• BMB Reports
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.127-133
• /
• 2002

Nitrosative stress can prevent or induce apoptosis. It occurs via S-nitrosylation by the interaction of nitric oxide (NO) with the biological thiols of proteins. Cellular redox potential and non-heme iron content determine S-nitrosylation. Apoptotic cell death is inhibited by S-nitrosylation of the redox-sensitive thiol in the catalytic site of caspase family proteases, which play an essential role in the apoptotic signal cascade. Nitrosative stress can also promote apoptosis by the activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathways, such as the release of cytochrome c, an apoptosis-inducing factor, and endonuclease G from mitochondria, as well as the suppression of NF-${\kappa}B$ activity. In this article we reviewed the mechanisms whereby S-nitrosylation and nitrosative stress regulate the apoptotic signal cascade.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.83-93
• /
• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether acupuncture at $SP_6$ attenuates esophageal inflammation on refluxed-induced esophagitis. Methods : Acupuncture at $SP_6$ was stimulated by acupuncture torsion technique for 30 seconds four times every hour after an operation induced reflux esophagitis(RE), and its effects were assessed in comparison with RE rats without acupuncture, and normal rats. Results : $SP_6$ acupuncture stimulation markedly ameliorated mucosal damage in the histological evaluation. Reflux-induced esophagitis rats exhibited the down-regulation of antioxidant-related protein expression levels such as heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) in the esophagitis; however, the associated levels with $SP_6$ acupuncture stimulation were significantly higher than those in RE rats without acupuncture stimulation. Moreover, $SP_6$ acupuncture stimulation significantly reduced the expression of inflammatory proteins through mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)-related signaling pathways. The increased protein expressions of inflammatory mediators, cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), by nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-kB) activation were significantly suppressed through $SP_6$ acupuncture stimulation. Conclusions : Our findings support the therapeutic evidence for $SP_6$ acupuncture stimulation alleviating the development of esophagitis via regulating inflammation through the activation of the antioxidant pathway.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.55-64
• /
• 1998

This study was carried out to investigate the postmortem changes in physico-chemical characteristics of chicken meat with different breeds. Thigh and breast meats from Korean Native Chicken(KNC, 15-wk old), Wangchoo(15-wk old), and broiler(7-wk old) were stored at 5 ˚C. Differences in postmortem pH changes were not recognized among breeds, and pH showed by the lowest value at the 1st day of postmortem in all breeds. Breast meat had tendency to drop pH faster than thigh meat. Heme pigment contents showed no differences among breeds. KNC showed the lowest cholesterol contents in all breeds, total collagen contents showed the lowest value at the 1st day of postmortem, and thereafter it was gradually increased. Heat soluble collagen contents was lowest in Wangchoo. Water soluble and salt soluble protein showed the lowest extractability at the 1st day of storage. Broiler showed the highest extractability of these proteins and Wangchoo showed the lowest. Water holding capacity(WHC) had increasing tendency whilst cooking loss had decreasing tendency by the ageing. WHC of breast and thigh meat showed the highest values in KNC and broiler, respectively. Myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI) was significantly increased in all breeds by the ageing. Breast and thigh meat showed almost same MFI in KNC and broiler, and in KNC and Wangchoo, respectively. Hardness of breast meat showed decreasing tendency by the ageing.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.152-163
• /
• 2005

Lipid peroxidation is a primary cause of quality deterioration in meat and meat products. Free radical chain reaction is the mechanism of lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radical and hydroperoxyl radical are the major initiators of the chain reaction. Lipid peroxyl radical and alkoxyl radical formed from the initial reactions are also capable of abstracting a hydrogen atom from lipid molecules to initiate the chain reaction and propagating the chain reaction. Much attention has been paid to the role of iron as a primary catalyst of lipid peroxidation. Especially, heme proteins such as myoglobin and hemoglobin and "free" iron have been regarded as major catalysts for initiation, and iron-oxygen complexes (ferryl and perferryl radical) are even considered as initiators of lipid peroxidation in meat and meat products. Yet, which iron type and how iron is involved in lipid peroxidation in meat are still debatable. This review is focused on the potential roles of ROS and iron as primary initiators and a major catalyst, respectively, on the development of lipid peroxidation in meat and meat products. Effects of various other factors such as meat species, muscle type, fat content, oxygen availability, cooking, storage temperature, the presence of salt that affect lipid peroxidation in meat and meat products are also discussed.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.196-202
• /
• 2007

Mutations in the cystathionine ${\beta}$-synthase (CBS) gene cause homocystinuria, the most frequent inherited disorder in sulfur metabolism. CBS is the unique enzyme using both heme and pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) for activity. Among the reported 140 mutations, one of the most common disease-causing alterations in human CBS is G307S mutation. To investigate the pathogenic mechanism of G307S by spectroscopic methods, we engineered the full length and the truncated G247S mutation of yeast CBS that is corresponding mutation to human G307S. Yeast CBS does not contain heme and thus gives a merit to study the spectroscopic properties. The UV-visible spectra of the purified full length and the truncated G247S yeast CBSs showed the total absence of PLP in the protein. The absence of PLP in G247S mutation was also confirmed by the PLP-cyanide adduct formation experiment, which was conducted by the incubation of the purified enzyme with KCN. The adducts were detected using a circular dichroism (CD) and a spectrofluorimeter. Radio isotope activity assay of full length and truncated G247S proteins also gave no activity. Our yeast G247S mutation data suggested that G307S might make the distortion of the active site so that cofactor PLP and substrate can not fit inside the active site. Our yeast CBS study addressed the reason why the G307S mutation in human CBS makes the enzyme inactive that consequently leads to severe clinical phenotype.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.9
• /
• pp.1092-1099
• /
• 2018

This study was orchestrated with the purpose of uncovering new nutraceutical resources possessing biological activities in the plant kingdom. To fulfill our objective, we analyzed several plant extracts and selected five species possessing powerful anti-oxidative activity. The anti-oxidative effect of these five plants, Apios fortunei Maxim., Colubrina arborescens Sarg., Croton caudatus Geiseler, Osmanthus matsumuranus Hayata and Schima noronhae Reinw. ethanol extracts were then evaluated by using in vitro assay, cell model system, and Western blot analysis of target proteins. As the results, all of them possessed the potent scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), similar with that of ascorbic acid, used as a common positive control. Moreover, they strongly inhibited hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), in a dose-dependent manner, in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. Furthermore, they induced the protein expression of an anti-oxidative enzyme, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), and its upstream transcription factor, nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Taken together, these results indicate that these five plants possess potent anti-oxidative activity and thus appear to be useful sources as potential anti-oxidant agents. Therefore, they might be utilized as promising materials in the field of nutraceuticals.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.33 no.4 s.132
• /
• pp.45-52
• /
• 2005

The manganese peroxidase (mnp5) from white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium has been heterologously expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The majority of the rMnP5 (recombinant MnP5) produced by P. pastoris exhibited an approximate molecular mass 45 kDa considerably larger than that of the predicting mnp5 due to two glycosylation sites of mnp5. After site direct mutation treatment, the effect of N-linked hyperglycosylation was examined by enzyme activity. Analysis by sodium dodesyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Coomassie Brilliant Blue (CBB) staining revealed a major protein band with a molecular mass of 37 kDa. Enzyme activity of M-rMnP5 (mutant recombinant MnP5) was similar to that of rMnP5, indicating that hyperglycosylation did not affect the active site. In this work, active mnp5 was successfully expressed in P. pastoris, suggesting that P. pastoris has potential capability of producing active heme-containing proteins.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.705-711
• /
• 1999

Post-mortem pork loins were used to investigate the effects of gamma irradiation on the surface and inside color, heme pigments, muscle protein solubility, purge loss, electrophoretical patterns of muscle proteins, and tenderness. The muscle was cut into pieces of 5 cm in length and divided into both groups, vacuum-packaged and air-packaged. The packaged samples were irradiated at designed doses, 0, 1, 3, 5 and 10 kGy, by a cobalt-60 irradiator, and stored at $4^{\circ}C$ for 7 days. There were no significant differences in the purge loss and electrophoretic patterns. Hunter's L and a values of the surface and inside of loins increased by gamma irradiation, showing a bright red color and the red color was maintained during the storage of both samples. However, the concentrations of heme pigments were not significantly changed. Muscle protein solubility slightly increased by increasing the applied dose. The decrease in shear force was observed in irradiated samples. As result, it was expected that meat quality, especially color and processing properties, could be improved by gamma irradiation at below 5 kGy.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.11
• /
• pp.851-858
• /
• 2023

Unique cartilage matrix-associated protein (UCMA) is an extrahepatic vitamin K-dependent protein rich in γ-carboxylated (Gla) residues. UCMA has been recognized for its ability to promote osteoblast differentiation and enhance bone formation; however, its impact on osteoblasts under hyperglycemic stress remains unknown. In this paper, we investigated the effect of UCMA on MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells under hyperglycemic conditions. After exposure to high glucose, the MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with recombinant UCMA proteins. CellROX and MitoSOX staining showed that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which initially increased under high-glucose conditions in MC3T3-E1 cells, decreased after UCMA treatment. Additionally, quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed increased expression of antioxidant genes, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and superoxide dismutase 1, in the MC3T3-E1 cells exposed to both high glucose and UCMA. UCMA treatment downregulated the expression of heme oxygenase-1, which reduced its translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus. Moreover, the expression of dynamin-related protein 1, a mitochondrial fission marker, was upregulated, and AKT signaling was inhibited after UCMA treatment. Overall, UCMA appears to mitigate ROS production, increase antioxidant gene expression, impact mitochondrial dynamics, and modulate AKT signaling in osteoblasts exposed to high-glucose conditions. This study advances our understanding of the cellular mechanism of UCMA and suggests its potential use as a novel therapeutic agent for bone complications related to metabolic disorders.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.206-213
• /
• 2017

BACKGROUN/OBJECTIVES: Although studies have revealed that black garlic is a potent antioxidant, its antioxidant mechanism remains unclear. The objective of this study was to determine black garlic's antioxidant activities and possible antioxidant mechanisms related to nuclear factor erythroid 2-like factor 2 (Nrf2)-Keap1 complex. METHODS/MATERIALS: After four weeks of feeding rats with a normal fat diet (NF), a high-fat diet (HF), a high-fat diet with 0.5% black garlic extract (HF+BGE 0.5), a high-fat diet with 1.0% black garlic extract (HF+BGE 1.0), or a high-fat diet with 1.5% black garlic extract (HF+BGE 1.5), plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin,homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined. As oxidative stress indices, plasma concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and 8-isoprostaglandin $F2{\alpha}$ (8-iso-PGF) were determined. To measure antioxidant capacities, plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and activities of antioxidant enzymes in plasma and liver were determined. The mRNA expression levels of antioxidant related proteins such as Nrf2, NAD(P)H: quinone-oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione S-transferase alpha 2 (GSTA2) were examined. RESULTS: Plasma glucose level, plasma insulin level, and HOMA-IR in black garlic supplemented groups were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those in the HF group without dose-dependent effect. Plasma TBARS concentration and TAC in the HF+BGE 1.5 group were significantly decreased compared to those of the HF group. The activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the HF+BGE 1.0 and HF+BGE 1.5 groups compared to those of the HF group. The mRNA expression levels of hepatic Nrf2, NQO1, HO-1, and GSTA2 were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the HF with BGE groups compared to those in the HF group. CONCLUSIONS: The improvements of blood glucose homeostasis and antioxidant systems in rats fed with black garlic extract were related to mRNA expression levels of Nrf2 related genes.