• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1771-1779
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• 2015

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Presently, targeted therapy via monoclonal antibodies to specific tumor-associated antigens is being continuously developed. Hep88 mAb has proven to exert tumoricidal effects on the HepG2 cell via a paraptosis-like morphology. To verify the pathway, we then demonstrated downstream up-regulation of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, assessingmRNA expression by real-time PCR and associated enzyme activity by colorimetric assay. Active caspase-3 determination was also accomplished by flow cytometry. Active caspase-3 expression was increased by Hep88 mAb treatment in a dose-and time-dependent manner. All of the results indicated that Hep88 mAb induced programmed cell death in the HepG2 cell line from paraptosis-like to apoptosis by downstream induction of caspases. These conclusions imply that Hep88mAb might be a promising tool for the effective treatment of HCC in the future.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.491-497
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• 2016

Background Hypertrophic scarring is a pathological condition that occurs after trauma or surgery. Angiogenesis occurs more often with hypertrophic scarring than with normotrophic scarring. The regulation of angiogenesis is one of the key factors in hypertrophic scar management. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an essential factor in the angiogenetic response. This study investigated whether decreasing the level of VEGF is effective for treating hypertrophic scarring. Methods Ten 8-week-old female New Zealand white rabbits were included. Four defects were created on each ear by using a 6-mm punch. Bevacizumab (Avastin, Roche Pharma, Basel, Switzerland) was administered in one ear and normal saline was administered in the other ear. Treatment was administered starting on day 2, every 2 days, until day 14. The levels of VEGF were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on day 10 and histologic results were analyzed on day 40. Results Bevacizumab induced-defects showed less hypertrophic scarring when compared with the control group as measured by the scar elevation index (SEI) and loose collagen arrangement. The SEI in the experimental group was $1.89{\pm}0.13$, compared to $1.99{\pm}0.13$ in the control group (n=30, P=0.005). Additionally, the VEGF level was lower ($38.72{\pm}11.03pg$ vs. $82.50{\pm}21.64pg$, n=10, P=0.001) and fewer vessels existed ($8.58{\pm}0.76$ vs. $7.2{\pm}1.20$, n=10, P=0.007). Conclusions Preventing excessive angiogenesis is effective for preventing scar formation, especially with hypertrophic scarring. Although it is not an approach that is sufficient alone for the management of scarring, it may be one of several important strategies for scar treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4655-4659
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• 2016

Background and Aim: Breast cancer is a major healthcare problem in women. There are many reports about up-regulation of Hsp27 in cancer tissues but less is known about the potential relationship between Hsp27 antibody levels and breast cancer complications. We here investigated concentrations of serum Hsp27 antigen and antibodies in subjects with and without breast cancer and assessed potential associations with two-year disease-free survival, histological grade and number of lymph nodes. Materials and Methods: Specifically, serum Hsp27 antigen and antibody levels from 97 patients with breast cancer, and 65 healthy controls were determined by enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Results: Serum Hsp27 and antibody levels were significantly (p<0.001) higher in patients with breast cancer compared to the control group, but no relationship were found with two-year disease free survival, histological grade or number of lymph nodes (p> 0.6, 0.2 and 0.9 respectively). Conclusions: Elevated levels of Hsp27 antibody occur with women with breast cancer but do not appear to be associated with the presence of disease clinical complications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.280-285
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• 2015

Anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of Cotoneaster horizontalis Decne ethanol extract (CHEE) were evaluated. CHEE possessed a potent scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl, which was similar to the activity of ascorbic acid which was used as a positive control. CHEE also effectively suppressed hydrogen peroxide-induced reactive oxygen species on RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, CHEE induced the expression of the anti-oxidative enzyme heme oxygenase 1, and its upstream transcription factor, nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2. CHEE inhibited LPS induced nitric oxide (NO) formation as a consequence of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) down regulation. Taken together, these results provide us with an important new insight; that C. horizontalis possesses anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, C. horizontalis may be utilized as a promising material in the field of nutraceuticals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.293-297
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• 2016

Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) is the rate-limiting enzyme in biosynthesis of cholesterol in animals. In this study, inhibitory effects of isoflavone glycosides on HMG-CoA reductase were investigated. At sample concentration of $100{\mu}M$, genistein-7-O-triglucoside (G2-genistin) inhibited HMG-CoA reductase activity by approximately 18%, whereas daidzein-7-O-triglucoside had no inhibitory effect. In the kinetic experiments with Syrian hamster HMG-CoA reductase, G2-genistin showed inhibitory efficacy with an invariable $V_{max}$ value, suggesting that G2-genistin works as a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase and has potential for hypocholesterolemic action through direct regulation of HMG-CoA reductase.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2003

Background: Fibroblast functions both as a structural element and as a vital immunoregulatory cell. Fibroblasts regulate inflammation through governing of chemokine expression. In order to elucidate the mechanisms by which the expressions of chemokines were regulated, the co-stimulatory effects of Th1 and proinflammatory cytokines were compared using nasal mucosal fibroblasts. Methods: Human nasal mucosa was obtained from surgery for septal deviation and the growth of fibroblasts was established. Fibroblasts from 4th to 6th passage were stimulated with various combinations of cytokines. To inhibit selected signaling pathways, fibroblasts were pretreated with cyclosporin A, wortmannin, staurosporine, and dexamethasone prior to the stimulation with cytokines. The supernatants were collected and chemokines were detected with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced production of RANTES was inhibited by all inhibitors used. MCP-1 was produced constitutively and $TNF-{\alpha}$-induced or $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced production of MCP-1 was not inhibited by cyclosporin A or wortmannin, but by stauroporine or dexamethasone. All inhibitors used in this experiment inhibited $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced or $IL-1{\beta}/IFN-{\gamma}$-induced production of MCP-2 in nasal mucosal fibroblasts. Although staurosporine or dexamethasone showed strong inhibitory effects, cyclosporin A or wortmannin did not inhibit the production of MCP-3 by $IL-1{\beta}/IFN-{\gamma}$ treatment. Conclusion: Chemokines were strongly induced by stimulation of cytokines in combination and showed different pattern of inhibition by the inhibitors. Therefore, it was assumed that cytokines acted on multiple pathways or on unknown pathways which converged to gene-specific transcription factors.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.153-159
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• 2000

A 4.4 kb DNA fragment encompassing lacA (galactoside acetyltransferase) and lacZ($\beta$-galactosidase) genes from Lactococus lactis ssp. lactis ATCC 7962 (L. lactis 7962) was introduced ito a Lac strain, Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MG1363 (L. lactis MG1363) by using a lactococcal expression vector, pMG36e and expression level of lacZ was examined. Growth rates and $\beta$-galactosidase ($\beta$-gal) activities of MG1363 cells carrying recombinant plasmid, pMLZ3, on M17 broth containing different carbon sources (1%, w/v) were examined. Contrary to the expectations, MG1363 [pMLZ3] grown on lactose showed the lowest enzyme activity (17 units) and cells grown on galactose had the highest $\beta$-gal activity (41 units). Cells grown on glucose had intermediate activity (33 units). These activities are about one tenth of the values observed in L. lactis 7962 where lacZ is present as a single-copy gene in the chromosome. When the cellular concentrations of lacZ transcript were examined using slot blot hybridization, it was found that MG1363[pMLZ3] produced sufficient amounts of transcript. These results indicate that either proteolytic degradation of $\beta$-gal or other regulatory mechanism prevent the translation or accumulation of $\beta$-gal in L. lactis MG1363 cells. In regard to regulation, the presence of the ccpA gene in L. lactis MG1363 was confirmed by Southern blot.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1680-1685
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• 2015

Since ancient days, domestic horses have been closely associated with human civilization. Today, horse racing is an important industry. Various genes involved in energy production and muscle contraction are differentially regulated during a race. Among them, creatine kinase (CK) is well known for its regulation of energy preservation in animal cells. CK is an iso-enzyme, encoded by different genes and expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, brain and leucocytes. We confirmed that the expression of CK-M significantly increased in the blood after a 30 minute exercise period, while no considerable change was observed in skeletal muscle. Analysis of various tissues showed an ubiquitous expression of the CK-M gene in the horse; CK-M mRNA expression was predominant in the skeletal muscle and the cardiac muscle compared to other tissues. An evolutionary study by synonymous and non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism ratio of CK-M gene revealed a positive selection that was conserved in the horse. More studies are warranted in order to develop the expression of CK-M gene as a biomarker in blood of thoroughbred horses.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.326-333
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• 2003

Transgenic rice plants expressing a Bacillus subtilis protoporphyrinogen oxidase (Protox), the last shared enzyme of the porphyrin pathway in the expressed cytoplasm or the plastids, were compared with non-trangenic rice plants in their growth characteristics such as tiller number, plant height, biomass, and yield. Transgenic rice plants of $\textrm{T}_3$ generation had 8 to 15 % and 25 to 43% increases in tiller number compared to non-transgenic rice plants at 4 and 8 weeks after transplanting(WAT); similar values were observed for $\textrm{T}_4$ generation at 4 and 8 WAT. However, the plant height in both $\textrm{T}_3$ and $\textrm{T}_4$ generations was similar between transgenic rice plants and non-transgenic rice plants at 4 and 8 WAT. Transgenic rice plants had 13 to 32% increase in above-ground biomass and 9 to 28% increase in grain yield compared to non-transgenic rice plants, demonstrating that biomass and yield correlate with each other. The increased grain yield of the transgenic rice plants was closely associated with the increased panicle number per plant. The percent of filled grain, thousand grains and spikelet number per panicle were similar between transgenic and non-transgenic rice plants. Generally, the growth and yield of transgenic generations ($\textrm{T}_2$, $\textrm{T}_3$, and $\textrm{T}_4$) and gene expressing sites (cytoplasm-expressed and plastid-targeted transgenic rice plants) were similar, although they slightly varied with generations as well as with gene expressing sites. The transgenic rice plants had promotive effects, indicating that regulation of the porphyrin pathway by expression of B. subtilis Protox in rice influences plant growth and yield.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.573-582
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• 1999

Cytokines are hormone-like proteins which mediate and regulate inflammatory and immune responses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB), and Mycoplasma lysates on regulation of IL-6 and IL-8 production by human nasal fibroblasts. Primary cultured cells were incubated with LPS ($1.0\;{\mu}g/ml$) from E.coli, SEB ($1.0\;{\mu}g/ml$) from S.aureus, or Mycoplasma lysates (M.pneumoniae, Mp; M. fermentans, Mf; M. hominis, Mh, each $1.0\;{\mu}g/ml$). The culture supernatants were collected at 2, 6, and 24 hr and assessed for IL-6 and IL-8 production by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The production of IL-6 in the culture supernatant was downregulated by LPS, SEB, or Mycoplasma lysates. But IL-6 was upregulated by mixed exposure with Mp+LPS (2 hr), Mp+LPS+SEB (24 hr), Mf+LPS (24 hr), Mf+LPS+SEB (2 hr), Mh+LPS (24 hr), Mh+SEB (24 hr), or Mh+LPS+SEB (24 hr). The production of IL-8 in the culture supernatant was similar to that of IL-6 by same stimulants. But IL-8 was upregulated by mixed exposure with Mf+LPS+SEB (2 hr), Mh+LPS (24 hr), Mh+ SEB (24 hr), or Mh+LPS+SEB (24 hr). These studies show that costimulation of LPS or SEB with Mycoplasma whole cell lysates upregulates the production of IL-6 and IL-8.