• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1339-1346
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• 2013

Conventional chemotherapeutic regimens often accompany severe side effects and fail to induce complete regression of chemoresistant or relapsing metastatic cancers. The need for establishing more efficacious anticancer strategies led to the development of a combined modality treatment of chemotherapy in conjunction with immunotherapy or radiotherapy. It has been reported that poly-gamma-glutamate (${\gamma}$-PGA), a natural polymer composed of glutamic acids, increases antitumor activity by activating antigen-presenting cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Here, we investigated the antitumor effect of ${\gamma}$-PGA in combination with cyclophosphamide in a murine melanoma model. Whereas cyclophosphamide alone directly triggered apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro, ${\gamma}$-PGA did not show cytotoxicity in tumor cells. Instead, it activated macrophages, as reflected by the upregulation of surface activation markers and the secretion of proinflammatory factors, such as nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}$. When the antitumor effects were examined in a mouse model, combined treatment with cyclophosphamide and ${\gamma}$-PGA markedly suppressed tumor growth and metastasis. Notably, ${\gamma}$-PGA treatment dramatically increased the NK cell population in lung tissues, coinciding with decreased metastasis and increased survival. These data collectively suggest that ${\gamma}$-PGA can act as an immunotherapeutic agent that exhibits a synergistic antitumor effect in combination with conventional chemotherapy.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.37-43
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• 2007

Adenosine has been reported to provide cytoprotection in the central nervous systems as well as myocardium by activating cell surface adenosine receptors. However, the exact target and mechanism of its action still remain controversial. The present study was performed to examine whether adenosine has a protective effect against $A{\beta}$-induced injury in neuroglial cells. The astrocyte-derived human neuroglioma cell line, A172 cells, and $A{\beta}_{25{\sim}35}$ were employed to produce an experimental $A{\beta}$-induced glial cell injury model. Adenosine significantly prevented $A{\beta}$-induced apoptotic cell death. Studies using various nucleotide receptor agonists and antagonists suggested that the protection was mediated by $A_1$ receptors. Adenosine attenuated $A{\beta}$-induced impairment in mitochondrial functional integrity as estimated by cellular ATP level and MTT reduction ability. In addition, adenosine prevented $A{\beta}$-induced mitochondrial permeability transition, release of cytochrome c into cytosol and subsequent activation of caspase-9. The protective effect of adenosine disappeared when cells were pretreated with 5-hydroxydecanoate, a selective blocker of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive $K^+$ channel. In conclusion, therefore we suggest that adenosine exerts protective effect against $A{\beta}$-induced cell death of A172 cells, and that the underlying mechanism of the protection may be attributed to preservation of mitochonarial functional integrity through opening of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive $K^+$ channels.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1264-1270
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• 2012

The ecotoxicological effects of nanomaterials on animal, plant, and soil microorganisms have been widely investigated; however, the nanotoxic effects of plant-soil interactive systems are still largely unknown. In the present study, the effects of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on the soil-plant interactive system were estimated. The growth of plant seedlings in the presence of different concentrations of ZnO NPs within microcosm soil (M) and natural soil (NS) was compared. Changes in dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and soil bacterial community diversity were estimated based on the microcosm with plants (M+P) and microcosm without plants (M-P) in different concentrations of ZnO NPs treatment. The shoot growth of M+P and NS+P was significantly inhibited by 24% and 31.5% relative to the control at a ZnO NPs concentration of 1,000 mg/kg. The DHA levels decreased following increased ZnO NPs concentration. Specifically, these levels were significantly reduced from 100 mg/kg in M-P and only 1,000 mg/kg in M+P. Different clustering groups of M+P and M-P were observed in the principal component analysis (PCA). Therefore, the M-P's soil bacterial population may have more toxic effects at a high dose of ZnO NPs than M+P's. The plant and activation of soil bacteria in the M+P may have a less toxic interactive effect on each of the soil bacterial populations and plant growth by the ZnO NPs attachment or absorption of plant roots surface. The soil-plant interactive system might help decrease the toxic effects of ZnO NPs on the rhizobacteria population.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1543-1551
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• 2020

Panax ginseng has a wide range of activities including a neuroprotective effect, skin protective effects, enhanced DNA repairing, anti-diabetic activity, and protective effects against vascular inflammation. In the present study, we sought to discover the inhibitory effects of a mixture of natural products containing Panax ginseng, Ziziphus jujube, Rubi fructus, Artemisiae asiaticae and Scutellaria baicalensis (PZRAS) on osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling, as neither the effects of a mixture containing Panax ginseng extract, nor its molecular mechanism on bone inflammation, have been clarified yet. PZRAS upregulated the levels of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GSH-R) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) in LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, treatment with PZRAS decreased the production of IL-1β and TNF-α. PZRAS also inhibited osteoclast differentiation through inhibiting osteoclastspecific genes like MMP-2, 9, cathepsin K, and TRAP in RANKL-treated RAW264.7 cells. Additionally, PZRAS has inhibitory functions on the RANKL-stimulated activation of ERK and JNK, which lead to a decrease in the expression of NFATc1 and c-Fos. In an in vivo study, bone resorption induced by LPS was recovered by treatment with PZRAS in bone volume per tissue volume (BV/TV) compared to control. Furthermore, the ratio of eroded bone surface of femurs was significantly increased in LPS-treated mice compared to vehicle group, but this ratio was significantly reversed in PZRAS-treated mice. These results suggest that PZRAS could prevent or treat disorders with abnormal bone loss.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2009

We cultured canine kidney(MDCK) cells stably expressing aquaporin-2(AQP2) on collagen-coated permeable membrane filters and examined the effect of extracellular ATP on arginine vasopressin(AVP)-stimulated fluid transport and cAMP production. Exposure of cell monolayers to basolateral AVP resulted in stimulation of apical to basolateral net fluid transport driven by osmotic gradient which was formed by addition of 500 mM mannitol to basolateral bathing solution. Pre-exposure of the basolateral surface of cell monolayers to ATP(100 ${\mu}M$) for 30 min significantly inhibited the AVP-stimulated net fluid transport. In these cells, AVP-stimulated cAMP production was suppressed as well. Profile of the effects of different nucleotides suggested that the $P2Y_2$ receptor is involved in the action of ATP. ATP inhibited the effect of isoproterenol as well, but not that of forskolin to stimulate cAMP production. The inhibitory effect of ATP on AVP-stimulated fluid movement was attenuated by a protein kinase C inhibitor, calphostin C or pertussis toxin. These results suggest that prolonged activation of the P2 receptors inhibits AVP-stimulated fluid transport and cAMP responses in AQP2 transfected MDCK cells. Depressed responsiveness of the adenylyl cyclase by PKC-mediated modification of the pertussis-toxin sensitive $G_i$ protein seems to be the underlyihng mechanism.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2002

We have proposed and fabricated two lateral type field emission diodes, poly-Si emitter by utilizing the local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) and GaN emitter using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process. The fabricated poly-Si diode exhibited excellent electrical characteristics such as a very low turn-on voltage of 2 V and a high emission current of $300{\;}\bu\textrm{A}/tip$ at the anode-to-cathode voltage of 25 V. These superior field emission characteristics was speculated as a result of strong surface modification inducing a quasi-negative electron affinity and the increase of emitting sites due to local sharp protrusions by an appropriate activation treatment. In respect, two kinds of procedures were proposed for the fabrication of the lateral type GaN emitter: a selective etching method with electron cyclotron resonance-reactive ion etching (ECR-RIE) or a simple selective growth by utilizing $Si_3N_4$ film as a masking layer. The fabricated device using the ECR-RIE exhibited electrical characteristics such as a turn-on voltage of 35 V for $7\bu\textrm{m}$ gap and an emission current of~580 nA/l0tips at anode-to-cathode voltage of 100 V. These new field emission characteristics of GaN tips are believed to be due to a low electron affinity as well as the shorter inter-electrode distance. Compared to lateral type GaN field emission diode using ECR-RIE, re-grown GaN emitters shows sharper shape tips and shorter inter-electrode distance.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.179-184
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• 2006

Background: Identification of antigen-specific T cells has yielded valuable information on pathologic process and the disease state. Assays for quantification of inflammatory cytokines or lytic-granule molecules have been generally used to evaluate antigen specific T cell response, however their applicability have been hampered due to the limited source of autologous antigen-presenting target cells (APC). Methods: K562, a leukemic cell line deficient of human leukocyte antigen (HLA), was transfected with a gene encoding HLA-A*02 (K562/ A*02) and its function as stimulator cells in inducing activation of HLA-matched T cells was evaluated by IFN-${\gamma}$ enzyme linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. Results: The stable transfectant K562/ A*02 pulsed with HLA- A*02 restricted peptide could specifically induce IFN-${\gamma}$ secretion by CD8+ T cells compared to no detectable secretion by CD4+ T cells. However, CD56+ NK cells secreted IFN-${\gamma}$ in both K562/ A*02 with peptide and without peptide. The number of IFN-${\gamma}$ secreted CD8+ T cells was increased according to the ratio of T cells to K562 and peptide concentration. Formalin-fixed K562/ A*02 showed similar antigen presenting function to live K562/ A*02. Moreover, K562/ A*02 could present antigenicpeptide to not only A*0201 restricted CD8+ T cells but also CD8+ T cells from A*0206 donor. Conclusion: These results suggest that K562/ A*02 could be generally used as target having specificity and negligible background for measuring CD8+ T cell responses and selective use of K562 with responsder matched HLA molecules on its surface as APC may circumvent the limitation of providing HLA-matched autologous target cells.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.839-844
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• 2014

The gas-phase radical-radical reaction $O(^3P)$ + $C_2H_5$ (ethyl) ${\rightarrow}$ $H(^2S)$ + $CH_3CHO$(acetaldehyde) was investigated by applying a combination of vacuum-ultraviolet laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy in a crossed beam configuration and ab initio calculations. The two radical reactants $O(^3P)$ and $C_2H_5$ were respectively produced by photolysis of $NO_2$ and supersonic flash pyrolysis of the synthesized precursor azoethane. Doppler profile analysis of the nascent H-atom products in the Lyman-${\alpha}$ region revealed that the average translational energy of the products and the average fraction of the total available energy released as translational energy were $5.01{\pm}0.72kcalmol^{-1}$ and 6.1%, respectively. The empirical data combined with CBS-QB3 level ab initio theory and statistical calculations demonstrated that the title exchange reaction is a major channel and proceeds via an addition-elimination mechanism through the formation of a short-lived, dynamical addition complex on the doublet potential energy surface. On the basis of systematic comparison with several exchange reactions of hydrocarbon radicals, the observed small kinetic energy release can be explained in terms of the loose transition state with a product-like geometry and a small reverse activation barrier along the reaction coordinate.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.3453-3458
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• 2011

The $Mg_xZn_{1-x}O$ thin films with the various content ratio ranging from 0 to 0.4 were prepared by sol-gel spincoating method. To investigate the effects of content ratio on the structural and optical properties of the $Mg_xZn_{1-x}O$ thin films, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) were carried out. With increase in the content ratio, the grain size of the $Mg_xZn_{1-x}O$ thin films was increased, however, at the content ratio above 0.2, MgO particles with cubic structure were formed on the surface of the $Mg_xZn_{1-x}O$ thin films, indicating that the Mg content exceeded its solubility limit in the thin films. The residual stress of the $Mg_xZn_{1-x}O$ thin films is increased with increase in the Mg mole fraction. In the PL investigations, the bandgap and the activation energy of the $Mg_xZn_{1-x}O$ thin films was increased with the Mg mole fraction.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.132-135
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to propose the modified strip crown technique for esthetic restoration of primary anterior teeth using glass fibers. Celluloid crown form(3M, USA), Z100(P shade, 3M, USA). Aeliteflo(Bisco Inc., USA), and Clearfil SE Bond(Kuraray Medical Inc., Japan) were used for this technique. Mesh type of glass fiber(TESCERA Fiber Mesh, Bisco Inc, USA) was used for reinforcing material. After trimming the celluloid crown form, resin adhesive and flowable resin were applied on the pre-shaped glass fiber mesh. That mesh was placed on the lingual surface of inside of celluloid crown form and followed by light activation. Composite resin was filled into the celluloid crown form and put it on a prepared tooth and then light activated and finished the margin. The new modified strip crown technique can provide esthetics and increased durability for restoration of primary anterior teeth.