• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.694-705
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• 2023

Panax ginseng Meyer is a traditional Chinese medicine that is widely used as tonic in Asia. The main pharmacologically active components of ginseng are the dammarane-type ginsenosides, which have been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, neuroprotective, and metabolic regulatory activities. Moreover, some of ginsenosides (eg, Rh2 and Rg3) have been developed into nutraceuticals. However, the utilization of ginsenosides in clinic is restrictive due to poor permeability in cells and low bioavailability in human body. Obviously, the dammarane skeleton and glycosyls of ginsenosides are responsible for these limitations. Therefore, improving the oral bioavailability of ginsenosides has become a pressing issue. Here, based on the structures of ginsenosides, we summarized the understanding of the factors affecting the oral bioavailability of ginsenosides, introduced the methods to enhance the oral bioavailability and proposed the future perspectives on improving the oral bioavailability of ginsenosides.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.885-898
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• 2024

Ovomucin (OM), which has insoluble fractions is a viscous glycoprotein, found in egg albumin. Enzymatic hydrolysates of OM have water solubility and bioactive properties. This study investigated that the immunostimulatory effects of OM hydrolysates (OMHs) obtained by using various proteolytic enzymes (Alcalase^®, bromelain, α-chymotrypsin, Neutrase^®, pancreatin, papain, Protamax^®, and trypsin) in RAW 264.7 cells. The results showed that OMH prepared with pancreatin (OMPA) produced the highest levels of nitrite oxide in RAW 264.7 cells, through upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 were increased with the cytokines mRNA expression. The effect of OMPA on mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway was increased the phosphorylation of p38, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase in a concentration-dependent manner. Therefore, OMPA could be used as a potential immune-stimulating agent in the functional food industry.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 1993

To find biologically active components of the higher fungi of Korea, the carpophores of Auricularia polytricha, a well-known edible mushroom, were extracted with 0.14 M NaCl solution. The extract was successively fractionated by adding ammonium sulfate at various concentrations, and the respective precipitates were separated by centrifugation, then dialyzed and freeze-dried. When a does of 60 mg/kg of each was injected i.p. into ICR mice, the fraction which precipitated at 20% ammonium sulfate showed the highest toxicity, killing seven out of seven mice within two days. The fraction obtained at 40% ammonium sulfate showed the second highest toxicity. The two fractions were named auritoxin I and II after the genus name. However, they Nere shown to have nearly identical composition by physicochemical and 6.8% protein. The polysaccharide moiety was found to have 12.3% $\alpha$-linkage and 87.7% $\beta$-linkage and to be a heteromannoglucan consisting of 45.1% glucose, 435 mannose and 11.0% xylose. The protein moiety contained ten amino adids. The molecular weight of the toxin was $1.5\times10^6$ dalton by Sepharose CL-4B gel filtration. The modian lethal doses of auritoxin in mice were 56.4, 157.2 and 454.6 mg/kg by i.p., s.c. and p.o.administrations, respectively. The signs of intrxication were convulsion during the first 30 minutes after the injection, coma or sleeping within an hour, termor, lacrimation, nasal bleeding congestion, and death in 24 hours. Smong the various organs, the spleen was found to be enlarged remarkably. Human platelet aggregation was inhibited by the addition of auritoxin. The activity of malic dehydrogenase in vitro was inhibited by the toxin.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3213-3217
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• 2013

Background: P-glycoprotein (Pgp), encoded by the multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene, is an efflux transporter which plays an important role in pharmacokinetics. The current preliminary study was designed to determine associations between a germ-line polymorphism in the MDR1 gene with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Materials and Methods: In the current case-control study, 60 differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC)- 45 papillary TC (PTC), 9 follicular TC(FTC) and 6 well-differentiated tumors of uncertain malignant potential (WDT-UMP) were examined. Results were compared to a healthy control group (n=58) from the same population. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood with EDTA and the target gene was genotyped by real-time PCR. Results: Carriers of the variant allele of MDR1 exon 26 polymorphism were at 2.8-fold higher risk of DTC than the control group (odds ratio [OR]: 0.3805, 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 0.1597-0.9065 (p> 0.046). Conclusions: Presented results suggest that the MDR1 3435TT genotype might influence risk of development of DTC and that the CC genotype might be linked to a poor prognosis. Large-scale studies are now needed to validate this association.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.370-378
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• 2018

Background: Ginseng has been the subject of many experimental and clinical studies to uncover the diverse biological activities of its constituent compounds. It is a traditional medicine that has been used for its immunostimulatory, antithrombotic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. Ginseng may interact with concomitant medications and alter metabolism and/or drug transport, which may alter the known efficacy and safety of a drug; thus, the role of ginseng may be controversial when taken with other medications. Methods: We extensively assessed the effects of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) in rats on the expression of enzymes responsible for drug metabolism [cytochrome p450 (CYP)] and transporters [multiple drug resistance (MDR) and organic anion transporter (OAT)] in vitro and on the pharmacokinetics of two probe drugs, midazolam and fexofenadine, after a 2-wk repeated administration of KRG at different doses. Results: The results showed that 30 mg/kg KRG significantly increased the expression level of CYP3A11 protein in the liver and 100 mg/kg KRG increased both the mRNA and protein expression of OAT1 in the kidney. Additionally, KRG significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression of OAT1, OAT3, and MDR1 in the liver. Although there were no significant changes in the metabolism of midazolam to its major metabolite, 1'-hydroxymidazolam, KRG significantly decreased the systemic exposure of fexofenadine in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Because KRG is used as a health supplement, there is a risk of KRG overdose; thus, a clinical trial of high doses would be useful. The use of KRG in combination with P-glycoprotein substrate drugs should also be carefully monitored.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.229-234
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• 2008

We used serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) approach to derive a profile of expressed genes of the posterior silk glands (PSG) and to create a reference for understanding gene cluster related to the mechanism of silk protein synthesis in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. We constructed a 3' SAGE library from the PSG of the fifth instar larvae of the silkworm. In total we obtained 2,406 SAGE tags, of which 682 were unique tags. Sorted by tag count number, 27 (4%) unique tags were significantly more abundant genes (ten or more times), whereas 445 (65%) unique tags were detected as single copies. The annotation of 682 unique SAGE tags revealed that 462 (68%) of the SAGE tag sequences represented known genes, whereas 220 (32%) of the tag sequences had no matches in SAGE map and silkworm EST databases. Of the 682 SAGE tags, the most abundant tag sequences were that of the fibroin light chain gene and the silk protein P25. In addition, we compared two relative abundance results of the SAGE and the EST approaches to verify whether their transcript quantitative aspects are significant or not. The comparative results of relative abundances of the fibroin H-, L- chain and P25 glycoprotein genes indicated that the quantitative approach based on SAGE tags is effective for quantitative cataloging and comparison of expressed genes in same organs. The SAGE tag information reported in this study would be useful for researchers in the field to analyze genes associated with silk processing mechanisms of insects.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.606-612
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• 1989

A New lectin from baby clam, Tapes japonica, was isolated and purified through the following procedures; acetone powder, 0.15M NaCl extraction, ammonium sulfate fractionation, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-agarose affinity column, and ion exchange Mono Q of FPLC. This lectin nonspecifically agglutinated human erythrocytes but didn't agglutinate mouse and rabbit erythrocytes. And the lectin neither stimulated human lymphocytes nor agglutinated Sarcoma 180 cells. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the lectin migrated as a major single band indicating homogeneous. A molecular weight was estimated to be about 131,000 daltons by Biogel P-300 and 125,000 daltons by SDS-PAGE without ${\beta}-mercaptoethanol$. This lectin is supposed to be a tetramer composed of heterogeneous subunits, about 30,000 and 33,000 daltons. Baby clam lectin was inhibited by EDTA and recovered agglutinating activity by $Ca^{++}\;and\;Mn^{++}$. This lectin is revealed as glycoprotein that contained about 4.2% neutral sugar.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.722-727
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• 2005

Cytosolic sialidase (Neu2), a member of the sialidase family that is responsible for hydrolysis of sialic acid from the terminal position of sialoglycoconjugates, is poorly expressed in skeletal muscle and not detected in any other adult tissues. Thus, we isolated Neu2 cDNA using splicing by overlap extension (SOEing). In order to further characterize this enzyme, a His-tagged derivative was expressed in the bacterial expression system and purified by $Ni^{2+}$-affinity chromatography. A recombinant product of approximately 42 kDa had sialidase activity toward 4-methyl-umbelliferyl-$\alpha$-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid (4MU-NeuAc). The optimal pH and temperature of the recombinant Neu2 for 4MU-NeuAc was 6.0 and $37.5^{\circ}C$, respectively. The metal ions, such as $Cu^{2+}\;and\;Cd^{2+}$, showed strong inhibitory effect on the activity of the enzyme. The enzyme efficiently hydrolyzed the gangliosides GM3 and GD3 and had relatively low activities on ganglioside GD1a and GD1b, $\alpha$2-3 sialyllactose, and sialylated glycoproteins such as fetuin, transferrin, and orsomucoid, but had hardly any activities on $\alpha$2-6 sialyllactose and ganglioside GM1 and GM2. We concluded that the recombinant Neu2 has a sialidase activity toward glycoproteins as well as gangliosides.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.278-281
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• 2004

The $\alpha$1,6-mannosyltransferase encoded by Saccharomyces cerevisiae OCH1 plays a key role for the outer chain initiation of the N-linked oligosaccharides. A search for Hansenula polymorpha genes homologous to S. cerevisiae OCHI (ScOCH1) has revealed seven open reading frames (ORF100, ORF142, ORF168, ORF288, ORF379, ORF576, ORF580). All of the seven ORFs are predicted to be a type II integral membrane protein containing a transmembrane domain near the amino-terminal region and has a DXD motif, which has been found in the active site of many glycosyltransferases. Among this seven-membered OCH1 gene family of H. polymorpha, we have carried out a functional analysis of H. polymorpha ORF168 (HpOCH2) showing the highest identity to ScOCH1. Inactivation of this protein by disruption of corresponding gene resulted in several phenotypes suggestive of cell wall defects, including hypersensitivity to hygromycin B and sodium deoxycholate. The structural analysis of N-glycans synthesized in HpOCH2-disrupted strain (Hpoch2Δ) and the in vitro $\alpha$1,6-mannosyltransferase activity assay strongly indicate that HpOch2p is a key enzyme adding the first $\alpha$1,6-mannose residue on the core glycan Man$_{8}$GlcNAc$_2$. The Hpoch2Δ was further genetically engineered to synthesize a recombinant glycoprotein with the human compatible N-linked oligosaccharide, Man$_{5}$GlcNAc$_2$, by overexpression of the Aspergillus saitoi $\alpha$1,2-mannosidase with the 'HDEL” ER retention signal.gnal.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2007

Lactoferrin, an ion-binding 80-kDa glycoprotein, has been suggested to have many biologic activities, such as facilitating ion absorption and having antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Several of these activities are likely to only be facilitated by human lactoferrin because they depend on the binding of human lactoferrin to specific receptor. To produce recombinant human lactoferrin to animal foods using transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori L, we have cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding for a human lactoferrin (HLf) from the mRNA in mammary tumor line (GI-101). As a result, the 2.5-kb fragment of HLf gene was cloned with pGEM-T vector and then this fragment was sequenced. In the nucleotide sequence analysis, single open reading frame of the 2,136-bp encoding for a polypeptide of 712 amino acid residues was detected. On the other hand, we constructed a recombinant plasmid(pPT-HLf), containing human lactoferrin gene for germ line transformation of the silkworm using a piggyBac transposon-derived vector. A nonautonomous helper plasmid encodes the piggyBac transposase. Approximately 6.7% of individuals in the G0 silkworms expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP). PCR analyses of GFP-positive silkworms (G0 and G1) revealed that independent insertions occurred frequently. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that the recombinant HLf expressed in hemolymph has the same molecular weight (80 kDa) as a native protein. On the basis of these experiments, expression of HLf in next generation of transgenic silkworm is now in process.