• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.36.1-36.16
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• 2021

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are ubiquitously expressed peroxidases that reduce hydrogen peroxide or alkyl peroxide production in cells. Prxs are released from cells in response to various stress conditions, and they function as damage-associated molecular pattern molecules. However, the secretory mechanism of Prxs and their roles have not been elucidated. Thus, we aimed to determine whether inflammasome activation is a secretory mechanism of Prxs and subsequently identify the effect of the secreted Prxs on activation of the classical complement pathway. Using J774A.1, a murine macrophage cell line, we demonstrated that NLRP3 inflammasome activation induces Prx1, Prx2, Prx5, and Prx6 secretion in a caspase-1 dependent manner. Using HEK293T cells with a transfection system, we revealed that the release of Prx1 and Prx2 relies on gasdermin-D (GSDMD)-mediated secretion. Next, we confirmed the binding of both Prx1 and Prx2 to C1q; however, only Prx2 could induce the C1q-mediated classical complement pathway activation. Collectively, our results suggest that inflammasome activation is a secretory mechanism of Prxs and that GSDMD is a mediator of their secretion. Moreover, secreted Prx1 and Prx2 bind with C1q, but only Prx2 mediates the classical complement pathway activation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.203-212
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• 2020

Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene, through alternative splicing of its C-terminal region, generates several PML isoforms that interact with specific partners and perform distinct functions. The PML protein is a tumor suppressor that plays an important role by interacting with various proteins. Herein, we investigated the effect of the PML isoforms on oncostatin M (OSM)-induced signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3) transcriptional activity. PML influenced OSM-induced STAT-3 activity in a cell type-specific manner, which was dependent on the p53 status of the cells but regardless of PML isoform. Interestingly, overexpression of PML exerted opposite effects on OSM-induced STAT-3 activity in p53 wild-type and mutant cells. Specifically, overexpression of PML in the cell lines bearing wild-type p53 (NIH3T3 and U87-MG cells) decreased OSM-induced STAT-3 transcriptional activity, whereas overexpression of PML increased OSM-induced STAT-3 transcriptional activity in mutant p53-bearing cell lines (HEK293T and U251-MG cells). When wild-type p53 cells were co-transfected with PML-IV and R273H-p53 mutant, OSM-mediated STAT-3 transcriptional activity was significantly enhanced, compared to that of cells which were transfected with PML-IV alone; however, when cells bearing mutant p53 were co-transfected with PML-IV and wild-type p53, OSM-induced STAT-3 transcriptional activity was significantly decreased, compared to that of transfected cells with PML-IV alone. In conclusion, PML acts together with wild-type or mutant p53 and influences OSM-mediated STAT-3 activity in a negative or positive manner, resulting in the aberrant activation of STAT-3 in cancer cells bearing mutant p53 probably might occur through the interaction of mutant p53 with PML.

• 한국식품저장유통학회지
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.524-528
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• 2017

Ricinus communis, belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae, has been known as medicinal plants for treatment of inflammation, tumors, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective and laxative. Compared to many pharmacological studies, the effect of R. communis extract on regulating adipogenesis as therapeutic drug for treating obesity has not been reported. R. communis extract (RCE) was investigated to determine its effects on the adipogenesis by monitoring the status of $Wnt/{\beta}-catenin$ signaling and factors involving the differentiation of adipocytes. The differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells monitored by Oil Red O staining was inhibited in concentration dependent manner by RCE. The luciferase activity of HEK 293-TOP cells containing pTOPFlash with Tcf4 response element-luciferase gene was increased approximately 2-folds by the treatment of RCE at concentrations of $100{\mu}g/mL$ compared to the control. Activation of the $Wnt/{\beta}-catenin$ pathway by RCE was further confirmed by immunocytochemical analysis which shows an increment of nuclear localization of ${\beta}-catenin$. In addition, safety of RCE was verified through performing neural stem cell morphology assay. Among the identified flavonoids in RCE, isoquercitrin was the most abundant. Therefore, these results indicate that the adipocyte differentiation was significantly reduced by isoquercitrin in R. communis. In this study, RCE suppresses the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells via the activation of $Wnt/{\beta}-catenin$ signaling.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.363-372
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• 2020

Gardenia jasminoides (GJ) is a widely used herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory properties, but its effects on the ORAI1 channel, which is important in generating intracellular calcium signaling for T cell activation, remain unknown. In this study, we investigated whether 70% ethanolic GJ extract (GJ_EtOH) and its subsequent fractions inhibit ORAI1 and determined which constituents contributed to this effect. Whole-cell patch clamp analysis revealed that GJ_EtOH (64.7% ± 3.83% inhibition at 0.1 mg/ml) and all its fractions showed inhibitory effects on the ORAI1 channel. Among the GJ fractions, the hexane fraction (GJ_HEX, 66.8% ± 9.95% at 0.1 mg/ml) had the most potent inhibitory effects in hORAI1-hSTIM1 co-transfected HEK293T cells. Chemical constituent analysis revealed that the strong ORAI1 inhibitory effect of GJ_HEX was due to linoleic acid, and in other fractions, we found that genipin inhibited ORAI1. Genipin significantly inhibited I_ORAI1 and interleukin-2 production in CD3/CD28-stimulated Jurkat T lymphocytes by 35.9% ± 3.02% and 54.7% ± 1.32% at 30 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the same genipin concentration inhibited the proliferation of human primary CD4⁺ T lymphocytes stimulated with CD3/CD28 antibodies by 54.9% ± 8.22%, as evaluated by carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester assay. Our findings suggest that genipin may be one of the active components of GJ responsible for T cell suppression, which is partially mediated by activation of the ORAI1 channel. This study helps us understand the mechanisms of GJ in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.240-244
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• 2007

Cigarette smoking causes serious health problems in humans, especially if smoking habits are established during their adolescence. Nicotine is known to mutate DNA and interfere with apoptosis. Apoptosis is considered as a potent defense mechanism against cellular damaging agents. This study aims to investigate the effect of nicotine on the progression of apoptosis induced under ER stress conditions using four different established cell lines: HEK293, 3T3-L1, C2C12, and HepG2. When treated with nicotine, the progression of apoptosis was notably inhibited in the four cell lines according to the assays of caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation. In ER-stressed cells, nicotine appears to inhibit the progression of apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. When cells were treated with nicotine prior to ER stress, GRP94 level significantly increased compared to other ER stress markers of PDI and GRP78. This observation suggests that the inhibitory effect of nicotine may results from up-regulation of GRP94, an anti-apoptotic chaperone, under nicotine treatment. Taken together, the present study strongly implies that nicotine may inhibit apoptosis, caused by prolonged ER stress, based on promotion of GRP94 expression.

• 한국약용작물학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.134-139
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• 2014

This study was to investigate the improvement of immune activities of the extracts from Codonopsis lanceolata by stepwise steaming process and high pressure process. The phenol contents was $8.742{\mu}g/mg$ which was higher than that from conventional extraction using 70% ethyl alcohol at $80^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. All of extracts at a concentration of $1.0mg/m{\ell}$ showed relatively low cytotoxicity on human normal kidney cell (HEK293) in range of 16 19%. The immune B and T cell growth was improved by extracts using the steamed and high pressure precess of C. lanceolata up to $180{\times}10^4cells/m{\ell}$ and $96{\times}10^4cells/m{\ell}$, respectively. The extract prepared also greatly increased the secretion of both IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$ from the stepwise steamed and high pressure process. This results can conclude that stepwise steamed and high pressure process effectively released active biomaterials which could important role in enhancing immune activity in the body.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권5호
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• pp.257-262
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• 2017

The subcellular localization of Bax plays a crucial role during apoptosis. In response to apoptotic stimuli, Bax translocates from the cytoplasm to the mitochondria, where it promotes the release of cytochrome c to the cytoplasm. In cells infected with HSV-1, apoptosis is triggered or blocked by diverse mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrate how HSV-1 ICP27 induces apoptosis and modulates mitochondrial membrane potential in HEK 293T cells. We found that ICP27 interacts with $14-3-3{\theta}$ which sequesters Bax to the cytoplasm. In addition, ICP27 promotes the translocation of Bax to the mitochondria by inhibiting the interaction between $14-3-3{\theta}$ and Bax. Our findings may provide a novel apoptotic regulatory pathway induced by ICP27 during HSV-1 infection.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.41-46
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• 2013

The goal of this study is to find an experimental condition which enables us to perform enzymatic studies on the cellular behavior of PTEN (phosphatase and tensine homolog) through identification of molecular species of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphates and their quantitative analysis in a mammalian cell line using mass spectrometry. We initially exployed a two-step extraction process using HCl for extraction of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphates from two mammalian cell lines and further analyzed the extracted phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphates using tandem mass spectrometry for the identification of them. We finally quantified the concentration of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphates using internal standard calibration. From these observation, we found that HEK 293-T cells is a good model to examine the enzymatic behavior of PTEN in a cell, and the minimum amount of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphates is more than 50 pmol for quantification in a mass spectrometer. These results suggest that the well-optimized experimental conditions are required for the investigation of the cellular PTEN in terms of the catalytic mechanism and further for the detailed identification of cellular substrates.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.38-47
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• 2022

The present study focused on lithocholic acid (LCA), a secondary bile acid that contributes to cholestatic pruritus. Although recent studies have found that LCA acts on MAS-related G protein-coupled receptor family member X4 (MRGPRX4) in humans, it is unclear which subtypes of MRGPRs are activated by LCA in mice since there is no precise ortholog of human MRGPRX4 in the mouse genome. Using calcium imaging, we found that LCA could activate mouse Mrgpra1 when transiently expressed in HEK293T cells. Moreover, LCA similarly activates mouse Mrgprb2. Importantly, LCA-induced responses showed dose-dependent effects through Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2. Moreover, treatment with QWF (an antagonist of Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2), YM254890 (Gα_q inhibitor), and U73122 (an inhibitor of phospholipase C) significantly suppressed the LCA-induced responses, implying that the LCA-induced responses are indeed mediated by Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2. Furthermore, LCA activated primary cultures of mouse sensory neurons and peritoneal mast cells, suggesting that Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2 contribute to LCA-induced pruritus. However, acute injection of LCA did not induce noticeable differences in scratching behavior, implying that the pruritogenic role of LCA may be marginal in non-cholestatic conditions. In summary, the present study identified for the first time that LCA can activate Mrgpra1 and Mrgprb2. The current findings provide further insight into the similarities and differences between human and mouse MRGPR families, paving a way to understand the complex roles of these pruriceptors.

• 한국식품영양학회지
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• 제35권6호
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• pp.531-536
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• 2022

Umami taste-yielding foods, such as, Joseonganjang, dried anchovies, dried shiitake, dried Konbu (kelp), and Yukjeot, are widely used in the Korean cuisine as soup base. While Umami taste enhancement related to Kokumi taste substances has been proposed in human sensory studies, the potential action of Kokumi taste substances has not been explored on calcium-sensing receptors (CaSR), here referred to as Kokumi taste receptors. In this study, we investigated the effect of Umami taste-yielding foods on Kokumi taste receptors using cells expressing human CaSR. We monitored the temporal changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ in HEK293T cells expressing CaSR in response to aqueous extract of Joseonganjang, dried anchovies, dried shiitake, dried Konbu, and Yukjeot. Kokumi substances tested-glutathione and γ-Glu-Val-Gly- evoked intracellular Ca²⁺ influx in a concentration-dependent manner. A similar increment of intracellular Ca²⁺ influx was induced by Joseonganjang, Yukjeot, and dried anchovies, but not by dried shiitake and dried Konbu. Only Joseonganjang- and Yukjeot-evoked intracellular Ca²⁺ influx was significantly reduced by NPS 2143, a CaSR-specific antagonist. These data indicated that some Umami substances/Umami-yielding materials could activate CaSR, but this property was not observed for all the Umami tasting substances.