• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.121-129
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• 2022

Despite considerable efforts, cancer remains an aggressive killer worldwide. Chemotherapeutic drugs that are currently in use lead to destructive side effects and have not succeeded in fulfilling expectations. For centuries, medicinal plants are used for treating various diseases and are also known to have anticancer activity. The main aim of this research was to evaluate antiproliferative activity of saffron, clove, fenugreek, and green tea on Vero and MDA-MB-231 cell lines and to subsequently analyze the effect of these extracts on IRAK-4, TAK1, IKK-alpha, IKK-beta, NF-Kappa B, IRF3, IRF7 genes in Toll Like Receptors (TLRs) pathway. Antiproliferative assay was done by Neutral Red Dye uptake assay. Methanolic extract of green tea was found to be most effective against both cell lines as IC₅₀ was achieved at least concentration of the extract. For molecular studies, MDAMB-231 cells were sensitized with methanolic extract of green tea at same IC₅₀, and RT-PCR was performed to determine the relative expression of genes. Expression of IRAK-4, TAK1, IKK-beta, NF-Kappa B, IRF3 genes was down regulated and IRF7 and IKKalpha was upregulated. Green tea has a potential cytotoxic effect on both cell lines which was demonstrated by its effect on the expression of (TLRs) pathway genes.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.291-301
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• 2023

Introduction: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are particularly vulnerable to the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). Currently, no anti-NSCLC/COVID-19 treatment options are available. As ginsenoside Rg3 is beneficial to NSCLC patients and has been identified as an entry inhibitor of the virus, this study aims to explore underlying pharmacological mechanisms of ginsenoside Rg3 for the treatment of NSCLC patients with COVID-19. Methods: Based on a large-scale data mining and systemic biological analysis, this study investigated target genes, biological processes, pharmacological mechanisms, and underlying immune implications of ginsenoside Rg3 for NSCLC patients with COVID-19. Results: An important gene set containing 26 target genes was built. Target genes with significant prognostic value were identified, including baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5 (BIRC5), carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9), endothelin receptor type B (EDNRB), glucagon receptor (GCGR), interleukin 2 (IL2), peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PADI4), and solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 1B1 (SLCO1B1). The expression of target genes was significantly correlated with the infiltration level of macrophages, eosinophils, natural killer cells, and T lymphocytes. Ginsenoside Rg3 may benefit NSCLC patients with COVID-19 by regulating signaling pathways primarily involved in anti-inflammation, immunomodulation, cell cycle, cell fate, carcinogenesis, and hemodynamics. Conclusions: This study provided a comprehensive strategy for drug discovery in NSCLC and COVID-19 based on systemic biology approaches. Ginsenoside Rg3 may be a prospective drug for NSCLC patients with COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the value of ginsenoside Rg3 for NSCLC patients with COVID-19.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1345-1354
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• 2016

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common and tissue-specific autoimmune disease of hair follicle resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. Hair follicles is a unique organ because it has its own immune system and hormonal milieu and has a different immune state at each hair cycle stage. The collapses of anagen-dependent hair follicle immune privilege arise autoimmune attack, inducing ectopic MHC class I expression in the hair follicle epithelium and autoantigen presentation to autoreactive CD8+T cells, which results in AA. Clinical and experimental studies have pointed that psychological stress may also influence the hair follicle immune/hormone systems and contribute to the induction of AA. The key pathogenesis of AA is associated with immune privilege guardians (including ACTH, ${\alpha}-MSH$, and $TGF-{\beta}$), natural killer group 2D-positive (NKG2D+) cells (including NK and CD8+T cells), and stress hormones (including CRH and substance P). Effective treatments for AA are still demanded. One of the future targets of treatment will be the modification of hair follicle immune privilege including stress. Recent studies have reported that JAK inhibitors and immunomodulators used in other autoimmune disease, such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis, Tregs, platelet-rich plasma therapy, statins, and prostaglandin anaolgues are effective for AA. Here the article reviews the recent understanding in the pathogenesis associated with perifollicular endocrine/immunology and new treatments of AA.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.12-29
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• 2006

Background and Aims : Even though various strategies for cancer treatment have advanced with the remarkable development of genomic information and technology, it is far from giving relief to cancer patients. Recently there is accumulating evidence that the immune system is closely connected to anti-tumor defense mechanisms in a multistage process. This includes tumorigenesis, invasion, growth and metastasis. Cordyceps Militaris, a well-known oriental herbal medicine, is a parasitic fungus that has been used as an immune enhancing agent for a long period of time. However, little is known about the cancer-related immunomodulatory effects and anti-tumor activities. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of Cordyceps Militaris extract (CME) on immune modulating and anti-tumor activity. Materials and Methods : To elucidate the effects of CME on macrophage and natural killer (NK) cell activity, we analyzed nitric oxide (NO) production, NK cytotoxicity and gene expression of cytokines related with macrophages and NK cell activity. Results and Conclusions : CME activated and promoted macrophage production of NO. It also enhanced gene expression of IL-1 and iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells. CME promoted cytotoxicity of NK cells against YAC-1 cells and enhanced NK cell related gene expression such as IL-1, IL-2, IL-12, iNOS, IFN-${\gamma}$ and　TNF-${\alpha}$ in mice splenocytes. It also Promoted protein expression of IL-10, IL-12, IFN-${\gamma}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ in mice splenocytes and inhibited lung tumor metastasis induced by CT-26 cell line compared with the control group. From these results, it could be concluded that CME is an effective herbal drug for modulating the immune system and anti-cancer treatment by promoting macrophage and NK cell activity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.95-102
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• 2012

To examine the new practical utilization of mucilages in Opuntia humifusa, the Korean pear cactus, the polysaccharides were isolated from O. humifusa, and immuno-stimulating activities were assayed. The main polysaccharide, CNC-E, was prepared by a commercial enzyme treatment, water extraction, and ethanol precipitation. The molecular mass of CNC-E was estimated to be about 700 kDa, and it consisted mainly of arabinose, galactose and xylose in addition to two minor sugars such as rhamnose and fucose. On the other hand, CNC-E showed considerably high splenocyte proliferation activity in a dose-dependent manner. Peritoneal macrophages stimulated with CNC-E produced cytokines such as IL-6, IL-12, IL-10, and TNF-${\alpha}$. The intravenous administration of CNC-E significantly augmented the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells against Yac-1 tumor cells. Especially, NK cells obtained from the mice treated with $100{\mu}g$ of CNC-E showed threefold higher cytolytic activity than those of untreated mice. CNC-E also showed potent anti-complementary activity in a dose-dependent fashion. Identification of C3 activation products by the crossed immunoelectrophoresis using anti-human C3 and the anti-complementary activity of CNC-E in a $Ca^{2+}$-free condition suggested complement activations by CNC-E that occur via both alternative and classical pathways. These results indicate that Korean pear cactus contains selected polysaccharides that provide immuno-stimulating activities beneficial to human health.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.13-27
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• 2009

Objectives: Trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCA) is the main component of Cinnamomi Ramulus and it has been reported that TCA inhibits inflammatory responses in various cell types. Inflammation-mediated neurological disorders induce the activation of macrophages such as microglia in brain, and these activated macrophages release various inflammation-related molecules, which can be neurotoxic if overproduced. In this study, we evaluated gene expression profiles using gene chip microarrays in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 cells to investigate the antiinflammatory effect of TCA on inflammatory responses in brain microglia. Methods: A negative control group was cultured in normal medium and a positive control group was stimulated with $1{\mu}g/ml$ in the absence of TCA. TCA group was pretreated with $10{\mu}g/ml$ before $1{\mu}g/ml$ LPS stimulation. The oligonucleotide microarray analysis was performed to obtain the expression profiles of 28,853 genes using gene chip mouse gene 1.0 ST array in this study. Results: In positive control group, 1522 probe sets were up-regulated in the condition of the cutoff value of 1.5-fold change and 341 genes with Unigene ID were retrieved. In TCA group, 590 probe sets were down-regulated from among 1522 probe sets and 33 genes with Unigene ID were retrieved, which included 6 inflammation-related genes. We found out that Id3 gene is associated with transforming growth factor-${\beta}$ (TGF-${\beta}$) signaling pathway and Klra8 gene is related to natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathway. Conclusions: The results mean that TCA inhibits inflammatory responses through down-regulating the expressions of inflammation-related genes in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.210-216
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• 2009

This study was performed to compare the effects of immuno-modulating activities of Rhodiola sachalinensis A. Bor. fractionized by consecutive solvent separation. The Cytotoxicity of all fractionized extracts on human kidney cell (HEK293) was lower than crude extracts. Generally, the butanol and chloroform extracts showed less cytotoxicity on about 10.07% and 9.67% than the crude extracts. For human immune B and T cell growth, chloroform fraction showed the highest cell growth compared to the control. The secretion of cytokines (IL-6, $TNF-\alpha$) on human B and T cells were increased by adding chloroform extracts. Also, NK cell growth was significantly improved up to nearly 30% by adding the supernatant of B cell medium grown with the chloroform fraction. It was also found that chloroform fraction could yield higher nitric oxide production from macrophage than untreated control cells. Differentiation of HL-60 cells was increased up to 131.9% after treatment with chloroform fraction extracts, compared to the control. These results indicate that the chloroform fraction of R. sachalinensis have high immune activation activity than others fractions and the crude extracts, implying that this chloroform fractions could be used a new functional material.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1942-1949
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• 2019

Objective: Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2) is associated with several physiological processes including inflammation, tumorigenesis, and natural killer T cell generation. Chicken LECT2 (chLECT2) gene was originally identified as one of the differentially expressed genes in chicken kidney tissue, where the chickens were fed with different calcium doses. In this study, the molecular characteristics and gene expression of chLECT2 were analyzed under the stimulation of toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) ligand to understand the involvement of chLECT2 expression in chicken metabolic disorders. Methods: Amino acid sequence of LECT2 proteins from various species including fowl, fish, and mammal were retrieved from the Ensembl database and subjected to Insilco analyses. In addition, the time- and dose-dependent expression of chLECT2 was examined in DF-1 cells which were stimulated with polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly [I:C]), a TLR3 ligand. Further, to explore the transcription factors required for the transcription of chLECT2, DF-1 cells were treated with poly (I:C) in the presence or absence of the nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$ ($NF{\kappa}B$) and activated protein 1 (AP-1) inhibitors. Results: The amino acid sequence prediction of chLECT2 protein revealed that along with duck LECT2 (duLECT2), it has unique signal peptide different from other vertebrate orthologs, and only chLECT2 and duLECT2 have an additional 157 and 161 amino acids on their carboxyl terminus, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that chLECT2 is evolved from a common ancestor along with the actinopterygii hence, more closely related than to the mammals. Our quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that, the expression of chLECT2 was up-regulated significantly in DF-1 cells under the stimulation of poly (I:C) (p<0.05). However, in the presence of $NF{\kappa}B$ or AP-1 inhibitors, the expression of chLECT2 is suppressed suggesting that both $NF{\kappa}B$ and AP-1 transcription factors are required for the induction of chLECT2 expression. Conclusion: The present results suggest that chLECT2 gene might be a target gene of TLR3 signaling. For the future, the expression pattern or molecular mechanism of chLECT2 under stimulation of other innate immune receptors shall be studied. The protein function of chLECT2 will be more clearly understood if further investigation about the mechanism of LECT2 in TLR pathways is conducted.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2022

Objective : The purpose of this trial is to observe the preliminary effects of Salvia plebeia (SP) extract on quality of life in patients with solid cancer. Methods : This is a prospective, open-label, single-arm, and single-dose clinical trial. Twenty participants who have been diagnosed with solid cancer between the ages of 20 and 65 will be included. All participants will be administered SP granules for 12 weeks. Data will be collected at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after enrollment. The primary outcome is quality of life, using the Korean version of the Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-General questionnaire. Secondary outcomes include tumor markers in blood tests for each cancer type, soluble programmed death-ligand 1, the percentage of natural killer cells among lymphocytes, ratio of T-helper and T-suppressor cells, ratio of total T, T-helper, T-suppressor, and B cells in lymphocytes, level of C-reactive protein, and tumor size via radiology examination. Safety will be assessed by clinical laboratory tests and monitoring of adverse events. Discussion : This study aims to observe the effects of an oral administration of SP preparations in patients with solid cancer on changes in quality of life and an improvement in immune function. It is expected to provide objective evidence of the effect and safety of SP for patients with solid cancer. Trial registration: KCT0007315 (Clinical Research Information Service)

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.439-445
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• 2006

Purpose : ${\alpha}$-Galactosylceramide (${\alpha}$-GalCer)-stimulated human $V{\alpha}24$ natural killer T (NKT) cells exert antitumor activity against some leukemia in a CD1d dependent and TCR-mediated manner, but could not kill CD1d - negative neuroblastoma (NB) cells. There are few reports about the direct antitumor effect of highly secreted cytokines by these cells on activation. In this study, using a cell-free supernatant (SPN) collected from plate bound hCD1d/${\alpha}$ GalCer tetramers-stimulated NKT cells, we examined whether they could be helpful in the immunotherapeutic treatment of NB. Methods : Cells were cultured in IMDM. The cytokines produced by NKT cells were measured with Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) analysis. Cell viability was evaluated by calcein-AM fluorescence with digital image microscopy scanning (DIMSCAN). The percentage of specific apoptosis was calculated by flow cytometric detection of apoptosis using annexin V and 7-AAD. Results : The activated NKT cells secreted high levels of IL-2, INF-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\alpha}$. The SPN was significantly cytotoxic against four out of eight tested NB cell lines, through mainly apoptosis as evidenced by annexin-V staining and inhibition with the pretreatment of pancaspase blocker. This apoptosis was significantly inhibited when anti-TNF-${\alpha}$ and anti-IFN-${\gamma}$ neutralizing mAbs were used separately and it was completely abolished when the two mAbs were combined. Conclusion : IFN-${\gamma}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ produced by NKT cells could exert synergistically direct antitumor activity through apoptosis on some NB cell lines.