• 대한본초학회지
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.71-78
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• 2016

Objectives : Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes and a leading cause of end-stage renal failure in the world. Mesangial cell proliferation is known as the major pathologic features such as glomerulosclerosis and renal fibrosis. Wiryeongtang (WRT) is a well-known traditional herbal formula as therapeutic agents for chronic edema and dysuresia of renal homeostasis. In the present study, we investigated whether WRT inhibits high glucose (HG)-induced renal dysfunction by TGF-β/Smads signal regulation in cultured mesangial cells.Methods : Inhibitory effect of WRT (10-50 ㎍/ml) on HG-stimulated mesangial cells proliferation and dysfunction were evaluated by [³H]-thymidine incorporation, Western blot, and RT-qPCR.Results : WRT significantly decreased HG-accelerated thymidine incorporation in human renal mesangial cell in a dose-dependent levels. WRT induced down-regulation of cyclins/CDKs and up-regulation of CDK inhibitor, p21waf1/cip1 and p27kip1 expression. In addition, HG enhanced expression of dysfunction biomarker such as collagen IV and CTGF, which was markedly attenuated by WRT. WRT decreased TGF-β1 and Smad-2/Smad-4 expression, whereas increased Smad-7 expression under HG. Furthermore, WRT inhibited HG-induced inflammatory factors level such as ICAM-1 and MCP-1 as well as NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation and intracellular ROS production.Conclusions : These results suggested that WRT may alleviate mesangial proliferation and inflammation possibly involved in renal fibrotic process, further diabetic nephropathy through disturbing TGF-β1/Smad signaling and NF-κB/ROS pathway. Thus, WRT might prove to be effective in the treatment of renal dysfunction leading to diabetic nephropathy.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제28권7호
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• pp.765-771
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• 2018

$PPAR{\gamma}$는 지방세포의 분화를 조절하는 핵심적인 전사 인자로서 이를 조절하는 후성유전학적 조절 기전이 비만억제 연구에서 중요하게 주목 받고 있다. 선행연구에서 CACUL1이 $PPAR{\gamma}$의 전사 활성 및 지방세포의 분화를 억제하는 corepressor로서 작용함을 밝힌 바 있으며 본 연구에서는 CACUL1의 새로운 결합 단백질로 발굴된 protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5)의 $PPAR{\gamma}$ 조절 기능을 분석하였다. PRMT5가 CACUL1과 결합함을 immunoprecipitation assay in vivo와 GST-pull down assay in vitro를 통하여 확인하였다. Luciferase reporter assay 결과로 두 단백질이 상호 협력하여 $PPAR{\gamma}$의 전사 활성을 억제함을 확인하였다. PRMT5가 안정적으로 과발현 또는 knockdown되는 3T3-L1 세포주를 제작하여 지방세포 분화에 미치는 영향을 분석한 결과, PRMT5가 3T3-L1세포의 지방세포 분화를 억제함을 증명하였다. 같은 맥락으로 PRMT5는 $PPAR{\gamma}$의 타겟 유전자인 Lpl과 aP2의 발현을 억제하는 것을 RT-qPCR로 확인하였다. 이상의 연구 결과로 PRMT5이 CACUL1과 결합하여 $PPAR{\gamma}$의 전사 활성을 방해, 나아가 지방세포의 분화를 억제하는 기존에 알려지지 않은 분자적 기전을 처음으로 밝혔다. 따라서, PRMT5 효소 활성의 조절은 비만 억제를 위한 약물 개발에 단서를 제공할 것이다.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.363-370
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• 2016

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in diabetic patients. Hyperglycemia is the primary characteristic of diabetes and is associated with many complications. The role of hyperglycemia in the dysfunction of human cardiac progenitor cells that can regenerate damaged cardiac tissue has been investigated, but the exact mechanism underlying this association is not clear. Thus, we examined whether hyperglycemia could regulate mitochondrial dynamics and lead to cardiac progenitor cell dysfunction, and whether blocking glucose uptake could rescue this dysfunction. High glucose in cardiac progenitor cells results in reduced cell viability and decreased expression of cell cycle-related molecules, including CDK2 and cyclin E. A tube formation assay revealed that hyperglycemia led to a significant decrease in the tube-forming ability of cardiac progenitor cells. Fluorescent labeling of cardiac progenitor cell mitochondria revealed that hyperglycemia alters mitochondrial dynamics and increases expression of fission-related proteins, including Fis1 and Drp1. Moreover, we showed that specific blockage of GLUT1 improved cell viability, tube formation, and regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in cardiac progenitor cells. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that high glucose leads to cardiac progenitor cell dysfunction through an increase in mitochondrial fission, and that a GLUT1 blocker can rescue cardiac progenitor cell dysfunction and downregulation of mitochondrial fission. Combined therapy with cardiac progenitor cells and a GLUT1 blocker may provide a novel strategy for cardiac progenitor cell therapy in cardiovascular disease patients with diabetes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권21호
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• pp.9319-9325
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• 2014

Alkaloids are the most extensively featured compounds of natural anti-tumor herbs, which have attracted much attention in pharmaceutical research. In our previous studies, a mixture of major three alkaloid components (5, 6-dihydrobicolorine, 7-deoxy-trans-dihydronarciclasine, littoraline) from Hymenocallis littoralis were extracted, analyzed and designated as AHL. In this paper, AHL extracts were added to human liver hepatocellular cells HepG-2, human gastric cancer cell SGC-7901, human breast adenocarcinoma cell MCF-7 and human umbilical vein endothelial cell EVC-304, to screen one or more AHL-sensitive tumor cell. Among these cells, HepG-2 was the most sensitive to AHL treatment, a very low dose ($0.8{\mu}g/ml$) significantly inhibiting proliferation. The non-tumor cell EVC-304, however, was not apparently affected. Effect of AHL on HepG-2 cells was then explored. We found that the AHL could cause HepG-2 cycle arrest at G2/M checkpoint, induce apoptosis, and interrupt polymerization of microtubules. In addition, expression of two cell cycle-regulated proteins, CyclinB1 and CDK1, was up-regulated upon AHL treatment. Up-regulation of the Fas, Fas ligand, Caspase-8 and Caspase-3 was observed as well, which might imply roles for the Fas/FsaL signaling pathway in the AHL-induced apoptosis of HepG-2 cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권8호
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• pp.3757-3761
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• 2012

Objective: Crocin has been proposed as a promising candidate for cancer chemoprevention. The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the chemopreventive action and the possible mechanisms of crocin against human colon cancer cells in vitro. Methods: Cell proliferation was examined using MTT assay and the cell cycle distribution fractions were analyzed using fow cytometric analysis after propidium iodide staining. Apoptosis was detected using theTUNEL Apoptosis Detection Kit with laser scanning confocal microscope. DNA damage was assessed using the alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis assay, while expression levels of p53, cdk2, cyclinA and P21 were examined by Western blot analysis. Results: Treatment of SW480 cells with crocetin (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 mmol/L) for 48 h signifcantly inhibited their proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Crocetin (0.8 mmol/L) signifcantly induced cell cycle arrest through p53-independent mechanisms accompanied by P21 induction. Crocetin (0.8 mmol/L) caused cytotoxicity in the SW480 cells by enhancing apoptosis and decreasing DNA repair capacity in a time-dependent manner. Conclusions: This report provides evidence that crocetin is a potential anticancer agent, which may be used as a chemotherapeutic drug.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.354-360
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• 2020

The hair cycle (anagen, catagen, and telogen) is regulated by the interaction between mesenchymal cells and epithelial cells in the hair follicles. The proliferation of dermal papilla cells (DPCs), mesenchymal-derived fibroblasts, has emerged as a target for the regulation of the hair cycle. Here, we show that vanillic acid, a phenolic acid from wheat bran, promotes the proliferation of DPCs via a PI3K/Akt/Wnt/β-catenin dependent mechanism. Vanillic acid promoted the proliferation of DPCs, accompanied by increased levels of cell-cycle proteins cyclin D1, CDK6, and Cdc2 p34. Vanillic acid also increased the levels of phospho(ser473)-Akt, phospho(ser780)-pRB, and phospho(thr37/46)-4EBP1 in a time-dependent manner. Wortmannin, an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt pathway, attenuated the vanillic acid-mediated proliferation of DPCs. Vanillic acid-induced progression of the cell-cycle was also suppressed by wortmannin. Moreover, vanillic acid increased the levels of Wnt/β-catenin proteins, such as phospho(ser9)-glycogen synthase kinase-3β, phospho(ser552)-β-catenin, and phospho(ser675)-β-catenin. We found that vanillic acid increased the levels of cyclin D1 and Cox-2, which are target genes of β-catenin, and these changes were inhibited by wortmannin. To investigate whether vanillic acid affects the downregulation of β-catenin by dihydrotestosterone (DHT), implicated in the development of androgenetic alopecia, DPCs were stimulated with DHT in the presence and absence of vanillic acid for 24 h. Western blotting and confocal microscopy analyses showed that the decreased level of β-catenin after the incubation with DHT was reversed by vanillic acid. These results suggest that vanillic acid could stimulate anagen and alleviate hair loss by activating the PI3K/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in DPCs.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제17권7호통권87호
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• pp.976-982
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• 2007

본 연구는 분화 전단계인 C2C12 myoblast세포에 중요한 후천적 기작의 하나인 DNA 히스톤 단백질의 아세틸화를 조절하였을 때 일어나는 변화를 살펴본 결과, 히스톤 탈아세틸화 효소를 trichostatin A로서 억제시키자 C2C12 myoblast 세포가 smooth muscle로 분화하였다. 이는 immunofluorescentstaining을 통해 smooth muscle ${\alpha}-actin$의 발현 증가를 trishostatin A로 처리한 세포에서 관찰하였으며, DAPI 염색을 통해 대조군 세포와 비교하여 세포의 증식이 많이 억제됨을 관찰하였다. 또한 real-time PCR 결과는 smooth muscle ${\alpha}$-actin과 transgelin mRNA의 발현이 trichostatin A 처리군 세포에서 현저히 증가함을 보여주었다. 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 히스톤 단백질의 탈아세틸화 억제는 C2C12 myoblast 세포의 분화에 매우 중요한 역할을 하며, 또한 C2C12 myoblast 세포를 골격근인 다핵의 myotube로 분화시키지 않고, smooth muscle로 분화시킴을 알 수 있었다. 이것은 분명히 HDAC억제제 인 trichostatin A가 DNA 히스톤 단백질의 HDAC 효소에 의한 탈아세틸화를 강력히 억제하고, 이러한 HDAC효소의 억제는 세포주기에 있어서 증식과 분화를 조절하는 유전자들의 발현을 조절하였음을 시사한다. 이를 검증하기 위해 세포주기 조절인자인 p21과 cyclin Dl mRNA의 발현을 조사한 결과 세포를 증식단계로 진행하는데 있어서 필수적인 cdk 억제제인 p21 mRNA의 발현이 trichostatin A로 처리한 세포에서 현저히 증가함을 보였으며, 세포 증식을 유도하는 cyclin Dl mRNA의 발현은 trichostatin A를 처 리 한 후 24시간 후 유의하게 감소함을 보였는데 이는 trichostatin A가 세포증식을 억제하는 초기단계에서 cyclin Dl 유전자의 발현을 조절함을 보여준다. 향후 연구에서는 또 하나의 중요한 후천적 기작인 DNA 메틸화와 히스톤 아세틸화가 유전자 발현을 조절하는데 있어서 상호작용에 대한 연구가 필요할 것으로 생각된다.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.203-208
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• 2013

As the abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) plays a critical role in the development of atherosclerosis and vascular restenosis, a candidate drug with antiproliferative properties is needed. We investigated the antiproliferative action and underlying mechanism of a newly synthesized naphthoquinone derivative, 5,8-dimethoxy-2-nonylamino-naphthalene-1,4-dione (2-nonylamino-DMNQ), using VSMCs treated with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). 2-Nonylamino-DMNQ inhibited proliferation and cell number of VSMCs induced by PDGF, but not epidermal growth factor (EGF), in a concentration-dependent manner without any cytotoxicity. This derivative suppressed PDGF-induced $[^3H]$-thymidine incorporation, cell cycle progression from $G_0/G_1$ to S phase, and the phosphorylation of phosphor-retinoblastoma protein (pRb) as well as the expression of cyclin E/D, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 2/4, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Importantly, 2-nonylamino-DMNQ inhibited the phosphorylation of PDGF receptor${\beta}$(PDGF-$R{\beta}$) enhanced by PDGF at $Tyr^{579}$, $Tyr^{716}$, $Tyr^{751}$, and $Tyr^{1021}$ residues. Subsequently, 2-nonylamino-DMNQ inhibited PDGF-induced phosphorylation of STAT3, ERK1/2, Akt, and $PLC{\gamma}1$. Therefore, our results indicate that 2-nonylamino-DMNQ inhibits PDGF-induced VSMC proliferation by blocking PDGF-$R{\beta}$ autophosphorylation, and subsequently PDGF-$R{\beta}$-mediated downstream signaling pathways.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.287-294
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• 2016

The effect of kaempferol (3,5,7,4-tetrahydroxyflavone), a flavonoid compound that was identified in barnyard millet (Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea) grains, on G₂-checkpoint and apoptotic pathways was investigated in human acute leukemia Jurkat T cell clones stably transfected with an empty vector (J/Neo) or a Bcl-xL expression vector (J/Bcl-xL). Exposure of J/Neo cells to kaempeferol caused cytotoxicity and activation of the ATM/ATR-Chk1/Chk2 pathway, activating the phosphorylation of p53 (Ser-15), inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Ser-216), and inactivation of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1), with resultant G₂-arrest of the cell cycle. Under these conditions, apoptotic events, including upregulation of Bak and PUMA levels, Bak activation, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) loss, activation of caspase-9, -8, and -3, anti-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and accumulation of apoptotic sub-G₁ cells, were induced without accompanying necrosis. However, these apoptotic events, except for upregulation of Bak and PUMA levels, were completely abrogated in J/Bcl-xL cells overexpressing Bcl-xL, suggesting that the G₂-arrest and the Bcl-xL-sensitive mitochondrial apoptotic events were induced, in parallel, as downstream events of the DNA-damage-mediated G₂-checkpoint activation. Together these results demonstrate that kaempferol-mediated antitumor activity toward Jurkat T cells was attributable to G₂-checkpoint activation, which caused not only G₂-arrest of the cell cycle but also activating phosphorylation of p53 (Ser-15) and subsequent induction of mitochondria-dependent apoptotic events, including Bak and PUMA upregulation, Bak activation, Δψm loss, and caspase cascade activation.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제41권5호
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• pp.390-400
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• 2018

Studies have revealed that miR-103a-3p contributes to tumor growth in several human cancers, and high miR-103a-3p expression is associated with poor prognosis in advanced gastric cancer (GC) patients. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis has shown that miR-103a-3p is upregulated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) stomach cancer cohort. These results suggest that miR-103a-3p may function as an oncogene in GC. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miR-103a-3p in human GC. miR-103a-3p expression levels were increased in 33 clinical GC specimens compared with adjacent nontumor stomach tissues. Gain- and loss-of-function studies were performed to identify the correlation between miR-103a-3p and tumorigenesis in human GC. Inhibiting miR-103a-3p suppressed GC cell proliferation and blocked the S-G2/M transition in MKN-45/SGC-7901 cells, whereas miR-103a-3p overexpression improved GC cell proliferation and promoted the S-G2/M transition in vitro. Bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed that ATF7 is a direct target of miR-103a-3p. Analysis of the TCGA stomach cancer cohort further revealed that miR-103a-3p expression was inversely correlated with ATF7 expression. Notably, silencing ATF7 showed similar cellular and molecular effects as miR-103a-3p overexpression, namely, increased GC cell proliferation, improved CDK2 expression and decreased P27 expression. ATF7 overexpression eliminated the effects of miR-103a-3p expression. These findings indicate that miR-103a-3p promotes the proliferation of GC cell by targeting and suppressing ATF7 in vitro.