• 대한한의학회지
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• 제29권5호
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• pp.29-40
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• 2008

Objectives : It has been reported that Sophorae Subprostratae Radix (SSR) has a neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia in animals. In the present study, the authors investigated the neuroprotective effect of SSR on glutamate excitotoxicity. Glutamate excitotoxicity was induced by using NMDA, AMPA, and KA in PC12 cells and in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. Methods :Methanolic extract of SSR was added at 0.5, 5, and 50 ${\mu}$g/ml to culture media for 24 hours. The effects of SSR were evaluated by measuring of cell viability, PI-stained neuronal cell death, TUNEL-positive cells, and MAP-2 immunoreactivity. Results : SSR increased PC12 cell viabilities significantly against AMPA-induced excitotoxicity, but not against NMDA-induced or KA-induced excitotoxicity. In organotypic hippocampal slice cultures damaged by NMDA-induced excitotoxicity, SSR attenuated neuronal cell death significantly in the CA1, CA3, and DG hippocampal regions and reduced TUNEL-positive cells significantly in CA1 and DG regions. In organotypic hippocampal slice cultures damaged by AMPA-induced excitotoxicity, SSR attenuated neuronal cell death and reduced TUNEL-positive cell numbers significantly in the CA1 and DG regions. In organotypic hippocampal slice cultures damaged by KA-induced excitotoxicity, SSR attenuated neuronal cell death significantly in CA3, but did not reduce TUNEL-positive cell numbers in CA1, CA3 or DG. In organotypic hippocampal slice cultures damaged by NMDA-induced excitotoxicity, SSR attenuated pyramidal neuron neurite retraction and degeneration in CA1. Conclusions : These results suggest that the neuroprotective effects of SSR are related to antagonistic effects on the NMDA and AMPA receptors of neuronal cells damaged by excitotoxicity and ischemia.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.129-138
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• 2002

Objective: This study was to compare the characteristics between parthenogenetic mES (P-mES) cells and in vitro fertilization mES cells. Materials and Methods: Mouse oocytes were recovered from superovulated 4 wks hybrid F1 (C57BL/6xCBA/N) female mice. For parthenogenetic activation, oocytes were treated with 7% ethanol for 5 min and $5{\mu}g$/ml cytochalasin-B for 4 h. For IVF, oocytes were inseminated with epididymal sperm of hybrid F1 male mice ($1{times}10^6/ml$). IVF and parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in M16 medium for 4 days. Cell number count of blastocysts in those two groups was taken by differential labelling using propidium iodide (red) and bisbenzimide (blue). To establish ES cells, b1astocysts in IVF and parthenogenetic groups were treated by immunosurgery and recovered inner cell mass (ICM) cells were cultured in LIF added ES culture medium. To identify ES cells, the surface markers alkaline phosphatase, SSEA-1, 3,4 and Oct4 staining were examined in rep1ated ICM colonies. Chromosome numbers in P-mES and mES were checked. Also, in vitro differentiation potential of P-mES and mES was examined. Results: Although the cleavage rate (${\geq}$2-cell) was not different between IVF (76.3%) and parthenogenetic group (67.0%), in vitro development rate was significantly low in parthenogenetic group (24.0%) than IVF group (68.4%) (p<0.05). Cell number count of ICM and total cell in parthenogenetic b1astocysts ($9.6{\pm}3.1,\;35.1{\pm}5.2$) were signficantly lower than those of IVF blastocysts ($19.5{\pm}4.7,\;63.2{\pm}13.0$) (p<0.05). Through the serial treatment procedure such as immunosurgery, plating of ICM and colony formation, two ICM colonies in IVF group (mES, 10.0%) and three ICM colonies (P-mES, 42.9%) in parthenogenetic group were able to culture for extended duration (25 and 20 passages, respectively). Using surface markers, alkaline phosphatase, SSEA-l and Oct4 in P-mES and mES colony were positively stained. The number of chromosome was normal in ES colony from two groups. Also, in vitro neural and cardiac cell differentiation derived from mES or P-mES cells was confirmed. Conclusion: This study suggested that P-mES cells can be successfully established and that those cell lines have similar characteristics to mES cells.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.597-610
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• 2001

Normal gingival fibroblasts functioning is fundamental for the maintenance of periodontal connective tissue as well as wound healing. Nicotine have been found to affect DNA synthesis and cell proliferation, which appear to depend on the type of cells. This in vitro study was done to determine the effects of nicotine, a major component of tobacco, on cell proliferation, viability, activity, cell cycle distribution, and expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins in human gingival fibroblasts. Nicotine has been tested for 2 days or 4 days in 5 different concentrations; $0.1{\mu}g/ml$; $1{\mu}g/ml$; $10{\mu}g/ml$; $100{\mu}g/ml$; $1000{\mu}g/ml$. To assess cell proliferation and viability, viable and non-viable cells were counted by hemocytometer; to evaluate cellular activity, MTT assay was employed; to analyze cell cycle distribution, fluorescent propidium iodide-DNA complex were measured using fluorocytometer; to determine the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins, western blot analysis was performed. After 2 days and 4 days incubation respectively, at concentrations of $1{\mu}g/ml$ - $1000{\mu}g/ml$, nicotine significantly inhibited proliferation comparing to non-supplemented controls. The cell viability was significantly decreased after 2 days and 4 days at concentrations of $1{\mu}g/ml$ - $1000{\mu}g/ml$ and at $10{\mu}g/ml$ - $1000{\mu}g/ml$ respectively. After 2 days and 4 days, the cellular activity was significantly decreased at concentrations of $10{\mu}g/ml$ - $1000{\mu}g/ml$. Treatment with $100{\mu}g/ml$ nicotine for 48 hours caused an increase in the proportion of G1-phase cells (from 46.41% to 53.46%) and a decrease in the proportion of S-phase cells (from 17.80% to 14.27%). The levels of cyclin $D_1$ and CDK 4 proteins in nicotine-treated fibroblasts were lower than that of controls, whereas the levels of p16 and pRB were higher than that of controls. These results suggest that the decrease of cell proliferation and lengthened Gap phases (G1) by nicotine may due to the increased expression of p16 and pRB as well as decreased expression of cyclin $D_1$ and CDK 4 in human gingival fibroblasts.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.295-305
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• 2017

Purpose: We previously found that the histone methyltransferase suppressor of variegation, enhancer of zeste, trithorax and myeloid-nervy-deformed epidermal autoregulatory factor-1 domain-containing protein 3 (SMYD3) is a potential independent predictive factor or prognostic factor for overall survival in gastric cancer patients, but its roles seem to differ from those in other cancers. Therefore, in this study, the detailed functions of SMYD3 in cell proliferation and migration in gastric cancer were examined. Materials and Methods: SMYD3 was overexpressed or suppressed by transfection with an expression plasmid or siRNA, and a wound healing migration assay and Transwell assay were performed to detect the migration and invasion ability of gastric cancer cells. Additionally, an MTT assay and clonogenic assay were performed to evaluate cell proliferation, and a cell cycle analysis was performed by propidium iodide staining. Furthermore, the expression of genes implicated in the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) pathway and proteins involved in cell cycle regulation were detected by polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. Results: Compared with control cells, gastric cancer cells transfected with si-SMYD3 showed lower migration and invasion abilities (P<0.05), and the absence of SMYD3 halted cells in G2/M phase and activated the ATM pathway. Furthermore, the opposite patterns were observed when SMYD3 was elevated in normal gastric cells. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that the absence of SMYD3 could inhibit the migration, invasion, and proliferation of gastric cancer cells and halt cells in G2/M phase via the ATM-CHK2/p53-Cdc25C pathway. These findings indicated that SMYD3 plays crucial roles in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells and may be a useful therapeutic target in human gastric carcinomas.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.301-309
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• 1997

본 연구에서는 체외수정, 난자내 정자 직접주입, 난자내 정자 두부 미두 주입 후의 핵과 미세소관의 변화를 관찰하였다. 핵과 미세소관의 움직임은 형광염색을 실시한 후 공초점주사현미경을 이용하여 관찰하였다. 체외수정에서 관찰된 바와 동일하게 정자를 난자에 직접주입 한 직후 정자 중편부에서 성상체가 형성되었고, 이 성상체에 의해 자성 웅성 전핵이 융합되는 것으로 관찰되었다. 그러나 난자내 정자를 직접주입하였을 경우 웅성전핵으로 발달하는 비율이 낮았다. 이는 주입된 정자가 원형질막과 perinuclear theca에 싸인 체 난자내로 들어가 난자내의 sperm nucleus decondensing factor와 정자 핵과의 반응이 억제되기 때문으로 생각된다. 정자 두부 만을 주입하였을 경우 성상체가 형성되지 않았지만 자성 웅성 전핵 사이 또는 그 주위에서 두터운 미세소관층이 관찰이 되었다. 따라서 소에 있어서는 정자의 중편부에 위치하여 microtubule organizing center (MTOC)의 역할을 하는 중심립 또는 중심체 없이도 모계에서 유래된 미세소관이 형성되어 이것이 전핵의 융합과 세포분열에 관여하는 것으로 생각된다. 정자의 미부 만을 주입하였을 경우 성상체가 형성이 되지 않았으며, 자성핵 사이에 형성된 미세소관과 떨어져서 관찰되었다. 따라서 주입된 정자의 꼬리는 미세소관형성과 관련이 없는 것으로 생각된다. 이러한 결과는 소에 있어서, 수정 시 정자로부터 유래되는 중심립 또는 중심체가 없이도 미세소관을 형성하여 미세소관에 의해 이후의 배발달이 정상적으로 일어남을 보여주고 있다.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.258-266
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• 2020

Background: Oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis is a key pathological process in ischemic heart disease. Glutathione reductase (GR) reduces glutathione disulfide to glutathione (GSH) to alleviate oxidative stress. Ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) prevents the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes; however, the role of GR in this process is unclear. Therefore, the effects of GRb1 on GR were investigated in this study. Methods: The antiapoptotic effects of GRb1 were evaluated in H9C2 cells by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, annexin V/propidium iodide staining, and Western blotting. The antioxidative effects were measured by a reactive oxygen species assay, and GSH levels and GR activity were examined in the presence and absence of the GR inhibitor 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were used to investigate the binding of GRb1 to GR. The direct influence of GRb1 on GR was confirmed by recombinant human GR protein. Results: GRb1 pretreatment caused dose-dependent inhibition of tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced cell apoptosis, at a level comparable to that of the positive control N-acetyl-L-cysteine. The binding energy between GRb1 and GR was positive (-6.426 kcal/mol), and the binding was stable. GRb1 significantl reduced reactive oxygen species production and increased GSH level and GR activity without altering GR protein expression in H9C2 cells. Moreover, GRb1 enhanced the recombinant human GR protein activity in vitro, with a half-maximal effective concentration of ≈2.317 μM. Conversely, 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea co-treatment significantly abolished the GRb1's apoptotic and antioxidative effects of GRb1 in H9C2 cells. Conclusion: GRb1 is a potential natural GR agonist that protects against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis of H9C2 cells.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제24권9호
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• pp.1012-1018
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• 2014

제주조릿대(Sasa quelpaertensis Nakai)는 한라산에 넓게 분포되어 자생하는 식물로 최근 연구에서 항염증, 항당뇨, 항산화, 항암 효능을 가지는 것으로 알려져 있으나 대장암에서의 항암 효능 및 그에 따른 mechanism에 대해서는 명확히 밝혀지지 않았다. 본 연구에서는 인간 대장암 HT-29 세포를 대상으로 제주조릿대에 의한 항암작용과 기전에 대해 조사하였다. 제주조릿대에 의한 HT-29 세포의 증식 억제가 apoptosis 유도와 연관성이 있음을 DNA fragmentation와 flow cytometry 분석에 의한 sub-G1기의 세포빈도의 증가로 확인하였다. 제주조릿대에 의한 apoptosis 유발은 HT-29 세포의 S arrest 현상을 동반하였을 뿐만 아니라 발생한 산화질소의 증가와 anti-apoptotic factor인 IAP family (survivin, XIAP, cIAP-1, cIAP-2) 발현이 감소함으로써 촉진되었음을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과들은 제주조릿대가 대장암에 대한 치료제로서의 사용 가능성을 확인할 수 있었지만 이를 입증하기 위해서는 더 자세한 항암기전에 관한 연구가 진행되어야 한다고 사료된다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제37권11호
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• pp.785-794
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• 2014

Mitophagy, a cellular process that selectively targets dysfunctional mitochondria for degradation, is currently a hot topic in research into the pathogenesis and treatment of many human diseases. Considering that hypoxia causes mitochondrial dysfunction, which results in cell death, we speculated that selective activation of mitophagy might promote cell survival under hypoxic conditions. In the present study, we introduced the Regulator of calcineurin 1-1L (Rcan1-1L) to initiate the mitophagy pathway and aimed to evaluate the effect of Rcan1-1L-induced mitophagy on cell survival under hypoxic conditions. Recombinant adenovirus vectors carrying Rcan1-1L were transfected into human umbilical vein endothelial cells and human adult cardiac myocytes. Using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide MTT assay and Trypan blue exclusion assay, Rcan1-1L overexpression was found to markedly reverse cell growth inhibition induced by hypoxia. Additionally, Rcan1-1L overexpression inhibited cell apoptosis under hypoxic conditions, as detected by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) apoptosis assay. Meanwhile, the mitochondria-mediated cell apoptotic pathway was inhibited by Rcan1-1L. In contrast, knockdown of Rcan1-1L accelerated hypoxia-induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, Rcan1-1L overexpression significantly reduced mitochondrial mass, decreased depolarized mitochondria, and downregulated ATP and reactive oxygen species production. We further delineated that the loss of mitochondrial mass was due to the activation of mitophagy induced by Rcan1-1L. Rcan1-1L overexpression activated autophagy flux and promoted translocation of the specific mitophagy receptor Parkin into mitochondria from the cytosol, whereas inhibition of autophagy flux resulted in the accumulation of Parkin-loaded mitochondria. Finally, we demonstrated that mitochondrial 1permeability transition pore opening was significantly increased by Rcan1-1L overexpression, which suggested that Rcan1-1L might evoke mitophagy through regulating mitochondrial permeability transition pores. Taken together, we provide evidence that Rcan1-1L overexpression induces mitophagy, which in turn contributes to cell survival under hypoxic conditions, revealing for the first time that Rcan1-1L-induced mitophagy may be used for cardioprotection.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.30-36
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• 2006

호중구의 세포사멸은 자연적으로 일어나지만 여러 외부자극에 의한 신호의 전달에 의하여 증가하거나 지연된다. 본 연구에서는 항암, 항생제로 개발된 프레닐 페놀계인 ascochlorin의 유도체 중에서 백혈구 암의 세포사멸을 유도하는 4-O-methyl-ascochlorin (MAC)이 호중구의 자연 세포사멸 및 지연되는 세포사멸에 어떠한 영향을 미치는가와 그 작용기작을 연구하였다. 호중구의 세포사멸은 사람 말초 혈액으로부터 분리하여 세포 배양 시간에 따라 형태 변화, annexin-V/propidium iodide의 염색, 및 DNA 전기영동 등으로 조사하였다. MAC는 농도 및 시간 의존 형으로 호중구의 세포사멸을 증가시켰다. 그러나 granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor나 lipopolysaccharide 등에 의한 세포사멸의 지연은 MAC에 의하여 부분적으로 억제되었다. MAC에 의한 세포사멸의 유도는 pancaspase, caspase-8 및 caspase-3 억제제인 zVAD-fmk. zIETD-fmk, 및 zDEVD-fmk에 의하여 억제되었으며 procaspase-8과 procaspase-3의 단백질 양도 MAC로 처리한 호중구에서 현저히 감소하였다. 미토콘드리아 막 투과성은 MAC에 의하여 현저히 감소하였으나 zVAD-fmk에 의하여 완전히 봉쇄되지 못하였다. 이들 결과 들은 MAC에 의한 호중구 세포사멸의 증가는 caspase-8 및 caspase-3의 활성을 통하여 일어나지만 미토콘드리아의 막성분에는 영향이 없다는 것을 제시하고 있다.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제34권6호
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• pp.957-966
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• 2021

Objective: Ovarian follicular development, which dependent on the proliferation and differentiation of granulosa cells (GCs), is a complex biological process in which miRNA plays an important role. Our previous study showed that miR-458b-5p is associated with ovarian follicular development in chicken. The detailed function and molecular mechanism of miR-458b-5p in GCs is unclear. Methods: The luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-458b-5p and catenin beta-1 (CTNNB1), which is an important transcriptional regulatory factor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, flow cytometry with propidium iodide (PI) and annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeling were applied to explore the effect of miR-458b-5p on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of chicken GCs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels. Results: We demonstrated that the expression of miR-458b-5p and CTNNB1 showed the opposite relationship in GCs and theca cells of hierarchical follicles. The luciferase reporter assay confirmed that CTNNB1 is the direct target of miR-458b-5p. Using CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry with PI and Annexin V-FITC labeling, we observed that transfection with the miR-458b-5p mimics significantly reduced proliferation and has no effects on apoptosis of chicken GCs. In addition, miR-458b-5p decreased the mRNA and protein expression of CD44 molecule and matrix metallopeptidase 7, which are the downstream effectors of CTNNB1 in Wnt/β-Catenin pathway and play functional roles in cell proliferation. Conclusion: Taken together, the data indicate that miR-458b-5p regulates ovarian GCs proliferation through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by targeting CTNNB1, suggesting that miR-458b-5p and its target gene CTNNB1 may potentially play a role in chicken ovarian follicular development.