI-OC1 cells were cultured in a HG environment (25 mM D-glucose) for 48 hours, and qRT-PCR and Western blotting were used to analyze the expression of TRPV4 at the mRNA and protein level. TRPV4 agonist (GSK1016790A) or antagonist (HC-067047) in cultured HEI-OC1 cells was used to obtain abnormal TRPV4 expression. Functional TRPV4 activity was assessed in cultured HEI-OC1 cells using the MTT assay and a cell death detection ELISA. Results: TRPV4 agonists exerted protective effects against HG-induced HI, as evidenced by increased MTT levels and inhibition of apoptosis in HEI-OC1 cells. TRPV4 overexpression significantly increased protein levels of phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK), while TRPV4 antagonists had the opposite effect. Our results indicated that TRPV4 is a hyperglycemia-related factor that can inhibit cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis by activating the MAPK signaling pathway in HEI-OC1 cells. Conclusion: Our results show that the overexpression of TRPV4 can attenuate cell death in HEI-OC1 cells exposed to HG.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1253-1260
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• 2017

Objective: Purpose was to determine the effects of grazing system and floor type on concentrations of blood metabolites, activity of creatine kinase, body weight and carcass characteristics of castrated Nguni goats. Methods: Forty eight, 7 month old goats were randomly allocated to herding and tethering treatments from 0800 to 1300 hours and accommodated on slatted and earth floors daily. Blood samples were collected by jugular venipuncture every fifteenth day for metabolite analysis. Slaughter was done at a commercial abattoir following 5 months of monitoring. Results: Tethered goats had significantly higher concentrations of urea (5.19 mmol/L) (p<0.001), creatinine ($55.87{\mu}mol/L$) (p<0.05), total protein (64.60 g/L) (p<0.01), and globulin (49.79 g/L) (p<0.001), whereas herded goats had higher glucose (3.38 mmol/L) (p<0.001), albumin (15.33 g/L) (p<0.05), albumin/globulin ratio (0.34) (p<0.01), and body weight (24.87 kg) (p<0.001). Slatted floors caused higher (p<0.01) albumin at 15.37 g/L. The interaction of grazing system and floor type affected creatinine, total protein, globulin at (p<0.01) and albumen/globulin ratio at (p<0.01). The least creatinine concentration and albumin/globulin ratio was in herded and tethered goats that were accommodated on earth floors, respectively. The highest total protein and globulin concentrations were in serum of tethered goats that were accommodated on earth floors. The highest (p<0.05) dressing percentage (45.26%) was in herded goats accommodated on slatted floors. Conclusion: Herding of goats lowered globulin concentration, improved estimated feed intake, blood glucose and albumin concentrations, albumin globulin ratio, increased body weights and weight related carcass characteristics. Floor type had very little effects on metabolites where earth floors only reduced albumin concentration. Tethering and housing goats on earth floors resulted in double stress that increased chronic infections.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.987-994
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• 2021

Our previous studies have reported that antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from the larvae of white-spotted flower chafer (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis) exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. This study explored the anti-inflammatory effects of protaetiamycine 9 (CVLKKAYFLTNLKLRG-NH₂), a novel AMP, derived from P. b. seulensis against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammatory response in RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Protaetiamycine 9 (25, 50, 75, and 100 ㎍/ml) did not cause cytotoxic effects against RAW264.7 cells. The RAW264.7 cells were pre-treated with various concentrations of protaetiamycine 9 (25-100 ㎍/ml) for 1 hr and then exposed to LPS (100 ng/ml) for 24 hr. Protaetiamycine 9 treatments decreased the LPS-induced secretion of inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), in a dose-dependent manner. Protaetiamycine 9 (25-100 ㎍/ml) effectively downregulated the LPS-induced increase in mRNA and the protein expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which are involved in the production of inflammatory mediators. Protaetiamycine 9 also suppressed the production and gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β, compared to the presence of LPS alone. Furthermore, protaetiamycine 9 inhibited the degradation of inhibitory kappa B alpha (IκB-α) and the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38. In conclusion, these results suggest that protaetiamycine 9 exhibits LPS-mediated inflammatory responses by blocking IκB-α degradation and MAPK phosphorylation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.462-469
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• 2018

HSP90 regulates various proteins involved in differentiation and cell survival. Levels of HSP90 tend to increase during development of squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck including the mouth. Thus, many studies have been conducted to treat these cancers through suppression of HSP90. This study investigated the effect of two HSP90 inhibitors, geldanamycin and 17-AAG, on the proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion of human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Cell survival and cell cycle analyses, as well as western blot analysis, were performed with oral cancer cell lines, YD-10B and YD-38. After treatment with HSP90 inhibitors, cell proliferation was significantly inhibited. When YD-10B and YD-38 cells were treated with various concentrations of geldanamycin and 17-AAG (0, 0.1, 0.3, 1 and $10{\mu}M$) for 24 hr, the growth of YD-10B cells was markedly reduced compared to that of YD-38 cells. Thereafter, the cells were subjected to flow cytometry, which revealed G2 arrest. These results demonstrated that geldanamycin induced G2 arrest and inhibited cell proliferation through the $p-GSK-3{\beta}$ pathway in YD-10B and YD-38 cells, thus inhibiting cell survival. HSP90 inhibitors are therefore expected to have a therapeutic effect on various cancer cell lines.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.151-159
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• 2019

Lipoteichoic acid isolated from Lactobacillus plantarum K8 (pLTA) alleviates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced excessive inflammation through inhibition of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-6. In addition, pLTA increases the survival rate of mice in a septic shock model. In the current study, we have found that pLTA contributes to homeostasis through regulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production. In detail, pLTA decreased the production of IL-10 by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-differentiated THP-1 cells stimulated with prostaglandin E2 (PGE-2) and LPS. However, $TNF-{\alpha}$ production which was inhibited by PGE-2+LPS increased by pLTA treatment. The regulatory effects of IL-10 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ induced by PGE-2 and LPS in PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells were mediated by pLTA, but not by other LTAs isolated from either Staphylococcus aureus (aLTA) or L. sakei (sLTA). Further studies revealed that pLTA-mediated IL-10 inhibition and $TNF-{\alpha}$ induction in PGE-2+LPS-stimulated PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells were mediated by dephosphorylation of p38 and phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), respectively. Reduction of pLTA-mediated IL-10 inhibited the metastasis of breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231), which was induced by IL-10 or conditioned media prepared from PGE-2+LPS-stimulated PMA-differentiated THP-1 cells. Taken together, our data suggest that pLTA contributes to inflammatory homeostasis through induction of repressed pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as inhibition of excessive anti-inflammatory cytokines.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.229-234
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• 2015

Nafamostat mesilate (NM) is a serine protease inhibitor with anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory effects. NM has been used in Asia for anticoagulation during extracorporeal circulation in patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy and extra corporeal membrane oxygenation. Oxidative stress is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease and is associated with vascular endothelial function. We investigated whether NM could inhibit endothelial dysfunction induced by tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$ ). Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with TNF-${\alpha}$ for 24 h. The effects of NM on monocyte adhesion, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) protein expression, p38 mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, and intracellular superoxide production were then examined. NM ($0.01{\sim}100{\mu}g/mL$) did not affect HUVEC viability; however, it inhibited the increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and p66shc expression elicited by TNF-${\alpha}$ (3 ng/mL), and it dose dependently prevented the TNF-${\alpha}$ -induced upregulation of endothelial VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. In addition, it mitigated TNF-${\alpha}$ -induced p38 MAPK phosphorylation and the adhesion of U937 monocytes. These data suggest that NM mitigates TNF-${\alpha}$ -induced monocyte adhesion and the expression of endothelial cell adhesion molecules, and that the anti-adhesive effect of NM is mediated through the inhibition of p66shc, ROS production, and p38 MAPK activation.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2015

Background Wound healing is an interaction of a complex signaling cascade of cellular events, including inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. $K^+$ channels modulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Here, we investigated whether $K^+$ channel-activated MAPK signaling directs collagen synthesis and angiogenesis in wound healing. Methods The human skin fibroblast HS27 cell line was used to examine cell viability and collagen synthesis after potassium chloride (KCl) treatment by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and western blotting. To investigate whether $K^+$ ion channels function upstream of MAPK signaling, thus affecting collagen synthesis and angiogenesis, we examined alteration of MAPK expression after treatment with KCl (channel inhibitor), NS1619 (channel activator), or kinase inhibitors. To research the effect of KCl on angiogenesis, angiogenesis-related proteins such as thrombospondin 1 (TSP1), anti-angiogenic factor, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), pro-angiogenic factor were assayed by western blot. Results The viability of HS27 cells was not affected by 25 mM KCl. Collagen synthesis increased dependent on time and concentration of KCl exposure. The phosphorylations of MAPK proteins such as extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 increased about 2.5-3 fold in the KCl treatment cells and were inhibited by treatment of NS1619. TSP1 expression increased by 100%, bFGF expression decreased by 40%, and there is no significant differences in the VEGF level by KCl treatment, TSP1 was inhibited by NS1619 or kinase inhibitors. Conclusions Our results suggest that KCl may function as a therapeutic agent for wound healing in the skin through MAPK signaling mediated by the $K^+$ ion channel.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.548-555
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• 2017

Background: Korean Red Ginseng has been used for several decades to treat many diseases, enhancing both immunity and physical strength. Previous studies have documented the therapeutic effects of ginseng, including its anticancer, antiaging, and anti-inflammatory activities. These activities are mediated by ginsenosides present in the ginseng plant. Ginsenoside Rg3, an effective compound from red ginseng, has been shown to have antiplatelet activity in addition to its anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Platelets are important for both primary hemostasis and the repair of the vessels after injury; however, they also play a crucial role in the development of acute coronary diseases. We prepared ginsenoside Rg3-enriched red ginseng extract (Rg3-RGE) to examine its role in platelet physiology. Methods: To examine the effect of Rg3-RGE on platelet activation in vitro, platelet aggregation, granule secretion, intracellular calcium ($[Ca^{2+}]_i$) mobilization, flow cytometry, and immunoblot analysis were carried out using rat platelets. To examine the effect of Rg3-RGE on platelet activation in vivo, a collagen plus epinephrine-induced acute pulmonary thromboembolism mouse model was used. Results: We found that Rg3-RGE significantly inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ mobilization in a dose-dependent manner in addition to reducing ATP release from collagen-stimulated platelets. Furthermore, using immunoblot analysis, we found that Rg3-RGE markedly suppressed mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation (i.e., extracellular stimuli-responsive kinase, Jun N-terminal kinase, p38) as well as the PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase)/Akt pathway. Moreover, Rg3-RGE effectively reduced collagen plus epinephrine-induced mortality in mice. Conclusion: These data suggest that ginsenoside Rg3-RGE could be potentially be used as an antiplatelet therapeutic agent against platelet-mediated cardiovascular disorders.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.194-201
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• 2016

The anti-inflammatory activity of ethanol extract from Chondrus nipponicus Yendo (CNYEE) was investigated by measuring production of a lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response mediator. CNYEE had no cytotoxic effects on proliferation of macrophages compared to the control. CNYEE significantly inhibited (over 50%) NO production at $50{\mu}g/mL$, with inhibitory effects on expression levels of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), and IL-$1{\beta}$. In particular, IL-6 inhibitory activity of CNYEE was higher than 70% at $100{\mu}g/mL$. CNYEE also reduced protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and nuclear factor (NF)-${\kappa}B$ in a dose-dependent manner. CNYEE also significantly reduced phosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Therefore, these results suggest that CNYEE may have anti-inflammatory effects by modulating the NF-${\kappa}B$ and mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling pathways and may be used as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic material.