• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.3.1-3.14
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• 2023

Microvilli are outer membrane organelles that contain cross-linked filamentous actin. Unlike well-characterized epithelial microvilli, T-cell microvilli are dynamic similar to those of filopodia, which grow and shrink intermittently via the alternate actin-assembly and -disassembly. T-cell microvilli are specialized for sensing Ags on the surface of Ag-presenting cells (APCs). Thus, these finger-shaped microprotrusions contain many signaling-related proteins and can serve as a signaling platforms that induce intracellular signals. However, they are not limited to sensing external information but can provide sites for parts of the cell-body to tear away from the cell. Cells are known to produce many types of extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as exosomes, microvesicles, and membrane particles. T cells also produce EVs, but little is known about under what conditions T cells generate EVs and which types of EVs are released. We discovered that T cells produce few exosomes but release large amounsts of microvilli-derived particles during physical interaction with APCs. Although much is unanswered as to why T cells use the same organelles to sense Ags or to produce EVs, these events can significantly affect T cell fate, including clonal expansion and death. Since TCRs are localized at microvilli tips, this membrane event also raises a new question regarding long-standing paradigm in T cell biology; i.e., surface TCR downmodulation following T cell activation. Since T-cell microvilli particles carry T-cell message to their cognate partner, these particles are termed T-cell immunological synaptosomes (TISs). We discuss the potential physiological role of TISs and their application to immunotherapies.

• BMB Reports
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.11-19
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• 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Patients with severe COVID-19 exhibit hyper-inflammatory responses characterized by excessive activation of myeloid cells, including monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils, and a plethora of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Accumulating evidence also indicates that hyper-inflammation is a driving factor for severe progression of the disease, which has prompted the development of anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Corticosteroids, IL-6R inhibitors, and JAK inhibitors have demonstrated promising results in treating patients with severe disease. In addition, diverse forms of exosomes that exert anti-inflammatory functions have been tested experimentally for the treatment of COVID-19. Here, we briefly describe the immunological mechanisms of the hyper-inflammatory responses in patients with severe COVID-19. We also summarize current anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of severe COVID-19 and novel exosome-based therapeutics that are in experimental stages.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권2호
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• pp.71-77
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• 2023

Cancers are one of the most dreaded diseases in human history and have been targeted by numerous trials including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and anti-cancer drugs. Adult stem cells (ASCs), which can regenerate tissues and repair damage, have emerged as leading therapeutic candidates due to their homing ability toward tumor foci. Stem cells can precisely target malicious tumors, thereby minimizing the toxicity of normal cells and unfavorable side effects. ASCs, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), neural stem cells (NSCs), and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), are powerful tools for delivering therapeutic agents to various primary and metastatic cancers. Engineered ASCs act as a bridge between the tumor sites and tumoricidal reagents, producing therapeutic substances such as exosomes, viruses, and anti-cancer proteins encoded by several suicide genes. This review focuses on various anti-cancer therapies implemented via ASCs and summarizes the recent treatment progress and shortcomings.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.289-298
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• 2023

Complex diseases including cardiovascular disease are caused by a combination of the alternation of many genes and the influence of environments. Recently, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been shown to be involved in diverse diseases, and the functions of various ncRNAs have been reported. Many researchers have elucidated the mechanisms of action of these ncRNAs at the cellular level prior to in vivo and clinical studies of the diseases. Due to the characteristics of complex diseases involving intercellular crosstalk, it is important to study communication between multiple cells. However, there is a lack of literature summarizing and discussing studies of ncRNAs involved in intercellular crosstalk in cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, this review summarizes recent discoveries in the functional mechanisms of intercellular crosstalk involving ncRNAs, including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs. In addition, the pathophysiological role of ncRNAs in this communication is extensively discussed in various cardiovascular diseases.

• 대한화장품학회지
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.359-366
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• 2016

엑소좀은 세포에서 분비되는 작은 소낭체로서, 기원세포와 조직에 따라 다양한 기능을 수행하며, 세포생존 및 세포 간 커뮤니케이션에 중요한 역할을 한다. 최근 엑소좀을 활용하여 종양연구, 면역질환 개선, 질병진단 bio-marker 개발 등 다양한 분야에서 연구가 진행되고 있으나, 피부세포에서 분비기전 및 피부 생리적 기능에 대한 연구는 미흡한 실정이다. 따라서 본 연구에서 인체피부 유래 각질형성세포(HaCaT)로부터 분리된 엑소좀이 피부각질형성세포의 증식과 이주에 미치는 영향을 확인하고자 하였다. HaCaT으로부터 ExoQuick-TC를 활용하여 엑소좀을 분리하고, 열처리 엑소좀(boiled exosome)과 무처리 엑소좀(unboiled exosome)으로 구분하였다. HaCaT 유래 엑소좀은 농도 의존적으로($0.1{\sim}20{\mu}g/mL$) HaCaT의 증식을 유도하였으며, $20{\mu}g/mL$에서 대조군(control)에 비해 각각 $186.96{\pm}3.87%$(열처리) 또는 $193.48{\pm}10.48%$(무처리)의 증식 유도활성을 나타내었다. 또한 HaCaT 유래 무처리 엑소좀은 농도 의존적인($0.1{\sim}20{\mu}g/mL$) HaCaT의 이주활성을 나타내었고, $20{\mu}g/mL$에서 대조군에 비해 $179.39{\pm}4.89%$의 이주를 유도하였다. 그러나 열처리 엑소좀은 이주 유도활성을 나타내지 않았다. 뿐만 아니라 무처리 HaCaT 유래 엑소좀은 collagen sprout outgrowth를 농도 의존적으로 유도함을 확인하였다. 이러한 결과를 통해서 HaCaT 유래 엑소좀은 지질 및 열에 안정한 물질이 세포의 증식을 유도하고, 단백질 또는 열에 불안정한 물질이 세포의 이동 및 sprout out growth 활성에 관여하는 것으로 확인되었다. 따라서 피부각질형성세포 유래 엑소좀은 피부의 재상피화 및 상처치유 등의 활성을 나타낼 수 있으며, 향후 화장품소재로서 응용 가능성이 확인되었다.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.301-314
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• 2019

Purpose: Peritoneal carcinomatosis in gastric cancer (GC) patients results in extremely poor prognosis. Malignant ascites samples are the most appropriate biological material to use to evaluate biomarkers for peritoneal carcinomatosis. This study identified exosomal MicroRNAs (miRNAs) differently expressed between benign liver cirrhosis-associated ascites (LC-ascites) and malignant gastric cancer-associated ascites (GC-ascites), and validated their role as diagnostic biomarkers for GC-ascites. Materials and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from exosomes isolated from 165 ascites samples (73 LC-ascites and 92 GC-ascites). Initially, microarrays were used to screen the expression levels of 2,006 miRNAs in the discovery cohort (n=22). Subsequently, quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses were performed to validate the expression levels of selected exosomal miRNAs in the training (n=70) and validation (n=73) cohorts. Furthermore, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were determined in ascites samples. Results: The miR-574-3p, miR-181b-5p, miR-4481, and miR-181d were significantly downregulated in the GC-ascites samples compared to the LC-ascites samples, and miR-181b-5p showed the best diagnostic performance for GC-ascites (area under the curve [AUC]=0.798 and 0.846 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively). The diagnostic performance of CEA for GC-ascites was improved by the combined analysis of miR-181b-5p and CEA (AUC=0.981 and 0.946 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively). Conclusions: We identified exosomal miRNAs capable of distinguishing between non-malignant and GC-ascites, showing that the combined use of miR-181b-5p and CEA could improve diagnosis.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.627-637
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• 2023

Background: Damage to the healthy intestinal epithelial layer and regulation of the intestinal immune system, closely interrelated, are considered pivotal parts of the curative treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Plant-based diets and phytochemicals can support the immune microenvironment in the intestinal epithelial barrier for a balanced immune system by improving the intestinal microecological balance and may have therapeutic potential in colitis. However, there have been only a few reports on the therapeutic potential of plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PENs) and the underlying mechanism in colitis. This study aimed to assess the therapeutic effect of PENs from Panax ginseng, ginseng-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (GENs), in a mouse model of IBD, with a focus on the intestinal immune microenvironment. Method: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of GENs on acute colitis, we treated GENs in Caco2 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced RAW 264.7 macrophages and analyzed the gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Furthermore, we further examined bacterial DNA from feces and determined the alteration of gut microbiota composition in DSS-induced colitis mice after administration of GENs through 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Result: GENs with low toxicity showed a long-lasting intestinal retention effect for 48 h, which could lead to effective suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6 production through inhibition of NF-κB in DSS-induced colitis. As a result, it showed longer colon length and suppressed thickening of the colon wall in the mice treated with GENs. Due to the amelioration of the progression of DSS-induced colitis with GENs treatment, the prolonged survival rate was observed for 17 days compared to 9 days in the PBS-treated group. In the gut microbiota analysis, the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidota was decreased, which means GENs have therapeutic effectiveness against IBD. Ingesting GENs would be expected to slow colitis progression, strengthen the gut microbiota, and maintain gut homeostasis by preventing bacterial dysbiosis. Conclusion: GENs have a therapeutic effect on colitis through modulation of the intestinal microbiota and immune microenvironment. GENs not only ameliorate the inflammation in the damaged intestine by downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokines but also help balance the microbiota on the intestinal barrier and thereby improve the digestive system.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권11호
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• pp.585-586
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• 2016

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are natural carriers of biomolecules that play central roles in cell-to-cell communications. Based on this, there have been various attempts to use EVs as therapeutic drug carriers. From chemical reagents to nucleic acids, various macromolecules were successfully loaded into EVs; however, loading of proteins with high molecular weight has been huddled with several problems. Purification of recombinant proteins is expensive and time consuming, and easily results in modification of proteins due to physical or chemical forces. Also, the loading efficiency of conventional methods is too low for most proteins. We have recently proposed a new method, the so-called exosomes for protein loading via optically reversible protein-protein interaction (EXPLORs), to overcome the limitations. Since EXPLORs are produced by actively loading of intracellular proteins into EVs using blue light without protein purification steps, we demonstrated that the EXPLOR technique significantly improves the loading and delivery efficiency of therapeutic proteins. In further in vitro and in vivo experiments, we demonstrate the potential of EXPLOR technology as a novel platform for biopharmaceuticals, by successful delivery of several functional proteins such as Cre recombinase, into the target cells.

• BMB Reports
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• 제47권10호
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• pp.531-539
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• 2014

All living cells release extracellular vesicles having pleiotropic functions in intercellular communication. Mammalian extracellular vesicles, also known as exosomes and microvesicles, are spherical bilayered proteolipids composed of various bioactive molecules, including RNAs, DNAs, proteins, and lipids. Extracellular vesicles directly and indirectly control a diverse range of biological processes by transferring membrane proteins, signaling molecules, mRNAs, and miRNAs, and activating receptors of recipient cells. The active interaction of extracellular vesicles with other cells regulates various physiological and pathological conditions, including cancer, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. Recent developments in high-throughput proteomics, transcriptomics, and lipidomics tools have provided ample data on the common and specific components of various types of extracellular vesicles. These studies may contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanism involved in vesicular cargo sorting and the biogenesis of extracellular vesicles, and, further, to the identification of disease-specific biomarkers. This review focuses on the components, functions, and therapeutic and diagnostic potential of extracellular vesicles under various pathophysiological conditions.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제63권3호
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• pp.593-602
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• 2021

Mammalian milk including microRNAs (miRNAs) as a novel class of noncoding RNAs, that can be transferred to infants and it plays on a critical role in biological functions such as immune regulation and development. However, the origin and functional importance of milk-derived miRNAs are still undetermined. This study applied RNA sequencing to explore the featured profiles of miRNA expression in colostrum and mature milk-originated exosomes from human, bovine, and caprine milk. These dietary exosome-derived miRNAs are highly conserved in human, bovine and caprine milk. Interestingly, abundant miRNAs expressed in human milk are similarly conserved across species. In addition, we confirmed that immune-related miRNAs (miR-30a-5p, miR-22-3p, and miR-26a) are commonly observed in the colostrum and mature milk of cows and caprines as well as humans. Our results provide new insights and resources for investigating the functionality of immune-associated miRNAs and evaluating physiological and biological condition in human, bovine and caprine milk as biomarkers.