• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.109-113
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• 2009

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of a combined treatment consisting of an isoflavone diet and aerobic exercise on the Caspase 9 levels, and Bcl-2 levels during menopause, using 30 S.D ovariectomized rats as a model, over 12 weeks. The ovariectomized rats were divided into 4 experiment groups, with 8 rats in each group, as follows: (1) General diet group (GD, n=8), (2) Isoflavone diet group (ID, n=8), (3) General diet + Exercise group (GEX, n=8), (4) Isoflavone diet + Exercise group (IEX, n=8). The findings of this study were as follows: 1. Combined treatment consisting of an isoflavone diet and regular exercise resulted in a significant reduction in the expression of caspase-9 proteins (p<0.05), and a significant increase in the expression of Bcl-2 proteins (P<0.001). In addition, apoptotic cells were more decreased (p<0.001) in GEX and IEX group. This also suggests that cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women might be prevented or inhibited to exert positive apoptotic inhibitory effects by increasing Bcl-2 protein expression within aortic tissues during vascular movement and decrease caspase-9 protein.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.31-31
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• 2000

Al2O3는 높은 화학적, 열적 안정성으로 인하여 미세전자 산업에서 절연막이나 광전자소자의 재료로써 널리 이용되고 있다. 특히, 사파이어는 고위도의 LED, 청색 LD의 재료인 GaN 계열의 III-Nitride 물질을 성장시킬 때 필요한 기판으로 보편적으로 사용되고 있다. 이러한 GaN계열의 광소자 제조에서 사파이어 기판을 적용시 지적되는 문제점들 중의 하나는 소자제조 후 사파이어의 결정 구조 및 높은 경도에 의해 나타나는 cutting 및 backside의 기계적 연마가 어렵다는 것이다. 최근에는 이온빔 식각이나 이온 주입 후 화학적 습식 시각, reactive ion etching을 통한 사파이어의 건식 식각이 소자 분리 및 backside 공정을 우해 연구되고 있다. 그러나 이러한 방법을 이용한 사파이어의 식각속도는 일반적으로 15nm/min 보다 작다. 높은 식각율과 식각후 표면의 작은 거칠기를 수반한 사파이어의 플라즈마 식각은 소자 제조 공정시 소자의 isolation 및 lapping 후 연마 공정에 이용할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 평판 유도결합형 플라즈마를 이용하여 Cl2/BCL3/Ar 의 가스조합, inductive power, bias voltage, 압력, 기판온도의 다양한 공정 변수를 통하여 (0001) 사파이어의 식각특성을 연구하였다. 사파이어의 식각속도는 inductive power, bias voltage, 그리고 기판 온도가 증가할수록 증가하였으며 Cl2에 BCl3를 50%이하로 첨가할 때 BCl3 첨가량이 증가할수록 식각속도 및 식각마스크(photoresist)와의 식각선택비가 증가하는 것을 관찰하였다. 또한, Cl3:BCl3=1:1의 조건에 따라 Ar 첨가에 따른 식각속도 및 표면 거칠기를 관찰하였다. 본 연구의 최적 식각조건인 40%Cl2/40%BCl3/20%Ar, 600W의 inductive power, -300V의 bias voltage, 30mTorr의 압력, 기판온도 7$0^{\circ}C$에서 270nm/min의 사파이어 식각속도를 얻을수 있었다. 그리고 이러한 식각조건에서 표면의 거치기를 줄일수 있었다. 사파이어 식각은 보편적인 사파이어 lapping 공정시 수반되어 형성된 표면의 거치기를 줄이기 위한 마지막 공정에 응용될수 있다. 사파이어의 식각시 나타나는 식각 부산물은 플라즈마 진단방비인 optical emission spectroscopy (OES)를 통하여 관찰하였고, 식각시 사파이어의 표면성분비 변화 및 표면의 화학적 결합은 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)를 사용하여 측정하였다. 시각 전, 후의 표면의 거칠기를 scanning electron microscopy(SEM)을 통하여 관찰하였다.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.807-816
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• 2005

The objective of the study was to observe the effect of n-3 PUFA on cell proliferation and apoptosis by determining mRNA and protein of COX-2 and eicosanoid product and the mRNA and protein of Bu and Bcl-2 related to apoptosis in colon carcinogenesis of 1,2- dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-treated rats. Ninety male Sprague Dawley rats weighing about 170g were divided into 3 groups, control and n-3 PUFA supplemented groups (FO group: 6.2 mmoles n-3 PUFA; 2FO group: 12.4 mmoles n-3 PUFA) and fed experimental diet for 14 weeks. All rats were intramuscularly injected with DMH 15 mg/kg twice a week for 6 weeks to deliver total dose of 180 mg/kg body weight. Compared with the control group, 6.2 mmoles n-3 PUFA significantly reduced the levels of mRNA and protein expression of COX-2 and 2-series eicosanoids ($TXB_{2}$ and $PGE_{2}$) and decreased cell proliferation in colonic mucosa. However, high levels of n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly increased the levels of mRNA and protein expression of COX-2, TXB2 and PGE2. and increased cell proliferation which was similar level to that of control group. Compared with the control group, n-3 PUFA, regardless of the amount, significantly increased apoptotic index in colonic mucosa. Western blot and RT-PCR analyses showed that the levels of mRNA and protein expression of Bax were significantly increased by 6.2 mmoles n-3 PUFA, but decreased by 12.4 mmoles n-3 PUFA. The analyses also showed the levels of mRNA and protein expression of Bcl-2 were significantly reduced by 6.2 mmoles n-3 PUFA, but increased by 12.4 mmoles n-3 PUFA. The ratio of Bcl-2/Bax in mRNA and protein was significantly reduced by 6.2 mmoles n-3 PUFA but increased by 12.4 mmoles n-3 PUFA. Overall, these results indicate that n-3 PUFA could be effective in preventing colon carcinogenesis by reducing cell proliferation with lower level of COX-2 and 2-series eicosanoid, and increasing apoptosis by inducing pro-apoptotic gene, Bax and inhibiting anti-apoptotic gene, Bcl-2 in the colonic mucosa of DMH-treated rats. However, high level of n-3 PUFA supplementation could stimulate colon carcinogenesis by increasing cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. (Korean J Nutrition 38(10): 807$\sim$816,2005)

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.155-160
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• 2020

Objective: The genes Bcl-2 and Bax play important roles in apoptosis. Many studies have shown that formalin has a strong deleterious effect on male fertility and can induce apoptosis. L-carnitine has been reported to potentially reverse the negative effects of formalin, leading to improved spermatogenesis. In this study, we examined the levels of expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in mice treated with formalin and L-carnitine. Methods: Thirty adult BALB/c mice were categorized into three groups. The mice in the control group (n = 10) were not injected with any substance. The mice in the second group (n = 10) received 10 mg/kg of formalin daily via an intraperitoneal injection, while those in the final group (n = 10) were intraperitoneally injected daily with a dose of 10 mg/kg of formalin and 100 mg/kg of L-carnitine. All mice were kept in isolated cages for 31 days. Results: The expression of Bax was significantly higher in the formalin-treated mice than in the mice of the control group, while the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly lower in the formalin-treated mice than in the control mice. Additionally, relative to control mice, Bcl-2 expression increased and Bax expression decreased in the mice administered both formalin and L-carnitine. Conclusion: In this study, L-carnitine was shown to augment Bcl-2 expression and to reduce Bax expression, indicating that this compound may inhibit apoptosis. Due to its positive effects, L-carnitine can be used as a prophylactic treatment for people who routinely come into direct contact with formalin as an occupational hazard.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.926-936
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• 2003

Overexpression of human Bcl-2 protein in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cells producing humanized antibody (SH2-0.32) considerably suppressed sodium butyrate (NaBu)-induced apoptosis during batch culture by using commercially available serum-free medium, which extended the culture longevity. Due to the extended culture longevity provided by the anti-apoptotic effect of Bcl-2 overexpression, the final antibody concentration of 14C6-bcl-2 culture (Bcl-2 high producer, $23\;\mu\textrm{g}\;ml^{-1}$) was 2 times higher than that of the $SH2-0.32-{\Delta}bcl-2$ culture (cells transfected with bcl-2-deficient plasmid, $10.5\;\mu\textrm{g}\;ml^{-1}$) in the presence of NaBu. To determine the effect of NaBu/Bcl-2 overexpression on the molecular integrity of protein products, antibodies purified from 14C6-bcl-2 and $SH2-0.32-{\Delta}bcl-2$ cultures in the presence of NaBu were characterized by using various molecular assay systems. For comparison, antibody purified from the parental rCHO cell culture (SH2-0.32) in the absence of NaBu was also characterized. No significant changes in molecular weight of antibodies could be observed by SDS-PAGE. From GlycoSep-N column analysis, it was found that the core oligosaccharide structure ($GlcNAc_2Man_3GlcNAc_2$) was not affected by NaBu/Bcl-2 overexpression, while the microheterogeneity of N-linked oligosaccharide structure was slightly affected. Compared with the antibody produced in the absence of NaBu, the proportion of neutral oligosaccharides was increased from 10% (14C6-bcl-2) to 16% ($SH2-0.32-{\Delta}bcl-2$) in the presence of NaBu, which was accompanied by the reduced proportion of acidic oligosaccharides, especially of monosialylated and disialylated forms. The changes in microheterogeneous oligoformal structures of antibody in turn affected the mobility of antibody isoforms in isoelectric focusing (IEF), resulting in the occurrence of some more basic antibody isoforms produced in the presence of NaBu. However, the antigen-antibody binding properties were not changed by alteration of glycosylation pattern. The competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the antibody produced by NaBu/Bcl-2 overexpression maintained its antigen-antibody binding properties with binding affinity of about $2.5{\times}10^9{\;}M^{-1}$. Taken together, no significant effects of NaBu/Bcl-2 overexpression on the molecular integrity of antibodies, produced by using serum-free medium, could be observed by the molecular assay systems.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.385-390
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• 1999

Camptothecin (CPT) has been known to induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines. To examine the intracellular apoptotic death signal initiated by CPT, we investigated the possible connection between caspase-3 activation and GSH depletion during CPT-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Treatment of cells with $1{\;}{\mu}M$ CPT induced PARP cleavage accompanied by DNA fragmentation. z-VAD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, blocked the CPT-induced DNA fragmentation. Pretreatment of cells with N-acetylcysteine, a precursor of GSH biosynthesis, failed to inhibit CPT-induced PARP celavage and DNA gragmenatation. No significant changes in GSH depletion is not essential for caspase activation during CPT-induced apoptosis. We also investigated whether CPT-induced apoptosis is associated with changes of the levels of Bax and Bcl-2, two proteins involved in the control of apoptosis. Bcl-2 levels exhibited a late decrease compared with the kinetics of DNA fragmentation, whereas Bax levels increased more rapidly after CPT treatment. These results suggest that Bax plays more important role than Bcl-2 in inducing DNA fragmentation and may function upsteam of proteolytic activation of caspase-3 pathway in CPT-induced apoptosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.924-927
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• 1998

Background: Myocardial cell death after myocardial infarction or reperfusion is classified into necrosis and apoptosis. Bcl-2 protein is a cytoplasmic protein, which inhibits apoptosis and is expressed in acute stage of myocardial infarction but not in normal heart. This study was performed to investigate whether Bcl-2 protein was expressed respectively to the reperfusion time. Materials and methods: Thirty nine New Zealand white rabbits weighing 1.5-4.8 kg (mean, 2.9kg) were alloted into 7 groups (n=5 in each group) which underwent left anterior descending coronary artery(LAD) occlusion for 30 minutes, followed by reperfusion. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 4, 8, 12, 24 hours, and 3, 7 days after occlusion. Ventricle was excised immediately after intervention. Tissues were fixed in 10% buffured formalin and embedded in paraffin. Bcl-2 protein was detected by immunohistochemical stain with using monoclonal antibody against Bcl-2 protein. Results: The positive immunohistochemical reactivity for Bcl-2 protein was observed in 12, 24 hours, and 3 days reperfusion groups. Bcl-2 protein was detected in salvaged myocytes surrounding the infarcted area. Conclusions: Bcl-2 protein is expressed at the late acute stage of infarct. Therefore, the expression of Bcl-2 protein may not protect acute cell death, but may play a role in the prevention of late cell death after myocardial is chemia-reperfusion.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.67-67
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• 2009

Due to the scaling down of the dielectrics thickness, the leakage currents arising from electron tunneling through the dielectrics has become the major technical barrier. Thus, much works has focused on the development of high k dielectrics in both cases of memories and CMOS fields. Among the high-k materials, $Al_2O_3$ considered as good candidate has been attracting much attentions, which own some good properties as high dielectric constant k value (~9), a high bandgap (~2eV) and elevated crystallization temperature, etc. Due to the easy control of ion energy and flux, low ownership and simple structure of the inductively coupled plasma (ICP), we chose it for high-density plasma in our study. And the $BCl_3$ was included in the gas due to the effective extraction of oxygen in the form of BClxOy compound. In this study, the etch characteristic of ALD deposited $Al_2O_3$ thin film was investigated in $BCl_3/N_2$ plasma. The experiment were performed by comparing etch rates and selectivity of $Al_2O_3$ over $SiO_2$ as functions of the input plasma parameters such as gas mixing ratio, DC-bias voltage and RF power and process pressure. The maximum etch rate was obtained under 15 mTorr process perssure, 700 W RF power, $BCl_3$(6 sccm)/$N_2$(14 sccm) plasma, and the highest etch selectivity was 1.9. We used the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the chemical reactions on the etched surface. The Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was used for elemental analysis of etched surface.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.106-109
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• 2011

We investigated the etching characteristics of titanium nitride (TiN) thin film in $BCl_3$/Ar inductively coupled plasma. The etching parameters were the gas mixing ratio, radio frequency (RF) power, direct current (DC)-bias voltages and process pressures. The standard conditions were as follows: total flow rate = 20 sccm, RF power = 500 W, DC-bias voltage = -100 V, substrate temperature = $40^{\circ}C$, and process pressure = 15 mTorr. The maximum etch rate of TiN thin film and the selectivity of TiN to $Al_2O_3$ thin film were 54 nm/min and 0.79. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed no accumulation of etch byproducts from the etched surface of TiN thin film. The TiN film etch was dominated by the chemical etching with assistance by Ar sputtering in reactive ion etching mechanism, based on the experimental results.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2016

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is known to mediate cancer cell death. Here, we show that B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), an anti-apoptotic protein, is regulated by GSK-3β and that GSK-3β-mediated regulation of Bcl-2 is crucial for mitochondrial-dependent cell death in paclitaxel-stimulated cells. We demonstrate that MCF7 GSK-3β siRNA cells are more sensitive to cell death than MCF7 GFP control cells and that in the absence of GSK-3β, Bcl-2 levels are reduced, a result enhanced by paclitaxel. Paclitaxel-induced JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) activation is critical for Bcl-2 modulation. In the absence of GSK-3β, Bcl-2 was unstable in an ubiquitination-dependent manner in both basal- and paclitaxel-treated cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that GSK-3β-mediated regulation of Bcl-2 influences cytochrome C release and mitochondrial membrane potential. Taken together, our data suggest that GSK-3β-dependent regulation of Bcl-2 is crucial for mitochondria-dependent cell death in paclitaxel-mediated breast cancer therapy. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(1): 51-56]