• BMB Reports
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• 제54권9호
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• pp.464-469
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• 2021

Cardiomyocyte differentiation occurs through complex and finely regulated processes including cardiac lineage commitment and maturation from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). To gain some insight into the genome-wide characteristics of cardiac lineage commitment, we performed transcriptome analysis on both mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and human induced PSCs (hiPSCs) at specific stages of cardiomyocyte differentiation. Specifically, the gene expression profiles and the protein-protein interaction networks of the mESC-derived platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFRα)⁺ cardiac lineage-committed cells (CLCs) and hiPSC-derived kinase insert domain receptor (KDR)⁺ and PDGFRα⁺ cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) at cardiac lineage commitment were compared with those of mesodermal cells and differentiated cardiomyocytes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses revealed that the genes significantly upregulated at cardiac lineage commitment were associated with responses to organic substances and external stimuli, extracellular and myocardial contractile components, receptor binding, gated channel activity, PI3K-AKT signaling, and cardiac hypertrophy and dilation pathways. Protein-protein interaction network analysis revealed that the expression levels of genes that regulate cardiac maturation, heart contraction, and calcium handling showed a consistent increase during cardiac differentiation; however, the expression levels of genes that regulate cell differentiation and multicellular organism development decreased at the cardiac maturation stage following lineage commitment. Additionally, we identified for the first time the protein-protein interaction network connecting cardiac development, the immune system, and metabolism during cardiac lineage commitment in both mESC-derived PDGFRα⁺ CLCs and hiPSC-derived KDR⁺PDGFRα⁺ CPCs. These findings shed light on the regulation of cardiac lineage commitment and the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.833-842
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• 2020

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a commonly encountered large intestine disease in the contemporary world that terminates into colorectal cancer; therefore, the timely treatment of UC is of major concern. Panax ginseng Meyer is an extensively consumed herbal commodity in South East Asian countries, especially Korea. It exhibits a wide range of biologically beneficial qualities for almost head-to-toe ailments in the body. Epimedium koreanum Nakai (EKN) is also a widely used traditional Korean herbal medicine used for treating infertility, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases. Materials and methods: Separately the anti-inflammatory activities of both red ginseng extracts (RGEs) and EKNs had been demonstrated in the past in various inflammatory models; however, we sought to unravel the anti-inflammatory activities of the combination of these two extracts in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice model because the allopathic remedies for UC involve more side effects than benefits. Results: Our results have shown that the combination of RGE + EKN synergistically alleviated the macroscopic lesions in DSS-induced colitic mice such as colon shortening, hematochezia, and weight loss. Moreover, it restored the histopathological lesions in mice and decreased the levels of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines through the repression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP-3) expression. In vitro, this combination also reduced the magnitude of nitric acid (NO), proinflammatory mediators and cytokine through NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells. Conclusion: In the light of these findings, we can endorse this combination extract as a functional food for the prophylactic as well as therapeutic treatment of UC in humans together with allopathic remedies.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.36-43
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• 2011

Glycate화된 단백질이 혈관질환의 발생에 관여하는지 알아보기 위하여 glycated albumin (GA)이 혈관평활근 세포에서 인터루킨-6 발현에 영향을 주는지 조사하고 또한 그 기전을 구명하였다. GA에 노출된 혈관평활근세포에서 인터루킨-6 transcript가 증가하고, 인터루킨-6 단백질의 분비가 증가하고, 또한 인터루킨-6 유전자의 promoter가 활성화되었다. GA에 의한 인터루킨-6 유전자의 promoter 활성화는 dominant negative 형태의 Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4와 myeloid differentiation factor 88 (Myd88)에 의하여 크게 감소되었지만, dominant negative 형태의 TLR-2와 TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-$\beta$ (TRIF)의 영향을 받지 않았다. 그리고 Extrcellular signal-related kinase (ERK) 억제 물질들은 GA에 의한 인터루킨-6의 분비 및 인터루킨-6 유전자 promoter 활성화를 억제하였다. 그리고 인터루킨-6 유전자의 promoter의 NF-${\kappa}B$-binding sequence에 변이는 GA에 의한 인터루킨-6 유전자의 promoter 활성화 억제하였다. 이러한 결과는 혈관평활근세포에서 GA에 의한 인터루킨-6 유전자 활성화에 TLR-4와 ERK 및 NF-${\kappa}B$가 관여함을 의미한다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권7호
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• pp.1165-1176
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• 2019

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), produced by Clostridium botulinum, are the most toxic substances known. However, the number of currently approved medical countermeasures for these toxins is very limited. Therefore, studies on therapeutic antitoxins are essential to prepare for toxin-related emergencies. Currently, more than 10,000 Halla horses, a crossbreed between the native Jeju and Thoroughbred horses, are being raised in Jeju Island of Korea. They can be used for equine antitoxin experiments and production of hyperimmune serum against BoNT/A1. Instead of the inactivated BoNT/A1 toxoid, Halla horse was immunized with the receptor-binding domain present in the C-terminus of heavy chain of BoNT/A1 (BoNT/A1-HCR) expressed in Escherichia coli. The anti-BoNT/A1-HCR antibody titer increased rapidly by week 4, and this level was maintained for several weeks after boosting immunization. Notably, $20{\mu}l$ of the week-24 BoNT/A1-HCR(-immunized) equine serum showed an in vitro neutralizing activity of over 8 international units (IU) of a reference equine antitoxin. Furthermore, $20{\mu}l$ of equine serum and $100{\mu}g$ of purified equine $F(ab^{\prime})_2$ showed 100% neutralization of 10,000 $LD_{50}$ in vivo. The results of this study shall contribute towards optimizing antitoxin production for BoNT/A1, which is essential for emergency preparedness and response.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.618-628
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• 1999

연구배경: 세포성장은 세포증식과 세포죽음의 균형에 의해 이루어 진다. 세포성장에 관여하는 여러 growth factor증 IGF-I은 IGF-IR와 결합하여 세포증식을 유발하는 mitogen으로 알려져 있다. 또한 IGF-I에 결합하는 IGFBPs중에 IGFBP-3는 혈액내에 가장 많은 carrier protein으로, IGF-I과 결합하여 IGF-I의 세포증식 효과를 증가 혹은 억제시킨다. 방 법: 3T3 fibroblast 세포를 이용하여 IGF-I과 IGF-IR transcripts를 northern blot으로 확인하고, IGF-I에 의한 mitogenic effect를 MTT assay 및 $^3H$-thymidine incorporation test로 관찰하고, IGF-I의 receptor인 IGF-IR의 활성화를 보기 위해 intracellular $\beta$-subunit의 tyrosine kinase domain의 phosphorylation을 western blot으로 관찰하였다. 또한 IGFBP-3가 3T3 세포에서 mitogenic effect에 미치는 영향을 보기 위해 anti-IGFBP-3와 ${\alpha}IR_3$을 단독 및 병용투여하여 관찰하였다. 결 과: 3T3 세포는 IGF-I와 IGF-IR의 mRNA expression을 보였으며, IGF-I을 투여시 IGF-IR의 intracelluar cytoplasmic protein인 $\beta$-subunit의 tyrosine kinase domain을 phosphorylation시켜 활성화시키며, 5%, 1% serum-containing media에서 세포증식을 보였으나, serum-free media에서는 세포증식을 보이지 않았다. 또한 anti-IGFBP-3 투여와 ${\alpha}IR_3$과 anti-IGFBP-3를 병용투여시는 세포종식이 각각 2배이상 증가하였으나, ${\alpha}IR_3$을 4시간 전처치후 ${\alpha}IR_3$과 anti-IGFBP-3를 병용투여시는 anti-IGFBP-3에 의한 세포종식이 보이지 않은 것으로 보아 IGF -I/IGFBP-3 결합에서 분리되는 free IGF-I어l 의해 세포증식이 유도된 것으로 생각된다. 결 론: IGF-I은 IGF-IR를 phosphorylation시켜 mitogenic effect를 보이며, IGFBP-3는 IGF-I의 mitogenic effect를 억제하는 것으로 생각된다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.304-310
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• 2006

Transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) regulates the induction of Phase II detoxifying enzymes and antioxidant enzymes in response to many cancer chemopreventive compounds. In this study, we investigated the role of receptor associated coactivator (RAC3) or steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC3) and other nuclear co-regulators including CBP/p300 (CREB-binding protein), CARM1 (Coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase), PRMT1 (Protein arginine methyl-transferase 1), and p/CAF (p300/CBP-associated factor) in the transcriptional activation of a chimeric Gal4-Nrf2-Luciferase system containing the transactivation domain (TAD) of Nrf2 in HepG2 cells. The results indicated that RAC3 up-regulated the transactivation activity of Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370) in a dose-dependent manner. The enhancement of transactivation domain activity of Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370) by RAC3 was dampened in the presence of dominant negative mutants of RAC3. Next we studied the effects of other nuclear co-regulators including CBP/p300, CARM1, PRMT1 and p/CAF, and the results showed that they had different level of positive effects on this transactivation domain activity of Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370). But importantly, synergistic effects of these co-regulators in the presence of RAC3/SRC3 on the transactivation activity of Gal4-Nrf2-(1-370) were observed. In summary, our present study showed for the first time that the 160 RAC3/SRC3 is involved in the functional transactivation of TAD of Nrf2 and that the other nuclear co-regulators such as CBP/p300, CARM1, PRMT1 and p/CAF can also transcriptionally activate this TAD of Nrf2 and that they could further enhance the transactivation activity mediated by RAC3/SRC3.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.248-257
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• 2009

Vibrio harveyi 쿼럼 센싱 (quorum sensing; QS) 신호전달에 대한 저해제들이 주 신호물질인 N-3-hydroxybutanoyl-L-homoserine lactone(3-OH-$C_4$-HSL)의 분자 구조를 변형함에 의해 개발되었다. 일련의 구조 변형체들인 N-(3-hyoxysulfonyl)-L-homoserine lactones(HSHLs)들은 고체상 유기합성법 (solid-phase organic synthesis method)으로 합성되었다. 이 물질들의 생체내 쿼럼 센싱 저해능이 V. harveyi 발광을 이용한 bloassay를 system에 의해 측정되었을 때, 모두 의미있는 저해효과를 보여주었다. 이 물질들과 3-OH-$C_4$-HSL 수용체 단백질인 LuxN 사이의 상호작용을 분석하기 위하여 LuxN의 신호 결합 부위를 다른 acyl-HSL 결합 단백질들과의 유사성에 기초하여 시험적으로 결정하였다. 이 추정 신호결합 부위의 부분적 삼차구조를 ORCHESTRA program을 이용하여 예측하였으며, 이 부위 내에서 3-OH-$C_4$-HSL와 HSHLs의 결합 형태와 에너지를 계산하였다. 이렇게 모델링을 통해 얻어진 결과와 생체 내 bioassay를 통해 얻어진 결과의 비교를 통해, 수용체 단백질과 그 리간드 사이의 상호 작용에 관한 in silica 해석이 특히 단백질의 삼차 구조에 대한 정보가 제한적인 경우에 보다 나은 저해제 개발을 위한 유용한 방법이 될 수 있음을 제안한다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.81-89
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• 2004

Tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$) and lymphotoxin-$\alpha$ (LT-$\alpha$, TNF-$\beta$) can initiate and perpetuate human diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). TNFs can be blocked by the use of soluble TNF receptors. However, since monomeric soluble receptors generally exhibit low affinity or function as agonists, the use of monomeric soluble receptors has been limited in the case of cytokines such as TNF-$\alpha$, TNF-$\alpha$, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-13, which have adapted to a multi component receptor system. For these reasons, very high-affinity inhibitors were created for the purpose of a TNFs antagonist to bind the TNFR and trigger cellular signal by using the multistep polymerase chain reaction method. First, recombinant simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were constructed from the cDNA sequences encoding the extracellular domain of the human p55 TNFR (CD120a) and the human p75 TNFR (CD120b), which were linked to hinge and constant regions of human $IgG_1$ heavy chain, respectively using complementary primers (CP) encoding the complementary sequences. Then, concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were constructed using recombinant PCR and a complementary primer base of recombinant simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins. For high level expression of recombinant fusion proteins, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were used with a retroviral expression system. The transfected cells produced the simple concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins capable of binding TNF and inactivating it. These soluble versions of simple concantameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins gave rise to multiple forms such as simple dimers and concatameric homodimers. Simple TNFR-1g fusion proteins were shown to have much more reduced TNF inhibitory activity than concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins. Concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins showed higher affinity than simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins in a receptor inhibitor binding assay (RIBA). Additionally, concatameric TNFR-Ig fusion proteins were shown to have a progressive effect as a TNF inhibitor compared to the simple TNFR-Ig fusion proteins and conventional TNFR-Fc in cytotoxicity assays, and showed the same results for collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in mice in vivo.

• 대한약학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한약학회 2001년도 Proceedings of International Convention of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea
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• pp.109-113
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• 2001

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) has been shown to modulate transactivations by the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)$\gamma$ and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF$\kappa$B). In this study, the oxLDL signaling pathways involved with the NF$\kappa$B transactivation were investigated by utilizing a reporter construct driven by three upstream NF$\kappa$B binding sites, and various pharmacological inhibitors. OxLDL and its constituent lysophophatidylcholine (lysoPC) induced a rapid and transient increase of intracellular calcium and stimulated the NF-KB transactivation in resting RAW264.7 macrophage cells in an oxidation-dependent manner. The NF$\kappa$B activation by oxLDL or lysoPC was inhibited by protein kinase C inhibitors or an intracellular calcium chelator. Tyrosine kinase or PI3 kinase inhibitors did not block the NF$\kappa$B transactivation. Furthermore, the oxLDL-induced NF$\kappa$B activity was abolished by the PPAR$\gamma$ ligands. When the endocytosis of oxLDL was blocked by cytochalasin B, the NF$\kappa$B transactivation by oxLDL was synergistically increased, while PPAR transactivation was blocked. These results suggest that oxLDL activates NF-$\kappa$B in resting macrophages via protein kinase C- and/or calcium-dependent pathways, which does not involve the endocytic processing of oxLDL. The endocytosis-dependent PPAR$\gamma$ activation by oxLDL may function as an inactivation route of the oxLDL induced NF$\kappa$B signal. Short heterodimer partner (SHP), specifically expressed in liver and a limited number of other tissues, is an unusual orphan nuclear receptor that lacks the conventional DNA-binding domain. In this work, we found that SHP expression is abundant in murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 but suppressed by oxLDL and its constituent I3-HODE, a ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor y. Furthermore, SHP acted as a transcription coactivator of nuclear factor-$\kappa$B (NF$\kappa$B) and was essential for the previously described NF$\kappa$B transactivation by lysoPC, one of the oxLDL constituents. Accordingly, NF$\kappa$B, transcriptionally active in the beginning, became progressively inert in oxLDL-treated RAW 264.7 cells, as oxLDL decreased the SHP expression. Thus, SHP appears to be an important modulatory component to regulate the transcriptional activities of NF$\kappa$B in oxLDL-treated, resting macrophage cells.

• 한국감성과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국감성과학회 2000년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.91-97
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• 2000

The conventional model did not take momentum conservation into consideration when the electron absorbs and emits the photons. II-ray provides momentum conservations on any directions of the entering photons, and also the electrons have radial momentum conservations and fully elastic bouncing between two atoms, in the new atom model. Conventional atom model must be criticized on the following four points. (1) Natural motions between positive and negative entities are not circular motions but linear going and returning ones, for examples sexual motion, tidal motion, day and night etc. Because the radius of hydrogen atom's electron orbit is the order of 10$^{-11}$ m and the radia of the nucleons in the nucleus are the order of 10$^{-l4}$m and then the converging n-gamma rays to the nucleus have so great circular momentum, the electron can not have a circular motion. We can say without doubt that any elementary mass particle can have only linear motion because of the n-rays' hindrances, near the nucleus. (2) Potential energy generation was neglected when electron changes its orbit from outer one to inner one. The h v is the kinetic energy of the photo-electron. The total energy difference between orbits comprises kinetic and potential energies. (3) The structure of the space must be taken into consideration because the properties of the electron do not change during the transition from outer orbit to inner one even though it produces photon. (4) Total energy conservation law applies to the energy flow between mind and matter because we daily experiences a interconnection between mind and body. An understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the control of normal proliferation and differentiation of the various cell types which make up the human body will undoubtedly allow a greater insight into the abnormal growth of cells, A large body of biochemical evidence was eventually used to generate a receptor model with an external ligand binding domain linked through a single trans-membrane domain to the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase and autophosphory-lation domains. The ligand induced conformational change in the external domain generates either a push-pull or rotational signal which is transduced from the outside to the inside of cell.l.ell.