• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.646-652
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• 2018

Neurodegeneration can result in memory loss in the central nervous system (CNS) and impairment of taste and smell in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The neurodegeneration seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by functional loss of dopaminergic neurons. Recent studies have also found a role for dopaminergic neurons in regulating taste memory rewards in insects. To investigate how taste memories and sugar sensitivity can be affected in PD, we utilized the $DJ-1{\beta}$ mutant fruit fly, $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$, as a PD model. We performed binary choice feeding assays, electrophysiology and taste-mediated memory tests to explore the function of the $DJ-1{\beta}$ gene in terms of sugar sensitivity as well as associative taste memory. We found that PD flies exhibited an impaired ability to discriminate sucrose across a range of sugar concentrations, with normal responses at only very high concentrations of sugar. They also showed an impairment in associative taste memory. We highlight that the taste impairment and memory defect in $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$ can be recovered by the expression of wild-type $DJ-1{\beta}$ gene in the dopaminergic neurons. We also emphasized the role of dopaminergic neurons in restoring taste memory function. This impaired memory property of $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$ flies also allows them to be used as a model system for finding supplementary dietary foods that can improve memory function. Here we provide evidence that the associative taste memory of both control and $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$ flies can be enhanced with dietary supplementation of the medicinal plant, omija.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.362-367
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• 2018

A major feature of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is hyperglycemia and dysfunction of pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells. In a previous study, we have shown that Tat-DJ-1 protein inhibits pancreatic RINm5F ${\beta}$-cell death caused by oxidative stress. In this study, we examined effects of Tat-DJ-1 protein on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Wild type (WT) Tat-DJ-1 protein transduced into pancreas where it markedly inhibited pancreatic ${\beta}$-cell destruction and regulated levels of serum parameters including insulin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and free fatty acid (FFA) secretion. In addition, transduced WT Tat-DJ-1 protein significantly inhibited the activation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ and MAPK (ERK and p38) expression as well as expression of COX-2 and iNOS in STZ exposed pancreas. In contrast, treatment with C106A mutant Tat-DJ-1 protein showed no protective effects. Collectively, our results indicate that WT Tat-DJ-1 protein can significantly ameliorate pancreatic tissues in STZ-induced diabetes in mice.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.607-612
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• 1990

The biodegradation of Aroclor 1242 was investigated by the mixed cultivation of the natural bacterial isolates and a genetically engineered microorganism (GEM). The natural strain of MS-1003 degraded the Aroclor 1242 through the ortho-cleavage pathway, while the other strains through the meta-cleavage pathway. When the MS-1003 strain was additionally inoculated into the 1 day culture of the DJ-26 strain and then cultivated for 2 days, the Aroclor was degraded up to 86% and resulted in increase of the meta-cleavage product. But in the MS-1003 culture inoculated with the DJ-26, degradation of the Aroclor was limited to the level of each pure culture. By the mixed cultivation of the DJ-26 strain together with the DJ-12 or its GEM strain of DF-10, which degrades the Aroclor through the meta-cleavage pathway, degradation of the Aroclor as well as production of the meta-cleavage compound were lower than those of each pure culture. The degradation of Aroclor 1242 by the GEM strain was not improved over the parental strain. Therefore, a form of cometaboiism of Aroclor 1242 was found in the mixed culture of the DJ-26 and MS-1003 strains which degrade the Aroclor through the different metabolic pathway, but in the mixed culture of the DJ-26 and DJ-12 strains degrading Aroclor 1242 through the same pathway, a kind of competetion for the substrate was observed.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2005

Comamonas sp. strain DJ-12 is a bacterial isolate capable of degrading of 4-chlorobiphenyl (4CB) as a carbon and energy source. The degradation pathway was characterized as being conducted by consecutive reactions of the meta-degradation of 4CB, hydrolytic dechlorination of 4-chlorobenzoate (4CBA), hydroxylation of 4-hydroxybenzoate, and meta-degradation of protocatechuate to product TCA metabolites. The 6.8 kb fragment from the chromosomal DNA of Comamonas sp. strain DJ-12 included the genes encoding for the meta-degradation of PCA; the genes of protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase alpha and beta subunits (pmcA and pmcB), 4-carboxy-2-hydroxymuconate-6-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (pmcC), 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylate hydrolase (pmcD), 4-oxalomesaconate (OMA) hydratase(pmcE), 4-oxalocitramalate (OCM) aldolase (pmcF), and transporter gene (pmcT). They were organized in the order of pmcT-pmcE-pmcF-pmcD-pmcA-pmcB-pmcC. The amino acid sequences deduced from the nucleotide sequences of pmcABCDEFT genes from Comamonas sp. strain DJ-12 exhibited 94 to $98\%$ homologies with those of Comamonas testosteroni BR6020 and Pseudomonas ochraceae NGJ1, but only 52 to $74\%$ with homologies Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6, Sphingomonas sp. LB126, and Arthrobacter keyseri 12B.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Doenjang, Korean traditional fermented soybean paste has been reported to have an anti-obesity effect. Because adipose tissue is considered a major source of inflammatory signals, we investigated the protective effects of Doenjang and steamed soybean on oxidative stress and inflammation in adipose tissue of diet-induced obese mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a low fat diet (LF), a high-fat diet (HF), or a high-fat containing Doenjang diet (DJ) or a high-fat containing steamed soybean diet (SS) for 11 weeks. RESULTS: Mice fed a DJ diet showed significantly lower body and adipose tissue weights than those in the HF group. Although no significant differences in adipocyte size and number were observed among the HF diet-fed groups, consumption of Doenjang alleviated the incidence of crown-like structures in adipose tissue. Consistently, we observed significantly reduced mRNA levels of oxidative stress markers (heme oxygenase-1 and $p40^{phox}$), pro-inflammatory adipokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha and macrophage chemoattractant protein-1), macrophage markers (CD68 and CD11c), and a fibrosis marker (transforming growth factor beta 1) by Doenjang consumption. Gene expression of anti-inflammatory adipokine, adiponectin was significantly induced in the DJ group and the SS group compared to the HF group. The anti-oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory effects observed in mice fed an SS diet were not as effective as those in mice fed a DJ diet, suggesting that the bioactive compounds produced during fermentation and aging may be involved in the observed health-beneficial effects of Doenjang. CONCLUSIONS: Doenjang alleviated oxidative stress and restored the dysregulated expression of adipokine genes caused by excess adiposity. Therefore, Doenjang may ameliorate systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in obesity via inhibition of inflammatory signals of adipose tissue.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.19-31
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• 2013

To figure out the decay characteristics of naturally occurring radionuclides, eight sampled groundwaters from a monitoring borehole having high levels of uranium and radon concentrations in a two mica granitic area have analyzed by liquid scintillation counters (LSC) for over 1 year. In December 2011, three groundwater samples (DJ1, DJ2, DJ3) were obtained from each aquifer system located at -20 m, -40 m, -60 m of the monitoring borehole below the ground surface, respectively. Five samples (DJ4, DJ5, DJ6, DJ7, DJ8) were additionally gained from each aquifer positioned -20 m, -40 m, -60 m, -100 m, -105 m of the borehole in February 2012, respectively. Temporal variation characteristics of uranium and radon concentrations have showed over maximum 2.1 times and 1.4 times fluctuations of the values in the same sampling intervals over time, respectively. The intervals of -40 m and -105 m in the borehole have the highest values of uranium and radon concentrations, respectively. This may imply that the concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides such as uranium and radon in groundwater have been changed over time and indicate that the qualities of groundwaters from the aquifers developed at each interval in the borehole are different each other. This discrepancy, moreover, could be caused by behaviour differences between uranium which is in ionic status having a half life of 4.6 billion years and is transported along with the flowing groundwater, and radon which is in gaseous status having a 3.82 day's half life in the aquifer systems. Physicochemical characteristics of groundwaters from the aquifer systems could be identified by the results of the on-situ measuring items such as pH and Eh, and the major ionic contents. The CPM values of eight groundwater samples analysed by LSC over one year have shown not to follow the theoretical decay curve of the radon. The CPM values of the samples have ranged from 2 to 7.5 after it had passed two months when the theoretical CPM values of the radon started zero since the initial analysis. Alpha and beta particle spectrums have shown the peaks of radium-226, however they have not revealed any peaks of radon and it's daughter products such as polonium-218 and 214, bismuth-214 for the late stage of the analysis. This implies that the groundwater from the borehole may contain radium-226 having a half life of 1,600 years which decays continuously.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2019

In order to investigate the effects of Eucomiae Cortex extracts on the depression caused by aging, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry were performed on the hippocampus of aged rats and the following results were obtained. Experimental animals were divided into three groups as follows: 8 week old ICR male mice, Aging-elicited group (AE group) and Eucomiae Cortex treatment group (EC group) 50 week old male ICR mice were used. The control group and AE group did not take any treatment and did not restrict diets and negatives. In the EC group, 0.51g/kg of Eucomiae Cortex extract was dissolved in distilled water once a day for 6 months. The Eucomiae Cortex extract reduced pyramidal neuronal damage in C3 hippocampus and dentate gyrus, increased DJ-1, SHH positive responses in aged mouse hippocampus, and 8-OHdG positivity was reduced, ${\beta}$-endorphin positivity was reduced in aged mouse substantia nigra. Therefore, based on the above results, Eucomiae Cortex extract reduces damage of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus caused by aging, inhibits neuronal cell death, induces proliferation and differentiation of stem cells in the hippocampus, reduces DNA damage-induced oxidative stress, so improves the reduction of hippocampus volume. It is also thought to improves depression due to aging through ${\beta}$-endorphin which enhances mood through the inhibition of pain.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.445-451
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• 2016

This study demonstrated the immunological effects of methanol extracts from Doenjang added with wild plants (Pteridium aquilinum and Aster scaber) on bone-marrow derived macrophages and mouse splenocytes. Doenjang (DJ) and wild plant added Doenjang (WPDJ) extracts were treated to bone-marrow derived macrophages (BMDM) and splenocytes, and cell proliferation and cytokine production were measured. Cell proliferation of BMDM and splenocytes was more highly elevated in the WPDJ-treated group compared to the DJ-treated group. Cytokine [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-10, and IL-12] production in BMDM also significantly increased in the WPDJ-treated group. Similarly, in the case of cytokine production in splenocytes, WPDJ treatment highly increased production of Th 1 type cytokines [interferon (IFN)-${\gamma}$ and IL-2] but did not affect production of Th 2 type cytokines (IL-4). These results suggest that wild plants could improve the immunomodulatory activity of Doenjang and may be effective for the development Doenjang.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.367-373
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• 2017

This study was performed using histochemical and immunohistochemical methods to investigate the effect of Gami-Shinkiwhan(GS) on reproductive function of male aged mice. 8-weeks-old ICR mice were used as control group, without any treatment, and 15-month-old ICR mice were used as aging elicited group(AE) and Gami-Shinkiwhan treatment group(GS). AE group didn't restrict diets and drinking for 6 months without any treatment. GS was administered 0.56g/kg/day for 6 months. Compared with AE group, the cell division of sertoli cells, spermatids, and spermatogonial cells was increased and the apoptosis of sertoli cells was decreased on GS group. Androgen receptor positive reaction and $17{\beta}$-HSD positive reaction were significantly increased in the GS group compared to AE group. In addition, the DJ-1 positive reaction was significantly increased and the HDAC3 positive response was significantly decreased in the GS group compared with AE group. Based on the above results, GS prevented the apoptosis of sertoli cells in the tubules, and increased the production of sertoli cells, spermatozoa and testosterone. Based on this, it is thought that it improves male reproductive dysfunction caused by late-onset hypogonadism.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.854-859
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• 2005

Although action modes of equol and genistein have been extensively studied, their precise roles in tumor cells remain elusive. To address possible effects of these compounds on protein expression in mammary tumor cells, proteins modulated in MCF-7 mammary tumor cells when incubated in absence and presence of 10 uM equol or genistein were identified through 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF MS/MS, and NCBInr database search using Mascot software. Most proteins differentially expressed in MCF-7 cells after treatment with 10 uM genistein or equol were identified as being the same. Exposure to both compounds caused decreased cellular expression of RNA-binding protein regulatory subunit and oncogene DJ1 tubulin beta-1 chain, and increased expression of heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins F and L, KH-type splicing regulatory protein, and translation elongation factor EF-Tu precursor. Genistein and equol at dose used in this study showed common action mechanism.