• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1014-1028
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• 2006

This study attempted to investigate the developmental alterations of the cerebral cortex. The effects of EGEE on the developmental cerebral cortex in the prenatal, postnatal and adults were examined by lectin histochemical methods. To investigate the change of sugar residues of glycoconjugates, biotinylated lectins(DBA, SBA, PNA, BSL-1, RCA-1, sWGA, UEA-1, Con A and LCA) were detected with by IHC using ABC kit. In the case of injection of EGEE, the reactions to Con A and LCA were shown in binding phase in the cerebral cortex commonly, and the reactions to PNA, RCA-1 and LCA were shown partially, the number of lectins to be shown reaction were decreased, and there were no reactions to DBA, SBA, BSL-1, RCA-1 and UEA-1. The reaction to Con A was similar to control group during developmental phases. The reaction to LCA was increased in the fetal, suckling, and weanning phases compared with control group. But there were no reactions to SBA and sWGA, the reaction to PNA was decreased in the frontal and occipital cortex and no reaction to sWGA in the fetal phase. There were no reactions to sWGA and PNA in the suckling phase and, no reaction to PNA and sWGA. The reaction to Con A was decreased in the frontal, parietal and occipital cortexes and, the reaction to LCA was decreased in the frontal and occipital cortexes in adult phase. As the results, the effects of EGEE, environmental hormone on the each part of cerebral cortex have shown differences. But, It had deep effect on the differentiation and growth in the cerebral cortex pathologically. In particular, the effect was severe in suckling phase. $Galactosyl-({\beta}-1,3)-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine$,${\beta}-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine$ and ${\beta}-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine$ were decreased while ${\alpha}-D-mannose$ and ${\alpha}-D-glucose$ were increased. It affected the sugar metabloism, and it was severe in fetal and suckling phases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.2 s.82
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• pp.218-222
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and pulse transit time (PPT). Apparently healthy 233 subjects had been enrolled in the health promotion center of the Pusan National University Hospital from Jan. 29 to Feb. 26, 2004. They had no previous history of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Subjects were categorized according to tertiles of hsCRP level [Group 1: first tertile $(0.01\;{\sim}\;0.02\;mg/dl)$, Group 2: second tertile $(0.03\;{\sim}\;0.05\;mg/dl)$, Group 3: third tertile $(0.06\;{\sim}\;0.12\;mg/dl)$, and Group 4: Fourth tertile $(0.13\;{\sim}\;16.8\;mg/dl)$]. PTT body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (T-C), LDL-cholesterol(LDL-C), blood sugar (BS), systolic blood pressure (sBP) and diastolic blood pressure (dBP) were significantly different among hsCRP groups (p<0.05). HsCRP is positively related with BMI, tryglyceride (TG), LDL, sBP and dBP (p<0.05), and negatively related with PTT and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) (p<0.05). PTT is significantly negatively related with hsCRP, T-C, TG, LDL-C, BS, dBP and sBP (p<0.05). The hsCRP and PTT were related before controlling BMI, T-C, LDL-C, sBP, and dBP, but not related after conkolling. The relationship between hsCRP and PTT depends on cardiovascular disease risk factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.487-495
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• 2015

We carried out pH stability, chemical inhibition, chemical modification, and pH-dependent kinetic parameter assessments to further characterize protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707. Protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase was stable in the pH range of 4.5~10.5. L-ascorbate and glutathione were competitive inhibitors with $K_{is}$ values of 0.17 mM and 0.86 mM, respectively. DL-dithiothreitol was a noncompetitive inhibitor with a $K_{is}$ value of 1.57 mM and a $K_{ii}$ value of 8.08 mM. Potassium cyanide, p-hydroxybenzoate, and sodium azide showed a noncompetitive inhibition pattern with $K_{is}$ values of 55.7 mM, 0.22 mM, and 15.64 mM, and $K_{ii}$ values of 94.1 mM, 8.08 mM, and 662.64 mM, respectively. $FeCl_{2}$ was the best competitive inhibitor with a $K_{is}$ value of $29{\mu}M$. $FeCl_{3}$, $MnCl_{2}$, $CoCl_{2}$, and $AlCl_{3}$ were also competitive inhibitors with $K_{is}$ values of 1.21 mM, 0.85 mM, 3.98 mM, and 0.21 mM, respectively. Other metal ions showed noncompetitive inhibition patterns. The pH-dependent kinetic parameter data showed that there may be at least two catalytic groups with pK values of 6.2 and 9.4 and two binding groups with pK values of 5.5 and 9.0. Lysine, cysteine, tyrosine, carboxyl, and histidine were modified by their own specific chemical modifiers, indicating that they are involved in substrate binding and catalysis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2016

Ethanol is a very valuable material, however, it is also a source of stress, as the accumulation of ethanol in a medium inhibits cell viability and decreases productivity of the target product. Therefore, the ethanol tolerance of yeast, which is closely related to ethanol productivity, is an important factor in industrial ethanol production. In this study, the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes were selected as target genes for elucidating ethanol-tolerant mechanisms by analyzing the expression regulation of these genes. The pA-YDJ1 and pA-PEP5 plasmids containing YDJ1 and PEP5 genes under an ADH1 promoter, respectively, were constructed and transformed into BY4742 (host strain), BY4742△ydj1, and BY4742△pep5 strains. The ethanol tolerance in the BY4742△ydj1/ pA-YDJ1 and BY4742△pep5/pA-PEP5 transformants was restored by overexpression of the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes to the host strain level. The YDJ1 and PEP5 genes were also introduced into the double gene disruptant (BY4742△ydj1△pep5) to investigate the expression regulation of the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes. The simultaneous overexpression of the YDJ1 and PEP5 genes restored ethanol tolerance to the 90% level of the BY4742 strain under 8% ethanol stress. The YDJ1 gene induced more overexpression of the PEP5 gene in the BY4742△ydj1 △pep5/pA-YDJ1, pA-PEP5 strain, suggesting that the YDJ1 gene partially regulates the expression of the PEP5 gene as an upstream regulator.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.101-108
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between the expression of Heat shock protein70 (HSP70), Raf-1 and Bcl-2-associated athanogene-1 (BAG1) protein in diffuse type gastric carcinoma and examine association of HSP70, Raf-1 and BAG1 expression with various clinic-pathological factors and survival. Heat shock protein70 is induced in the cells in response to various stress conditions, including carcinogens. Overexpression of heat shock protein 70 has been observed in many types of cancer. The proto-oncoprotein Raf is pivotal for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, and its aberrant activation has been implicated in multiple human cancers. Overexpression of BAG1 protein has been documented in some type of human cancer. BAG1 has been reported to interact with protein involved with a variety of signal pathway, and regulation of cell differentiation, survival and apoptosis. These interaction partners include HSP70 and Raf-1. The percentage of tumors exhibiting HSP70 positivity was significantly in cases of positive lymph node metastasis (64.9%) compared to cases without lymph node metastasis (35.1%, p=0.007). HS70 expression was correlated with pathological N-stage (p=0.006). Expression of BAG1 was detected in the majority of diffuse type gastric carcinoma tissues (71.7%), especially in younger patients (80% vs 52.6%, p=0.035). Furthermore BAG1 expression was correlated with tumor size (p=0.020). Raf-1 expression was found to be significantly associated with tumor size (p=0.005). The result indicate that HSP70 was significantly correlated the progression of diffuse type gastric cancer. Expression of BAG1 and Raf-1 may be used as diagnostic markers for gastric carcinoma.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.953-960
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• 2011

Necrosis is characterized by the cell membrane rupture and release of the cellular contents, including high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), into the extracellular microenvironment. HMGB1 acts as a transcriptional regulator in nuclei, but exerts a pro-inflammatory and tumor-promoting cytokine activity when released into the extracellular space. Its overexpression is associated with tumor progression and chemoresistance. Thus, HMGB1 acts as a clinically important molecule in tumor biology. In this study, we examined whether HMGB1 affects cell death induced by anti-cancer drugs. Here we show that HMGB1 prevented cisplatin (alkylating agent)-induced apoptosis and switched the cell fate to necrosis in MCF-7, MDA-MB231, and MDA-MB361 cells. Similar apoptosis-to-necrosis switch effects of HMGB1 were observed in cells treated with 4-HC, another alkylating agent. In contrast, HMGB1 did not exert any significant effects on docetaxel (DOC)-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. We also show that cisplatin-induced apoptosis was switched to necrosis in MCF-7 multicellular tumor spheroids (MTS) that were cultured for 8 days and had necrotic cores, but DOC-induced apoptosis was prevented without the apoptosis-to-necrosis switch. Finally, the levels of RAGE, a receptor of HMGB1, were increased with extended culture of MTS. These findings demonstrate that HMGB1 switches alkylating agent-induced apoptosis to necrosis, suggesting that the strategy to prevent necrosis occurring as an undesirable action of alkylating agent-based chemotherapy should be delineated to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy for cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1625-1633
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• 2010

This study was carried out to investigate the physicochemical compositions and antioxidative effects of Eriobotrya japonoca Lindl (Loquat). The proximate compositions of the loquat leaf on a dry matter basis were 8.78% moisture content, 6.74% crude protein, 7.87% crude fat, 6.99% crude ash, 43.61% dietary fiber and 26.01% carbohydrate. In analysis of free amino acids, 16 kinds total amino acid components, 17 kinds of components were isolated from loquat. The essential amino acids contained in loquat leaf accounted for 50.15% of total amino acids, while the non-essential amino acids accounted for 49.85%. In analysis of total fatty acids, only 5 kinds of acid were detected: lauric acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, stearic acid and oleic acid. The contents of vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C were 0.039 mg%, 0.096 mg% and 0.575 mg%, respectively. The mineral contents of loquat leaf were greater in order of Zn

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.103-112
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• 2010

Pemetrexed has demonstrated clinical activity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as well as other solid tumors. It transports into the cells via reduced folate carrier (RFC) and is polyglutamated by folypolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS). Pemetrexed directly inhibits several folate-dependent enzymes such as thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase (GARFT). We investigated the effects of genetic variations and the expression of RFC, FPGS, TS and DHFR enzymes on drug sensitivity to pemetrexed in NSCLC cells. Polymorphisms in RFC, FPGS, and DHFR were genotyped in four NSCLC cells - A549, PC14, HCC-1588, and H226. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot was performed to evaluate mRNA transcripts and protein of these genes. The cytotoxicity of pemetrexed was measured by SRB assay. In PC14 and H226 cells, increased mRNA expressions of RFC and FPGS were associated with higher cytotoxicity to pemetrexed. 2R/2R genotype of TS and its increased mRNA expression were associated with drug resistance to pemetrexed in A549 cells, whereas 3R/3R genotype in TS with decreased mRNA expression was associated with higher sensitivity in H226 cells. After pemetrexed treatment, an inverse change of DHFR mRNA and protein expression was found. The strongest linkage disequilibrium (LD) was discovered between-1726C>T and -1188A>C SNP of DHFR gene. Our findings suggest the cytotoxic effect of pemetrexed may be associated with genetic polymorphisms and the expression level of genes involved in pemetrexed metabolisms in NSCLC cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1683-1690
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• 2010

There is an increasing interest in the potential of isoflavone in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, however, although several effects of isoflavone as a component of soy protein are well established, the hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of purified isoflavone are still controversial. This study was to investigate the effects of isoflavone on serum lipid profiles and antioxidant status in rats. 7-week old male Sprague Dawley rats were fed one of the following diets for 8 weeks: basal diet (B), basal+0.3% isoflavone (BI), basal+0.5% cholesterol (BC), or basal+0.3% isoflavone +0.5% cholesterol (BIC). Two-way ANOVA was used to test the effects of dietary isoflavone and cholesterol supplementation and their interaction on variables. Serum lipid profiles and total antioxidant status (TAS) were examined spectrophotometrically. Degree of serum lipid peroxidation was measured by malondialdehyde (MDA) assay. The activities of serum antioxidant enzymes (GSH-Px, total-SOD) was determined. Levels of serum total cholesterol, VLDL+LDL-cholesterol and Atherogenic index were significantly lower in BI than those levels in group B (p=0.0002, p<0.0001, and p=0.0042, respectively). Serum total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were significantly higher, in both isoflavone supplemented groups (BI, BIC) compared to those levels in each control group (B, BC) (p<0.0001). Activity of total-SOD was significantly higher in BI compared to the activities in group B (p=0.0317). There was no interaction between isoflavone and cholesterol supplementation. In conclusion, isoflavone supplementation showed positive effects on the serum lipid profiles and total antioxidant activities in both conditions, either when fed a diet with or without cholesterol. These effects of isoflavone were independent of cholesterol supplementation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2017

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-hodgkin lymphoma. Advances in the chemotherapeutic treatment of this disease have improved the outcomes of DLBCL; nonetheless, many patients still die of DLBCL, and therefore, a better understanding of this disease and identification of novel therapeutic targets are urgently required. In a recent gene expression profiling study, PDE (phosphodiesterase) 4B was found to be overexpressed in chemotherapy-resistant tumors. The major function of PDE4B is to inactivate the second messenger cyclic 3',5' monophosphate (cAMP) by catalyzing the hydrolysis of cAMP to 5'AMP. It is known that cAMP induces cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis in B cells, and PDE4B abolishes cAMP's effect on B cells. However, the mechanism by which PDE4B is overexpressed remains unclear. Here, we show that the aberrant expression of miRNA may be associated with the overexpression of this gene. The PDE4B 3' untranslated region (UTR) has three functional binding sites of miR-23b, as confirmed by luciferase reporter assays. Interestingly, miR-23b-binding sites were evolutionarily conserved from humans to lizards, implying the critical role of PDE4B-miR-23b interaction in cellular physiology. The ectopic expression of miR-2 3b repressed PDE4B mRNA levels and enhanced intracellular cAMP concentrations. Additionally, miR-23b expression inhibited cell proliferation and survival of DLBCL cells only in the presence of forskolin, an activator of adenylyl cyclase, suggesting that miR-23b's effect is via the downregulation of PDE4B. These results together suggest that miR-23b could be a therapeutic target for overcoming drug resistance by repressing PDE4B in DLBCL.