• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.277-282
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• 2022

Whitening effect of the extract of Phaseolus angularis (PA) shell was investigated for its potential application as a functional ingredient for cosmetic products. The tyrosinase inhibitory effect, which is related to whitening, was 76.4% at a concentration of 1,000 ㎍/ml. Cell viability of melanoma cells was measured to test toxicity of the PA shell extract at concentrations showing at least 90% viability. In addition, western blot and RT-PCR assays of the PA shell extract showed concentration-dependent decreases of MITF, TRP-1, TRP-2 and tyrosinase protein and inhibitory effect of mRNA expression. These findings suggested that extract from PA shell has great potential as a cosmeceutical ingredient with whitening effect.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.659-665
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• 2022

Chlorella vulgaris is an important freshwater alga that is widely used as a food source by humans and animals. Recently, Chlorella has received considerable attention with regard to its potential application in aquaculture and the production of biofuels, nutrients, and therapeutic proteins. Recently, our laboratory acquired a new strain of C. vulgaris, PKVL7422, characterized by fast growth, ease of culture, and cultivability under dark conditions. However, the genes involved in its nitrogen assimilation are unknown. In this work, we identified the nitrate reductase (NR) gene of C. vulgaris PKVL7422 using rapid amplification of cDNA ends and genome walking. The NR gene of C. vulgaris PKVL7422 is approximately 8 kb long and composed of 18 introns and 19 exons, which encode 877 amino acids. An alignment analysis of the NR gene showed that it possesses the five domains and several invariant residues found in plant NRs. These results provide new insight into the molecular organization of the NR gene in algae.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2019

Objectives : Gardeniae Fructus extract is used as a component of various cosmetics. However, the effect of the extract on the motility of keratinocytes has not been studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the inhibitory effect of ethanol extract of Gardeniae Fructus (GFET) or ethyl acetate extract of Gardeniae Fructus (GFEA) on oxidation and motility of human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Methods : Antioxidant activity of Gardeniae Fructus extracts were determined by the 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay. To investigate the cytotoxicity of Gardeniae Fructus extracts, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay was performed. The mRNA expression levels of tight junction related genes were analyzed using quantitative RT-PCR analysis. Cell migration assay was employed to determine the activity of Gardeniae Fructus extracts on motility of human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Results : GFET and GFEA showed strong antioxidant activity. GFEA showed stronger cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells than GFET until $2.0mg/m{\ell}$ concentration. Cell migration assay demonstrated that GFET and GFEA decreased the motility of HaCaT cells. In addition, the mRNA expression level of claudin 8 among tight junction genes was significantly reduced by GFET or GFEA treatment. Conclusions : We investigated the physiological activities of the extracts of Gardeniae Fructus extracts on human keratinocytes by two different extraction methods. In addition, the mRNA expression level of claudin 8 among tight junction genes was significantly reduced by either GFET or GFEA treatment. This study provides basic information on the application of Gardeniae Fructus extract to cosmetics component.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1537-1546
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• 2022

Staphylococcus aureus is a cause of high mortality in humans and therefore it is necessary to prevent its transmission and reduce infections. Our goals in this research were to investigate the frequency of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and assess the relationship between the phenotypic antimicrobial sensitivity patterns and the genes responsible for resistance. In addition, we examined the antimicrobial efficiency and application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against MRSA isolates. Seventy-two nasal swabs were taken from patients; MRSA was cultivated on Mannitol Salt Agar supplemented with methicillin, and 16S rRNA sequencing was conducted in addition to morphological and biochemical identification. Specific resistance genes such as ermAC, aacA-aphD, tetKM, vatABC and mecA were PCR-amplified and resistance plasmids were also investigated. The MRSA incidence was ~49 % among the 72 S. aureus isolates and all MRSA strains were resistant to oxacillin, penicillin, and cefoxitin. However, vancomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, mupirocin, and rifampicin were effective against 100% of MRSA strains. About 61% of MRSA strains exhibited multidrug resistance and were resistant to 3-12 antimicrobial medications (MDR). Methicillin resistance gene mecA was presented in all MDR-MRSA strains. Most MDR-MRSA contained a plasmid of > 10 kb. To overcome bacterial resistance, AgNPs were applied and displayed high antimicrobial activity and synergistic effect with penicillin. Our findings may help establish programs to control bacterial spread in communities as AgNPs appeared to exert a synergistic effect with penicillin to control bacterial resistance.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2023

Spinal nerve injury causes mechanical allodynia and structural imbalance of neurotransmission, which were typically associated with calcium overload. Storeoperated calcium entry (SOCE) is considered crucial elements-mediating intracellular calcium homeostasis, ion channel activity, and synaptic plasticity. However, the underlying mechanism of SOCE in mediating neuronal transmitter release and synaptic transmission remains ambiguous in neuropathic pain. Neuropathic rats were operated by spinal nerve ligations. Neurotransmissions were assessed by whole-cell recording in substantia gelatinosa. Immunofluorescence staining of STIM1 with neuronal and glial biomarkers in the spinal dorsal horn. The endoplasmic reticulum stress level was estimated from qRT-PCR. Intrathecal injection of SOCE antagonist SKF96365 dose-dependently alleviated mechanical allodynia in ipsilateral hind paws of neuropathic rats with ED₅₀ of 18 ㎍. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that STIM1 was specifically and significantly expressed in neurons but not astrocytes and microglia in the spinal dorsal horn. Bath application of SKF96365 inhibited enhanced miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents in a dosage-dependent manner without affecting miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Mal-adaption of SOCE was commonly related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the central nervous system. SKF96365 markedly suppressed ER stress levels by alleviating mRNA expression of C/ EBP homologous protein and heat shock protein 70 in neuropathic rats. Our findings suggested that nerve injury might promote SOCE-mediated calcium levels, resulting in long-term imbalance of spinal synaptic transmission and behavioral sensitization, SKF96365 produces antinociception by alleviating glutamatergic transmission and ER stress. This work demonstrated the involvement of SOCE in neuropathic pain, implying that SOCE might be a potential target for pain management.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2023

Antrodia cinnamomea, an edible and medicinal fungus with significant economic value and application prospects, is rich in terpenoids, benzenoids, lignans, polysaccharides, and benzoquinone, succinic and maleic derivatives. In this study, the transcriptome of A. cinnamomea cultured on the wood substrates of Cinnamomum glanduliferum (YZM), C. camphora (XZM), and C. kanehirae (NZM) was sequenced using the high-throughput sequencing technology Illumina HiSeq 2000, and the data were assembled by de novo strategy to obtain 78,729 Unigenes with an N50 of 4,463 bp. Compared with public databases, about 11,435, 6,947, and 5,994 Unigenes were annotated to the Non-Redundant (NR), Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG), respectively. The comprehensive analysis of the mycelium terpene biosynthesis-related genes in A. cinnamomea revealed that the expression of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (AACT), acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA), mevalonate pyrophosphate decarboxylase (MVD), and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI) was significantly higher on NZM compared to the other two wood substrates. Similarly, the expression of geranylgeranyltransferase (GGT) was significantly higher on YZM compared to NZM and XZM, and the expression of farnesyl transferase (FTase) was significantly higher on XZM. Furthermore, the expressions of 2,3-oxidized squalene cyclase (OCS), squalene synthase (SQS), and squalene epoxidase (SE) were significantly higher on NZM. Overall, this study provides a potential approach to explore the molecular regulation mechanism of terpenoid biosynthesis in A. cinnamomea.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.29-37
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• 2009

Objectives : The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of Trichosanthis Radix extract (TRE) on the proliferation and activation of eosinophils which were prepared from lung cells of asthma-induced mice by ovalbumin (OVA) treatment. Methods : C57BL/6 mouse was exposed to OVA three times a week for 6 weeks. The mouse lung tissues were dissected out, chopped and dossiciated with collagenase (1 $\mu$g/ml). Eosinophils were activated by rmIL-3/rmIL-5 co-treatments. The lung cells were treated with TRE, incubated for 48 hr at 37$^{\circ}C$, and analyzed by flow cytometer, ELISA and RT-PCR methods Results : To measure cytotoxicity, mouse lung fibroblast cells (mLFCs) were pretreated with various concentrations of TRE. TRE at 100 $\mu$g/ml, the highest concentration, examined did not have any cytotoxic effects on mLFCs. In FACS analysis, number of granulocyte/lymphocyte, CD3e-/CCR3+, CD3e+/CD69+, CD4+/CD8+ T cells in asthma-induced lung cells were significantly decreased by TRE treatment compared to the control group. But CD4+/CD25+ T cells were not examined significant change in lung cells treated with TRE. In ELISA analysis, production levels of IL-3, IL-5, IL-13 and histamine in asthma-induced lung cells, which were induced by rIL-3 plus rmIL-5 co-treatment, were significantly decreased by TRE treatment. Conclusions : The present data suggested that Trichosanthis Radix on the inhibition of parameters associated with asthma responses in eosinpophils, and thus implicate the possibility for the clinical application of Trichosanthis Radix.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2007

To develop an efficient screening method for detection of the transgene in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa spp. pekinensis) utilizing Basta spray, optimal conditions for Basta application were examined in this study. Two transgenic Chinese cabbage lines were obtained through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and used as transgenic positive controls in the Basta screening experiment. Differential concentrations of glufosinate-ammonium were sprayed into three different growth stages of 12 commercial Chinese cabbage cultivars. The results showed that no plants could survive higher than 0.05% glufosinate-ammonium, and plants at the 2-3 leaf stage were most vulnerable to glufosinate-ammonium. On the other hand, no damage was observed in the transgenic control plants. Reliability of the Basta spray method was proven by showing perfect co-segregation of the tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium and the presence of the bar gene in T₁ segregating populations of the transgenic lines, as revealed by both PCR and Southern blot analyses. Using the developed Basta screening method, we tried to investigate the transgene flow through pollen dispersal, but failed to detect any transgene-containing non-transgenic Chinese cabbages whose parents had been planted adjacent to transgenic Chinese cabbages in field conditions. However, the transgene was successfully detected using Basta spray from the non-transgenic plants bearing the transgene introduced by hand-pollination. Since the Basta spray method developed in this study is easy to apply and economical, it will be a valuable tool for understanding the mechanism of gene flow through pollen transfer and for establishing a biosafety test protocol for genetically modified (GM) Chinese cabbage cultivars.

• Journal of Interdisciplinary Genomics
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2024

Background: ABO typing is crucial for ensuring safe blood transfusion and is commonly performed by examining antigen-antibody interactions. Determining ABO blood group can be difficult when dealing with ABO discrepancy and ABO subgroups. ABO genotyping may be necessary to resolve ABO discrepancy. ABO genotyping primarily involves direct sequencing, with the possibility of using other molecular methods. Methods: PCR and direct sequencing of exons 6 and 7 were performed for total 108 samples from June 2010 to December 2019. Also, other molecular methods including cloning sequencing and short tandem repeat analysis were carried out just in case. Sequencing data were compared with allele information of blood group antigen mutation databases. Results: The predominant causal allele among 108 ABO discrepant cases was cis-AB01, with 28 cases. This was followed by rare ABO alleles (B309, B306, A204, Bw29, and Ax01) with 14 cases, and blood chimera with 5 cases. Five new alleles were identified during the investigation. Conclusion: This study reaffirms that cis-AB is the most common cause of inherited ABO discrepancies, and cis-AB01 is the most prevalent cis-AB allele in the Korean population, also in the southeastern region. In addition, we discovered five new alleles and five blood chimeras by adopting sequencing analysis and additional molecular techniques to resolve ABO discrepancies, which provide regional data on rare alleles. This study presents rare and new ABO alleles and blood chimeras identified over a ten-year period at two major university hospitals in Southeastern Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.436-456
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• 2024

Several thermostable proteases have been identified, yet only a handful have undergone the processes of cloning, comprehensive characterization, and full exploitation in various industrial applications. Our primary aim in this study was to clone a thermostable alkaline protease from a thermophilic bacterium and assess its potential for use in various industries. The research involved the amplification of the SpSKF4 protease gene, a thermostable alkaline serine protease obtained from the Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius SKF4 bacterium through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The purified recombinant SpSKF4 protease was characterized, followed by evaluation of its possible industrial applications. The analysis of the gene sequence revealed an open reading frame (ORF) consisting of 1,206 bp, coding for a protein containing 401 amino acids. The cloned gene was expressed in Escherichia coli. The molecular weight of the enzyme was measured at 28 kDa using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The partially purified enzyme has its highest activity at a pH of 10 and a temperature of 80℃. In addition, the enzyme showed a half-life of 15 h at 80℃, and there was a 60% increase in its activity at 10 mM Ca²⁺ concentration. The activity of the protease was completely inhibited (100%) by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF); however, the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) resulted in a 20% increase in activity. The enzyme was also stable in various organic solvents and in certain commercial detergents. Furthermore, the enzyme exhibited strong potential for industrial use, particularly as a detergent additive and for facilitating the recovery of silver from X-ray film.