• Title/Summary/Keyword: Biology and Life Science

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Effect of Citrus macroptera Fruit Pulp Juice on Alteration of Caspase Pathway Rendering Anti-Proliferative Activity against Ehrlich's Ascites Carcinoma in Mice

  • Hasan, Md. Mahmudul;Islam, Md. Shihabul;Hoque, Kazi Md. Faisal;Haque, Ariful;Reza, Md Abu
    • Toxicological Research
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.271-277
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    • 2019
  • Citrus macroptera (Rutaceae) has long been used in folk medicine in Bangladesh. Considering the folkloric context, this study was aimed to scrutinize anti-proliferative activity of C. macroptera fruit pulp juice (CMFPJ) against Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC). The anti-proliferative capacity of CMFPJ was investigated and confirmed primarily using MTT assay. In vivo anti-proliferative aptitude of CMFPJ was investigated with 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatment. Anti-proliferative efficacy of CMFPJ was assessed based on EAC growth inhibition. CMFPJ inhibited EAC growth in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. And the percentages of in vivo EAC growth inhibition were 19.53, 49.2, and 68.9% at 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg CMFPJ respectively. CMFPJ significantly induced expression of apoptosis regulatory genes caspase-8, caspase-9, cytochrome-c, and caspase-3. This considerable anti-cancer activity was perhaps due to combinatorial effect of lectin, polyphenols, and flavonoids present in CMFPJ.

Morphology, Pathogenicity and Molecular analysis of Alternaria Isolates from Solanaceous Crops (oral)

  • Cho, H.S.;Park, M.S.;Kim, B.R.;Yu, S.H.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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    • 2003.10a
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    • pp.112.3-113
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    • 2003
  • More than 30 isolates of Alternaria were obtained from various solanaceous crops in Korea. For all isolates, morphological characteristics of the conidia were determined and compared with those of representative isolates of A. solani and A. tomatophila. Pathogenicity test was performed to Potato, tomato, egg plant and red Pepper and molecular characteristics of them including the representative isolates were determined using sequence analyses of ITS rDNA and histone H3 gene, and URP-PCR analysis. Based on morphological characteristics, the isolates from the solanaceous crops were grouped as identical or very similar to either A. tomatophila(ATO), A. solani(ASO), and unidentified Altemaria sp.(ASP). Among the molecular markers used in this study, the URP-PCR analysis was found to be appropriate for taxonomic resolution of these species. Based on the conidial morphology, pathogenicity test and molecular characteristics, A. tomatophila(early blight of tomato) could be distinguished from A. solani(early blight of potato), and the Alternaria sp.(ASP) from potato, which was closely related to A. solani in conidial morphology, was considered as a new species.

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Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Maltooligosyltrehalose Synthase Gene from Nostoc flagelliforme

  • Wu, Shuangxiu;Shen, Rongrong;Zhang, Xiu;Wang, Quanxi
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.579-586
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    • 2010
  • A genomic DNA fragment encoding a putative maltooligosyltrehalose synthase (NfMTS) for trehalose biosynthesis was cloned by the degenerate primer-PCR from cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme. The ORF of NfMTS was 2,799 bp in length and encoded 933 amino acid residues constituting a 106.6 kDa protein. The deduced amino acid sequence of NfMTS contained 4 regions highly conserved for MTSs. By expression of NfMTS in E. coli, it was demonstrated that the recombinant protein catalyzed the conversion of maltohexaose to maltooligosyl trehalose. The $K_m$ of the recombinant enzyme for maltohexaose was 1.87 mM and the optimal temperature and pH of the recombinant enzyme was at $50^{\circ}C$ and 7.0, respectively. The expression of MTS of N. flagelliforme was upregulated, and both trehalose and sucrose contents increased significantly in N. flagelliforme during drought stress. However, trehalose accumulated in small quantities (about 0.36 mg/g DW), whereas sucrose accumulated in high quantities (about 0.90 mg/g DW), indicating both trehalose and sucrose were involved in dehydration stress response in N. flagelliforme and sucrose might act as a chemical chaperone rather than trehalose did during dehydration stress.

Efficient Derivation of New Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines

  • Kim, Sun Jong;Lee, Jeoung Eun;Park, Jong Hyuk;Lee, Jung Bok;Kim, Jin Mee;Yoon, Byung Sun;Song, Ji Min;Roh, Sung Il;Kim, Chul Geun;Yoon, Hyun Soo
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.46-53
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    • 2005
  • Human embryonic stem (hES) cells, unlike most cells derived from adult or fetal human tissues, represent a potentially unlimited source of various cell types for basic clinical research. To meet the increased demand for characterized hES cell lines, we established and characterized nine new lines obtained from frozen-thawed pronucleus-stage embryos. In addition, we improved the derivation efficiency from inner cell masses (to 47.4%) and optimized culture conditions for undifferentiated hES cells. After these cell lines had been maintained for over a year in vitro, they were characterized comprehensively for expression of markers of undifferentiated hES cells, karyotype, and in vitro/in vivo differentiation capacity. All of the cell lines were pluripotent, and one cell line was trisomic for chromosome 3. Improved culture techniques for hES cells should make them a good source for diverse applications in regenerative medicine, but further investigation is needed of their basic biology.

Roles of the meta- and the ortho-Cleavage Pathways for the Efficient Utilization of Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae Bl

  • Jeongmin Song;Junghee Sung;Kim, Young-Min;Gerben J. Zylstra;Kim, Eungbin
    • Journal of Microbiology
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    • v.38 no.4
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    • pp.245-249
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    • 2000
  • Catabolic pathways for the degradation of various aromatics by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae Bl are intertwined, joining at the level of substituted benzoates, which are further degraded vita ring cleavage reactions. The mutant strain EK497, which was constructed by deleting a large DNA region containing most of the genes for biphenyl, naphthalene, m-xylene, and m-toluate degradation, was unable to grow on all of the aromatics tested except for benzoate as the sole source of carbon and energy.S. yanoikuyae EK497 was found to possess only catechol ortho-ring cleavage activity due to deletion of the genes for the meta-cleavage pathway. Wild-type S. yanoikuyae Bl grown on benzoate has both catechol orthoand meta-cleavage activity. However, m-xylene and m-toluate, which are metabolized through methylbenzoate, and biphenyl, which is metabolized through benzoate, induce only the meta-cleavage pathway, suggesting the presence of a substrate-dependent induction mechanism.

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