• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.666-675
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• 2019

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been widely used as an herbal medicine to normalize and strengthen body functions. Although many researchers have focused on the biological effects of KRG, more studies on the action mechanism of red ginseng are still needed. Previously, we investigated the proteomic changes of the rat spleen while searching for molecular signatures and the action mechanism of KRG. The proteomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were involved in the increased immune response and phagocytosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological activities of KRG, especially the immune-enhancing response of KRG. Methods: Rats were divided into 4 groups: 0 (control group), 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg administration of KRG powder for 6 weeks, respectively. Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation was performed with Q-Exactive LC-MS/MS to compare associated proteins between the groups. The putative DEPs were identified by a current UniProt rat protein database search and by the Gene Ontology annotations. Results: The DEPs appear to increase the innate and acquired immunity as well as immune cell movement. These results suggest that KRG can stimulate immune responses. This analysis refined our targets of interest to include the potential functions of KRG. Furthermore, we validated the potential molecular targets of the functions, representatively LCN2, CRAMP, and HLA-DQB1, by Western blotting. Conclusion: These results may provide molecular signature candidates to elucidate the mechanisms of the immune response by KRG. Here, we demonstrate a strategy of tissue proteomics for the discovery of the molecular function of KRG.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1309-1320
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• 2021

Objective: Investigation of muscle growth at different developmental stages is an appropriate strategy for studying the mechanisms underlying muscle development and differences in phenotypes. In particular, the muscle development mechanisms and the difference between the fastest and slowest growth rates. Methods: In this study, we used a growth curve model to fit the growth inflection point (IP) of QingYu pigs and compared differences in the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) transcriptome of muscle both at the growth IP and plateau phase (PP). Results: The growth curve of the QingYu pig had a good fit (R² = 0.974) relative to a typical S-curve and reached the IP at day 177.96. At the PP, marbling, intramuscular fat, and monounsaturated fatty acids had increased significantly and the percentage of lean muscle and polyunsaturated fatty acids had decreased. A total of 1,199 mRNAs and 62 lncRNAs were differentially expressed at the IP compared with the PP. Additional to gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analyses, these differentially expressed protein coding genes were principally related to muscle growth and lipid metabolism. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the identified differentially expressed lncRNAs, could play roles in muscle growth, fat deposition and regulation of fatty acid composition at the IP and PP.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.184-190
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• 2020

This study was performed to find antibacterial substances contained in Scutellariae Radix (SR) using a systems pharmacological analysis method and to establish an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Analysis of the main active ingredients of SR was performed using Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) Database and Analysis Platform. 36 active compounds were screened by the parameter values of Drug-Likeness (DL), Oral Bioavailability (OB), and Caco-2 permeability (Caco-2), which were based on the drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion indicators. The UniProt database was used to obtain information on 159 genes associated with active compounds. The main active compounds with antibacterial effects were wogonin, β-sitosterol, baicalein, acacetin and oroxylin-A. Target proteins associated with the antibacterial action were chemokine ligand 2, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, caspase-8,9 and mitogen-activated protein kinase 14. In the future, systems pharmacological analysis of traditional medicine will be able to make it easy to find the important mechanism of action of active substances present in natural medicines and to optimize the efficacy of medicinal effects for combinations of major ingredients to help treat certain diseases.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.27.1-27.13
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• 2022

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent head and neck malignancy, with frequent cervical lymph-node metastasis, leading to a poor prognosis in OSCC patients. The present study aimed to identify potential markers, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and genes, significantly involved in the etiology of early-stage OSCC. Additionally, the main OSCC's dysregulated Gene Ontology annotations and significant signaling pathways were identified. The dataset GSE45238 underwent multivariate statistical analysis in order to distinguish primary OSCC tissues from healthy oral epithelium. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) with the criteria of p-value < 0.001 and |Log2 fold change| > 1.585 were identified in the two groups, and subsequently, validated targets of DEMs were identified. A protein interaction map was constructed, hub genes were identified, significant modules within the network were illustrated, and significant pathways and biological processes associated with the clusters were demonstrated. Using the GEPI2 database, the hub genes' predictive function was assessed. Compared to the healthy controls, main OSCC had a total of 23 DEMs. In patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), upregulation of CALM1, CYCS, THBS1, MYC, GATA6, and SPRED3 was strongly associated with a poor prognosis. In HNSCC patients, overexpression of PIK3R3, GIGYF1, and BCL2L11 was substantially correlated with a good prognosis. Besides, "proteoglycans in cancer" was the most significant pathway enriched in the primary OSCC. The present study results revealed more possible mechanisms mediating primary OSCC and may be useful in the prognosis of the patients with early-stage OSCC.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.229-234
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• 2022

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Indigo Naturalis (IN) is a dark blue powder obtained by processing leaves or stems of indigo plants, its anticancer effects have been reported in several studies. However, the pharmacological mechanism of IN in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is not elucidated. In this study, to investigate the anticancer efficacy of IN for SCLC, we presented potential active ingredients, SCLC-related targets, and pharmacological mechanisms of IN that are expected to have anticancer activity for SCLC using a network pharmacological analysis. The phytochemical compounds of IN have been collected through TCMSP, SymMap, or HPLC documents. The active ingredients of IN such as indirubin, indican, isatin, and tryptanthrin were selected through ADME parameters or literature investigations for each compound. Using the Compounds, Disease-Target associations Databases, 124 common targets of IN and SCLC were obtained. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathway enrichment analysis was carried out. GO biological processes are associated with response to xenobiotic stimulus, positive regulation of protein phosphorylation, regulation of mitotic cell cycle, and regulation of apoptotic signaling pathway. KEGG disease pathways included Gastric cancer, Bladder cancer, SCLC, and Melanoma. The main anticancer targets of the IN for SCLC were analyzed in 14 targets, including BCL2, MYC, and TP53. In conclusion, the results of this study based on the network pharmacology of IN can provide important data for the effective prevention and treatment of SCLC.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.229-229
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• 2022

Rapeseed is a crop that is waterlogging sensitive, and it is necessary to breed waterlogging tolerance varieties. Our study presents the comparative transcriptome changes in two rapeseed lines, i.e., waterlogging-tolerant (tJ8634-B-30,) and - sensitive ('EMS26') lines under control and waterlogging stress treatments at the flowering stage. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed 13,279 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for 'J8634-B-30' and 8,682 DEGs for 'EMS26' under waterlogging stress condition compared to control. Among DEGs of 'J8634-B-30', 6,818 were up-regulated and 6,461 were down-regulated. On the other hand, among the DEGs of 'EMS26', the number of down-regulated genes (5,240) were higher than that of up-regulated genes (3,442). Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that DEGs related to glucan metabolic, cell wall, and oxidoreductase activity were significantly changed in 'J8634-B-30'. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)-based analysis in 'J8634-B-30' identified up-regulated DEGs being involved in MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, the DEGs belonging to mechanisms responding to waterlogging stress, i.e., plant hormones, carbon metabolism, Reactive oxygen species (ROS), Nitric oxide (NO) etc. were compared in rapeseed lines. Several DEGs including ethylene-responsive transcription factor (ERF), constitutive triple response (CTR) (in ethylene signaling pathway), monodehydroascorbate Reductase (MDAR), NADPH oxidase (in ROS pathway), cytochrome c oxidase assembly protein (COX) (in NO pathway) up-regulated in 'J8634-B-30'. These outcomes provided the valuable information for further exploring the genetic mechanism of waterlogging tolerance in rapeseed.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.202-214
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: To investigate the role of exosomes from periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) migration. Methods and Results: Human PDLCs were applied cyclic tension stretching. Exosomes were extracted from cultured PDLCs by ultracentrifugation, then characterized for their size, morphology and protein markers by NTA, TEM and western blotting. The process that PKH26-labeled exosomes taken up by BMSCs was assessed by confocal microscope. BMSC migration was examined by Transwell assay. Exosomes derived from PDLCs were identified. Cyclic tension stretch application on PDLCs can enhance the migration ability of BMSCs through exosomes. The exosomal miRNA expression profiles of unstretched and stretched PDLCs were tested by miRNA microarray. Four miRNAs (miR-4633-5p, miR-30c-5p, miR-371a-3p and let-7b-3p) were upregulated and six (miR-4689, miR-8485, miR-4655-3p, miR-4672, miR-3180-5p and miR-4476) were downregulated in the exosomes after stretching. Sixteen hub proteins were found in the miRNA-mRNA network. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analyses demonstrated that the target genes of differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs closely related to the PI3K pathway and vesicle transmission. Conclusions: The exosomes derived from cyclic tension-stretched PDLCs can promote the migration of BMSCs. Alternation of microRNA profiles provides a basis for further research on the regulatory function of the exosomal miRNAs of PDLCs during orthodontic tooth movement.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.893-901
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• 2017

Objective: Hypocalcemia is an important metabolic disease of dairy cows during the transition period, although the effect of hypocalcemia on biological function in dairy cows remains unknown. Methods: In this study, proteomic, mass spectrum, bioinformatics and western blotting were employed to identify differentially expressed proteins related to serum Ca concentration. Serum samples from dairy cows were collected at three time points: 3rd days before calving (day -3), the day of calving (day 0), and 3rd days after calving (day +3). According to the Ca concentration on day 0, a total of 27 dairy cows were assigned to one of three groups (clinical, subclinical, and healthy). Samples collected on day -3 were used for discovery of differentially expressed proteins, which were separated and identified via proteomic analysis and mass spectrometry. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to determine the function of the identified proteins (gene ontology and pathway analysis). The differentially expressed proteins were verified by western blot analysis. Results: There were 57 differential spots separated and eight different proteins were identified. Vitamin D-binding protein precursor (group-specific component, GC), alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) protein, and apolipoprotein A-IV were related to hypocalcemia by bioinformatics analysis. Due to its specific expression (up-regulated in clinical hypocalcemia and down-regulated in subclinical hypocalcemia), A2M was selected for validation. The results were consistent with those of proteomic analysis. Conclusion: A2M was as an early detection index for distinguishing clinical and subclinical hypocalcemia. The possible pathogenesis of clinical hypocalcemia caused by GC and apolipoprotein A-IV was speculated. The down-regulated expression of GC was a probable cause of the decrease in calcium concentration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.140-140
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• 2017

Nutritious and functional foods from crop have received great attention in recent years. Colored-grain wheat contains high phenolic compound and a large number of flavonoid. The anthocyanin and polyphenolic synthesis and accumulation is generally stimulated in response to biotic or abiotic stresses. Here, we analyzed genome wide transcripts in seedling of colored-grain wheat response to ABA and PEG treatment. About 900 and 1500 transcripts (p-value < 0.05) from ABA and PEG treatment were aligned to IWGSC1+popseq DB which is composed of over 110,000 transcripts including 100,934 coding genes. NR protein sequences of Poaceae from NCBI and protein sequence of transcription factors originated from 83 species in plant transcription factor database v3.0 were used for annotation of putative transcripts. Gene ontology analysis were conducted and KEGG mapping was performed to show expression pattern of biosynthesis genes related in flavonoid, isoflavonoid, flavons and anthocyanin biopathway. DroughtDB (http://pgsb.helmholtz-muenchen.de/droughtdb/) was used for detection of DEGs to explain that physiological and molecular drought avoidance by drought tolerance mechanisms. Drought response pathway, such as ABA signaling, water and ion channels, detoxification signaling, enzymes of osmolyte biosynthesis, phospholipid metabolism, signal transduction, and transcription factors related DEGs were selected to explain response mechanism under water deficit condition. Anthocyanin, phenol compound, and DPPH radical scavenging activity were measured and antioxidant activity enzyme assays were conducted to show biochemical adaptation under water deficit condition. Several MYB and bHLH transcription factors were up-regulated in both ABA and PEG treated condition, which means highly expressed MYB and bHLH transcription factors enhanced the expression of genes related in the biosynthesis pathways of flavonoids, such as anthocyanin and dihydroflavonols in colored wheat seedlings. Subsequently, the accumulation of total anthocyanin and phenol contents were observed in colored wheat seedlings, and antioxidant capacity was promoted by upregulation of genes involved in maintaining redox state and activation of antioxidant scavengers, such as CAT, APX, POD, and SOD in colored wheat seedlings under water deficit condition. This work may provide valuable and basic information for further investigation of the molecular responses of colored-grain wheat to water deficit stress and for further gene-based studies.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2020

Avian influenza (AI) viruses are highly contagious viruses that infect many bird species and are zoonotic. Ducks are resistant to the deadly and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) and remain asymptomatic to the low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV). In this study, we identified common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after a reanalysis of previous transcriptomic data for the HPAIV and LPAIV infected duck lung cells. Microarray datasets from a previous study were reanalyzed to identify common target genes from DEGs and their biological functions. A total of 731 and 439 DEGs were identified in HPAIV- and LPAIV-infected duck lung cells, respectively. Of these, 227 genes were common to cells infected with both viruses, in which 193 genes were upregulated and 34 genes were downregulated. Functional annotation of common DEGs revealed that translation related gene ontology (GO) terms were enriched, including ribosome, protein metabolism, and gene expression. REACTOME analyses also identified pathways for protein and RNA metabolism as well as for tissue repair, including collagen biosynthesis and modification, suggesting that AIVs may evade the host defense system by suppressing host translation machinery or may be suppressed before being exported to the cytosol for translation. AIV infection also increased collagen synthesis, showing that tissue lesions by virus infection may be mediated by this pathway. Further studies should focus on these genes to clarify their roles in AIV pathogenesis and their possible use in AIV therapeutics.