• BMB Reports
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.478-483
• /
• 2001

We examined the effect of CsCl and spermine on the induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in polyamine synthesis form Glycine max axes. Transcription of the ODC gene was induced by 0.1 and 1 mM of CsCl, and the amount of putrescine was increased 3.5-fold by 1 mM CsCl treatment. Spermine also induced the expression of the ODC gene in a die dependent manner. However, CsCl provoked an increase in the active phosphorylated ERK (pERK), a central element of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Our data demonstrates an interaction between the ODC induction and the MAPK signaling pathway, and suggests that the latter may be involved in cell signaling in salt-stressed plants.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.632-637
• /
• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of red pericarp glutinous rice rich in polyphenols (Jakwangchalbyeo, red rice) on serum and hepatic levels of cholesterol and hepatic protein expression linked to synthesis and degradation of cholesterol in a hypercholesterolemic mice diet as compared with brown rice. MATERIALS/METHODS: C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 5 each), which were fed different diets for a period of 12 weeks: American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93G diet, AIN-93G diet with 2% cholesterol, brown rice with 2% cholesterol, or red rice with 2% cholesterol. RESULT: Consumption of red rice resulted in a significant decrease in serum level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hepatic levels of triglyceride and total-cholesterol. Expression of acyl-coenzyme A cholesterol acyltransferase-2 (ACAT-2), sterol regulatory element binding protein-2 (SREBP-2), and 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase was decreased, while expression of phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (p-AMPK)/AMPK ratio, cholesterol 7-${\alpha}$-hydroxylase (CYP7a1), and sterol 12-${\alpha}$-hydroxylase (CYP8b1) was increased in mice fed red rice. Brown rice had similar effects on cholesterol metabolism, but the effect of red rice was significantly greater than that of brown rice. CONCLUSIONS: The current study suggested that red rice had a hypocholesterolemic effect by lowering hepatic cholesterol synthesis through ACAT-2, HMG-CoA reductase, and SREBP-2, and by enhancing hepatic cholesterol degradation through CYP7a1 and CYP8b1 in mice fed a hypercholesterolemic diet.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.592-597
• /
• 2002

The Rkp1/CPC2, a receptor for activated protein kinase C of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, contains seven WD motifs found in the G-protein $\beta$-subunit. A 110-kDa protein was identified to interact with Rkp1/CPC2 by immunoprecipitation and following in vitro binding assay. To examine its kinase activity and binding ability to Rkp1, the $pck1^+$, a PKC homolog of S. pombe, was cloned. Pckl phosphorylated myelin basic protein (MBP) and histone Hl in a phospholipid-dependent and $Ca^{2+}$-independent manner. It was demonstrated that the N-terminal region of Pck1 was responsible for the binding to Rkp1 , thus suggesting that Rkp1 interacted with Pckl to regulate Pckl-mediated signaling in S. pombe.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.28 no.8
• /
• pp.737-748
• /
• 1995

Osteoblast(OBL) cells were isolated from ICR Swiss neonatal mouse calvarial tissues and cultured in a CO2 incubator with minimum essential medium (MEM) containing 0.25g BSA. The cells were cultured for 7 days and were treated with bovine parathyroid hormone (bPTH, 1-34) and calcitonin(CT). Enzyme activities related to mineral metabolism and other biochemical actions within the bone cells including protein phosphorylation were investigated. In other experiments using cultured calvarial bone tissues, hormones were treated for 24, 48, 72 or 96 hours. The activities of $\beta$-glucuronidase enzymes involved in bone collagen synthesis and mineral deposits were increased by 8% with bPTH and were inhibited with CT treatment, while those were 67% increase treated with bPTH and CT together. On the other hand, alkaline phophatase(AP) activities were inhibited by PTH hormone at all the time courses observed. Protein phosphorylation reaction in OBL was mediated by bPTH, cAMP and ionized Ca. Phosphorylation was observed in different cell fractions including homogenate, membrane and cytosol. The number of proteins phosphorylated by PTH, cAMP, and Ca were 10, 5, and 9, respectively. Most of the protein kinases(PKs) were existed in cytosolic compartment. In membrane fractions, two bPTH-dependent-PKs (70K, 50K Da) were observed of which 70K Da protein was also Ca-dependent. Most of the cAMP-dependent PKs were regulated via bPTH. 70K, 50K, 5K, 19K, 16K, 10.5K phosphoproteins regulated by Ca share the same pathways as those by bPTH-dependent proteins. Ca seems to regulate PK activities differently from cAMP.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.181-189
• /
• 2008

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of $Ca^{2+}$, $HCO_3{^-}$ and BSA on the in vitro capacitation-associated protein tyrosine phosphorylation, hyperactivation and acrosome reaction in guinea pig sperm. Caudal epididymal sperm were incubated in four different groups: modified TALP (Tyrode's albumin lactate pyruvate) or TALP without one of the medium constituents ($Ca^{2+}$, $HCO_3{^-}$ and BSA). After incubation for the required time (0 h, 0.5 h, 1 h, 3 h, 5 h, and 7 h), sperm were removed for further experiment. The capacitation effect was assessed by CTC (Chlortetracycline) staining. Western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence were used to analyze the level and localization of tyrosine phosphorylation. The results showed that guinea pig sperm underwent a time-dependent increase in protein tyrosine phosphorylation during the in vitro capacitation and the percentage of protein tyrosine phosphorylated sperm increased from 36% to 92% from the beginning of incubation to 7 h incubation. Also, there was a shift in the site of phosphotyrosine-specific fluorescence from the head of sperm to both the head and the flagellum. Moreover, an absence of $Ca^{2+}$ or $HCO_3{^-}$ inhibited in vitro hyperactivation and acrosome reaction and decreased the phosphorylation of the proteins throughout the period of in vitro capacitation. However, an absence of BSA could not influence these processes if substituted by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in the medium.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.133-141
• /
• 2019

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to differentiate into multiple lineages, making neurogenic differentiation an important target in the clinical field. In the present study, we induced the neurogenic differentiation of cells using histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and studied their mechanisms for further differentiation in vitro. We treated cells with the HDAC inhibitors, MS-275 and NaB; and found that the cells had neuron-like features such as distinct bipolar or multipolar morphologies with branched processes. The mRNA expressions encoding for NEFL, MAP2, TUJ1, OLIG2, and SYT was significantly increased following HDAC inhibitors treatment compared to without HDAC inhibitors; high protein levels of MAP2 and Tuj1 were detected by immunofluorescence staining. We examined the mechanisms of differentiation and found that the Wnt signaling pathway and downstream mitogen-activate protein kinase were involved in neurogenic differentiation of MSCs. Importantly, Wnt4, Wnt5a/b, and Wnt11 protein levels were highly increased after treatment with NaB; signals were activated through the regulation of Dvl2 and Dvl3. Interestingly, NaB treatment increased the levels of JNK and upregulated JNK phosphorylation. After MS-275 treatment, Wnt protein levels were decreased and GSK-3β was phosphorylated. In this cell, HDAC inhibitors controlled the non-canonical Wnt expression by activating JNK phosphorylation and the canonical Wnt signaling by targeting GSK-3β.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2008

Fe65 is characterized as an adaptor precursor (APP) through its PID2 element, as well as with the other members of the APP protein family. With the serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase 1 (SGK1) substrate specificity information, we found that the putative site of phosphorylation in Fe65 by SGK1 is present on its $Ser^{566}$ residue in $^{560}CRVRFLSFLA^{569}$(X60469). Thus, we demonstrated that Fe65 and the fluorescein-labeled Fe65 peptide $FITC-^{560}CRVRFLSFLA^{569}$ are phosphorylated in vitro by SGK1. Phosphorylation of the $Ser^{566}$ residue was also demonstrated using a $Ser^{566}$ phospho-specific antibody. The phospho Fe65 was found mainly in the nucleus, while Fe65 S556A mutant was localized primarily to the cytoplasm. Therefore, these data suggest that SGK1 phosphorylates the $Ser^{566}$ residue of Fe65 and that this phosphorylation promotes the migration of Fe65 to the nucleus of the cell.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.280-285
• /
• 2012

The developing embryo naturally experiences relatively low oxygen conditions in vivo. Under in vitro hypoxia, mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) lose their self-renewal activity and display an early differentiated morphology mediated by the hypoxia-inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ (HIF-$1{\alpha}$). Previously, we demonstrated that histone deacetylase (HDAC) is activated by hypoxia and increases the protein stability and transcriptional activity of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ in many human cancer cells. Furthermore HDAC1 and 3 mediate the differentiation of mECSs and hematopoietic stem cells. However, the role of HDACs and their inhibitors in hypoxia-induced early differentiation of mESCs remains largely unknown. Here, we examined the effects of several histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) on the self-renewal properties of mESCs under hypoxia. Inhibition of HDAC under hypoxia effectively decreased the HIF-$1{\alpha}$ protein levels and substantially improved the expression of the LIF-specific receptor (LIFR) and phosphorylated-STAT3 in mESCs. In particular, valproic acid (VPA), a pan HDACI, showed dramatic changes in HIF-$1{\alpha}$ protein levels and LIFR protein expression levels compared to other HDACIs, including sodium butyrate (SB), trichostatin A (TSA), and apicidin (AP). Importantly, our RT-PCR data and alkaline phosphatase assays indicate that VPA helps to maintain the self-renewal activity of mESCs under hypoxia. Taken together, these results suggest that VPA may block the early differentiation of mESCs under hypoxia via the destabilization of HIF-$1{\alpha}$.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.22-28
• /
• 2022

Objective: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress engages the unfolded protein response (UPR) that serves as an important mechanism for modulating hepatic fatty acid oxidation and lipogenesis. Chronic fasting in mice induced the UPR activation to regulate lipid metabolism. However, there is no direct evidence of whether negative energy balance (NEB) induces ER stress in the liver of cows. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between the NEB attributed to feed deprivation and ER stress in bovine hepatocytes. Methods: Blood samples and liver biopsy tissues were collected from 6 non-lactating cows before and after their starvation for 48 h. The blood non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) and glucose level were analyzed. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to explore the regulation of genes associated with UPR and lipid metabolism. Results: The starvation increased the plasma BHBA and NEFA levels and decreased the glucose level. Additionally, the starvation caused significant increases in the mRNA expression level of spliced X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1s) and the protein level of phosphorylated inositol-requiring kinase 1 alpha (p-IRE1α; an upstream protein of XBP1) in the liver. The mRNA expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and its target fatty acid oxidation- and ketogenesis-related genes were significantly upregulated by the starvation-mediated NEB. Furthermore, we found that the mRNA expression levels of lipogenic genes were not significantly changed after starvation. Conclusion: These findings suggest that in the initial stage of NEB in dairy cows, the liver coordinates an adaptive response by activating the IRE1 arm of the UPR to enhance ketogenesis, thereby avoiding a fatty liver status.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.46 no.9
• /
• pp.558-572
• /
• 2023

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. One of its components, emphysema, has been defined as a lung disease that irreversibly damages the lungs' alveoli. Treatment is currently unavailable for emphysema symptoms and complete cure of the disease. Hyaluronan (HA) and proteoglycan link protein 1 (HAPLN1), an HA-binding protein linking HA in the extracellular matrix to stabilize the proteoglycan structure, forms a bulky hydrogel-like aggregate. Studies on the biological role of the full-length HAPLN1, a simple structure-stabilizing protein, are limited. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that treating human alveolar epithelial type 2 cells with recombinant human HAPLN1 (rhHAPLN1) increased TGF-β receptor 1 (TGF-β RI) protein levels, but not TGF-β RII, in a CD44-dependent manner with concurrent enhancement of the phosphorylated Smad3 (p-Smad3), but not p-Smad2, upon TGF-β1 stimulation. Furthermore, rhHAPLN1 significantly increased sirtuins levels (i.e., SIRT1/2/6) without TGF-β1 and inhibited acetylated p300 levels that were increased by TGF-β1. rhHAPLN1 is crucial in regulating cellular senescence, including p53, p21, and p16, and inflammation markers such as p-NF-κB and Nrf2. Both senile emphysema mouse model induced via intraperitoneal rhHAPLN1 injections and porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE)-induced COPD mouse model generated via rhHAPLN1-containing aerosols inhalations showed a significantly potent efficacy in reducing alveolar spaces enlargement. Preclinical trials are underway to investigate the effects of inhaled rhHAPLN1-containing aerosols on several COPD animal models.