• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.823-828
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• 2000

The complete nucleotide sequence of hepatitis B virus DNA isolated from Korean patient serum was determined and characterized, and its phylogenetic relation was then investigated. The viral genome was 3,215 base pairs long and included four well known open reading frames (i.e. surface antigens, core antigens, X protein and DNA polymerase). The sequence of the surface antigen showed that the HBV genome under investigation, designated HBV 315, was characteristic of subtype adr. A phylogenetic analysis using the total genome sequence revealed that HBV315 was grouped into genomic group C together with isolates from Japan, China, Thailand, Polynesia, and New Caledonia. The mean percent similarity between HBV315 and other HBV isolates in genomic group C was 97.25%, and that with other genomic groups ranged from 86.16% to 91.25%. The predicted amino acid sequences of HBV315 were compared with two closely related subtype adr isolates, M38636 and D12980. The results showed that the X gene product was identical in the three strains, while there were significant amino acid sequence differences between HBV315 and M38636 in the Pre-S1 and Pre-S2 regions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.643-649
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding direct-fed microbials (DFM) on the growth performance and prophylaxis of calf diarrhea during the pre-weaning period as an alternative to antibiotics. A multi-species DFM was formulated including three lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus salivarius Ls29, Pediococcus acidilactia Pa175, and L. plantarum Lp177), three Bacillus strains (B. subtilis T4, B. polymyxa T1 and SM2), one yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, and a nonpathogenic E. coli Nissle 1917. Lactic acid bacteria and Bacillus strains were selected based on the antibacterial activity against various animal pathogens, especially pathogenic E. coli using agar diffusion methods in vitro. Test and control groups were fed milk replacer and calf starter supplemented with DFM ($10^9$ cfu each of eight species/d/head, n = 29) or with antibiotics (0.1% neomycin sulfate in milk replacer and Colistin 0.08% and Oxyneo 110/110 0.1% in calf starter, n = 15), respectively. Overall fecal score and the incidence rate of diarrhea were reduced in the DFM group compared to the antibiotics one. About 40% of calves in antibiotic group suffered from diarrhea while in DFM group only 14% showed diarrhea. There was no difference in the average daily gain and feed efficiency of two groups. The hematological levels of calves were all within the normal range with no significant difference. In conclusion, the feeding of multispecies DFM during the pre-weaning period could reduce calf diarrhea and there was no difference in the growth performance between the groups, thus showing the potential as an alternative to antibiotics.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.147-155
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• 2020

PURPOSE : Andrographis Herba is used as a traditional herbal medicine in the Asian countries for the treatment common cold, fever, diabetes, hypertension, hepatitis, skin infections, snake bite, and other diseases. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of MeOH extract of Andrographis Herba (AHME) on LPS-activated Raw 264.7 cells. METHODS : Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Nitric oxide (NO) production was determined by Griess reagent. Pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Expression levels of pro-inflammatory proteins were determined by Western blot analysis. RESULTS : Production of NO in LPS activated Raw 264.7 cells, was significantly decreased by pre-treatment with 3-30 ㎍/mL of AHME. Production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as TNF-α and IL were significantly decreased by AHME 30 ㎍/mL pre-treatment. AHME significantly decreased p-IκB and NF-κB expression. CONCLUSION : The results of this study indicate that AHME could inhibit the acute inflammatory response, via modulation of NF-κB activation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2009

In mammals, major progress has recently been made with the dissection of early embryonic cell specification, the isolation of stem cells from early embryos, and the production of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells. These studies have overcome long-standing species barriers for stem cell isolation, have revealed a deeper than expected similarity of embryo cell types across species, and have led to a better understanding of the lineage identities of embryo-derived stem cells, most notably of mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Thus, it has now become possible to propose a species-overarching classification of embryo stem cells, which are defined here as pre- to early post-implantation conceptus-derived stem cell types that maintain embryonic lineage identities in vitro. The present article gives an overview of these cells and discusses their relationships with each other and the conceptus. Consequently, it is debated whether further embryo stem cell types await isolation, and the study of the earliest extraembryonically committed stem cells is identified as a promising new research field.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.109-113
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• 2007

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of cytochalasin B (CB) treatment in the activation medium on the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) rat embryos. Fetal fibroblast cells were isolated from a Day 14.5 fetus, and the oocytes for recipient cytoplasm were recovered from 4-week old Sprague Dawley rats. After enucleation and nuclear injection, the reconstructed oocytes were immediately exposed to activation medium consisting of 10 mM $SrCl_2$ with or without CB for 4 hr, and formation of pseudo-pronucleus (PPN) was checked at 18 hr after activation. Then, they were transferred into day 1 pseudopregnant recipients (Hooded Wistar) or cultured for 5 days to check their developmental competence in vivo or in vitro. The number of PPN was not affected by CB treatment during the activation. However, CB treatment supported pre-implantation development of rat SCNT embryos. Embryos generated by the procedures of SCNT were also capable of implanting, with 1 implantation scar found from a recipient following the transfer of 87 SCNT embryos to four foster mothers. The result of the present study shows that rat SCNT embryo can develop to post-implantation stage following treatment with CB.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.81-86
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• 2017

The Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) method can be applied to various fields such as species conservation, regenerative medicine, farming industries and drug production. However, the efficiency using SCNT is very low for many reasons. One of the troubles of SCNT is that it is highly dependent on the researcher's competence. For that reason, four somatic cell nuclear injection methods were compared to evaluate the effect of hole-sealing process and existence of cytochalasin B (CB) on efficiency of murine SCNT protocol. As a results, the microinjection with the hole-sealing process, the oocyte plasma membrane is inhaled with injection pipette, in HCZB with CB was presented to be the most efficient for the reconstructed in SCNT process. In addition, we demonstrated that the oocytes manipulated in Hepes-CZB medium (HCZB) with CB does not affect the developmental rate and the morphology of the blastocyst during the pre-implantation stage. For this reason, we suggest the microinjection involving hole-sealing in HCZB with CB could improve SCNT process efficiency.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2015

Tolfenamic acid (TA) is a traditional non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and has been broadly used for the treatment of migraines. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) is a sequence-specific transcription factor and plays a key role in the development and progression of inflammation and cancer. We performed the current study to investigate the underlying mechanisms by which TA suppresses inflammation focusing on NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway in TNF-${\alpha}$ stimulated human normal and cancer cell lines and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse macrophages. Different types of human cells (HCT116, HT-29 and HEK293) and mouse macrophages (RAW264.7) were pre-treated with different concentrations of TA and then exposed to inflammatory stimuli such as TNF-${\alpha}$ and LPS. Transcriptional activity of NF-${\kappa}B$, $l{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$-degradation, p65 translocation and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activations were measured using luciferase assay and Western blots. Pre-treatment of TA repressed TNF-${\alpha}$- or LPS-stimulated NF-${\kappa}B$ transactivation in a dose-dependent manner. TA treatment reduced degradation of $l{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$ and subsequent translocation of p65 into nucleus. TA significantly down-regulated the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). However, TA had no effect on NF-${\kappa}B$ signaling and JNK phosphorylation in HT-29 human colorectal cancer cells. TA possesses anti-inflammatory activities through suppression of JNK/NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway in different types of cells.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.452-462
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• 2021

Pretilachlor (PRE) is a common acetanilide herbicide used worldwide. However, its effects on aquatic organisms, particularly marine photosynthetic life, are not sufficiently known. Herein, we evaluated the toxic effects of PRE by physiological and molecular parameters in the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum. The cell density, pigment content, and photosynthetic parameters (F_v/F_m and PI_ABS) were considerably decreased with increased PRE exposure time and doses. In addition, photosynthesis-related genes, PmpsbA, PmpsaA, and PmatpB, were significantly upregulated when exposed to 1.0 mg L^-1 of PRE for 24 h (p<0.001). In 72 h treatment, the relative gene expression was significantly increased (0.1 and 0.5 mg L^-1; p<0.01). In contrast, PmrbcL was decreased or little changed compared to the controls. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased after 24 h exposure (p<0.001). However, the transcriptional fold-changes in glutathione S-transferase (GST) were significantly increased (0.5 and 1.0 mg L^-1; p<0.001) at 72 h. These findings suggested that the PmGST might be involved in PRE detoxification in P. minimum. In addition, PRE may affect the photosystem function in phytoplankton similar to other acetanilides, causing severe damage or cell death.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.866-870
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• 2005

The 14 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been evaluated to determine the binding capacity to HT29 cell and Aflatoxin $B_1$ ($AFB_1$). The interaction of LAB to HT29 cells has been further investigated to identify the possibility of competing the binding sites with $AFB_1$. Of 14 LAB strains, Lactobacillus casei KCTC 3260 demonstrated the higher adhesiveness to HT29 and $AFB_1$ with the rate of 19.6% and 46.3%, respectively. In competitive analysis for binding sites, the adhesion of L. casei KCTC 3260 to HT29 cells was reduced with 100 nmol $AFB_1$ by 31.2%. The protoplast of L. casei KCTC 3260 showed no binding capacity to HT29 cells with increment of $AFB_1$ concentration, indicating that cell wall components might serve as a critical factor for the binding. To discriminate the major component influencing on L. casei KCTC 3260 binding to HT29 cells and $AFB_1$, four different pre-treatments (lipase, pronase E, sodium m-periodate, and urea) were employed. Of those, sodium m-periodate treatment caused the lower adhesion of L. casei KCTC 3260 to HT29 cells with the increment of $AFB_1$ concentration. These results indicated that carbohydrate moiety on the cell wall of L. casei KCTC 3260 might be the most critical component in binding to both HT29 cells and $AFB_1$.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.68-78
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• 2011

Background: Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a huddle for success of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this study, effects of irradiation dose on immune kinetics of GVHD were investigated using B6 ${\rightarrow}$ BALB.B system, a mouse model for GVHD after MHC-matched allogeneic transplantation. Methods: BALB.B mice were transplanted with bone marrow and spleen cells from C57BL/6 mice after irradiation with different doses. Leukocytes residing in the peripheral blood and target organs were collected periodically from the GVHD hosts for analysis of chimerism formation and immune kinetics along the GVHD development via flow cytometry. Myeloid cells were tested for production of IL-17 via flow cytometry. Results: Pre-conditioning of BALB.B hosts with 900 cGy and 400 cGy resulted in different chimerism of leukocytes from the blood and affected survival of GVHD hosts. Profiles of leukocytes infiltrating GVHD target organs, rather than profiles of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs), were significantly influenced by irradiation dose. Proportions of IL-17 producing cells in the infiltrating $Gr-1^+$ or $Mac-1^+$ cells were higher in the GVHD hosts with high does irradiation than those with low dose irradiation. Conclusion: Pre-conditioning dose affected tissue infiltration of leukocytes and cytokine production by myeloid cells in the target organs.