• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.22.1-22.6
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• 2017

The antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities of dietary supplementation of sea tangle from Goseong and the alginate-free residue of sea tangle were investigated in Sprague Dawley rats treated with a high-fat diet, streptozotocin, poloxamer 407, and bromobenzene. The alginate-free residue of Goseong sea tangle induced a significant reduction in triglycerides and total cholesterol levels, as well as a significant increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Alginate-free Goseong sea tangle residue reduced the activities of the phase I enzymes aminopyrine N-demethylase and aniline hydroxylase, which had been increased by intraperitoneal injection of bromobenzene. Pretreatment with Goseong sea tangle residue prevented a bromobenzene-induced decrease in epoxide hydrolase activity. Bromobenzene reduced hepatic glutathione content and increased hepatic lipid peroxide levels. Pretreatment with alginate-free Goseong sea tangle residue prevented lipid peroxidation induced by bromobenzene, but pretreatment with Goseong sea tangle did not. These results suggest that Goseong sea tangle residue exerted antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities that were higher than those induced by alginate-containing sea tangle. Therefore, the alginate-free residue may contain physiologically unknown active components, other than alginic acid, which may potentially be used to prevent hyperlipidemic atherosclerosis.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.807-814
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• 2016

Fucoidan, one of the dominant sulfated polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweed, possesses a wide range of biological activities. Transforming growth $factor-{\beta}$ ($TGF-{\beta}$) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, by stimulating the synthesis of profibrotic factors. In this study, we investigated the in vitro effects of fucoidan on collagen synthesis, ${\alpha}-smooth$ muscle actin (${\alpha}-SMA$) expression, and interleukin (IL)-6 production in $TGF-{\beta}$-stimulated human pulmonary fibroblasts. The expression of type I collagen and ${\alpha}-SMA$ was detected by Western blot, and the production of IL-6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. $TGF-{\beta}1$ treatment of pulmonary fibroblasts enhanced the expression of ${\alpha}-SMA$, type I collagen, and IL-6 whereas these effects were inhibited in cells pretreated with fucoidan. The activation of Smad2/3, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and Akt was also inhibited in fucoidan-pretreated, $TGF-{\beta}1-stimulated$ human pulmonary fibroblasts. These data demonstrate the anti-fibrotic potential of fucoidan in $TGF-{\beta}-induced$ human pulmonary fibroblasts, via the inhibition of Smad2/3, p38 MAPKs, and Akt phosphorylation. Our results suggest the therapeutic potential of fucoidan in the prevention or treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.111-117
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• 2021

The study was aimed at developing an alternative therapeutic agent against acne vulgaris, one of the most common skin diseases, to meet the continuing demand for new therapies. Acne vulgaris is often associated with the acne-causing bacteria such as Cutibacterium acnes. To investigate the safety of agents against acne vulgaris, we evaluated the potential antibacterial activities of edible seaweeds against C. acnes in Korea. Forty-one edible seaweeds, including the brown, green, and red varieties, were selected for the antibacterial test. In comparison with other seaweeds, 70% ethanolic extracts of brown seaweeds, such as Cladophora wrightiana var. minor, Eisenia bicyclis, Ecklonia cava, Ishige foliacea, Ishige okamurae, Sargassum filicinum, and Sargassum miyabei Yendo, exhibited potential antibacterial activity against C. acnes with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging between 64 and 128 ㎍/mL. To investigate the active anti-acne agents and to enhance our understanding of the antibacterial activities against C. acnes, further solvent-fractionation experiments are warranted. The findings imply that brown seaweeds can be a potential source of natural agents against acne vulgaris.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.205-211
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• 2023

INTS14/VWA9, a component of the integrator complex subunits, plays a pivotal role in regulating the fate of numerous nascent RNAs transcribed by RNA polymerase II, particularly in the biogenesis of small nuclear RNAs and enhancer RNAs. Despite its significance, a comprehensive mutation model for developmental research has been lacking. To address this gap, we aimed to investigate the expression patterns of INTS14 during zebrafish embryonic development. We generated ints14 mutant strains using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We validated the gRNA activity by co-injecting Cas9 protein and a single guide RNA into fertilized zebrafish eggs, subsequently confirming the presence of a 6- or 9-bp deletion in the ints14 gene. In addition, we examined the two mutant alleles through PCR analysis, T7E1 assay, TA-cloning, and sequencing. For the first time, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to create a model in which some sequences of the ints14 gene were removed. This breakthrough opens new avenues for in-depth exploration of the role of ints14 in animal diseases. The mutant strains generated in this study can provide a valuable resource for further investigations into the specific consequences of ints14 gene deletion during zebrafish development. This research establishes a foundation for future studies exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying the functions of ints14, its interactions with other genes or proteins, and its broader implications for biological processes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.749-752
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• 2020

In the search for novel, natural melanogenesis inhibitors, a new sesquiterpene, inularin, was isolated from the flowers of Inula britannica, and the structure was determined using spectroscopic and chemical methods. The antimelanogenic effects of inularin on B16F10 melanoma cells and zebrafish embryos were evaluated. Inularin dose-dependently reduced melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced melanin production and L-DOPA oxidation in B16F10 cells. Zebrafish embryos were used to confirm the antimelanogenic activity. Inularin significantly decreased the pigmentation of embryos compared with untreated controls.

• ALGAE
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.325-326
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• 2015

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.645-654
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• 2015

This paper attempts to quantitatively assess the conservation value of Ellobium chinense (EC), which belongs to the endangered marine species designated by Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. To this end, we apply the contingent valuation (CV) method, an economic technique of valuing a non-market goods such as EC. A national survey of randomly selected 1,000 households was administered in order to derive the public's willingness to pay (WTP) for conserving EC. One-and-one-half-bound model was adopted to elicit the WTP responses and a spike model was employed to deal with the zero WTP responses. The results show that the conservation value of EC is estimated to be 2,346 won per household per year that is statistically significant at the 1% level. Expanding the value to the national population gives us an annual value of 43.8 billion won. We can judge that the Korean people are willing to pay a significant amount to conserve EC.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 2011

In 2009, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the unique outstanding ecosystem biodiversity and distinct ecocultural values of the Shinan Dadohae Biosphere Reserve in the island region. The Dadohae area, which has been sustainably conserved for scores of years, boasts not only a unique ecosystem, but also has residents with a wide range of traditional ecological knowledge. In terms of understanding the soundness of the ecosystem network known as the landscape system, the recent expansion of environmental development has served to heighten the degree of consideration given not only to biodiversity, which has long been used as an indicator to assess ecosystem soundness, but also to assess cultural diversity. Man has used the surrounding landscape and living organisms as his life resources since the beginning. Moreover, whenever necessary, man has developed new species through cultivation. Biodiversity became a foundation that facilitated establishing cultural diversity such as food and housing. Such ecological knowledge has been conveyed not only to adjacent regions, but also at the international level. The recent rapid changes in the Dadohae area island ecosystem caused by the transformation of fishing grounds by such factors as climate change, excess human activities, and marine pollution, is an epoch event in environmental history that shows that the balance between man and nature has become skewed. Furthermore, this issue has moved beyond the biodiversity and landscape diversity level to become an issue that should be addressed at the cultural diversity level. To this end, the time has come to pay close attention to this issue.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.385-390
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• 2019

Upon gene inactivation in animal models, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become a useful model organism for many reasons, including the fact that it is amenable to various forms of genetic manipulation. Genome editing is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted, modified, or replaced in the genome of a living organism. Mainly, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) is a technology that enables geneticists to edit parts of the genome. In this study, we utilized this technology to generate an mmp15b mutant by using zebrafish as an animal model. MMP15 is the membrane-type MMP (MT-MMP) which is a recently identified matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) capable of degrading all kinds of extracellular matrix proteins as well as numerous bioactive molecules. Although the newly-established mmp15b zebrafish mutant didn't exhibit morphological phenotypes in the developing embryos, it might be further utilized to understand the role of MMP15 in liver-related diseases, such as liver fibrosis, and associated pathogeneses in humans.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.976-982
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• 2008

The 10 species of marine green algae was collected from Jejudo(Island) in Korea. Methanolic and aqueous extracts were prepared and screened for inhibition activities against tumor cell growth. Of the tested samples, the sea staghorn (Codium fragile) aqueous extract (CFAE) showed the highest activity on CT-26 cell growth. Therefore, CFAE was selected for further experiments and the possibility to induce apoptosis by the CFAE was investigated. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that it dose-dependently increased apoptotic cells with hypodiploid DNA contents in CT-26 cell line. These results indicated that CFAE can suppress the growth of CT-26 cells through apoptosis. The CFAE decreased the protein expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL and led to the activation of caspase-3 and -7. A crude polysaccharide was separated from CFAE and it mainly constituted with 61.2% galactose and 30.5% arabinose as analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).