• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.113-123
• /
• 2022

Diarylpropionitrile (DPN), a selective agonist for estrogen receptor β (ERβ), has been reported to regulate various hormonal responses through activation of ERβ in tissues including the mammary gland and brain. However, the effect of DPN on melanogenesis independent of ERβ has not been studied. The aim of this study is to examine the possibility of anti-melanogenic effect of DPN and its underlying mechanism. Melanin contents and cellular tyrosinase activity assay indicated that DPN inhibited melanin biosynthesis in alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone-stimulated B16F10 melanoma cell line. However, DPN had no direct influence on in vitro tyrosinase catalytic activity. On the other hand, 17β-estradiol had no effect on inhibition of melanogenesis, suggesting that the DPN-mediated suppression of melanin production was not related with estrogen signaling pathway. Immunoblotting analysis showed that DPN down-regulated the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), a central transcription factor of melanogenesis and its down-stream genes including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)-1, and TRP-2. Also, DPN attenuated the phosphorylation of protein kinase A (PKA) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB). Additionally, DPN suppressed the melanin synthesis in UVB-irradiated HaCaT conditioned media culture system suggesting that DPN has potential as an anti-melanogenic activity in physiological conditions. Collectively, our data show that DPN inhibits melanogenesis via downregulation of PKA/CREB/MITF signaling pathway.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2013

Leaf of Sasa borealis, a species of bamboo, has been reported to exhibit anti-hyperglycemic effect. However, its antidiabetic mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we examined whether an extract of S. borealis activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and exerts anti-hyperglycemic effects. Treatment with the S. borealis extract increased insulin signaling and phosphorylation of AMPK and stimulated the expression of its downstream targets, including $PPAR{\alpha}$, ACO, and CPT-1 in C2C12 cells and $PPAR{\alpha}$ in HepG2 cells. However, inhibition of AMPK activation attenuated insulin signaling and prevented the stimulation of AMPK target genes. The S. borealis extract increased glucose uptake in C2C12 cells and suppressed expression of the gluconeogenic gene, PEPCK in HepG2 cells. The extract significantly reduced blood glucose and triglyceride levels in STZ-induced diabetic mice. The extract enhanced AMPK phosphorylation and increased Glut-4 expression in the skeletal muscle of the mice. These findings demonstrated that the S. borealis extract exerts its anti-hyperglycemic effect through activation of AMPK and enhancement of insulin signaling.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.119-123
• /
• 1999

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) treatment of bone and kidney-derived cells not only activates adenyly cyclase buy also increases intracellular free calcium, and translocates protein kinase C (PKC) from cytosol to plasma membranes. We have found that acute phorbol ester pretreatment significantly decreases PTH-induced calcium transients and the effect of phorbol ester was antagonized by staurosporine (ST). Although the major effect of ST in that study was the reversal of the action of phorbol ester, it appeared that ST may also have promoted the effect of PTH directly. To further investigate the observation, we examined the effect of ST on the intracellular calcium transients induced by PTH and $\alpha$-thrombin ($\alpha$-TH). For calcium transient experiments, UMR-106 cells were loaded with 2 mM fluo-acetoxymethylester for 30 min at room temperature. The cells were then washed and suspended in buffer containing 1 mM calcium. Fluorescence was detected at 530 nm, with excitation at 505 nm. ST alone did not cause calcium transients, but enhanced the transients elicited by PTH response. added 5 min before the hormone. Another protein kinase inhibitor H-7 likewise enhanced the calcium responses elicited by PTH, while genistein did not affect PTH response. Calcium transients elicited by $\alpha$-TH were also enhanced by ST. The results suggest that there might be tonically activated endogenous protein kinase(s) which inhibit calcium signaling of some calcemic agents.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.190-200
• /
• 2023

Skeletal muscle, essential for metabolism, thermoregulation, and immunity, undergoes myogenic differentiation that results in myotube formation. Trans-anethole (TA), the major constituent in essential oil produced by anise, star anise, and fennel, whose function in skeletal muscle has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we investigated whether TA influenced muscle differentiation in mouse C2C12 myoblasts. Cells were induced to differentiate using a differentiation medium with or without TA (50 or 200 mg/mL) daily for 5 days. We measured myotube length and diameter after differentiation days 1, 3, and 5 and analyzed the expression of myogenic markers (myoblast determination protein 1, myogenin, myocyte enhancer factor 2, muscle creatine kinase, and myosin heavy chain) and atrophy-related genes (atrogin-1 and muscle ring finger-1 [MuRF-1]) using quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, we observed the expression of total protein kinase B (Akt) and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) using western blotting. Our data showed that TA significantly induced the formation of smaller and thinner myotubes and reduced the myogenic factor expression. Furthermore, the atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 expression markedly increased by TA. Consistent with these findings, TA significantly decreased the expression of total Akt and p-Akt. Taken together, these results indicate that TA inhibits myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells via reduction of both total Akt and p-Akt. Our findings may provide valuable insights into the impact of PAA on individuals at risk of muscle atrophy.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.42 no.12
• /
• pp.840-845
• /
• 2009

Mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase (MSK1) palys a crucial role in the regulation of transcription downstream of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) and mitogen-activated protein kinase p38. MSK1 can be phosphorylated and activated in cells by both ERK1/2 and p38$\alpha$. In this study, Casein Kinase 2 (CK2) was identified as a binding and regulatory partner for MSK1. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, MSK1 was found to interact with the CK2$\beta$ regulatory subunit of CK2. Interactions between MSK1 and the CK2$\alpha$ catalytic subunit and CK2$\beta$ subunit were demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. We further found that CK2$\alpha$ can only interact with the C-terminal kinase domain of MSK1. Using site-directed mutagenesis assay and mass spectrometry, we identified five sites in the MSK1 C-terminus that could be phosphorylated by CK2 in vitro: Ser757, Ser758, Ser759, Ser760 and Thr793. Of these, Ser757, Ser759, Ser760 and Thr793 were previously unknown.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.37 no.10
• /
• pp.747-752
• /
• 2014

Protein kinase C (PKC) family members phosphorylate a wide variety of protein targets and are known to be involved in diverse cellular signaling pathways. However, the role of PKC in receptor activator of NF-${\kappa}B$ ligand (RANKL) signaling has remained elusive. We now demonstrate that $PKC{\beta}$ acts as a positive regulator which inactivates glycogen synthase kinase-$3{\beta}$ (GSK-$3{\beta}$) and promotes NFATc1 induction during RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. Among PKCs, $PKC{\beta}$ expression is increased by RANKL. Pharmacological inhibition of $PKC{\beta}$ decreased the formation of osteoclasts which was caused by the inhibition of NFATc1 induction. Importantly, the phosphorylation of GSK-$3{\beta}$ was decreased by $PKC{\beta}$ inhibition. Likewise, down-regulation of $PKC{\beta}$ by RNA interference suppressed osteoclast differentiation, NFATc1 induction, and GSK-$3{\beta}$ phosphorylation. The administration of PKC inhibitor to the RANKL-injected mouse calvaria efficiently protected RANKL-induced bone destruction. Thus, the $PKC{\beta}$ pathway, leading to GSK-$3{\beta}$ inactivation and NFATc1 induction, has a key role in the differentiation of osteoclasts. Our results also provide a further rationale for $PKC{\beta}$'s therapeutic targeting to treat inflammation-related bone diseases.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.701-709
• /
• 2006

The Rhus verniciflua Stokes (乾漆-RVS) has been used in traditional East Asia medicine for the therapy of gastritis, stomach cancer, although the mechanism for the biological activity is unclear. In the present study aims to investigate RVS extract contributes to growth inhibitory effect and it's the molecular mechanism on the human gastric cancer cells. AGS (gastric cancer cells) and RIEI (normal cells) were treated to different concentrations and periods of RVS extract $(10{\;}{\sim{{\;}100{\;}ug/mil)$. Growth inhibitory effect was analyzed by measuring FACS study and MTS assay. Cell cycle inhibition was confirmed by measuring CDK2 kinase activity by immunoprecipitation and kinase assay. And apoptosis was confirmed by surveying caspase cascades activation using a pan caspase inhibitor Exposure to RVS extract (50 ug/mll) resulted in a synergistic inhibitory effect on cell growth in AGS cells. Growth inhibition was related with the inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis. The extract induces Gl -cell cycle arrest through the regulation of cyclins, the induction of p27kip1, and the decrease CDK2 kinase activity. And upregulated p27kip1 level is caused by protein stability increment by the reduction of S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2), a key molecule related with p27kip1 ubiquitination and degradation, and do novo protein synthesis. Besides, 乾漆 extract induces apoptosis through the expression of Bax, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and activation of caspase-3. RVS extract induces Gl -cell cycle arrest via accumulation of p27kip1 and apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells but not in normal cells, therefore we suggest that the extract can be used as a novel class of anti-cancer drugs.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.195-202
• /
• 2014

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex disorder related to insulin resistance, obesity, and inflammation. Genetic and environmental factors also contribute to the development of MetS, and through genome-wide association studies (GWASs), important susceptibility loci have been identified. However, GWASs focus more on individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), explaining only a small portion of genetic heritability. To overcome this limitation, pathway analyses are being applied to GWAS datasets. The aim of this study is to elucidate the biological pathways involved in the pathogenesis of MetS through pathway analysis. Cohort data from the Korea Associated Resource (KARE) was used for analysis, which include 8,842 individuals (age, $52.2{\pm}8.9years$ ; body mass index, $24.6{\pm}3.2kg/m^2$). A total of 312,121 autosomal SNPs were obtained after quality control. Pathway analysis was conducted using Meta-analysis Gene-Set Enrichment of Variant Associations (MAGENTA) to discover the biological pathways associated with MetS. In the discovery phase, SNPs from chromosome 12, including rs11066280, rs2074356, and rs12229654, were associated with MetS (p < $5{\times}10^{-6}$), and rs11066280 satisfied the Bonferroni-corrected cutoff (unadjusted p < $1.38{\times}10^{-7}$, Bonferroni-adjusted p < 0.05). Through pathway analysis, biological pathways, including electron carrier activity, signaling by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase cascade, PDGF binding, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling, and DNA repair, were associated with MetS. Through pathway analysis of MetS, pathways related with PDGF, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and PPAR signaling, as well as nucleic acid binding, protein secretion, and DNA repair, were identified. Further studies will be needed to clarify the genetic pathogenesis leading to MetS.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.205-211
• /
• 2010

Sprouty (Spry) proteins have previously been suggested as negative regulators of the MAPK pathway through interaction with Raf-1. However, the molecular basis of this inhibition has not been elucidated. In this study, we used cells expressing FLAGtagged Raf-1 with point mutations at known phosphorylation sites to reveal that activation of Raf-1 mutants does not correlate with their degree of interaction with Spry2. The association of Raf-1 with Spry2 in intact cells was further corroborated by immunofluorescence colocalization. Additionally, there was no significant change observed in the strength of interaction between Raf-1 mutants and Spry2 after paclitaxel treatment despite differences in the activation levels of these mutants. Thus, our study provides the evidence that Spry2 does not directly regulate Raf-1 kinase activity, but instead acts as a scaffolding protein that assists interactions between Raf-1 kinase and its direct regulators.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.57 no.5
• /
• pp.238-243
• /
• 2024

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) can differentiate into endothelial cells in an inflammatory microenvironment. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying this process are not entirely understood. Here, we found that TIE2 in BM-MSCs was upregulated at the transcriptional level after stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), a major pro-inflammatory cytokine. Additionally, the STAT-binding sequence within the proximal region of TIE2 was necessary for TNFα-induced TIE2 promoter activation. TIE2 and STAT3 knockdown reduced TNFα-induced endothelial tube formation in BM-MSCs. Among the major TNFα-activated MAP kinases (ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38 MAPK) in BM-MSCs, only inhibition of the p38 kinase abrogated TNFα-induced TIE2 upregulation by inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. These findings suggest that p38 MAP contributes to the endothelial differentiation of BM-MSCs by activating the JAK-STAT-TIE2 signaling axis in the inflammatory microenvironment.