• Diabetes and Metabolism Journal
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.465-471
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• 2018

My professional journey to understand the glucose homeostasis began in the 1990s, starting from cloning of the promoter region of glucose transporter type 2 (GLUT2) gene that led us to establish research foundation of my group. When I was a graduate student, I simply thought that hyperglycemia, a typical clinical manifestation of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), could be caused by a defect in the glucose transport system in the body. Thus, if a molecular mechanism controlling glucose transport system could be understood, treatment of T2DM could be possible. In the early 70s, hyperglycemia was thought to develop primarily due to a defect in the muscle and adipose tissue; thus, muscle/adipose tissue type glucose transporter (GLUT4) became a major research interest in the diabetology. However, glucose utilization occurs not only in muscle/adipose tissue but also in liver and brain. Thus, I was interested in the hepatic glucose transport system, where glucose storage and release are the most actively occurring.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.382-386
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• 1998

A soluble dietary fiber, $\beta$-glucan, contained in oat and barley has nutritional benefits such as hypocholesterolemic effects and influences blood glucose regulation. The contents of $\beta$-glucan in both cereals range from 3 to 7% with the exception of a certain barley genotype which contains up to 16% $\beta$-glucan. $\beta$-Glucan is distributed mainly in the cell walls of endosperm and the distal (bran) portion of kernel. Various procedures have been developed for increasing the extraction yield of $\beta$-glucan. Oat gum prepared with weak alkali extractionand alcohol proecipitation following protein removal usually contains 80% $\beta$-glucan.The most commonly used method for $\beta$-glucan quantitiation is an enzymatic procedure combining lichenase plus $\beta$-glucosidase followed by measuring the amount of glucos released by glucose oxidase-peroxidase treatment. The increase in foam-and emulsion-stabilizing capacity of $\beta$-glucan is due to the increase in viscosity of the aqueous phase. Therefore, $\beta$-glucan shows great potentials as a thickener and a stabilizer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.877-880
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• 2000

Cycloinulooligosaccharide fructanotransferase (CFTase) converts inulin into cyclooligosaccharides consisting of six to eight molecules $\beta$-($2\rightarrow1$)-linked cyclic D-fructofuranose through intramolecular transfructosylation. We have examined the regulation of CFTase synthesis in Bacillus macerans and Bacillus subtilis. Synthesis of the CFTase was induced by inulin and it was subject to carbon catabolite repression (CCR) by glucose in both microorganisms. The DNA sequence upstream of the promoter of the CFTase gene was not involved in the inulin induction and glucose repression of the CFTase gene expression in B. subtilis. This suggests that the DNA element(s) responsible for the inuline induction and glucose repression is located downstream of the promoter region. Unexpectedly, the CCR of the expression of CFTase gene was observed not to be dependent on CcpA protein in B. subtilis.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.94-100
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• 2002

The dietary carbohydrates are mainly digested and adsorbed at small intestine. We developed a new food additive as an egg yolk antibody(1gY) against maltase, sucrase and sodium dependent g1ucose cotransporter(SGLT) for the regulation of blood glucose level and weight control. The maltase, sucrase and SGLT were purified from porcine small intestine which is very similar to that of human in physiological characteristics. The purification step contained an ultracentrifugation, ion exchange chromatography and hydrophobic chromatography. The hens were immunized by purified protein and the IgY activities against immunized antigens were determined. This antibody obtained from the immunized hen's egg yolks directly inhibited the activities of maltase and sucrase in vitro. And the IgY delayed and decreased the increment of blood g1ucose level after administration of maltose, sucrose and glucose in rat about 30 to 60%. The results of this study suggest that the IgY inhibiting the carbohydrate digestion could be used as functional food materials for weight control and regulation of blood glucose level in diabetes.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.362-372
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• 2020

Background: The non-saponin fraction of Korean Red Ginseng has been reported to have many biological activities. However, the effect of this fraction on anti-diabetic activity has not been elucidated in detail. In this study, we investigated the effects of KGC05P0, a non-saponin fraction of Korean Red Ginseng, on anti-diabetic activity in vitro and in vivo. Methods: We measured the inhibition of commercially obtained α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities in vitro and measured the glucose uptake and transport rate in Caco-2 cells. C57BL/6J mice and C57BLKS/J^db/db (diabetic) mice were fed diets with or without KGC05P0 for eight weeks. To perform the experiments, the groups were divided as follows: normal control (C57BL/6J mice), db/db control (C57BLKS/J^db/db mice), positive control (inulin 400 mg/kg b.w.), low (KGC05P0 100 mg/kg b.w.), medium (KGC05P0 200 mg/kg b.w.), and high (KGC05P0 400 mg/kg b.w.). Results: KGC05P0 inhibited α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities in vitro, and decreased glucose uptake and transport rate in Caco-2 cells. In addition, KGC05P0 regulated fasting glucose level, glucose tolerance, insulin, HbA1c, carbonyl contents, and proinflammatory cytokines in blood from diabetic mice and significantly reduced urinary glucose excretion levels. Moreover, we found that KGC05P0 regulated glucose production by down-regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway, which inhibited gluconeogenesis. Conclusion: Our study thereby demonstrated that KGC05P0 exerted anti-diabetic effects through inhibition of glucose absorption and the PI3K/AKT pathway in in vitro and in vivo models of diabetes. Our results suggest that KGC05P0 could be developed as a complementary food to help prevent T2DM and its complications.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.147-147
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• 2002

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 1998

Syntheses of the B. stearothermophilus xylanolytic enzymes such as xylanases, ${\beta}$-xylosidases, ${\alpha}$-arabinofurano-sidases, and esterases, were observed to be regulated by the carbon source present in the culture media. Xylan induced synthesis of ${\beta}$-xylosidase at the highest level while xylose gave about 30% of the ${\beta}$-xylosidase activity induced by xylan. The lowest syntheses of the xylanolytic enzymes above mentioned were detected in the basal medium containing glucose as a sole carbon source. When a mixture of xylan and glucose was used as a carbon source, we could observe glucose repression of xylanase (about 70-fold) and ${\beta}$-xylosidase (about 40-fold) syntheses. Whereas, the level of the glucose repression of the expression of the xylA gene encoding the major ${\beta}$-xylosidase of B. stearothermophilus was assessed to be about l0-fold when the relative amounts of the xylA transcript were determined. From the sequence of the xylA gene, we could find two CRE-like sequences (CRE-l: nucleotides ＋124 to ＋136 and CRE-2:＋247 to ＋259) within the reading frame of the xylA gene, either or both of which were suspected to be involved in catabolite repression of the xylA gene.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.567-574
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• 2013

Liver plays a major role in maintaining glucose homeostasis in mammals. Under fasting conditions, hepatic glucose production is critical as a source of fuel to maintain the basic functions in other tissues, including skeletal muscle, red blood cells, and the brain. Fasting hormones glucagon and cortisol play major roles during the process, in part by activating the transcription of key enzyme genes in the gluconeogenesis such as phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose 6 phosphatase catalytic subunit (G6Pase). Conversely, gluconeogenic transcription is repressed by pancreatic insulin under feeding conditions, which effectively inhibits transcriptional activator complexes by either promoting post-translational modifications or activating transcriptional inhibitors in the liver, resulting in the reduction of hepatic glucose output. The transcriptional regulatory machineries have been highlighted as targets for type 2 diabetes drugs to control glycemia, so understanding of the complex regulatory mechanisms for transcription circuits for hepatic gluconeogenesis is critical in the potential development of therapeutic tools for the treatment of this disease. In this review, the current understanding regarding the roles of two key transcriptional activators, CREB and FoxO1, in the regulation of hepatic gluconeogenic program is discussed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.600-605
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• 2023

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a bile duct cancer and a rare malignant tumor with a poor prognosis owing to the lack of an early diagnosis and resistance to conventional chemotherapy. A combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin is the typically attempted first-line treatment approach. However, the underlying mechanism of resistance to chemotherapy is poorly understood. We addressed this by studying dynamics in the human ICC SCK cell line. Here, we report that the regulation of glucose and glutamine metabolism was a key factor in overcoming cisplatin resistance in SCK cells. RNA sequencing analysis revealed a high enrichment cell cycle-related gene set score in cisplatin-resistant SCK (SCK-R) cells compared to parental SCK (SCK WT) cells. Cell cycle progression correlates with increased nutrient requirement and cancer proliferation or metastasis. Commonly, cancer cells are dependent upon glucose and glutamine availability for survival and proliferation. Indeed, we observed the increased expression of GLUT (glucose transporter), ASCT2 (glutamine transporter), and cancer progression markers in SCK-R cells. Thus, we inhibited enhanced metabolic reprogramming in SCK-R cells through nutrient starvation. SCK-R cells were sensitized to cisplatin, especially under glucose starvation. Glutaminase-1 (GLS1), which is a mitochondrial enzyme involved in tumorigenesis and progression in cancer cells, was upregulated in SCK-R cells. Targeting GLS1 with the GLS1 inhibitor CB-839 (telaglenastat) effectively reduced the expression of cancer progression markers. Taken together, our study results suggest that a combination of GLUT inhibition, which mimics glucose starvation, and GLS1 inhibition could be a therapeutic strategy to increase the chemosensitivity of ICC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.270-279
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• 2024

Macrophages are versatile immune cells that play crucial roles in tissue repair, immune defense, and the regulation of immune responses. In the context of skeletal muscle, they are vital for maintaining muscle homeostasis but macrophage-induced chronic inflammation can lead to muscle dysfunction, resulting in skeletal muscle atrophy characterized by reduced muscle mass and impaired insulin regulation and glucose uptake. Although the involvement of macrophage-secreted factors in inflammation-induced muscle atrophy is well-established, the precise intracellular signaling pathways and secretion factors affecting skeletal muscle homeostasis require further investigation. This study aimed to explore the regulation of macrophage-secreted factors and their impact on muscle atrophy and glucose metabolism. By employing RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and proteome array, we uncovered that factors secreted by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages upregulated markers of muscle atrophy and pro-inflammatory cytokines, while concurrently reducing glucose uptake in muscle cells. The RNA-seq analysis identified alterations in gene expression patterns associated with immune system pathways and nutrient metabolism. The utilization of gene ontology (GO) analysis and proteome array with macrophage-conditioned media revealed the involvement of macrophage-secreted cytokines and chemokines associated with muscle atrophy. These findings offer valuable insights into the regulatory mechanisms of macrophage-secreted factors and their contributions to muscle-related diseases.