• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.124-129
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• 2007

We evaluated the use of citrus fruit fermented by lactic acid bacteria, as a feed supplement for flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) cultivation. For the fermentation, a lactic acid bacterial strain W-44 showing antibacterial activity was isolated from kimchi. From the phylogenetic analysis based on, 16S rDNA sequence, the strain W-44 was identified as Lactococcus lactis. After the fermentation of citrus fruit with L. lactis W-44, the contents of naringenin and hesperetin, bioactive flavonoid aglycones, were increased about ten-fold and six-fold, respectively. The effects of fermented citrus fruit-based feed additives (CFBFA) were tested on the growth of flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. There were significant differences in average total length and body weight between the experimental and control group. The growth rate of the experimental group fed with the 0.2% CFBFA-supplemented diet was increased 4.5% and 20.9% more than the control group in total length and body weight, respectively. These results suggest that the fermented citrus fruit could be used as a functional feed additive for flounder cultivation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.105-108
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• 2011

The increased concern for the security of the oil supply and the negative impact of fossil fuels on the environment, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, has put pressure on society to find renewable fuel alternatives. Compared to the traditional biofuel, ethanol, higher alcohols offer advantage as gasoline substitutes because of their higher energy density and lower hygroscopicity. For this reason, microbial fermentation is known as potential producers for sustainable energy carriers. In this study, bacterial responses including cellular and molecular toxicity were studied in three different microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, Clostridium acetobutylicum, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, it was analyzed specific stress responses caused by ethanol and buthanol using four different stress responsive genes, i.e. fabA, grpE, katG and recA. The expression levels of these genes were quantified by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. It was found that four genes have shown different responsive patterns when E. coli cultures were under stressful conditions caused by ethanol and buthanol, respectively. Therefore, in this study, the stress responsive effects caused by these alcohols and the extent of each stress response can be analyzed using the expression levels and patterns of different stress responsive genes.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.341-349
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• 2013

In this study, the anti-oxidative and anti-obesity activities of two medicinal herb extracts, Tetrapanax papyriferus (TP) and Siegesbeckia pubescens (SP), were evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging activity assay, lipase enzyme inhibition assay, and the cell culture model system. Both methanol extracts of TP and SP showed DPPH radical scavenging activities dose-dependently, and the $IC_{50}$ of DPPH radical scavenging activities of the two medicinal herbs were 65.23 and 47.79 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Furthermore, both extracts suppressed effectively lipase enzyme activity dose-dependently. Moreover, TP and SP extracts significantly suppressed adipocyte differentiation, lipid accumulation, triglyceride (TG) contents on 3T3-L1 preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner without cytotoxicity. Their anti-obesity effect was modulated by cytidine-cytidine-adenosine-adenosine-thymidine (CCAAT)/enhancer binding proteins ${\alpha}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$), $C/EBP{\beta}$ and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) gene and protein expressions. Furthermore, TP and SP possessed a synergistic effect on anti-obesity activity. The identification of the active compounds that confer the anti-obesity activity of TP and SP might be needed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.2044-2051
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• 2017

The main pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the deposition of amyloid-beta ($A{\beta}$) peptides in the brain. $A{\beta}$ has been widely used to mimic several aspects of Alzheimer's disease. However, several characteristics of amyloid-induced Alzheimer's disease pathology are not well established, especially in mice. The present study aimed to develop a new Alzheimer's disease model by investigating how $A{\beta}$ can be effectively aggregated using prokaryotes and eukaryotes. To express the $A{\beta}42$ complex in HEK293 cells, we cloned the $A{\beta}42$ region in a tandem repeat and incorporated the resulting construct into a eukaryotic expression vector. Following transfection into HEK293 cells via lipofection, cell viability assay and western blotting analysis revealed that exogenous $A{\beta}42$ can induce cell death and apoptosis. In addition, recombinant His-tagged $A{\beta}42$ was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and not only readily formed $A{\beta}$ complexes, but also inhibited the proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells and E. coli. For in vivo testing, recombinant His-tagged $A{\beta}42$ solution ($3{\mu}g/{\mu}l$ in $1{\times}PBS$ containing $1mM\;Ni^{2+}$) was injected stereotaxically into the left and right lateral ventricles of the brains of C57BL/6J mice (n = 8). Control mice were injected with $1{\times}PBS$ containing $1mM\;Ni^{2+}$ following the same procedure. Ten days after the sample injection, the Morris water maze test confirmed that exogenous $A{\beta}$ caused an increase in memory loss. These findings demonstrated that $Ni^{2+}$ is capable of complexing the 50-kDa amyloid and that intracerebroventricular injection of $A{\beta}42$ can lead to cognitive impairment, thereby providing improved Alzheimer's disease models.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.473-482
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• 2003

In vivo protective and in vitro inhibitory activities of Lactobacillus casei YIT 9018. against typical enteritis causing Salmonella enteritidis KU101 and IgA level after challenge have been determined. In order to identify the strains of lactobacilli the sequences of 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region were determined. All the test strains of Lactobacillus spp. inhibited Salmonella enteritidis, the intensity varied depending upon the species of lactobacilli. Effects on the survival rate of the mouse after challenge with Salmonella enteritidis KU101 on feeding Lactobacillus spp. have shown the highest survival rate in L. helveticus CU 631 followed by L. casei YIT 9018 and L. johnsonii C-4 and the lowest in control mice. The higher level of total Ig A concentration in the intestinal fluid of lactobacilli fed mice than control mice was observed. The sequences of 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region of seven strains of Lactobacillus casei could be utilized as a strain identification, those sequences showed some degree of difference in homology.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2008

Background and Objective : Chungsangboha-tang (CSBHT) has analgesic, sedative, anti-convulsive and anti-histamine effects, so it alleviates the symptoms of asthma. For the comparison of anti-inflammatory effect(s) on CSBHT, PD098059 was used as a negative control. Materials and Methods : This study emphasized THP-1 cells, which had been well characterized as a human monocytic leukemic cell line. The cells resemble monocytes with respect to several criteria and can be differentiated into macrophage-like cells by treatment with PMA. By using the MTS assay, it was possible to prove the safety of CSBHT. Results : Results shows that the CSBHT did not affected cell survival within $10^{1}$ ng/ml to $10^{5}$ ng/ml. Especially, $10^{5}$ ng/ml CSBHT treated cells show 70% deduction of $TNF-{\alpha}$ gene expression against that of LPS treated group. Furthermore, $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ levels are down-regulated when treated with CSBHT with concentrations up to 100 ug/ml on monocyte-derived macrophages. Interestingly, CSBHT-treated samples showed that overall transcriptional activities were down-regulated to 20% of that of PD098059 ($TNF-{\alpha}$ inhibitor). At protein level, the expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$ showed similar results as that of transcriptional activity. Results show that the protein level decreased more in the CSBHT-treated group (487 ${\pm}$ 87 pg/ml) than in the LPS-treated group (703 ${\pm}$ 103 pg/ml). In addition, the protein level of IL-8 in the CSBHT treated-group (9.84 ${\pm}$ 3.28 ng/ml) decreased similar as the expression of the control and PD098059-treated groups. Conclusion : CSBHT affects immune response, especially allergic responses and suppression of inflammatory reaction. The results provide us an alternative way to care for clinical inflammatory diseases, not only asthma but also the other possible general inflammatory and allergic diseases.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.253-260
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• 2010

Plant secondary metabolites have always been a focus of study due to their important roles in human medicine and nutrition. We transferred the isoflavone synthase (IFS) gene into soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] using the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method in an attempt to produce transformed soybean plants which produced increased levels of the secondary metabolite, isoflavone. Although the trial to produce transgenic plant failed due to unestablished hygromycin selection, transformed callus cell lines were obtained. The induction rate and degree of callus were similar among the three cultivars tested, but light illumination positively influenced the frequency of callus formation, resulting in a callus induction rate of 74% for Kwangan, 67% for Sojin, and 73% for Duyou. Following seven to eight subcultures on selection media, the isoflavone content of the transformed callus lines were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The total amount of isoflavone in the transformed callus cell lines was three- to sixfold higher than that in control callus or seeds. Given the many positive effects of isoflavone on human health, it may be possible to adapt our transformed callus lines for industrialization through an alternative cell culture system to produce high concentrations of isoflavones.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.879-886
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• 2014

This study was conducted to test in vitro the antagonistic effect of composted liquid manure (CLM) against soil-borne turfgrass pathogenic fungi, Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 (IIIB) (brown patch), R. solani AG-2-2 (IV) (large patch), and Sclerotinia homoeocarpa (dollar spot) for environmentally friendly turfgrass management. CLMs were collected from 9 livestock excretion treatment facilities around the country including Gunwi (GW), Hapcheon (HC), Hoengseong (HS), Icheon (IC), Iksan (IS), Muan (MA), Nonsan (NS), and Yeoju (YJ). CLMs of IC, GW, and IS showed s ignificant (p < 0.05) mycelium growth inhibition that was 17.8%, 20.4%, and 48.0% against R. solani AG-2-2 (IIIB), R. solani AG-2-2 (IV), and S. homoeocarpa, respectively. A t otal of 110 bacterial isolates were obtained from the CLMs that showed antagonistic effects. Among them, 5, 4, and 10 microbe isolates showed promising antifungal activity against mycelium growth of R. solani AG-2-2 (IIIB), R. solani AG-2-2 (IV), and S. homoeocarpa, respectively. The bacterial isolates ICIIIB60, GWIV70, and ISSH20 effectively inhibited the mycelial growth of three soil-borne turfgrass pathogens. Selected bacterial isolates were identified as Alcaligenes sp., Bacillus licheniformis Ab2, and B. subtilis C7-3 through 16s rDNA gene sequence analysis. Among 5 fungicides, the most compatible fungicide with ICIIIB60, GWIV70, and ISSH20 was tebuconazol, toclofos-methyl and toclofos-methyl, respectively. These findings suggested that CLMs could be effectively used not only as organic liquid fertilizer sources but also as biological control agents for soil-borne turfgrass diseases such as brown patch, large patch, and dollar spot.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2015

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway is well known as a candidate pathway related to meat quality in mammals. In particular, there are many studies on the relationship between the PPAR signaling pathway and intramuscular fat. However, recent studies have demonstrated that genes in the PPAR signaling pathway are associated with carcass weight in cattle. Among 48 genes in the PPAR signaling pathway, 16 genes are related to the insulin that regulates the adipocyte glucose metabolism and thus affects body weight. Therefore, we conducted an investigation to try to identify candidate genes associated with the carcass weight and relationships between the expressions of these 16 genes in the loin muscle of Hanwoo (Korean cattle). From regression analysis, the three genes (ACSL6, FADS2, and ILK) showed significant effects with regard to carcass weight (p<0.05). Finally, we analyzed the common regulators of the significant genes from pathway analysis. The significant genes are regulated by insulin as well as D-glucose. These findings show that the differentially expressed genes are possible candidate genes associated with carcass weight in the longissimus muscle of Korean cattle.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.323-328
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• 2017

Angiogenesis is a process including members of the angiogenic factors. In particular, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) is considered the most potent angiogenic factor because it promotes cell proliferation and tube formation. A recent study reported that fucoidan derived from marine plant potentiated FGF-2 induced tube formation in human endothelial cells. On the other hand, the molecular mechanisms involved in the angiogenic activity of fucoidan and FGF2 are unknown. In this study, a fucoidan treatment promoted angiogenesis induced by FGF2. The effects of fucoidan on FGF2-induced angiogenesis were confirmed by a proliferation assay using a CellTiter96 Aqueous One solution after a treatment with fucoidan and FGF2. The tube formation and wound healing assay for the angiogenic activity were also confirmed. Reverse transcription PCR showed a change in the mRNA of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), matrix metallopeptidase9 (MMP9), and the signal transducer and activator of transcription3 (STAT3). In summary, the Fucoidan/FGF2 treatment induced an increase in cell proliferation, improved the tube formation and wound healing activity, and altered the STAT3, VEGF-A, ICAM-1, and MMP9 mRNA expression levels. Further research will be needed to provide a scientific explanation in terms of cell-signaling and confirm the present findings.