• Toxicological Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2007

Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) is a nitrosamine compound that can induce a variety of liver lesions including hepatic carcinoma, forming DNA-carcinogen adducts. In the present study, microarray analyses were performed with Affymetrix Murine Genome 430A Array in order to identify the gene-expression profiles for DEN and to provide valuable information for the evaluation of potential hepatotoxicity. C57BL/6NCrj mice were orally administered once with DEN at doses of 0, 3, 7 and 20 mg/kg. Liver from each animal was removed 2, 4, 8 and 24 hrs after the administration. The histopathological analysis and serum biochemical analysis showed no significant difference in DEN-treated groups compared to control group. Conversely, the principal component analysis (PCA) profiles demonstrated that a specific normal gene expression profile in control groups differed clearly from the expression profiles of DEN-treated groups. Within groups, a little variance was found between individuals. Student's t-test on the results obtained from triplicate hybridizations was performed to identify those genes with statistically significant changes in the expression. Statistical analysis revealed that 11 genes were significantly downregulated and 28 genes were upregulated in all three animals after 2 h treatment at 20 mg/kg. The upregulated group included genes encoding Gdf15, JunD1, and Mdm2, while the genes including Sox6, Shmt2, and SIc6a6 were largely down regulated. Hierarchical clustering of gene expression also allowed the identification of functionally related clusters that encode proteins related to metabolism, and MAPK signaling pathway. Taken together, this study suggests that match with a toxicant signature can assign a putative mechanism of action to the test compound if is established a database containing response patterns to various toxic compounds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.65-71
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• 2003

Bax, a mammalian pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, induces cell death when expressed in yeast. To investigate whether Bax expression can induce cell death in plant, we produced transgenic Arabidopsis plants that contained murine Bax cDNA under control of a glucocorticoid-inducible promoter. Transgenic plants treated with dexamethasone, a strong synthetic glucocorticoid, induced Bax accumulation and cell death, suggesting that some elements of cell death mechanism by Bax may be conserved among various organisms. Therefore, we developed novel yeast genetic system, and cloned several Plant Bax Inhibitors (PBIs). Here, we report the function of two PBIs in detail. PBI1 is ascorbate peroxidase (sAPX). Fluorescence method of dihydrorho-damine 123 oxidation revealed that expression of Bax in yeast cells generated reactive oxygen species (ROS), and which was greatly reduced by co-expression with sAPX. These results suggest that sAPX inhibits the generation of ROS by Bax, which in turn suppresses Baxinduced cell death in yeast. PBI2 encodes nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK). ROS stress strongly induces the expression of the NDPK2 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana (AtNDPK2). Transgenic plants overexpressing AtNDPK2 have lower levels of ROS than wildtype plants. Mutants lacking AtNDPK2 had higher levels of ROS than wildtype. $H_2O_2$ treatment induced the phosphorylation of two endogenous proteins whose molecular weights suggested they are AtMPK3 and AtMPK6. In the absence of $H_2O_2$ treatment, phosphorylation of these proteins was slightly elevated in plants overexpressing AtNDPK2 but markedly decreased in the AtNDPK2 deletion mutant. Yeast two-hybrid and in vitro protein pull-down assays revealed that AtNDPK2 specifically interacts with AtMPK3 and AtMPK6. Furthermore, AtNDPK2 also enhances the MBP phosphorylation activity of AtMPK3 in vitro. Finally, constitutive overexpression of AtNDPK2 in Arabidopsis plants conferred an enhanced tolerance to multiple environmental stresses that elicit ROS accumulation in situ. Thus, AtNDPK2 appears to play a novel regulatory role in $H_2O_2$-mediated MAPK signaling in plants.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.139-143
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• 2002

Cotton Glutathione S-Transferase (GST: EC 2.5.1.18) was cloned and overexpressed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants. Northern blot analysis confirmed the successful transformation of cotton gst gene in tobacco plant. Type I and Type ll transcript patterns were identified in transgenic tobacco plants and only Type I transcripts were discussed in this paper, The activity of GST in the type II transgenic plants was about 1.5-fold higher than those of the wild type and non-expresser by using 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) and reduced glutathione as the substrate. The expression of cotton GST in tobacco plants proved that Gh-5 could be translated into functional protein. Type II transgenic plants produced functional GST in the cells. The effects of cotton GST in the seedlings was evaluated by growing the control and transgenic seedlings at $15^{\circ}C$ in the growth chamber in the light. Overexpressors were grown well compared to the control plants (non-expressors). lo test far tolerance to salinity, seeds of Gh-5 overexpressors and the wild type Xanthi seedlings were grown at 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mM NaCl solution. Gh-5 transgenic seedlings showed higher growth rate over control seedlings on 50 and 100 mM NaCl solution. There was no difference in growth rate at 150 and 200mM NaCl concentration.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.237-243
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• 2001

Taxol, a natural product extracted from the Taxus brevifolia, is known to have significant anti-tumor activities against many common cancers, including ovarian and breast cancers. Despite the pronounced anti-tumor activity of this compound, its poor solubility in aqueous solutions hampers its clinical applications. We studied the anticancer mechanisms of the water-soluble taxol diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) used for radiolabeling, and compared it to that of taxol. In vitro cytotoxicities of taxol and taxol-DTPA conjugate were tested in HT29 human colorectal cancer cells by the MTT method. As the result, the $IC_{50}$ value of the taxol-DTPA conjugate was about three fold higher than that of taxol. When analyzed by an agarose gel electrophoresis, the DNA ladders became evident after the incubation of cells with the taxol-DTPA conjugate for 24 h. We also found morphological changes of the cells undergoing apoptosis with electron microscopy Next, we examined the signal pathway of taxol-DTPA conjugate-induced apoptosis in HT29 cells. The activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2) occurred at 10, 30, 60 and 120 min after 200 nM taxol-DTPA conjugate treatment. The pretreatment of the MEK inhibitor (PD98059) completely blocked the taxol-DTPA conjugate-induced ERK1/2 activation. The activated ERK1/2 translocated into the nucleus at the same time and phosphorylated its transcriptional factor, c-Jun. These results suggest that the taxol-DTPA conjugate has an apoptotic activity in HT29 cells, and that its proapoptic activity might be related with the signal transduction via ERK1/2 and c-Jun similar to that of taxol.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

The genetic monitoring method was developed for the rapid detection of the PGPR and biocontrol agent, B. subtilis AH18 in red-pepper field soil by multiplex PCR using sid, aec and cel gene primers. The monitoring of B. subtilis AH18 in the soil was carried by amplified a 2,3-dihydro-2,3-dihydroxy benzoate dehydrogenase [EC: 1. 3. 1. 28]gene (sid - 794 bp : EF408238) which is a key enzyme of siderophore synthesis, an auxin efflux carrier gene (aec - 1,052 bp : EF408239) and a cellulase gene (cel - 1,582 bp : EF070194). The natural un sterilized soil was inoculated with B. subtilis AH18 to determine the sensitivity ($1.8\times10^5$ cfu/g) of multiplex PCR for the rapid dectection and then the strain was monitored successfully in rhizosphere or non-rhizosphere soil of red-pepper cultural soil. At 3 weeks after the treatment, density of the strain was monitored more abundantly in rhizosphere soil.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2000

A series of transition metal complexes of 3,6-bis(6'-methyl-2'-pyridyl)pyridazine ($L^{1}$) and 3,6-bis(2'-pyridyl)pyridazine ($L^{2}$) as artificial nuclease, $1{\sim}8$ were synthesized. After determining of X-ray crystal structure, hydrolysis rate constants of phosphates, as DNA model compound and biological activities were confirmed. $L^{2}$-Zn(II) complex, 8 was shown the best hydrolysis rate constant. The $L^{2}$-Ni(II) complex, 5 and $L^{2}$-Co(II) complex, 6 showed the highest herbicidal activity against SCP (Scriptus Juncoids) with excellent tolerance to rice, ORY (Oryzae sativa L.). And the $L^{1}$-Co(II) complex, 2, $L^{1}$-Zn(II) complex, 4 and ligand ($L^{1}$ amp; $L^{2}$) displayed above 90% fungicidal activity against MAG (Magnaporthe grisea).

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.115-120
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop a rice straw-derived Bacillus cereus (B. cereus)-free starter culture for traditional soybean fermented products using a B. cereus-specific bacteriophage, BCP8-2. To determine the optimal medium that supports the growth of rice straw-derived microorganisms and BCP8-2 activity, 5 different culture media were tested. The 5% ground bean (GB) medium was selected for further study. No B. cereus was detected in the BCP8-2-treated rice straw in GB medium, whereas B. cereus at a level of $10^7$ CFU/mL was recovered in the no-phage control. The total bacterial count reached approximately $10^9$ CFU/mL regardless of phage addition. When the 16S rRNA sequence-based microbial community was monitored using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and pyrosequencing, a similar microbial community was observed in the phage-treated and control samples. In conclusion, we demonstrate that phage can be used to prepare a rice straw-derived B. cereus-free starter culture with minimal effect on natural microflora.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1345-1354
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• 2014

Copy number variations (CNVs), important genetic factors for study of human diseases, may have as large of an effect on phenotype as do single nucleotide polymorphisms. Indeed, it is widely accepted that CNVs are associated with differential disease susceptibility. However, the relationships between CNVs and gene expression have not been characterized in the horse. In this study, we investigated the effects of copy number deletion in the blood and muscle transcriptomes of Thoroughbred racing horses. We identified a total of 1,246 CNVs of deletion polymorphisms using DNA re-sequencing data from 18 Thoroughbred racing horses. To discover the tendencies between CNV status and gene expression levels, we extracted CNVs of four Thoroughbred racing horses of which RNA sequencing was available. We found that 252 pairs of CNVs and genes were associated in the four horse samples. We did not observe a clear and consistent relationship between the deletion status of CNVs and gene expression levels before and after exercise in blood and muscle. However, we found some pairs of CNVs and associated genes that indicated relationships with gene expression levels: a positive relationship with genes responsible for membrane structure or cytoskeleton and a negative relationship with genes involved in disease. This study will lead to conceptual advances in understanding the relationship between CNVs and global gene expression in the horse.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.3035-3042
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• 2015

Background: Isorhamnetin (Iso), a novel and essential monomer derived from total flavones of Hippophae rhamnoides that has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction, has also shown a spectrum of antitumor activity. However, little is known about the mechanisms of action Iso on cancer cells. Objectives: To investigate the effects of Iso on A549 lung cancer cells and underlying mechanisms. Materials and Methods: A549 cells were treated with $10{\sim}320{\mu}g/ml$ Iso. Their morphological and cellular characteristics were assessed by light and electronic microscopy. Growth inhibition was analyzed by MTT, clonogenic and growth curve assays. Apoptotic characteristics of cells were determined by flow cytometry (FCM), DNA fragmentation, single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay, immunocytochemistry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labeling (TUNEL). Tumor models were setup by transplanting Lewis lung carcinoma cells into C57BL/6 mice, and the weights and sizes of tumors were measured. Results: Iso markedly inhibited the growth of A549 cells with induction of apoptotic changes. Iso at $20{\mu}g/ml$, could induce A549 cell apoptosis, up-regulate the expression of apoptosis genes Bax, Caspase-3 and P53, and down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2, cyclinD1 and PCNA protein. The tumors in tumor-bearing mice treated with Iso were significantly smaller than in the control group. The results of apoptosis-related genes, PCNA, cyclinD1 and other protein expression levels of transplanted Lewis cells were the same as those of A549 cells in vitro. Conclusions: Iso, a natural single compound isolated from total flavones, has antiproliferative activity against lung cancer in vitro and in vivo. Its mechanisms of action may involve apoptosis of cells induced by down-regulation of oncogenes and up-regulation of apoptotic genes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.7
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• pp.1053-1062
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• 2011

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), including singlet oxygen (${O_2}^1$), superoxide anion radical ($O_2{\cdot}^-$), hydroxyl radical ($HO{\cdot}$), peroxyl radical ($ROO{\cdot}$), hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), and hypochlorous (HOCl), are generated as byproducts of normal cellular metabolism. ROS induce damage to many biological molecules, such as lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and DNA. It is widely believed that some degenerative diseases caused by ROS can be prevented by the high intake of fruits and vegetables due to their antioxidant activities. Recently, research on natural antioxidants has become increasingly active in various fields. Several assays have been developed to measure the total antioxidant capacity of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables in vitro. These assays include those for DPPH radical scavenging activity, SOD-like activity, total polyphenol content, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, reducing power, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (ABTS assay), single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay), and a cellular antioxidant activity assay. Because different antioxidant compounds may act through different mechanisms in vitro, no single assay can fully evaluate the total antioxidant capacity of foods. Due to the complexity of the composition of foods, it is important to be able to measure antioxidant activity using biologically relevant assays. In this review, recently used assays were selected for extended discussion, including a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each assay and their application to fruits and vegetables.