• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.130-142
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• 2005

Objectives: Amygdalin is known to be a natural compound which has antitussive and anticancer activities. Amygdalin is abundant in the seeds of bitter almond and apricots of the Prunus genus, and other rosaceous plants. We investigated whether amygdalin induces apoptosis. Materials and Methods : 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)assay, terminal deoxynuclotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAFI) staining, flow cytometric analysis, DNA fragmentation assay, western blot, and caspase-3 enzyme assay were performed on ME-180 cervical cancer cells treated with amygdalin. Results: Through morphological and biochemical analyses, it was demonstrated that ME-180 cells treated with amygdalin exhibit several apoptotic features. It was shown that amygdalin induces increases in levels of Bax and caspase-3 and a decrease in Bcl-2 expression. Conclusions: These results suggest the possibility that amygdalin exerts an anti-tumor effect on human cervical cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7747-7752
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• 2014

Kr$\ddot{u}$ppel-like factor 4 is a transcription factor which plays an important role in development and progression of various carcinomas. Curcumin characterized by excellent anti-cancer properties is regarded as a serviceable natural compound used in carcinoma therapy. This study aimed at exploring the impact of KLF4 overexpression in cooperation with curcumin on the proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of human gastric carcinoma BGC-823 cells. Flow cytometry analysis, CCK-8 assays, transwell assays and Western blot results showed that KLF4 overexpression combined with curcumin had significant anti-proliferation, pro-apoptosis and anti-invasion effects on BGC-823 cells. We also found that KLF4 had synergistic effects with curcumin, better promoting apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation and invasion of gastric carcinona cells. These results indicate that KLF4 could be used as a potential therapeutic target; curcumin could act as an auxiliary and provide a promising therapeutic strategy in stomach cancer.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2015

The correction of disease-causing mutations by single-strand oligonucleotide-templated DNA repair (ssOR) is an attractive approach to gene therapy, but major improvements in ssOR efficiency and consistency are needed. The mechanism of ssOR is poorly understood but may involve annealing of oligonucleotides to transiently exposed single-stranded regions in the target duplex. In bacteria and yeast it has been shown that ssOR is promoted by expression of $Red{\beta}$, a single-strand DNA annealing protein from bacteriophage lambda. Here we show that $Red{\beta}$ expression is well tolerated in a human cell line where it consistently promotes ssOR. By use of short interfering RNA, we also show that ssOR is stimulated by the transient depletion of the endogenous DNA mismatch repair protein MSH2. Furthermore, we find that the effects of $Red{\beta}$ expression and MSH2 depletion on ssOR can be combined with a degree of cooperativity. These results suggest that oligonucleotide annealing and mismatch recognition are distinct but interdependent events in ssOR that can be usefully modulated in gene correction strategies.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.41-55
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• 2004

Objective : To investigate the possible molecular mechanism (s) of melittin as a candidate of anti-cancer drug, we examined the effects of the compound on the growth of human lung carcinoma cell line A549. Methods : Growth inhibitory study, flow cytometry analysis, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis, RT-PCR and in vitro caspases activity assay were performed. Results : Melittin treatment declined the cell viability of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with induction of apoptotic cell death. Melittin treatment down-regulated the levels of Bcl-XS/L mRNA and protein expression of A549 cells, an anti-apoptotic gene, however, the those of Bax, a pro-apoptotic gene, were up-regulated. Melittin induced the proteolytic cleavage and activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 protease in a dose-dependent manner without alteration of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins family and Akt expression. Western blot analysis and RT-PCR data revealed that the levels of tumor suppressor p53 and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 were also remained unchanged. Conclusions : Taken together, these findings suggest that melittin-induced inhibition of human lung cancer cell growth is associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death via regulation of several major growth regulatory gene products, and melittin may have therapeutic potential in human lung cancer.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.76-83
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• 2006

Epidemiological studies have indicated that the ubiquitous consumption of seaweeds is a protective factor against some types of cancer. Previous results showed that the administration of seaweed powder or extract reduced the incidence rate of chemically induced tumorigenesis using in vivo animal model. Recently, we reported that the extracts of Gloiopeltis furcata, a kind of Korean edible seaweed, caused he cell growth inhibition of various human cancer cell lines, among them methanol extract exhibited a relatively strong antiproliferative activity. However, the molecular mechanisms of this seaweed in malignant cells have been poorly studied until now. To elucidate this problem, we investigated the effects of methanol extract of G. furcata (MEGF) on the growth inhibition in several human cancer cell lines, and further we analyzed the effects of this extract were tested on the activity of apoptosis induction in human leukemic cells. The results demonstrated that MEGF treatment resulted in the morphological changes and the growth inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, MEGF potently suppresses the growth of human leukemic U937 cells by induction of apoptosis, which was associated with induction of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1) in a tumor suppressor p53-independent fashion and up-regulation of Fas/FasL system. Further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anticancer activity of MEGF. Once such compounds are identified, the mechanisms by which they exert their effects can begin to be characterized.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2001

Background: The human mic2 gene is a pseudoautosomal gene that encodes a cell surface antigen, CD99. High levels of CD99 constitute a tumor marker in Ewing s sarcoma (ES). We have recently demonstrated that CD99-induced apoptosis occurs only in undifferentiated ES cells, not in differentiated ES cells, raising the possibility of the involvement of CD99 in neural ontogeny. Methods: To elucidate the relations between the expression of CD99 and the differentiation of neural cells and the mechanism by which the expression of CD99 is regulated, we analyzed the differential patterns of CD99 expression in SH-SY5Y by treatment of 12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-phorbol acetate (TPA) and retinoic acid. In addition, to explore the transcriptional activity of CD 99 during neural cell differentiation, SH-SY5Y cells were transiently transfected with a CD99 promoter-driven luciferase construct, and treated with the inducers. Results: In immunoblotting and flow cytometry, the expression level of CD99 was increased on differentiated SH-SY5Y cells induced by TPA and retinoic acid. The luciferase activity was elevated by the treatment with TPA, known to mature SH-SY5Y cells toward a sympathetic neuronal lineage, whereas retinoic acid inducing a sympathetic chromaffin lineage displayed little effect. Conclusion: The result indicates that CD99 might be expressed only on cells maturing toward a neuronal lineage among differentiating primitive neuronal cells. In addition, the expression of CD99 seems to be regulated at the transcriptional level during the differentiation.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.310-316
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• 2009

Some environmental chemicals have been shown to cause liver-toxicity as the result of bioaccumulation. Particularly, fungicides have been shown to cause varying degrees of hepatictoxicity and to disrupt steroid hormone homeostasis in in vivo models. The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the liver-toxic responses of environmental chemicals-in this case selected fungicides and parasiticides-in order to determine whether or not this agent differentially affected its toxicogenomic activities in hepatic tumor cell lines. To determine the gene expression profiles of 3 fungicides (triadimefon, myclobutanil, vinclozolin) and 1 parasiticide (dibutyl phthalate), we utilized a modified HazChem human array V2. Additionally, in order to observe the differential alterations in its time-dependent activities, we conducted two time (3 hr, 48 hr) exposures to the respective IC20 values of four chemicals. As a result, we analyzed the expression profiles of a total of 1638 genes, and we identified 70 positive significant genes and 144 negative significant genes using four fungicidic and parasiticidic chemicals, using SAM (Significant Analysis of Microarray) methods (q-value<0.5%). These genes were analyzed and identified as being related to apoptosis, stress responses, germ cell development, cofactor metabolism, and lipid metabolism in GO functions and pathways. Additionally, we found 120 genes among those time-dependently differentially expressed genes, using 1-way ANOVA (P-value<0.05). These genes were related to protein metabolism, stress responses, and positive regulation of apoptosis. These data support the conclusion that the four tested chemicals have common toxicogenomic effects and evidence respectively differential expression profiles according to exposure time.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.90-97
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• 2009

Background: CD147, as a cellular receptor for cyclophilin A (CypA), is a multifunctional protein involved in tumor invasion, inflammation, tissue remodeling, neural function, and reproduction. Recent observations showing the expression of CD147 in leukocytes indicate that this molecule may have roles in inflammation. Methods: In order to investigate the role of CD147 and its ligand in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, human atherosclerotic plaques were analyzed for the expression pattern of CD147 and CypA. The cellular responses and signaling molecules activated by the stimulation of CD147 were then investigated in the human macrophage cell line, THP-1, which expresses high basal level of CD147 on the cell surface. Results: Staining of both CD147 and CypA was detected in endothelial cell layers facing the lumen and macrophage-rich areas. Stimulation of CD147 with its specific monoclonal antibody induced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in THP-1 cells and it was suppressed by inhibitors of both ERK and NF-${\kappa}B$. Accordingly, the stimulation of CD147 was observed to induce phosphorylation of ERK, phosphorylation-associated degradation of $I{\kappa}B$, and nuclear translocation of NF-${\kappa}B$ p65 and p50 subunits. Conclusion: These results suggest that CD147 mediates the inflammatory activation of macrophages that leads to the induction of MMP-9 expression, which could play a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.263-268
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• 2021

7-Hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin (7H-4MC) inhibits hyaluronan production in multiple cell lines and tissue types both in vitro and in vivo. It is a commercially available drug approved for human use, called hymecromone, in European and Asian countries to prevent biliary spasms. Nevertheless, as the pharmacological efficacy of 7H-4MC has not yet been reported in macrophages, this study investigated its anti-inflammatory effects and mechanism of action using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells were treated with various concentrations of 7H-4MC (62.5, 125, 250, and 500 μM). The application of 7H-4MC significantly reduced nitric oxide and prostaglandin E₂ production without cytotoxic effects. Additionally, 7H-4MC strongly decreased the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase. Furthermore, 7H-4MC reduced the production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6. Finally, 7H-4MC exerted its potent anti-inflammatory actions via the upregulation of IκB-α production, which led to the inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity. These results, obtained in macrophage cell lines, suggest that 7H-4MC prevents inflammatory diseases via the NF-κB signaling pathway and that its use could be beneficial for human health. Ultimately, this is the first report describing the anti-inflammatory activity of 7H-4MC in a macrophage cell line.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 2013

Objectives : Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by eczematous inflammtion of the skin. The chestnut inner shell extracts (CI) has been used as a cosmetic material for a long time in Korea. However, the precise anti-allergy effects of CI have yet to be clearly elucidated. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the effect of CI on mast cell-mediated allergy inflammation. Methods : To find the anti-allergy and inflammatory effect of CI, we investigated the inhibitory effect of CI on the production of inflammatory mediators using by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore (A23187) stimulated-human mast cell (HMC-1). Results : In this study, we found that CI did not show cytotoxic effect at up to 10 ug/ml on HMC-1. CI inhibited the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in stimulated HMC-1. Maximal rate of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6 and IL-8 inhibition by CI (10 ug/ml) were about 47.6%, 44.1% and 22.5% respectively. In addition, we showed that Fr.3 isolated from n-Butyl alcohol layer of CI attenuated the production of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6 and IL-8 in HMC-1. Conclusion : Taken together, the findings of this study provide us with a novel insight action of CI as a potential molecule for use in the treatment of allergic inflammation diseases.