• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1595-1602
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• 2010

Oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) has been recognized as an important role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. In this study, effects of allylmercaptan, a major metabolite compound of garlic, was studied on endothelial cell injury induced by oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). The antioxidative activity of allylmercaptan was investigated by monitoring a thiobarbituric acid substance (TBARS). Allylmercaptan inhibited LDL oxidation induced by $Cu^{2+}$ at concentrations of 0.1, 1 and 10 mM in a dose dependent manner. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, as an index of cell injury, and intracellular glutathione levels were determined. Pulmonary artery endothelial cells were preincubated with allylmercaptan at $37^{\circ}C$ and 5% $CO_2$ for 24 hr, washed, and then exposed to 0.1 mg/ml oxidized LDL for 24 hr. Preincubation of endothelial cells with allylmercaptan significantly prevented the LDH release and depletion of GSH. Peroxides were measured directly in 24 well plates using a fluorometric assay. Allylmercaptan inhibited release of peroxides induced by ox-LDL in pulmonary artery endothelial cells. In a free system, allylmercaptan was shown to scavenge hydrogen peroxide. The data indicate that allylmercaptan can protect pulmonary artery endothelial cells from injury caused by oxidized LDL, and suggest that allylmercaptan may be useful for the prevention of atherosclerosis.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.305-310
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• 2005

It has been suggested that nitric oxide (NO) derived from inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) may act as a mediator of cytokine-induced effects on bone turn-over. NO is also recognized as an important factor in bone remodeling, i.e., participating in osteoblast apoptosis in an arthritic joint. The components of Agastache rugosa are known to have many pharmacological activities. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Agastache rugosa leaf extract (ELAR) on NO production and the iNOS expression in ROS 17/2.8 cells activated by a mixture of inflammatory cytokines including TNF-$alpha$ and IL-1$\beta$. A preincubation with ELAR significantly and concentration-dependently reduced the expression of iNOS protein in ROS 17/2.8 cells activated with the cytokine mixture. Consequently, the NO production was also significantly reduced by ELAR with an IC$_{50}$ of 0.75 mg/mL. The inhibitory mechanism of iNOS induction by ELAR prevented the activation and translocation of NF-$\kappa$B (p65) to the nucleus from the cytosol fraction. Furthermore, ELAR concentration-dependently reduced the cellular toxicity induced by sodium nitroprusside, an NO-donor. These results suggest that ELAR may be beneficial in NO-mediated inflammatory conditions such as osteoporosis.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.213-217
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• 2006

We evaluated the potential of major components of Phellodendri cortex to inhibit the activities of CYP2D6 and p-glycoprotein. The abilities of berberine, palmatine, limonin, and rutaecarpine to inhibit CYP2D6-mediated dextromethorphan O-demethylation and calcein AM accumulation were tested using human liver microsomes and L-MDR1 cell, respectively. Berberine strongly inhibited CYP2D6 isoform activity, whereas limonin and reuaecarpine did not. The $IC_{50}$ value of berberine was reduced after preincubation with microsomes in the presence of NADPH generating system, suggesting that berberine is a mechanism based inhibitor. In addition, all chemicals tested, didn't show inhibitory effect on p-glycoprotein activity. These results suggest that berberine has potential to inhibit CYP2D6 activity in vitro. Therefore, in vivo studies investigating the interactions between berberine and CYP2D6 substrates are necessary to determine whether inhibition of CYP2D6 activity by berberine is clinically relevant.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.591-598
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• 2017

Propofol is known to cause vasorelaxation of several systemic vascular beds. However, its effect on the pulmonary vasculature remains controversial. In the present study, we investigated the effects of propofol on human pulmonary arteries obtained from patients who had undergone surgery. Arterial rings were mounted in a Multi-Myograph system for measurement of isometric forces. U46619 was used to induce sustained contraction of the intrapulmonary arteries, and propofol was then applied (in increments from $10-300{\mu}m$). Arteries denuded of endothelium, preincubated or not with indomethacin, were used to investigate the effects of propofol on isolated arteries. Propofol exhibited a bifunctional effect on isolated human pulmonary arteries contracted by U46619, evoking constriction at low concentrations ($10-100{\mu}m$) followed by secondary relaxation (at $100-300{\mu}m$). The extent of constriction induced by propofol was higher in an endothelium-denuded group than in an endothelium-intact group. Preincubation with indomethacin abolished constriction and potentiated relaxation. The maximal relaxation was greater in the endothelium-intact than the endothelium-denuded group. Propofol also suppressed $CaCl_2$-induced constriction in the 60 mM $K^+$-containing $Ca^{2+}$-free solution in a dose-dependent manner. Fluorescent imaging of $Ca^{2+}$ using fluo-4 showed that a 10 min incubation with propofol ($10-300{\mu}m$) inhibited the $Ca^{2+}$ influx into human pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells induced by a 60 mM $K^+$-containing $Ca^{2+}$-free solution. In conclusion, propofol-induced arterial constriction appears to involve prostaglandin production by cyclooxygenase in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and the relaxation depends in part on endothelial function, principally on the inhibition of calcium influx through L-type voltage-operated calcium channels.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 1987

Aspergillus sp. (MK-24) producing a biological active substance that inhibited the venom proteinase activity was isolated from soil. The substance also inhibited the activity of trypsin and coagulation of blood, but did not inhibit papain, $\alpha$-chymotrypsin and pepsin. The substance was partially purified from culture filtrate by precipitaion with acetone, and by chromatography of DEAE-Sepadex A-50 column and Amberlite IRC-50 ion exchange. The inhibitory substance was stable in the wide pH range from 2.0 to 12.0 at 37$^{\circ}C$, but not stable at $65^{\circ}C$ in the alkaline pH. Only 12% of the activity was decreased by the heat treatment at 10$0^{\circ}C$ for two hours. The inhibition on venom proteinase (Agkistrodon bromohoffi brevicaudus) was a mixed type. The inhibitory activity depended on the preincubation time and completely depressed by cupric, zinc and cobalt ions. The inhibition on the venom proteinase was appeared strongly on casein but not on ovalbumin or hemoglobin as a substrate.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.331-338
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• 1999

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)s in peritoneal fluid (PF) from patients with and without endometriosis on the proliferation of endometrial stromal cells and to investigate the effects of type I IGF receptor antibody on the response of endometrial stromal cells to PF from patients with endometriosis. IGFs in PF from patients with endometriosis (n=14) and without endometriosis (n=10) were measured by immunoradiometric assay and PF samples were divided into low IGF-I PF group (less than 85 ng/ml) and high IGF-I PF group (more than 85 ng/ml). Endometrial stromal cells from patients without endometriosis were cultured in serum free media in the presence or absence of 1 % PF and thymidine incorporation test were used to evaluate the proliferation of endometrial stromal cells. Also cultures were incubated with type I IGF receptor monoclonal antibody (${\alpha}IR_3$) before adding PF. PF from patients with endometriosis and without endometriosis increased thymidine incorporation in endometrial stromal cells. In patients with endometriosis, high IGF-I PF group had high IGF-II levels and resulted in higher thymidine incorporation than low IGF-I PF group but no significant difference in increase in thymidine incorporation between high IGF-I and low IGF-I PF group was noted in patients without endometriosis. There was not a significant correlation between increase in thymidine incorporation and IGF-I levels in PF from patients without endometriosis but in PF from patients with endometriosis. Preincubation with ${\alpha}IR_3$ significantly inhibited the mitogenic response of endometrial stromal cells to PF. Our data indicate that IGF-I in PF may be involved in the growth of ectopic endometrium in patients with endometriosis.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.395-401
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• 2008

Flavonoids are ubiquitous substances in fruits and vegetables. A main subgroup of the flavonoids are the flavonols, of which quercetin and kaempferol are the major representatives in foods. They are used in food supplements at high doses, because of their preventive effects on degenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the combined and separate effects of kaempferol and quercetin on oxidative stress in cow pulmonary artery endothelium (CPAE) cells over a broad concentration range. The results demonstrate that cell viability was greatly increased in kaempferol and quercetin treated cells whether $H_{2}O_{2}$-treated or not. Cell viability also increased when treated with flavonols in the absence of oxidative stress. Both preincubation and simultaneous incubation with kaempferol and quercetin protected against the loss of cell viability induced by 1mM $H_{2}O_{2}(5h)$. Protective effects of flavonols against oxidative stress were shown to depend on the treated flavonol concentrations. No protective effect was shown under low concentration treatment and cell viability increased 1.6 times at $200{\mu}M$ relative to the control group. At the highest flavonol concentration of $300{\mu}M$, the increased cell viability by flavonol treatment was decreased to almost half of the maximum values. Combined treatments with kaempferol and quercetin showed more protective effects against oxidative stress by $H_{2}O_{2}$ than the separate effects of each flavonol. In conclusion, the protective effect of kaempferol and quercetin against oxidative stress was very pronounced but high concentrations of flavonols can also induce cell cytotoxicity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1003-1010
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• 2017

An open reading frame coding for mannanase predicted from the partial genomic sequence of Paenibacillus woosongensis was cloned into Escherichia coli by polymerase chain reaction amplification, and completely sequenced. This mannanase gene, designated man26AT, consisted of 3,162 nucleotides encoding a polypeptide of 1,053 amino acid residues. Based on the deduced amino acid sequence, Man26AT was identified as a modular enzyme, which included a catalytic domain belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family 26 and two carbohydrate-binding modules, CBM27 and CBM11. The amino acid sequence of Man26AT was homologous to that of several putative mannanases, with identity of 81% for P. ihumii and identity of less than 57% for other strains of Paenibacillus. A cell-free extract of recombinant E. coli carrying the man26AT gene showed maximal mannanase activity at $55^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5. The enzyme retained above 80% of maximal activity after preincubation for 1 h at $50^{\circ}C$. Man26AT was comparably active on locust bean gum (LBG), galactomanan, and kojac glucomannan, whereas it did not exhibit activity on carboxymethylcellulose, xylan, or para-nitrophenyl-${\beta}$-mannopyranoside. The common end products liberated from mannooligosaccharides, including mannotriose, mannotetraose, mannopentaose, and mannohexaose, or LBG by Man26AT were mannose, mannobiose, and mannotriose. Mannooligosacchrides larger than mannotriose were found in enzymatic hydrolyzates of LBG and guar gum, respectively. However, Man26AT was unable to hydrolyze mannobiose. Man26AT was intracellularly degraded into at least three active proteins with different molecular masses by zymogram.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.184-189
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• 2004

Rice wine cake (RWC) is the solid waste obtained after rice wine fermentation. For the mass production of the spores of yeast Saccharomyces from RWC, the optimum pretreatment condition of RWC, the optimum composition of culture medium, and the optimum culture condition were examined. For sporulation, yeast cells were grown in the pre sporulation medium (PSM), transferred into sporulation medium (SM) containing 1 % potassium acetate, and incubated in a rotary shaking incubator at $25^{\circ}C$ for 4 days. The supernatant of the mixture of RWC and water was used as the presporulation medium (PSM). The optimum temperature and time for the pre-incubation of the mixture of RWC and water (1:2) to obtain maximum sporulation yield were $V^{\circ}C$ and 24 hr, respectively, and optimum culture time in PSM was 48 hr. Using these optimum conditions, the asci number obtained was 0.72$ 1.06${\times}$10^{8}$$m\ell$. The addition of wheat coat koji into SM increased the final number of asci to beTEX>$10^{8}$ $m\ell$. Spores were formed in the SM with the initial pH of 7-11, but no spores were formed in the SM with the initial pH of 5. To save the time and effort to pretreat the RWC, 2% and 0.5% RWC without any pretreatment were directly added into PSM containing 1 % brown sugar and SM, respectively, and the maximum asci number of $1.27${\times}$10^{8}$ /$m\ell$ was obtained.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 1986

There are some evidence for the presence of more than one type of calcium channels. To investigate whether organic calcium antagonist sensitive calcium channels exist in the isolated sarcolemmal membrane, we prepared high KCl-loaded sarcolemmal vesicle from the procine small instine, and induced calcium transport by high $K^+$ concentration or by electrical stimulation after preincubation of KCl-loaded vesicle in the low potassium solution. Calcium transport induced by high $K^+$ concentration (84.7mM) was significantly increased (p<0.05), compared with that by low $K^+$ concentration (2.08 mM), and not inhibited by diltiazem $(10^{-6}\;M)$. Calcium transport was inactivated with time. By continuous electrical stimulation (3V, 15Hz, 25m see), calcium transport was markedly increased, and inhibited significantly by dilltiazem $(10^{-6}\;M)$ and nifedipine $(10^{-6}\;M)$ (p<0.005), compared with the value of control without electrical stimulation. Calcium transport by electrical stimulation was not inactivated with time for at least 2 min. From these results, it was concluded that there was organic calcium antagonist sensitive channel in the isolated intestinal sarcolemma membrane, which was activated by electrical stimulation.