• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.496-503
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• 2018

Background: Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) plays an anti-inflammatory role in a variety of inflammatory diseases such as gastritis, hepatitis, and colitis. However, inflammation-regulatory activity of the calyx of the P. ginseng berry has not been thoroughly evaluated. To understand whether the calyx portion of the P. ginseng berry is able to ameliorate inflammatory processes, an ethanolic extract of P. ginseng berry calyx (Pg-C-EE) was prepared, and lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages and HEK293 cells transfected with inflammation-regulatory proteins were used to test the anti-inflammatory action of Pg-C-EE. Methods: The ginsenoside contents of Pg-C-EE were analyzed by HPLC. Suppressive activity of Pg-C-EE on NO production, inflammatory gene expression, transcriptional activation, and inflammation signaling events were examined using the Griess assay, reverse transcription-polymerization chain reaction, luciferase activity reporter gene assay, and immunoblotting analysis. Results: Pg-C-EE reduced NO production and diminished mRNA expression of inflammatory genes such as cyclooxygenase-2, inducible NO synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ in a dose-dependent manner. This extract suppressed luciferase activity induced only by nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$. Interestingly, immunoblotting analysis results demonstrated that Pg-C-EE reduced the activities of protein kinase B (AKT)1 and AKT2. Conclusion: These results suggest that Pg-C-EE may have nuclear-factor-${\kappa}B$-targeted anti-inflammatory properties through suppression of AKT. The calyx of the P. ginseng berry is an underused part of the ginseng plant, and development of calyx-derived extracts may be useful for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.57-63
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• 2005

Numerous drugs are chiral because they possess one or more chiral centers. Enantiomers may differ in their pharmacokinetic, pharmacological and toxicological properties. However, the significance of stereochemistry of drugs in their therapeutic uses has received relatively little attention until recently. The US FDA issued a guideline on stereoisomeric drugs in 1992, and the European agency describes tests for new drug substances which are optically active in an ICH(International Conference of Harmonization) guideline. According to the guidance, enantiomers may differ in their pharmacokinetic, pharmacological and toxicological properties. Therefore, in this paper, we examined the recently published Canadian guidance, stereochemical issues in chiral drug development, which will be references to make a guidance on stereochemical issues in chiral drug development in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1510-1517
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• 2008

Expresssed sequence tag (EST) analysis was developed from three cDNA libraries constructed from cells of the digestive tract, gonad, and liver of sea squirt. Randomly selected cDNA clones were partially sequenced to generate a total of 922 ESTs, in which 687 unique ESTs were identified respectively. Results of BLASTX search showed that 612 ESTs (89%) have homology to genes of known function whereas 75 ESTs (11%) were unidentified or novel. Based on the major function of their encoded proteins, the identified clones were classified into ten broad categories. We also identified several kinds of immune-related genes as identifying novel genes. Sequence analysis of ESTs revealed the presence of microsatellite-containing genes that may be valuable for further gene mapping studies. The accumulation of a large number of identified cDNA clones is invaluable for the study of sea squirt genetics and developmental biology. Further studies using cDNA microarrays are needed to identify the differentially expressed transcripts after disease infection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.401-407
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• 2022

Antimalarial drugs play an important role in the control and treatment of malaria, a deadly disease caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium spp. The development of novel antimalarial agents effective against drug-resistant malarial parasites is urgently needed. The novel derivatives, SKM13-MeO and SKM13-F, were designed based on an SKM13 template by replacing the phenyl group with electron-donating (-OMe) or electron-withdrawing groups (-F), respectively, to reverse the electron density. A colorimetric assay was used to quantify cytotoxicity, and in vitro inhibition assays were performed on 3 different blood stages (ring, trophozoite, and schizonts) of P. falciparum 3D7 and the ring/mixed stage of D6 strain after synchronization. The in vitro cytotoxicity analysis showed that 2 new SKM13 derivatives reduced the cytotoxicity of the SKM13 template. SKM13 maintained the IC₅₀ at the ring and trophozoite stages but not at the schizont stage. The IC₅₀ values for both the trophozoite stage of P. falciparum 3D7 and ring/mixed stages of D6 demonstrated that 2 SKM13 derivatives had decreased antimalarial efficacy, particularly for the SKM13-F derivative. SKM13 may be comparably effective in ring and trophozoite, and electron-donating groups (-OMe) may be better maintain the antimalarial activity than electron-withdrawing groups (-F) in SKM13 modification.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1090-1097
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• 2007

Genomic analysis of Thermococcus sp. NA1 revealed the presence of a 3,927-base-pair (bp) family B-type DNA polymerase gene, TNA1_pol. TNA1_pol, without its intein, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified using metal affinity chromatography, and characterized. TNA1_pol activity was optimal at pH 7.5 and $75^{\circ}C$. TNA1_pol was highly thermostable, with a half-life of 3.5h at $100^{\circ}C$ and 12.5h at $95^{\circ}C$. Polymerase chain reaction parameters of TNA1_pol such as error-rate, processivity, and extension rate were measured in comparison with rTaq, Pfu, and KOD DNA polymerases. TNA1_pol averaged one incorrect bp every 4.45 kilobases (kb), and had a processivity of 150 nucleotides (nt) and an extension rate of 60 bases/s. Thus, TNA1_pol has a much faster elongation rate than Pfu DNA polymerase with 7-fold higher fidelity than that of rTaq.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.367-371
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• 2004

This paper describes development of automatic flight control system for an unmanned target drone which is operated by Korean army as for anti-air gun shooting training. Current target drone is operated by pilot control of on-board servo motor via remote control system. Automatic flight control system for the target drone greatly reduces work load of ground pilot and can increase application area of the drone. Most UAVs being operated now days use high-priced sensors as AHRS and IMU to measure the attitude, but those are costly. This paper introduces the development of low-cost automatic flight control system with low-cost sensors. The integrated automatic flight control system has been developed by integrating combining power module, switching module, monitoring module and RC receiver as an one module. The performance of automatic flight control system is verified by flight test.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.629-632
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• 2009

We have proposed a novel viewing angle controllable display of in-plane switching (IPS) mode with single panel. One pixel of this device is divided to two regions, in which main pixel shows image and sub pixel for viewing angle control. In initial state, the liquid crystal of sub pixel is homogeneous aligned on substrate for wide viewing angle mode. On the other hand, after applying voltage, the liquid crystal of sub pixel tilts up for narrow viewing angle mode. The proposed device has advantage for the function for simple manufacturing process and good viewing angle control with single panel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.381.1-381.1
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated the deposition behavior and the etch resistivity of plasma polymerized carbon hardmask (ppCHM) film with the variation of process temperature. The etch resistivity of deposited ppCHM film was analyzed by thickness measurement before and after direct contact reactive ion etching process. The physical and chemical properties of films were characterized on the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscope, Raman spectroscope, stress gauge, and ellipsometry. The deposition behavior of ppCHM process with the variation of temperature was correlated refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), intrinsic stress (MPa), and deposition rate (A/s) with the hydrocarbon concentration, graphite (G) and disordered (D) peak by analyzing the Raman and FT-IR spectrum. From this experiment we knew an optimal deposition condition for structure of carbon hardmask with the higher etch selectivity to oxide. It was shown the density of ppCHM film had 1.6~1.9 g/cm3 and its refractive index was 1.8~1.9 at process temperature, $300{\sim}600^{\circ}C$. The etch selectivity of ppCHM film was shown about 1:4~1:8 to undoped siliconoxide (USG) film (etch rate, 1300 A/min).

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.94-103
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• 2024

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, and there is a global increase in its incidence owing to changes in lifestyle and diet. Recent findings suggest that p53 is involved in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; however, the association between p53 expression and the disease remains unclear. Doxorubicin, an anticancer agent, increases the expression of p53. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of doxorubicin-induced p53 upregulation in free fatty acid (FFA)-induced intracellular lipid accumulation. HepG2 cells were pretreated with 0.5 ㎍/mL of doxorubicin for 12 h, followed by treatment with FFA (0.5 mM) for 24 h to induce steatosis. Doxorubicin pretreatment upregulated p53 expression and downregulated the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress- and lipid synthesis-associated genes in the FFA -treated HepG2 cells. Additionally, doxorubicin treatment upregulated the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase, a key modulator of lipid metabolism. Notably, siRNA-targeted p53 knockdown reversed the effects of doxorubicin in HepG2 cells. Moreover, doxorubicin treatment suppressed FFA -induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 spheroids. Conclusively, these results suggest that doxorubicin possesses potential application for the regulation of lipid metabolism by enhance the expression of p53 an in vitro NAFLD model.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1377-1385
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• 2008

The uracil-sensing domain in archaeal family B-type DNA polymerases recognizes pro-mutagenic uracils in the DNA template, leading to stalling of DNA polymerases. Here, we describe our new findings regarding the molecular, mechanism underpinning the stalling of polymerases. We observed that two successive deaminated bases were required to stall TNA1 and KOD1 DNA polymerases, whereas a single deaminated base was enough for stalling Pfu DNA polymerase, in spite of the virtually identical uracil-sensing domains. TNA1 and KOD1 DNA polymerases have a much higher extension rate than Pfu DNA polymerase; decreasing the extension rate resulted in stalling by TNA1 and KOD1 DNA polymerases at a single deaminated base. These results strongly suggest that these polymerases require two factors to stop DNA polymerization at a single deaminated base: the presence of the uracil-sensing domain and a relatively slow extension rate.