• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.399-405
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• 2011

Background: Endogenous uveitis is a chronic inflammatory eye disease of human, which frequently leads to blindness. Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) is an animal disease model of human endogenous uveitis and can be induced in susceptible animals by immunization with retinal antigens. EAU resembles the key immunological characteristics of human disease in that both are $CD4^+$ T-cell mediated diseases. Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells that are uniquely capable of activating naive T cells. Regulation of immune responses through modulation of DCs has thus been tried extensively. Recently our group reported that donor strain-derived immature DC pretreatment successfully controlled the adverse immune response during allogeneic transplantation. Methods: EAU was induced by immunization with human interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) $peptide_{1-20}$. Dendritic cells were differentiated from bone marrow in the presence of recombinant GM-CSF. Results: In this study, we used paraformaldehyde-fixed bone marrow-derived DCs to maintain them in an immature state. Pretreatment with fixed immature DCs, but not fixed mature DCs, ameliorated the disease progression of EAU by inhibiting uveitogenic $CD4^+$ T cell activation and differentiation. Conclusion: Application of iBMDC prepared according to the protocol of this study would provide an important treatment modality for the autoimmune diseases and transplantation rejection.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.372-382
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• 2022

Soybean is an important source of protein and for a wide range of agricultural, food, and industrial applications. Soybean is being affected by Xanthomonas citri pv. glycines, a causal pathogen of bacterial pustule disease, result in a reduction in yield and quality. Diverse microbial communities of plants are involved in various plant stresses is known. Therefore, we designed to investigate the microbial community differentiation depending on the infection of X. citri pv. glycines. The microbial community's abundance, diversity, and similarity showed a difference between infected and non-infected soybean. Microbiota community analysis, excluding X. citri pv. glycines, revealed that Pseudomonas spp. would increase the population of the infected soybean. Results of DESeq analyses suggested that energy metabolism, secondary metabolite, and TCA cycle metabolism were actively diverse in the non-infected soybeans. Additionally, Streptomyces bacillaris S8, an endophyte microbiota member, was nominated as a key microbe in the healthy soybeans. Genome analysis of S. bacillaris S8 presented that salinomycin may be the critical antibacterial metabolite. Our findings on the composition of soybean microbiota communities and the key strain information will contribute to developing biological control strategies against X. citri pv. glycines.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.279-288
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• 2017

This study investigated the manufacturing of fermented soybean oil using a fermenting strain commonly processed for soybeans [Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BA), Bacillus subtilis (BS), Lactobacillus acidophilus (LBA), and B. subtilis+L. acidophilus (BLO)] and evaluated its anti-obesity activities. Cytotoxicity of four kinds of fermented soybean oils was not observed in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes at 10 and $50{\mu}g/mL$. Triglyceride content was reduced by 20.6% in the BLO group at a treatment concentration of $50{\mu}g/mL$. The simultaneous treatment of fermented soybean oil and differentiation induction medium decreased $PPAR{\gamma}$ and $C/EBP{\alpha}$ gene expression at a concentration of $50{\mu}g/mL$ and blocked adipocyte differentiation by increasing adiponectin gene expression. The inhibitory effect of adipocyte differentiation was greatest in the BLO group. C57BL/6J mice were examined for 4 weeks after being separated into seven groups [normal diet group (N), high fat diet group (C), group fed high fat diet combined with regular soybean oil (SO), group fed non-fermented soybean oil (NF), and groups fed high fat diet combined with 5% fermented soybean oil (BA, BS, LBA, and BLO)] to identify the effects of soybean oil on body weight, serum lipid, adiponectin, insulin, and leptin levels in mice with high fat diet-induced obesity. The body weight and serum lipid level of the C group increased drastically compared to those of the N group. In contrast, the group fed a diet combined with fermented soybean oil showed decreases in weight, serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels compared to those of the C group. Moreover, soybean oil was found to be effective in the BLO group. In conclusion, fermented soybean oil has positive effects in prohibiting adipocyte differentiation increased by high fat diet and improving serum lipid composition. Therefore, fermented soybean oil can be used as a functional food material with anti-obesity activity.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.283-292
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• 1986

Isolation and identification of Mycoplasma were performed to clarify Mycoplasma infection of mice fed by conventional feeding at two ($K_1$, $K_2$) institutes in Korea. The twenty mice to be tested were randomly sampled from each of 10 breeding colonies in respective institute. Identification of the Mycoplasma strains isolated from the nasal cavity, lung and synovia of mice was made according to the morphology of colonies, biological and biochemical properties with special reference to M. pulmonis, M. arthrotodis and M. neurolyticum. In addition, growth inhibition test was performed using hyperimmune rabbit antisera to the strain PG-22 of M. pulmonis, the strain PG-6 of M, arthritidis and the strain PG-28 of M. neurolyticum and also differentiation of isolates from L-form bacteria was dont by Dieses staining and culture method with passage of the isolates on liquid media eliminated antibacterial drug. On the other hand, a total of 13 strains out of the 44 isolated M. pulmonis from mice was investigated for their susceptibility against 16 antibiotics in vitro. The antibiotic sensitivity test was made using $3{\times}10^4$ organisms/0.3ml on each plate(90mm diameter) with antibiotic mono-or tri-disk. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. Out of 20 mice from 10 breeding colonies in Kl institute, mycoplasma-like strains from the nasal cavity of 16 mice(80%) and from the lung of 8 mice(40%) were isolated, while out of 20 mice in K2 institute, M-like strains were isolated from the nasal cavity of 14 mice(70%) and from the lung of 6 mice(30%). However, no mycoplasma-like organisms were isolated from the synovia of the 40 mice examined. All the 44 strains isolated were identified as the organisms of M. pulmonis. 2. Out of the 16 antibiotics tested, penicillin, oleandomycin and bacitracin showed no activity against all the 13 M. pulmonis strains. On the contrary, lincomycin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, minocycline, kanamycin, gentamycin and tobramycin showed high activity with three different antibiotic concentration of tridisk, but amikasin and spiramycin showed intermediate activity. Other antibiotics such as polymyxin B and colistin showed low activity, while erythromycin showed lower activity than others.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2017

The red alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla, a species native to the waters of Korea and Japan, has invaded marine coastal areas of Europe and the Americas, thriving in conditions that differ from those of its native habitat. In recent years, G. vermiculophylla has been discovered in the Long Island Sound (LIS) estuary growing alongside the native congener Gracilaria tikvahiae. The goal of this study was to determine whether the two strains of G. vermiculophylla from different regions of the world have evolved genetic differences (i.e., ecotypic differentiation) or if the physiological performance of the strains simply reflects phenotypic plasticity. Two strains of G. vermiculophylla (isolated in Korea and LIS) and a strain of the LIS native G. tikvahiae were grown for four weeks under temperatures ranging from 20 to $34^{\circ}C$ using a temperature gradient table (all other environmental conditions were kept constant). At the end of each week, wet weight of each sample was recorded, and thalli were reduced to the original stocking density of $1gL^{-1}$ (excess biomass was preserved for tissue carbon and nitrogen analysis). Generally, the growth rates of Korean G. vermiculophylla > LIS G. vermiculophylla > G. tikvahiae. After one week of growth G. tikvahiae grew 9.1, 12.0, 9.4, and 0.2% $d^{-1}$, at temperatures of 20, 24, 29, and $34^{\circ}C$, respectively, while G. vermiculophylla (LIS) grew 6.6, 6.2, 5.7, and 3.6% $d^{-1}$. G. vermiculophylla (Korea) grew 15.4, 22.9, 23.2, and 10.1% $d^{-1}$, much higher than the two strains currently inhabiting the LIS. On average, the LIS G. vermiculophylla strain contained 4-5% DW N, while the Korean strain and G. tikvahiae had more modest levels of 2-3% N DW. However, tissue N content declined as temperature increased in LIS and Korean G. vermiculophylla. The non-native haplotype may have evolved genetic differences resulting in lower growth capacity while concentrating significantly more nitrogen, giving the non-native a competitive advantage.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.218-226
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• 2022

Flammulina velutipes, known as winter mushroom in the family of Physalacriaceae, is the main edible and export mushroom with the third highest production after oyster and king oyster mushroom in Korea. However, as normal consumers regard F. velutipes as a simple subsidiary material, there is a limitation to increasing mushroom demand. In order to overcome the consumption limit and increase the differentiation of new varieties, it is necessary to breed varieties with enhanced functionality in consideration of consumer preferences. Therefore, the study was performed to analyze nutrient components and several useful functional substances with 26 genetic resources of F. velutipes. Analyses of inorganic compound(Ca, K, Mg) and 15 amino acids revealed that Strain 4148 had the highest content among the 26 strains. Beta-glucan, which increases immune activity and polyphenol, which exert antioxidant effects were higher in non-white strains than in white strains with a small number of exceptions. Among the five fatty acids, linoleic acid(an omega-6 fatty acid) and α-linolenic acid(an omega-3 fatty acid), were detected in six mushroom strains. α-linolenic acid, which was not found in five major mushrooms including oyster mushrooms, was identified in F. velutipes. The results of HPLC analysis showed that 'Auram' (Strain 4232) and 'Baekseung'(Strain 4230) had the highest content of the stabilizing neurotransmitter GABA(15.38 ㎍/ml and 20.56 ㎍/ml, respectively) among non-white and white strains, respectively. Our findings provide useful information for breeding F. velutipes to obtain strains with enhanced functionality.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.120-122
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• 2007

All living organisms use numerous signal-transduction pathways to sense and respond to their environments and thereby survive and proliferate in a range of biological niches. Molecular dissection of these signalling networks has increased our understanding of these communication processes and provides a platform for therapeutic intervention when these pathways malfunction in disease states, including infection. Owing to the expanding availability of sequenced genomes, a wealth of genetic and molecular tools and the conservation of signalling networks, members of the fungal kingdom serve as excellent model systems for more complex, multicellular organisms. Here, we employed Cryptococcus neoformans as a model system to understand how fungal-signalling circuits operate at the molecular level to sense and respond to a plethora of environmental stresses, including osmoticshock, UV, high temperature, oxidative stress and toxic drugs/metabolites. The stress-activated p38/Hog1 MAPK pathway is structurally conserved in many organisms as diverse as yeast and mammals, but its regulation is uniquely specialized in a majority of clinical Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A and D strains to control differentiation and virulence factor regulation. C. neoformans Hog1 MAPK is controlled by Pbs2 MAPK kinase (MAPKK). The Pbs2-Hog1 MAPK cascade is controlled by the fungal "two-component" system that is composed of a response regulator, Ssk1, and multiple sensor kinases, including two-component.like (Tco) 1 and Tco2. Tco1 and Tco2 play shared and distinct roles in stress responses and drug sensitivity through the Hog1 MAPK system. Furthermore, each sensor kinase mediates unique cellular functions for virulence and morphological differentiation. We also identified and characterized the Ssk2 MAPKKK upstream of the MAPKK Pbs2 and the MAPK Hog1 in C. neoformans. The SSK2 gene was identified as a potential component responsible for differential Hog1 regulation between the serotype D sibling f1 strains B3501 and B3502 through comparative analysis of their meiotic map with the meiotic segregation of Hog1-dependent sensitivity to the fungicide fludioxonil. Ssk2 is the only polymorphic component in the Hog1 MAPK module, including two coding sequence changes between the SSK2 alleles in B3501 and B3502 strains. To further support this finding, the SSK2 allele exchange completely swapped Hog1-related phenotypes between B3501 and B3502 strains. In the serotype A strain H99, disruption of the SSK2 gene dramatically enhanced capsule biosynthesis and mating efficiency, similar to pbs2 and hog1 mutations. Furthermore, ssk2, pbs2, and hog1 mutants are all hypersensitive to a variety of stresses and completely resistant to fludioxonil. Taken together, these findings indicate that Ssk2 is the critical interface protein connecting the two-component system and the Pbs2-Hog1 pathway in C. neoformans.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.1005-1011
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• 2005

Widespread distributions of repetitive DNA elements in bacteria genomes are useful for analysis of genomes and should be exploited to differentiate food-borne pathogenic bacteria among and within species. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) sequence has been used for ERIC-PCR genomic fingerprinting to identify and differentiate bacterial strains from various environmental sources. ERIC-PCH genomic fingerprinting was applied to detect and differentiate four major Gram-negative food-borne bacterial pathogens, Esherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio. Target DNA fragments of pathogens were amplified by ERIC-PCR reactions. Dendrograms of subsequent PCR fingerprinting patterns for each strain were constructed, through which relative similarity coefficients or genetic distances between different strains were obtained numerically. Numerical comparisons revealed ERIC-PCR genotyping is effective for differentiation of strains among and within species of food-borne bacterial pathogens, showing ERIC-PCR fingerprinting methods can be utilized to differentiate isolates from outbreak and to determine their clonal relationships among outbreaks.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.289-297
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• 2000

Background: Staphylococcus aureus (s. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) are major pathogens in community and hospital. And they sometimes cause the outbreak in hospital in the immunocompromised patients. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) has been regarded as a standard method for genotyping in epidemiologic studies, but it is laborious and time-consuming. Infrequent restriction site-polymerase chain reaction (IRS-PCR), a new genotyping methods, was performed to compare the applicability with PFGE. Methods: We performed PFGE and IRS-PCR on S. aurues (n=120) and E. coli (n=117) which were collected clinically in 4 different hospitals. We assessed each method in terms of discriminatory power, quality, and efficiency. Results: In E. coli, the discriminatory power of IRS-PCR was $46.7{\sim}86.7%$, and that of PFGE was $88.9{\sim}96.7%$ according to hospital. But in S. aurues, the discriminatory power of IRS-PCR was $20{\sim}56.7%$, and that of PFGE was $40{\sim}90%$ according to hospital. The typablity and reproducibility of IRS-PCR were 100% of each. PFGE needed four days to complete the procedure, but IRS-PCR could be performed within one day, IRS-PCR showed better resolution than PFGE. Conclusion: In case of gram negative bacteria (like E. coli), IRS-PCR could be a reliable alternative for epidemiologic typing due to better efficiency and comparable discriminatory power. But in the case of gram positive bacteria (like S. aureus), IRS-PCR does not seem to be suitable for the strain-to-strain differentiation. More trials and changes of restriction enzymes or primers could reveal the efficacy of IRS-PCR in the field of molecular typing.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.221-231
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• 2017

This study aimed to investigate the physiological characteristics and anti-obesity effects of a newly isolated bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum K6. L. plantarum K6 showed good ${\alpha}-amylase$ inhibitory activity ($96.78{\pm}3.29%$), ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activity ($92.55{\pm}9.62%$), and lipase inhibitory activity ($85.17{\pm}0.79%$), and the strain inhibited the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells ($27.4{\pm}1.4%$) when present at a concentration of $100{\mu}g/mL$. L. plantarum K6 was isolated from kimchi and its physiological characteristics were investigated. A comparison of the sensitivity of the isolate to 15 different antibiotics showed that L. plantarum K6 is highly sensitive to erythromycin and highly resistant to vancomycin, ampicillin, and polymyxin B. This strain also showed high arylamidase and ${\beta}-galactosidase$ activities. Moreover, it was relatively tolerant to bile acid and low pH, and displayed resistance to Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, with rates of 51.8%, 42.4%, 61.6%, and 54.9%, respectively. No bio genic amines were produced. L. plantarum K6 also showed high adhesion activity to HT-29 cells compared to L. rhamnosus GG. These results demonstrate that Lactobacillus plantarum K6 has potential as a probiotic with anti-obesity effects.