• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.631-636
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• 2019

A new nitric oxide-induced (NOI) gene was isolated by screening ESTs from a cDNA library of dehydration-treated fibrous roots of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas). The 720 bp cDNA fragment, IbNOI, was sequenced, from which a 77 amino acid residue protein was deduced. A search of the protein BLAST database identified significant similarity to other plant NOI protein sequences. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed diverse expression patterns of IbNOI in various tissues of the intact sweetpotato plant, and in leaves exposed to different stresses. The IbNOI gene was highly expressed in storage roots and suspension-cultured cells. In leaf tissues, IbNOI showed strong expression during sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced NO accumulation and chemical stress treatments. Expression of IbNOI was also induced under various abiotic stress conditions, such as dehydration, salt, and bacterial pathogen infection. These results suggest that IbNOI is involved in plant responses to diverse abiotic stresses and pathogen infection through a NO-related pathway.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.255-263
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• 2019

Isomaltol glycoside is a hydrophilic furanic glycoside in which the amino acids and sugars of ginseng are thermally denatured during red ginseng production. Various skin whitening tests were conducted on isomaltol glycoside containing a lot of red ginseng extract in order to investigate the skin whitening effect as a cosmetic raw material. We have tested melanin content assay in B16-F10 cells, zebrafish embryo pigmentation assay, mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity, western blot analysis to determine skin whitening activity of isomaltol glycosides. In the zebrafish melanin content assay, isomaltol glycoside decreased total melanin content by about 20% and zebrafish tyrosinase activity by about 10% after treatment with 50 and $100{\mu}g/mL$ compared to the untreated control group. Isomaltol glycoside also showed a concentration-dependent decrease in melanin content in B16-F10 melanoma. Furthermore, it increased the expression of MITF phosphorylation factors p-AKT and p-ERK in B16-F10 melanoma and decreased the concentration of MITF. It also inhibited tyrosinase, TRP-1 and TRP-2 expression. The content of isomaltol glycoside was about 3% in the ginseng extract and about 1% in the ginseng root. Thus, isomaltol glycoside is considered as one of the main components that exhibit the whitening activity of ginseng when considered quantitatively as whitening activity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.164-171
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• 2019

Radiation therapy has many side effects, such as digestive mucosal ulcers, without regard to its efficacy. The purpose of this study is to address an alternative method to replace the limitation of radiation therapy using radiomimetic microbial ribotoxins. In the evaluation of cancer therapy, we analyzed the formation of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell spheroids, which can take into account the heterogeneous cellular constitution, tumor stem cells, and the surrounding microenvironment. Ribotoxic stress interfered with the spheroid structure composed of relatively small clusters. Spheroids under ribotoxic stress were structurally sparse and their shrinkage was very slow. In the control group, the clusters of strongly aggregated cells were resistant to physical stress, but the ribotoxic stress-exposed spheroids were easily broken up by the physical stress. Moreover, the ribosome-insulted CRC cells slowly migrated to form clusters and the cell-cell junctional points in the ribosome-insulted spheroids were rarer than those in the control CRC spheroid. Moreover, levels of the cell-to-cell junctional protein E-cadherin were suppressed by ribotoxic stress in both allograft and xenograft spheroids. In conclusion, the radiomimetic microbial ribotoxins induced structural defects in CRC cell spheroids via retardation of migration and cell-cell junction in the formation of three-dimensional structures, and provides a basis for the mechanism of pharmacological radiomimetic anticancer actions as an alternate to radiotherapy against cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.514-523
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• 2019

We investigated the gene expression patterns and the mechanisms of action of the apoptotic response by microarray analysis of human keratinocyte HaCaT cells treated with ginsenoside Rb1, a saponin of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer. Genes related to apoptosis, the G2/M transition of the mitotic cell cycle, cell division, mitotic nuclear division, and intracellular protein transport were 2-fold up-regulated in HaCaT cells treated with the ginsenoside Rb1, whereas genes related to DNA repair, regeneration fission, and extracellular matrix organization were 2-fold down-regulated. Apoptosis signaling may be mediated by FAS and PLA2G4A, and pathway analysis indicated that STAT3 might be an upstream regulator of these genes. The activity of FAS and PLA2G4A was verified by qPCR, which showed that FAS was increased about 2-fold in HaCaT cells treated with $10{\mu}g/ml$ of ginsenoside Rb1 for 24 hr, PLA2G4A was increased about twice after 6 hours, and gene expression was increased more than 2-fold after 24 hr. Knockdown of STAT3 with siRNA decreased FAS expression and increased PLA2G4A expression but only FAS was passed from the upstream regulator STAT3. These results indicate that STAT3, which is an upstream regulator, induces apoptosis via FAS during treatment with ginsenoside Rb1.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.329-336
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• 2021

Cellulophga sp. J9-3, is a gram-negative, aerobic marine bacterium belonging to the family Flavobacteriaceae. In addition to cellulose degradability, the J9-3 strain is also capable of hydrolyzing agar in the solid and liquid medium, and the production of agarase in the presence of agarose can be remarkably induced by the bacterium. From the cell culture broth of Cellulophga sp. J9-3, ammonium sulfate precipitation and three kinds of column chromatography were successively performed to purify a specific agarase protein, the AgaJ93. Purified AgaJ93 showed the strongest hydrolyzing activity towards agarose (approximately 22%), and even displayed activity towards starch. AgaJ93 hydrolyzed agarose into neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose via various oligosaccharide intermediates, indicating that AgaJ93 is an endo-type β-agarase. AgaJ93 showed maximum activity at a pH of 7.0 and temperature of 35 ℃. Its activity increased by more than six times in the presence of Co²⁺ ions. The N-terminal sequence of AgaJ93 showed 82% homology with the heat-resistant endo-type β-agarase Aga2 of Cellulophaga sp. W5C. However, the biochemical properties of the two enzymes were different. Therefore, AgaJ93 is expected to be a novel agarose, different from the previously reported β-agarases.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated inhibitory effect of Tripeptide against particulate matter (PM)-induced damage in human keratinocytes. PM-induced cell death was inhibited by Tripeptide and the activity of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) also inhibited by Tripeptide resulting in reduced expression of its downstream targets, cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily A member 1 (CYP1A1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which are responsible for toxic metabolites production and inflammation. Furthermore, PM-induced expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and apoptosis-related factors were decreased by anti-oxidant activity of Tripeptide. From these results, it has been shown that the Tripeptide has protective effect against PM-induced skin damage not only through the inhibiting of keratinocyte death but also through the inhibiting the secretion of several damage-inducing factors to adjacent skin tissue. And the results suggested that Tripeptide with anti-pollution effect could be applied as a new functional cosmetic material.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.403-413
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• 2020

While searching for useful microorganisms, Saccharomycopsis fibuligera which can be used as cosmetic materials were divided from Jeju island's traditional fermented foods. In this study, blackcurrant extract which contains a large amount of anthocyanin glycosides was fermented with S. fibuligera. HPLC analysis was performed to analyze the components of blackcurrant extract (BE) and fermented blackcurrant fruit extract (FBE). As a result, bio-conversion of delphinidin and cyanidin were able to be identified. In order to verify the anti-oxidant effect of BE and FBE, we investigated radical scavenging ability with DPPH and ABTS. In addition, to confirm anti-inflammatory effect, we investigated inhibition effect of nitric oxide (NO) production on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) - stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, and inhibition effect of the expression of inflammatory-related proteins (iNOS, COX-2) by western blot analysis. As a result, as FBE has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, we suggest that it might be used as an active ingredient for cosmetics.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.117-128
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• 2021

The skeletal muscle development of Hanwoo steer has been processed in the prenatal and postnatal periods. Bovine satellite cell located in perimysium of muscle tissues has differentially distributed in peripheral tissues. The study of postnatal development of satellite cells can help understand the genetic and functional regulation of meat characteristics. Factors affecting muscle size increase are related to the accumulation of DNA or synthesis of RNA proteins. In this study, we observed muscle development and differentiation after culturing bovine satellite cells derived from longissimus dorsi and semimembranosus regions of Hanwoo muscle tissue. In addition, RNA sequencing data were analyzed for differentially expressed genes (DEG) involved in intracellular muscle development and growth. The DEG of the two muscle tissues were compared according to 1day, 2day, 4day, and 7day. The overall gene expression level was confirmed by the heat map. Gene Ontology (GO) classification method was used to compare the expression level of gene groups affecting LD and SM development. The histology of GO was consistent with the time-cause change of LD and SM cell morphology. SM showed more active skeletal muscle development than LD. Even within the same time, SM expressed more genes than LD, thus synthesizing more muscle fibers

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2021

Previously, we showed that oral administration of probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophilus NS1 (LNS1), improved insulin sensitivity in high-fat-diet-fed mice (HFD mice). Furthermore, LNS1-conditioned media (LNS1-CM) reduced HNF4α transcription activity and the expression of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), a key enzyme in gluconeogenesis in HepG2 cells. In this study, we demonstrated that LNS1 administration increased the expression of glycosyltransferase 2 (GYS2) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), while reduced the expression of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6PC) expression in liver of HFD mice. Furthermore, LNS1 suppressed hepatic expression of glucokinase regulatory unit (GCKR) in HFD mice without changing the mRNA levels of glucokinase (GCK), suggesting that LNS1 may inhibit nuclear GCK activity. Consistently, addition of LNS1-CM to HepG2 cells increased the mRNA levels of GYS2 and GLUT2 with reduced mRNA levels of G6PC and GCKR. Moreover, hepatic glycogen contents were increased in HFD mice upon administration of LNS1. Together, these results suggest that LNS1 facilitates glycogen accumulation in liver by regulating the expression of genes involved in glycogen metabolism, contributing to improved insulin sensitivity in the HFD mice.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.58-65
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• 2004

This study was performed to investigate the protease activity from fruit body of Sarcodon aspratus and its features. The specific protease activity was increased with the increasing purification steps, 2.62 times by desalting, 17 times by CMC column chromatography, 113.8 times by DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column chromatography, and 728.3 times by Sephadex G-75 column chromatography. Proteases were identified as two different enzymes having different isoelectric points at pH 4.35 (its recovery rate 8%) and pH 4.7 (its recovery rate 3.5%). Those proteases were purified by 3,025 folds and 3,257 folds in terms of specific activity. Two proteases having different isoelectric points had similar enzymatic properties. This protease was estimated to be 43,000 daltons of molecular weights by SDS-PAGE. This protease with optimum pH 4 was almost stable in the pH range of 4~7. Optimal temperature of protease activity was 40 to 50℃, and the protease activity was completely inhibited at 70℃ for 30 min.