• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2015

Disturbance to marine wildlife is a serious negative impact of marine debris. In this study, the percentages of Black-faced Spoonbill nests that included plastic marine debris were calculated from surveys conducted on an islet named Suhaam off the western coast of South Korea. The percentages of nests including plastic decreased from 71% in 2010 to 37% in 2011 to 33% in 2012. The total number of nests increased from 28 in 2010 to 38 in 2011 to 43 in 2012. These differences in nests and nesting materials were possibly due to natural nesting materials such as tree branches and rice straws that were provided at the breeding site as a protective action in 2011 and 2012. Additional conservation efforts should be made to prevent further negative impacts from marine debris.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.313-327
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to predict the effects of macroscopic and integrative therapies by finding active ingredients, potential targets of Astragalus membranaceus (Am) and Cornus officinalis (Co) for diabetic nephropathy. We have constructed network pharmacology-based systematic and network methodology by system biology, chemical structure, chemogenomics. We found several active ingredients of Astragalus membranaceus (Am) and Cornus officinalis (Co) that were speculated to bind to specific receptors which had been known to have a role in the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Four components of Am and eleven components of Co could bind to iNOS; two ingredients of Am and six ingredients of Co could docking to cGB-PDE; one component of Am and nine components of Co could bind to ACE; three ingredients of Co with neprilysin; three components of Co with ET-1 receptor; four ingredients of Am and fourteen ingredients of Co with mineralocorticoid receptor; one component of Am and seven components of Co with interstitial collagenase; one ingredient of Am and ten ingredients of Co with membrane primary amine oxidase; one component of Am and four components of Co with JAK2; two ingredients of Am and one ingredient of Co with MAPK 12; one component of Am and five components of Co could docking to TGF-beta receptor type-1. From this work we could speculate that the possible mechanisms of Am and Co for diabetic nephropathy are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antihypertensive effects.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.552-557
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• 2003

Oligomers with $\alpha$-aminooxy acids are reported to form very stable turn and helix structures, and they are supposed to be useful peptidomimetics for drug design. A recent report suggested that homochiral oxa-peptides form a strong eight-member-ring structure by a hydrogen bond between adjacent aminooxy-acid residues in a $CDCl_3$ solution. In order to design an $\alpha$-MSH analog with a stable turn conformation, we synthesized four tetramers and one pentamer, based on $\alpha$-MSH sequence, and determined the solution structures of the molecules by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and simulated annealing calculations. The solution conformations of the three peptidomimetic molecules (TLV, TDV, and TLL) in DMSO-$d_6$ contain a stable 7-membered-ring structure that is similar to a $\gamma$-turn in normal peptides. Newly-designed tetramer TDF and pentamer PDF have a ball-type rigid structure that is induced by strong hydrogen bonds between adjacent amide protons and carbonyl oxygens. In conclusion, the aminooxy acids, easily prepared from natural or unnatural amino acids, can be employed to prepare peptidomimetic analogues with well-defined turn structures for pharmaceutical interest.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.479-491
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• 2023

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high incidence and is one of the highest mortality cancers when advanced stage is proceeded. However, Anti-cancer drugs available for treatment are limited and new anti-cancer drugs and new ways to treat them are minimal. We examined that the effects and possibility of Red Ginseng (RG, Panax ginseng Meyer) as new anti-cancer drug on HCC by combining network pharmacology and molecular biology. Materials and Methods: Network pharmacological analysis was employed to investigate the systems-level mechanism of RG focusing on HCC. Cytotoxicity of RG was determined by MTT analysis, which were also stained by annexin V/PI staining for apoptosis and acridine orange for autophagy. For the analyze mechanism of RG, we extracted protein and subjected to immunoblotting for apoptosis or autophagy related proteins. Results: We constructed compound-target network of RG and identified potential pathways related to HCC. RG inhibited growth of HCC through acceleration of cytotoxicity and reduction of wound healing ability of HCC. RG also increased apoptosis and autophagy through AMPK induction. In addition, its ingredients, 20S-PPD (protopanaxadiol) and 20S-PPT (protopanaxatriol), also induced AMPK mediated apoptosis and autophagy. Conclusion: RG effectively inhibited growth of HCC cells inducing apoptosis and autophagy via ATG/AMPK in HCC cells. Overall, our study suggests possibility as new anti-cancer drug on HCC by proof for the mechanism of the anti-cancer action of RG.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.23.1-23.9
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• 2023

The mammalian sirtuin family, consisting of SIRT1-SIRT7, plays a vital role in various biological processes, including cancer, diabetes, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, cellular metabolism, and cellular homeostasis maintenance. Due to their involvement in these biological processes, modulating sirtuin activity seems promising to impact immuneand aging-related diseases, as well as cancer pathways. However, more understanding is required regarding the safety and efficacy of sirtuin-targeted therapies due to the complex regulatory mechanisms that govern their activity, particularly in the context of multiple targets. In this study, the interaction landscape of the sirtuin family was analyzed using a systems biology approach. A sirtuin protein-protein interaction network was built using the Cytoscape platform and analyzed using the NetworkAnalyzer and stringApp plugins. The result revealed the sirtuin family's association with numerous proteins that play diverse roles, suggesting a complex interplay between sirtuins and other proteins. Based on network topological and functional analysis, SIRT1 was identified as the most prominent among sirtuin family members, demonstrating that 25 of its protein partners are involved in cancer, 22 in innate immune response, and 29 in aging, with some being linked to a combination of two or more pathways. This study lays the foundation for the development of novel therapies that can target sirtuins with precision and efficacy. By illustrating the various interactions among the proteins in the sirtuin family, we have revealed the multifaceted roles of SIRT1 and provided a framework for their possible roles to be precisely understood, manipulated, and translated into therapeutics in the future.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.705-712
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• 2014

The early steps of neural development in the vertebrate embryo are regulated by sets of transcription factors that control the induction of proliferative, pluripotent neural precursors, the expansion of neural plate stem cells, and their transition to differentiating neural progenitors. These early events are critical for producing a pool of multipotent cells capable of giving rise to the multitude of neurons and glia that form the central nervous system. In this review we summarize findings from gain- and loss-of-function studies in embryos that detail the gene regulatory network responsible for these early events. We discuss whether this information is likely to be similar in mammalian embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells that are cultured according to protocols designed to produce neurons. The similarities and differences between the embryo and stem cells may provide important guidance to stem cell protocols designed to create immature neural cells for therapeutic uses.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2010

Genetic variation was surveyed at the mitochondrial control region (766bp) to test for the presence of genetic stock structure in the small yellow croaker, Larimichthys polyactis from the Yellow and East China Seas. Individuals of the small yellow croaker could not be distinguished on the basis of its location, as demonstrated using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method, unweighted pair-group method, arithmetic average (UPGMA) and the minimum spanning network (MSN). Analysis of molecular variance revealed no significant differences among collections of the small yellow croaker taken from the four locations (two locations each in Korea and China). Neutrality tests and a mismatch distribution analysis indicated that this species has recently expanded. Our findings suggest either that the small yellow croaker has a high migration capability that enables it to overcome the effects of genetic drift, or that this species expanded relatively recently and has not yet had sufficient time to differentiate.

• ALGAE
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.211-219
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• 2011

The genus Haraldiophyllum comprises seven species worldwide. Six of these are endemics with limited distributions, whereas the type species H. bonnemaisonii has been reported from the Atlantic Ocean. In Korea, H. bonnemaisonii has been previously recorded from the southern coast. During a red algal collection at Udo, Jeju Island, Korea, we found a potentially undescribed Haraldiophyllum species and analyzed its morphology and rbcL sequences. Herein we describe a new species, H. udoensis sp. nov., and compare our Udo specimen to similar congeners. This new species is characterized by one or several elliptical blades on a short cylindrical stipe with fibrous roots, blades that are monostromatic except at the base and on reproductive structures, a lack of network and microscopic veins, entire margins, lack of proliferations, growth through many marginal initials, and two distinct tetrasporangia layers. A phylogenetic rbcL sequence analysis demonstrated H. udoensis was distinct from the United Kingdom's H. bonnemaisonii, as well as from other species. Morphological and sequence data indicated a previous misidentification of H. udoensis as the type species H. bonnemaisonii. Based on maximum likelihood analysis, Myriogramme formed a sister clade with H. udoensis, with relatively low bootstrap support.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.82-83
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• 2003

Plants have evolved differently from animals having mobile activities. Thus, plants should have developed unique defense mechanisms against biotic/abiotic stresses to which plants are differently exposed, according to seasons. Most organisms have an conserved signaling network using mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade(s). The phenomenon implied that they are functionally very important in all organisms. In fact, they constitute one of the major components of signaling pathways involved in regulating a wide range of cellular activities from growth and development to cell death. Recently, complete MAPK cascade was first characterized in Arabidopsis from the receptor kinase (FLS2) through fellowing MEKKI -MKK4/MKK5-MPK3/MPK6-WRKY22/MRKY29 pathway. Whereas, MAPK cascade signaling pathway in monocot plant including rice (0ryza sativa L.), the most important of all food crops and an established monocot plant research model, MAPKinase kinase kinases (MAPKKK) of rice are the first upstream component of the MAPK cascade, but MAPKKK has been first identified and characterized in our lab and designated as, OsEDRl based on its homology with the Arabidopsis EDRI. The Arabidopsis EDRl was regarded as a negative regulator of defense response and the role of rice OsEDRl was analyzed. Transcriptional regulation of OsEDRl was detected under various stresses and immunoblotting analysis is going on to detect the level of OsEDRl protein in the mutants showing unique phenotype. We also introduced the constitutively active and the dominant negative forms of the OsEDRl for characterizing biological function.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.203-207
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• 2009

Background: The FimA of Porphyromonas gingivalis is a crucial pathogenic component of the bacteria and has been implicated as a target for vaccine development against the periodontal diseases. Methods: In this study, the purified fimbriae (FimA subunit polymers) protein was used for immunization in their native form and B hybridoma clones producing antibodies specific to FimA were established. Results: The monoclonal antibodies prepared from selected two clones, designated #123 (IgG2b/ kappa) and #265 (IgG1/kappa), displayed different patterns of binding activity against the cognate antigen. Both antibodies reacted with conformational epitopes expressed by partially dissociated oligomers, but not with monomer as elucidated by Western blot analysis. Ascites fluid containing the monoclonal antibodies showed the inhibitory activity against P. gingivalis to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite beads, an in vitro model for the pellicle-coated tooth surface. Conclusion: These results suggest that the monoclonal antibodies could be used as vaccine material against the periodontal diseases through passive immunization.