• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.175-202
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• 2004

Nitric oxide(NO) play an important role in normal and pathophysiological cells including as a messenger molecule, neurotransmitter, microbiocidal agent, or dilator of blood vessels and artheriosclerosis, hypertension, myocardial infarction, respectively. To investigate that Ondamtang in the potential contribution of the levels of nitric oxide generated by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and the mechanisms of protection against L-NAME, human ECV304 cells, which normally do not express eNOS, were expressed by L-NAME. L-NAME stimulated rat or cells were found to be resistant to injury and delayed death following the Ondam-tang. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis abolished the protective effect against L-NAME, thrombin and collagen exposure. Interestingly, such effects have bee observed during stimulation with agents such as KCl on L-NAME mediate rats, were damaged by the NOS inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Cardiovascular diseases is one of the blood vessels and renin-angiotensin system dynfunction. So we studied on herbal medicine that have a relation of vessels endothelium necrosis. In Oriental Medicine, Ondam-tang has been used for disease in relation to cardiovascular system. We studied on the protection and inhibitory effects of cardiovascular diseases in L-NAME induced rat or ECV304 cell lines through the Cell morphological pattern, Tunel assay, LDH activity, heart rate, blood pressure and immunohistochemistric analysis by Ondam-tang. As the result of this study, In group, the anti-apoptosis and necrosis in the cardiovascular system have a potential capacity for prevented, protected and treating the diseases of cardiovascular system, against the necrosis of rat and ECV304 cells with eNOS and calpain expression by L-NAME is promoted.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.319-326
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• 2010

An interest in the production of seed-oil based fuel and raw materials, which comes from renewable plant sources, has been intrigued by the phenomenon of global warming and shortage of fossil fuels. Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is the most important oilseed crop, which produces seeds with 40% oil. It is desirable to develop genetically modified rapeseed producing oils, which can be easily converted to biodiesel. As an initial step for development of genetically modified rapeseed for the production of biofuels or bio-based materials, Korean rapeseed cultivars, Naehan, Youngsan, Tammi and Halla, were analyzed. Four Korean rapeseed cultivars produce 32 to 40% oil of seed dry weight, which is rich in oleic acid (more than 60 mole%). The cotyledonary petioles of rapeseed cultivar, Halla, were transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101, carrying the uidA gene encoding $\beta$-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter gene and the phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) gene as a selectable marker. The stable integration of PAT gene in the genome of transgenic rapeseeds was confirmed by PCR analysis. Expression of uidA gene in various rapeseed organs was determined by fluorometric assay and histochemical staining. Transformation efficiency of a Korean rapeseed Halla cultivar was 10.4%. Genetic inheritance of transgenes was confirmed in $T_2$ generation.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.303-309
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• 2014

The fruit of Gleditsia sinensis has been extensively used as a key ingredient of an herbal remedy for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in traditional Korean Medicine. However, the reason of using the fruit of G. sinensis for the remedy is unclear. Since Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is a key anti-inflammatory transcription factor, which is activated by the fruit of G. sinesis, we examined whether other plant parts of G. sinensis are also capable of suppressing inflammatory responses by activating Nrf2. Water extracts of various parts of G. sinensis were prepared and tested for Nrf2 activation by reporter assay and western blot analysis. Our results show that the hull of G. sinensis is the most potent in activating Nrf2. Sequential organic solvent extraction of the hull show that all the fractions had a higher potency in activating Nrf2 than the water extract, albeit differential degrees. The hull originated from Korea in general activated Nrf2 strongly compared to that of China. Chloroform fraction of the hull was further examined, showing that the fraction induced nuclear localization of Nrf2, indicative of activated Nrf2, and Nrf2-dependent gene expression including NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 (NQO-1), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), and heme oxygenase - 1 (HO-1). Therefore, our results show that, among other plant parts examined in this study, the hull of G. sinensis is the most potent, providing the experimental basis for the use of the hull of G. sinensis as an active ingredient for an anti-inflammatory remedy.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2015

We characterized tissue specific-expressed genes in the posterior silk gland of Bombyx mori using by the Annealing Control Primer based differential display-PCR manner. In this study, we isolated 34 differentially expressed PCR amplicons, which one of these was identified as a novel transcript named as ACP-16 (366 bp), its expression was observed only in the posterior silk glands by Northern blot analysis. To determine promoter region of the ACP-16, we isolated and analyzed a phage DNA having 1.7 kb-long genome DNA including the open reading flame and 5'- upstream untranslated region of the ACP-16 gene from a genomic DNA library. We have estimated a promoter region of the ACP-16 gene by a web promoter prediction engine, which locates -750 ~ -165 from translation initiation site (ATG, +1). ACP-16 gene is necessary to more studies about critical biological role in order to apply the silkworm's transgenic system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1997.04a
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• pp.95-95
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• 1997

Among the various receptor molecules discovered so far the ${\beta}$2-adrenergic receptors have been regarded as excellent model systems for the so called 7 transmembrane helix receptor and have been the focus of extensive studies. For the analysis of receptor structure and function a monoclonal antibody plays a crucial role, thus providing useful tools for the study of receptor. However, because of the minute quantity of receptor molecules which could be obtained from natural sources, the generation of specific monoclonal antibody against receptor molecules from the purified receptors has been regarded as virtually impractical in consideration of cost and experimental times. The purpose of the present study was to generate and characterize a monoclonal antibody against human ${\beta}$2-adrenergic receptor. For the production of antibody, C-terminal regions of the human ${\beta}$2-adrenergic receptor was produced as a fusion protein with Glutathion S-transferase (GST) in E. Coli. The expression of the fusion protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot using monoclonal anti-GST antibody. The fusion protein was purified to an apparent homogeniety by affinity chromatography with Glutathion Sepharose CL-4B and used as an antigen for the immunization of BALB/C mice. The Production of monoclonal antibody was achieved by fusion of the immunized spleen cells and SP/2-0 myeloma cells. Positive hybridomas were screened by ELISA and were cloned by two consecutive rounds of limiting dilution. The monoclonal antibody produced in this study (mAb${\beta}$C02) was IgM type and purified by immunoaffinity chromatography using anti-mouse IgM agarose as an affinity matrix. MAb${\beta}$C02 showed strong and specific immunoreactivity against both the fusion protein and human ${\beta}$2-adrenergic receptor in ELISA and Western blot. The molecular weight of immunoreactive band was 64 kDa and exactly coincided with the previously reported molecular weight of ${\beta}$2-adrenergic recepters. The results of the present study suggest that mAb${\beta}$C02 may be used for the study of receptor function and regulation in normal or nonphysiological status.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.29
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• pp.14.1-14.8
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• 2014

Objectives Some plants were placed in indoor locations frequented by asthmatics in order to evaluate the quality of indoor air and examine the health benefits to asthmatics. Methods The present study classified the participants into two groups: households of continuation and households of withdrawal by a quasi-experimental design. The households of continuation spent the two observation terms with indoor plants, whereas the households of withdrawal passed the former observation terms with indoor plants and went through the latter observation term without any indoor plants. Results The household of continuation showed a continual decrease in the indoor concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the entire observation period, but the household of withdrawal performed an increase in the indoor concentrations of VOCs, except formaldehyde and toluene during the latter observation term after the decrease during the former observation term. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) increased in the households of continuation with the value of 13.9 L/min in the morning and 20.6 L/min in the evening, but decreased in the households of withdrawal with the value of -24.7 L/min in the morning and -30.2 L/min in the evening in the first experimental season. All of the households exhibited a decrease in the value of PEFR in the second experimental season. Conclusions Limitations to the generalizability of findings regarding the presence of plants indoors can be seen as a more general expression of such a benefit of human-environment relations.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.11-22
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• 2013

Objectives: The present investigation aimed at examining if post-cancer treatment with a potentized homeopathic drug, Condurango 30C, which is generally used to treat oesophageal cancer, could also show an ameliorating effect through apoptosis induction on lung cancer induced by benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in white rats (Rattus norvegicus). Methods: Lung cancer was induced after four months by chronic feeding of BaP to rats through gavage at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight for one month. After four months, the lung-cancer-bearing rats were treated with Condurango 30C for the next one ($5^{th}$), two ($5^{th}-6^{th}$) and three ($5^{th}-7^{th}$) months, respectively, and were sacrificed at the corresponding time-points. The ameliorating effect, if any, after Condurango 30C treatment for the various periods was evaluated by using protocols such as histology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), annexinV-FITC/PI assay, flow cytometry of the apoptosis marker, DNA fragmentation, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunohistochemistry, and western blot analyses of lung tissue samples. Results: Striking recovery of lung tissue to a near normal status was noticed after post-cancerous drug treatment, as evidenced by SEM and histology, especially after one and two months of drug treatment. Data from the annexinV-FITC/PI and DNA fragmentation assays revealed that Condurango 30C could induce apoptosis in cancer cells after post-cancer treatment. A critical analysis of signalling cascade, evidenced through a RT-PCR study, demonstrated up-regulation and down-regulation of different pro- and anti-apoptotic genes, respectively, related to a caspase-3-mediated apoptotic pathway, which was especially discernible after one-month and two-month drug treatments. Correspondingly, Western blot and immunohistochemistry studies confirmed the ameliorative potential of Condurango 30C by its ability to down-regulate the elevated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, a hallmark of lung cancer. Conclusion: The overall result validated a positive effect of Condurango 30C in ameliorating lung cancer through caspase-3-mediated apoptosis induction and EGFR down-regulation.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2018

Recently, cancer incidence in modern society is increasing sharply. DNA damage is caused by intrinsic or extrinsic factors in the human body, cells protect themselves by defense mechanism against DNA damage. Also, Aberrant DNA and deficient DNA repair are closely associated with various diseases, including aging and cancer. Researchers are interested in search for proper materials to inhibition for DNA damage. As knew the side effects of synthetic antioxidant, some researches have been conducted about cancer prevention materials derived from nature. Root of Smilax china, in Liliaceae, is used detoxification and tumor treatments traditionally. However, studies on the inhibitory effect of DNA damage haven't progressed. In this study, antioxidant activity and protective effects on oxidative DNA damage of S. china root were confirmed, relationship between those activities and contents of phenolic compounds in plants were established. S. china root effectively removed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radicals and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid radicals. The quantification and identification of phenolic compounds were confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography analysis, its antioxidant activity was associated with some phenolic compounds. In addition, protective effects against hydroxyl radicals and ferrous ion-induced oxidative DNA damage were confirmed in plasmid DNA. In the cellular levels, S. china root suppressed the expression of ${\gamma}$-H2AX and p53 protein in NIH 3T3. Besides, S. china root suppressed H2AX and p53 mRNA levels. In conclusion, S. china root had the effect on DNA protection and antioxidant.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.97-109
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• 2020

Drought is one of the most influential disasters in sustainable agriculture and food security of nations. In order to preemptively respond to agricultural droughts, vulnerability assessments were conducted to predict the possibility of drought in the region, the degree of direct or indirect damage, and the ability to cope with the damage. Information on agricultural drought vulnerability status of different regions is extremely useful for implementation of long term drought management measures. The purpose of this study is to develop and implement a quantitative approach for measuring agricultural drought vulnerability at sub-district level based on agricultural water and reservoirs. To assess the vulnerability in a quantitative manner and also to deal with different physical and socioeconomic data on the occurrence of agricultural drought, we selected the appropriate factors for the assessment of agricultural drought vulnerability through preceding studies, and analyzed the meteorological and agricultural reservoir data from 2015 to 2018. Each item was weighted using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) analysis and evaluated through the agricultural drought vulnerability estimation. The entire national vulnerability assessments showed that Ganghwa, Naju, and Damyang were the most vulnerable to agricultural droughts. As a result of analyzing spatial expression, Gyeongsang-do is relatively more vulnerable to drought than Gangwon-do and Gyeonggi-do. The results revealed that the methodology and evaluation items achieved good performance in drought response. In addition, vulnerability assessments based on agricultural reservoir are expected to contribute supporting effective drought decisions in the field of agricultural water management.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.27-27
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• 2003

A diversified and concentrative approach of methylation player can be one of the most powerful studies in the understanding of global epigenetic modifications. Previous studies have suggested that DNA methylation contributes to transcriptional silencing through the several DNA methylation-mediated repression systems by hypermethylation, including methyltransferases (DNMTs), DNA methyltransferase association protein 1 (DMAPl), methyl-CpG binding domain (MBD), and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Assembly of these regulatory protein complexes act sequentially, reciprocally, and interdependently on the newly composed DNA strand through S phase. Therefore, these protein complexes have a role in coupling DNA replication to the designed turn-off system in genome. In this study, we attempted to address the role of DNA methylation by the functional analysis of the methyltransferase molecule, we described the involvement of DMAP1 and DNMTs in cell divistion and the effect of their loss. We also described distinct patterns that DMAP1 and DNMTs are spatially reorganized and displaced from condensing chromosomes as cells progress through mitosis in HeLa cell, COS7, and HIH3T3 cell cycle progressions. DNMT1, DNMT3b, and DMAP1 do not stably contact the genetic material during chromosome compaction and repressive expression. These finding show that the loss of activities of DNMTs and DMAP1 occure stage specifically during the cell cycle, may contribute to the integral balance of global DNA methylation. This is consistent with previous studies resulted in decreased histone acetyltransferases and HDACs, and differs from studies resulted in increased histone methyltransferases. Our results suggest that DNA methylation by DNMTs and DMAP1 during mitosis acts to antagonize hypermethylation by which this mark is epigenetical mitotic-specific methylation.