• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.301-308
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• 2012

In fascioliasis, T-helper 2 (Th2) responses predominate, while little is known regarding early immune phenomenon. We herein analyzed early immunophenotype changes of BALB/c, C57BL/6, and C3H/He mice experimentally infected with 5 Fasciola hepatica metacercariae. A remarkable expansion of $CD19^+$ B cells was observed as early as week 1 post-infection while $CD4^+/CD8^+$ T cells were down-regulated. Accumulation of $Mac1^+$ cells with time after infection correlated well with splenomegaly of all mice strains tested. The expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ mRNA in splenocytes significantly decreased while that of IL-4 up-regulated. IL-$1{\beta}$ expression was down-modulated in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice, but not in C3H/He. Serum levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}$ were considerably elevated in all mice during 3 weeks of infection period. These collective results suggest that experimental murine fascioliasis might derive immune suppression with elevated levels of TGF-${\beta}$ and IL-4 during the early stages of infection.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.158.2-159
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• 2003

Cadmium is well known as a toxic metal and has insulin mimicking effects in rat adipose tissue. To investigate the effect of CdCl2 on glucose transport and its mechanism, this study was performed in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. 10 and 25mM of CdCl2 exposed to cells for 12 hours increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake to 2.2 and 2.8 fold, respectively. Nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker, inhibited the 2-deoxyglucose uptake stimulated by CdCl2. (omitted)

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2024

Solute carrier 40A1 (SLC40A1) encodes ferroportin, which is the only known transmembrane protein that exports elemental iron from mammalian cells and is essential for iron homeostasis. Mutations in SLC40A1 are associated with iron-overload disorders. In addition to ferroportin diseases, SLC40A1 expression is downregulated in various cancer types. Despite the clinical significance of the SLC40A1 transporter, only a few studies have investigated genetic variants in SLC40A1. The present study was performed to identify genetic variations in the SLC40A1 promoter and functionally characterize each variant using in vitro assays. We investigated four haplotypes and five variants in the SLC40A1 promoter. We observed that haplotype 3 (H3) had significantly lower promoter activity than H1, whereas the activity of H4 was significantly higher than that of H1. Luciferase activity of H2 was comparable to that of H1. In addition, four variants of SLC40A1, c.-1355G>C, c.-662C>T, c.-98G>C, and c.-8C>G, showed significantly increased luciferase activity compared to the wild type (WT), whereas c.-750G>A showed significantly decreased luciferase activity compared to the WT. Three transcription factors, cAMP response element-binding protein-1 (CREB-1), chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor 1, and hepatic leukemia factor (HLF), were predicted to bind to the promoter regions of SLC40A1 near c.-662C>T, c.-98G>C, and c.-8C>G, respectively. Among these, CREB1 and HLF bound more strongly to the variant sequences than to the WT and functioned as activators of SLC40A1 transcription. Collectively, our findings indicate that the two SLC40A1 promoter haplotypes affect SLC40A1 transcription, which is regulated by CREB-1 and HLF.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.17-30
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• 2013

Objectives This experimental study was designed to investigate the effects of Mulberry leaves contained herbal mixture (MLHM) on body weight, serum lipid level and adipocyte differentiation in high fat diet-fed obese mice. Methods Four-week old mice (wild-type C57/BL6) were used for all experiments. Cells were incubated with MLHM at the indicated concentration (0.04-4mg/ml) for 24h, and growth rate was assessed by MTT ((3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were incubated in DMEM for 2 days with the indicated concentrations of MLHM, and on Day 6, the cells were fixed and the cellular lipid contents were assessed by Oil-Red-O staining. The expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ (PPAR ${\gamma}$) and cytidine-cytidine-adenosine-adenosine-thymine (CCAAT)/enhancer-binding proteins ${\alpha}$ (C/EBP ${\alpha}$) as adipocyte-specific proteins were determined by real time RT-PCR and western blotting. In addition, body weight gain and serum lipid levels were measured in the mice with obesity induced by the high fat-diet for four weeks. Results Though MLHM did not show toxicity even at the concentration of 4mg/ml, MLHM significantly inhibited the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocites in a dose-dependent manner. Also, MLHM significantly reduced the expressions of PPAR ${\gamma}$ and C/EBP ${\alpha}$ in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, MLHM significantly reduced body weight gain and LDL-cholesterol contents in high fat diet-fed obese mice. Conclusions These results demonstrate that MLHM exerts anti-obesity effect in 3T3-L1 cells and mice with obesity by high-fat diet.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 1976

1. Three hundred and thirty three strains of thermoduric bacteria from raw milk, H.T.S.T. sterilized milk and U.H.T. sterilized milk in the market were isolated after heat treatment at $65^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. 2. By microscopical and physiological examination, including the tests for proteolysis and lipolysis, the isolates were identified as 125 strains of Bacillus stearothermophilus, 69 strains as Bacillus coagulans, 57 strains as Bacillus subtilis, 76 strains as Bacillus cereus and 3 strains as Lactobacillus thermophilus. 3. The susceptibility of the selected thermoduric strains to heat, the vegetative cells of some strains in skim milk survived the heat treatment at $65^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes or $85^{\circ}C$ for 20 minutes but not survived at $100^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.179-184
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• 2016

Bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) is a potent inducer of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. The Wnt antagonist Dickkopf-1 (Dkk1) is involved in skeletal development and bone remodeling. Here, we investigated the role of Dkk1 in BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. We found that overexpression of BMP9 induced Dkk1 expression in a dose-dependent manner, which was reduced by the P38 inhibitor SB203580 but not the ERK inhibitor PD98059. Moreover, Dkk1 dramatically decreased not only BMP9-induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity but also the expression of osteocalcin (OCN) and osteopontin (OPN) and matrix mineralization of C3H10T1/2 cells. Furthermore, exogenous Dkk1 expression inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling induced by BMP9. Our findings indicate that Dkk1 negatively regulates BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation through inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and it could be used to optimize the therapeutic use of BMP9 and for bone tissue engineering.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2001.03a
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• pp.69-69
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• 2001

The cell cycle phase in which donor nuclei exist prior to nuclear transfer is an important factor governing developmental rates of reconstituted embryos. It was suggested that quiescent G0 and cycling G1 cells could support normal development of reconstituted embryos. In a quest of optimized donor nuclei treatment prior to nuclear transfer, this study was undertaken to examine the cell cycle characteristics of bovine fetal and adult somatic cells when cultured under a variety of culture treatments and the cell cycle change with the lapse of time after trypsinization. This was archived by measuring the DNA content of cells using flow cytometry, Cultured fetal fibroblast cells, adult skin and muscle cells, and cumulus cells were divided by 3 culture treatments; 1) grown to 60-70% confluency (cycling), 2) serum starved culture, 3) culture to confluency. Trypsinized cells were fixed by 70% ethanol and stained with propidium iodide. For one experiment, trypsinized cells were resuspended in DMEM＋10% FBS and incubated for 1.5, 3 and 6 h with occasional shaking before ethanol fixation. Cell cycle phases were determined by flow cytometry enabling calculation of percentages of G0＋G1, S and G2＋M. The majority of cells were in G0＋Gl stage regardless of origin of cells. Cultures that were serum starved or cultured to confluency contained significantly (P<0.05) higher percentages of cells in G0＋G1 (89.5-95.4%). For every cell lines and culture treatments, percentages of cells in existing in G0＋G1 increased with decreasing of the cell size from large to small. In the serum starved and confluency groups, about 98% of small cells were in G0＋G1 Serum starved culture contained higher percentages of small-sized cells (38.5-66.9%) than cycling and confluent cultures regardless of cell lines (P<0.05). After trypsinization of fetal fibroblast and adult skin cells that were serum starved and cultured to confluency, the percentages of cells in G0＋G1 significantly increased by incubation for 1.5(95.7-99.5%) and 3.0 h (95.9-98.6%). The results suggest that the efficient synchronization of bovine somatic cells in G0＋G1 for nuclear transfer can be established by incubation for a limited time period after trypsinization of serum starved or confluent cells.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.505-509
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• 2007

An obligately aerobic bacterium, strain KOPRI $20902^T$, was isolated from a marine sediment in Ny-${\AA}$lesund, Spitsbergen Islands, Norway. Cells were irregular rods and motile with polar monotrichous flagellum. The optimum growth temperature was $17-22^{\circ}C$. Cells grew best in pH 7.0-10.0 and 3-4% sea salts (corresponding to 2.3-3.1% NaCl). The novel strain required $Ca^{2+}$ or $Mg^{2+}$ in addition to NaCl for growth. Sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene revealed that the Arctic isolate is distantly related with established species (<92.4% sequence similarity) and formed a monophyletic group with Cellvibrio, which formed a distinct phylogenetic lineage in the order Pseudomonadales. Predominant cellular fatty acids [$C_{16:1}\;{\omega}7c/15:0$ iso 2OH (45.3%), $C_{16:0}$ (18.4%), ECL 11.799 (11.2%), $C_{10:0}$ 3OH (10.4%)]; DNA G+C content (37.0 mol%); nitrate reduction to nitrogen; absence of aesculin hydrolysis, N-acetyl-${\beta}$-glucosaminidase and esterase; no assimilation of arabinose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, and trehalose differentiated the strain from the genus Cellvibrio. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics, Dasania marina gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed in the order Pseudomonadales. Strain KOPRI $20902^T$ (=KCTC $12566^T$=JCM $13441^T$) is the type strain of Dasania marina.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.926-933
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• 2023

Aspergillus oryzae KCCM 11372 was used to enhance the production of β-glucan using humidity control strategies. Under conditions of 60% humidity, solid-state fermentation (SSF) increased the yields of enzymes (amylase and protease), fungal biomass (ergosterol), and β-glucan. The maximum concentrations obtained were 14800.58 U/g at 72 h, 1068.14 U/g at 120 h, 1.42 mg/g at 72 h, and 12.0% (w/w) at 72 h, respectively. Moreover, the β-glucan containing fermented brown rice (β-glucan-FBR) extracts at concentrations of 25-300 ㎍/ml was considered noncytotoxic to 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. We then studied the inhibitory effects of the extracts on fat droplet formation in 3T3-L1 cells. As a result, 300 ㎍/ml of β-glucan-FBR extracts showed a high inhibition of 38.88% in lipid accumulation. Further, these extracts inhibited adipogenesis in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes by decreasing the expression of C/EBPα, PPARγ, aP2, and GLUT4 genes.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.734-741
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• 2014

Histone modifications on major transcription factor target genes are one of the major regulatory mechanisms controlling adipogenesis. Plant homeodomain finger 2 (PHF2) is a Jumonji domain-containing protein and is known to demethylate the histone H3K9, a repressive gene marker. To better understand the function of PHF2 in adipocyte differentiation, we constructed stable PHF2 knock-down cells by using the mouse pre-adipocyte cell line 3T3-L1. When induced with adipogenic media, PHF2 knock-down cells showed reduced lipid accumulation compared to control cells. Differential expression using a cDNA microarray revealed significant reduction of metabolic pathway genes in the PHF2 knock-down cell line after differentiation. The reduced expression of major transcription factors and adipokines was confirmed with reverse transcription- quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. We further performed co-immunoprecipitation analysis of PHF2 with four major adipogenic transcription factors, and we found that CCATT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)${\alpha}$ and C/EBP${\delta}$ physically interact with PHF2. In addition, PHF2 binding to target gene promoters was confirmed with a chromatin immunoprecipitation experiment. Finally, histone H3K9 methylation markers on the PHF2-binding sequences were increased in PHF2 knock-down cells after differentiation. Together, these results demonstrate that PHF2 histone demethylase controls adipogenic gene expression during differentiation.