• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1497-1504
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• 2007

To investigate the function and secretion of human thrombopoietin (TPO) in mammalian cells, hTPO cDNA was cloned using human liver cDNA, and recombinant hTPO (rec-hTPO) was produced in CHO cell lines. In addition, six N-linked glycosylation sites were substituted for Ala to elucidate the role of each carbohydrate chain. To analyze the biological activity, rec-hTPO protein was injected subcutaneously. Blood was withdrawn for platelet determination. The metabolic clearance rate (MCR) was also analyzed at the 1, 4, 10 and 24 hr after tail vein injection. Wild-type TPO (WT) was efficiently secreted into the medium. However, a hTPO mutant with 116 deleted nucleotides detected by PCR cloning was not secreted. The N-linked glycosylation sites had nearly the same expression quantity as rec-hTPO WT apart from mutants 3 and 4. The glycosylation site of mutant 4 appeared to be an indispensable site for hTPO secretion. Also characterized was the biological activity through an injection with rec-hTPO (10 ng) to ICR mice (7 weeks). The result of the blood analysis showed a considerable increase in the platelet number six days after He injection. To analyze the pharmacokinetics, rec-hTPO was injected into the tail vein (5 ng). The result was 200 pg/ml 1hr after this injection. Following this, it dramatically decreased and virtually disappeared 10 hours after the injection. Thus, rec-hTPO may be a treatment for thrombopenia by the production of the high active rec-hTPO. In addition, hTPO can permit the development of potent new analogues that stimulate the platelet value.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.137-142
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• 2013

Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are highly useful for vascular regeneration of injured or inflamed tissue. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent activator of macrophages and stimulates macrophages to release inflammatory cytokines. In the present study, we explored the role of LPS-activated macrophages in the differentiation of hMSCs to smooth muscle cells (SMCs). We demonstrated that conditioned medium from LPS-induced macrophages (LPS CM) stimulates differentiation of hMSCs to SMCs, as evidenced by increased expression of smooth muscle-specific markers, including alpha-smooth muscle actin (${\alpha}$-SMA), smooth muscle-myosin heavy chain, and calponin. LPS induced the secretion of $PGF2{\alpha}$ from macrophages, and $PGF2{\alpha}$ treatment stimulated expression levels of SMC-specific markers in hMSCs. Furthermore, small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of the $PGF2{\alpha}$ receptor inhibited LPS CM-stimulated ${\alpha}$-SMA expression. These results suggest that LPS-activated macrophages promote differentiation of hMSCs to SMCs through a $PGF2{\alpha}$-dependent mechanism.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2019

Korean red ginseng made from steaming and drying fresh ginseng has long been used as a traditional herbal medicine due to its effects on the immune, endocrine, and central nerve systems and its anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of a formulated Korean red ginseng extract (RGE) in response to lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a cell wall component of gram-positive bacteria. RGE inhibited LTA-induced nitric oxide (NO) secretion and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in BV-2 microglial cells, without affecting cell viability. RGE also inhibited nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65 and degradation of $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$. In addition, RGE increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibitory effect of RGE on iNOS expression was abrogated by small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of HO-1. Moreover, RGE induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor that regulates HO-1 expression. Furthermore, the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI-3K) inhibitor and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors suppressed RGE-mediated expression of HO-1, and RGE enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), p38, and c-JUN N-terminal kinases (JNKs). These results suggested that RGE suppressed the production of NO, a proinflammatory mediator, by inducing HO-1 expression via PI-3K/Akt- and MAPK-dependent signaling in LTA-stimulated microglia. The findings indicate that RGE could be used for the treatment of neuroinflammation induced by grampositive bacteria and that it may have therapeutic potential for various neuroinflammation-associated disorders.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2012

Stimulation of mast cells through the high affinity IgE receptor (Fc${\varepsilon}$RI) induces degranulation, lipid mediator release, and cytokine secretion leading to allergic reactions. Although various signaling pathways have been characterized to be involved in the Fc${\varepsilon}$RI-mediated responses, little is known about the precious mechanism for the expression of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) in mast cells. Here, we report that rapamycin, a specific inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), reduces the expression of TNF-${\alpha}$ in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. IgE or specific antigen stimulation of RBL-2H3 cells increases the expression of TNF-${\alpha}$ and activates various signaling molecules including S6K1, Akt and p38 MAPK. Rapamycin specifically inhibits antigeninduced TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA level, while other kinase inhibitors have no effect on TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA level. These data indicate that mTOR signaling pathway is the main regulation mechanism for antigen-induced TNF-${\alpha}$ expression. TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA stability analysis using reporter construct containing TNF-${\alpha}$ adenylate/uridylate-rich elements (AREs) shows that rapamycin destabilizes TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA via regulating the AU-rich element of TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA. The antigen-induced activation of S6K1 is inhibited by specific kinase inhibitors including mTOR, PI3K, PKC and $Ca^{2+}$chelator inhibitor, while TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA level is reduced only by rapamycin treatment. These data suggest that the effects of rapamycin on the expression of TNF-${\alpha}$ mRNA are not mediated by S6K1 but regulated by mTOR. Taken together, our results reveal that mTOR signaling pathway is a novel regulation mechanism for antigen-induced TNF-${\alpha}$ expression in RBL-2H3 cells.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2009

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) play an important role in tumor invasion, angiogenesis and inflammatory tissue destruction. Increased expression of MMP was observed in benign tissue hyperplasia and in atherosclerotic lesions. Invasive cancer cells utilize MMP to degrade the extracellular matrix and vascular basement membrane during metastasis, where MMP-2 has been implicated in the development and dissemination of malignancies. The present study attempted to examine the antiangiogenic activity of the medicinal herbs of Aspergillus usamii var. shirousamii-transformed Angelicae Gigantis Radix and Zizyphus jujube (tAgR and tZj) with respect to MMP-2 production and endothelial motility in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)- or VEGF-exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Nontoxic tAgR and tZj substantially suppressed PMA-induced MMP-2 secretion. In addition, $25{\mu}g/mL$ tAgR and tZj prevented vascular endothelial growth factor-stimulated endothelial cell transmigration and tube formation. The results reveal that tAgR and tZj dampened endothelial MMP-2 production leading to endothelial transmigration and tube formation. tAgR and tZj-mediated inhibition of endothelial MMP may boost a therapeutic efficacy during vascular angiogenesis.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2014

For successful embryo implantation, the communication of the maternal endometrium with the conceptus trophectoderm is required essentially. In pigs, conceptuses undergo morphological change in length to enlarge the physical contact area with the maternal endometrium and secrete estrogen to induce the maternal recognition of pregnancy during the peri-implantation period. Conceptus-derived estrogen prevents luteolysis by conversion in direction of $PGF_{2{\alpha}}$ secretion from the uterine vasculature to the uterine lumen as well as it affects on expression of the uterine endometrial genes. In addition to estrogen, conceptuses release various signaling molecules, including cytokines, growth factors, and proteases, and, in response to these signaling molecules, the maternal uterine endometrium also synthesizes many signaling molecules, including hormones, cytokines, growth factors, lipid molecules, and utilizes ions such as calcium ion by calcium regulatory molecules. These reciprocal interactions of the conceptus trophectoderm with the maternal uterine endometrium make development and successful implantation of embryos possible. Thus, signaling molecules at the maternal-conceptus interface may play an important role in the implantation process. This review summarized syntheses and functions of signaling molecules at the maternal-conceptus interface to further understand mechanisms of the embryo implantation process in pigs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.571-578
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• 2015

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. In this study, we investigated immune responses of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against TRAMP-C2 prostate cancer cells after activation by dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with TRAMP-C2 freeze-thaw antigen and/or PEP-3 peptide in vitro. Bone marrow-derived DC from the bone marrow of the C57BL/6 were induced to mature by using the cytokine of rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4, and loaded with either the freeze-thaw antigen or PEP-3 peptide or both of them. Maturation of DCs was detected by flow cytometry. The killing efficiency of the CTLs on TRAMP-C2 cells were detected by flow cytometry, CCK8, colony formation, transwell migration, and wound-healing assay. The levels of the IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\beta}$ and IL-12 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared with the unloaded DCs, the loaded DCs had significantly increased expression of several phenotypes related to DC maturation. CTLs activated by DCs loaded with freeze-thaw antigen and PEP-3 peptide had more evident cytotoxicity against TRAMP-C2 cells in vitro. The secretion levels of IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\beta}$ and IL-12, secreted by DCs loaded with antigen and PEP-3 and interaction with T cells, were higher than in the other groups. Our results suggest that the CTLs activated by DCs loaded with TRAMP-C2 freeze-thaw antigen and PEP-3 peptide exert a remarkable killing efficiency against TRAMP-C2 cells in vitro.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.217-223
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• 2019

Acanthamoeba castellanii has ubiquitous distribution and causes primary acanthamoebic keratitis (AK). AK is a common disease in contact lens wearers and results in permanent visual impairment or blindness. In this study, we observed the cytopathic effect, in vitro cytotoxicity, and secretion pattern of cytokines in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) induced by A. castellanii trophozoites and/or cysts. Morphological observation revealed that panked dendritic HCECs co-cultured with amoeba cysts had changed into round shape and gradually died. Such changes were more severe in co-culture with cyst than those of co-cultivation with trophozoites. In vitro cytotoxicity assay revealed the highest cytotoxicity to HCECs in the co-culture system with amoeba cysts. A. castellanii induced the expression of $IL-1{\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8, and CXCL1 in HCECs. Secreted levels of $IL-1{\alpha}$, IL-6, and IL-8 in HCECs co-cultured with both trophozoites and cysts were increased at an early incubation time (3 and 6 hr). These results suggested that cytopathic changes and pro-inflammatory cytokines release of HCECs in response to A. castellanii, especially amoebic cysts, are an important mechanism for AK development.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2022

Peucedanum japonicum Thunberg (PJT) has been used in traditional medicine to treat colds, coughs, fevers, and other inflammatory diseases. The goal of this study was to investigate whether 3'-isovaleryl-4'-senecioylkhellactone (IVSK) from PJT has anti-inflammatory effects on lung epithelial cells. The anti-inflammatory effects of IVSK were evaluated using phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated A549 cells and regular human lung epithelial cells as a reference. IVSK reduced the secretion of the inflammatory mediators interleukin (IL)-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and the mRNA expression of IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and IL-1β. Additionally, it inhibited the phosphorylation of IκB kinase (IKK), p65, Iκ-Bα, and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) p38, JNK, and ERK in A549 cells stimulated with PMA. Moreover, the binding affinity of activator protein-1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) was significantly reduced in the luciferase assay, while nuclear translocation was markedly inhibited by IVSK in the immunocytochemistry. These findings indicate that IVSK can protect against inflammation through the AP-1 and NF-κB pathway and could possibly be used as a lead compound for the treatment of inflammatory lung diseases.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.229-239
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• 2022

The high percentage of Vermamoeba was found in tap water in Korea. This study investigated whether Vermamoeba induced allergic airway inflammation in mice. We selected 2 free-living amoebas (FLAs) isolated from tap water, which included Korean FLA 5 (KFA5; Vermamoeba vermiformis) and 21 (an homolog of Acanthamoeba lugdunensis KA/E2). We axenically cultured KFA5 and KFA21. We applied approximately 1×10⁶ to mice's nasal passages 6 times and investigated their pathogenicity. The airway resistance value was significantly increased after KFA5 and KFA21 treatments. The eosinophil recruitment and goblet cell hyperplasia were concomitantly observed in bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue in mice infected with KFA5 and KFA21. These infections also activated the Th2-related interleukin 25, thymic stromal lymphopoietin, and thymus and activation-regulated chemokines gene expression in mouse lung epithelial cells. The CD4⁺ interleukin 4⁺ cell population was increased in the lung, and the secretion of Th2-, Th17-, and Th1-associated cytokines were upregulated during KFA5 and KFA21 infection in the spleen, lung-draining lymph nodes, and BAL fluid. The pathogenicity (allergenicity) of KFA5 and KFA21 might not have drastically changed during the long-term in vitro culture. Our results suggested that Vermamoeba could elicit allergic airway inflammation and may be an airway allergen.