• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.1 no.4
• /
• pp.385-392
• /
• 1997

The phospholipase C (PLC)-mediated intracellular signal transduction pathway is considered to be involved in the regulation of blood pressure. However, little information is available concerning the distributional and functional significance of PLC in the genetic hypertensive rats. As the first step of knowing the role of PLC on hypertension, we investigated the distribution of 6 PLC isozymes $(PLC-{\beta}1,\;-{\beta}3,\;-{\beta}4,\;-{\gamma}1,\;-{\gamma}2\;and\;-{\delta}1)$ in the heart and brain, which are concerned with hypertension, in the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) using the western blotting and immunocytochemistry. The immunoreactivities of PLC isozymes in brain were detected, but there were no distributional and quantitative differences between the WKY and SHR. In the heart, but the immunoreactivities to $PLC-{\beta}1$ and $-{\gamma}2$ in the SHR were higher than those in WKY. In immunocytochemistry to confirm these western blotting data, $PLC-{\beta}1$ and $-{\gamma}2$ were localized in cardiac myocytes and the intensities of immunoreactivity in SHR were stronger than that in WKY. These results suggest that $PLC-{\beta}1$ and $-{\gamma}2$ would have possibility to concern with the establishment of spontaneous hypertension.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.269-277
• /
• 2004

Trichinella spiralis is one of the important zoonotic parasites with a wide variety of vertebrates hosts in nature. The purpose of this study were to analyze ESP(Excretory-Secretory Protein) antigen, to evaluate ELISA for the serological diagnosis of Trichinosis, and to survey T. spiralis infection in finishing pigs using the pepsin digestion method and ELISA in Korea. In the analysis of ESP antigen by SDS-PAGE and Western blot, 4 major bands (70, 55, 52.6, and 49 kDa) were revealed from the ESP antigen. Predilection sites of T. spiralis were the diaphragm, the tongue, masseter muscles, intercostal muscle, and hindlimb in orders in the experimentally infected rats. Sera from 581 swine were tested by ELISA with ESP antigen. The 54 (9.3%) sera were suspected as positive reactors, however, these 54 sera were determined as false positives by the use of Western blotting. This study demonstrated that the ELISA was not suitable for the examination of T. spiralis in pork. The diaphragm muscle samples of 251 finishing pigs were tested by the method of pepsin-digestion for the presence of Trichinella larvae, however, T. spiralis was not detected from the samples. We could not find out T. spiralis infection in pig in Korea pork.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.519-527
• /
• 2010

Paclitaxel is known as a potent inhibitor of microtubule depolymerization. It leads to mitotic arrest and cell death by stabilizing the spindle in various cell types. Here, we investigated the effects of paclitaxel on the proliferation and cell death of rabbit articular chondrocytes. Paclitaxel inhibited proliferation in a dose- and time- dependent manner, determined by MTT assay in rabbit articular chondrocytes. We also established paclitaxel-induced G2/M arrest by fluorescent activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis. Paclitaxel increased expression of cyclin B, p53 and p21, while reducing expression of cdc2 and cdc25C in chondrocytes, as detected by Western blot analysis. Interestingly, paclitaxel showed the mitotic catastrophe that leads to abnormal nucleus division and cell death without DNA fragmentation through activation of caspase. Cell death by mitotic catastrophe in cells treated with paclitaxel was suppressed by inhibiting G1/S arrest with 2 mM thymidine. These results demonstrate that paclitaxel induces cell death via mitotic catastrophe without activation of casepase in rabbit articular chondrocytes.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.31-38
• /
• 2016

Specific gene expressions of host cells by spontaneous STAT6 phosphorylation are major strategy for the survival of intracellular Toxoplasma gondii against parasiticidal events through STAT1 phosphorylation by infection provoked $IFN-{\gamma}$. We determined the effects of small molecules of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) on the growth of T. gondii and on the relationship with STAT1 and STAT6 phosphorylation in ARPE-19 cells. We counted the number of T. gondii RH tachyzoites per parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM) after treatment with TKIs at 12-hr intervals for 72 hr. The change of STAT6 phosphorylation was assessed via western blot and immunofluorescence assay. Among the tested TKIs, Afatinib (pan ErbB/EGFR inhibitor, $5{\mu}M$) inhibited 98.0% of the growth of T. gondii, which was comparable to pyrimethamine ($5{\mu}M$) at 96.9% and followed by Erlotinib (ErbB1/EGFR inhibitor, $20{\mu}M$) at 33.8% and Sunitinib (PDGFR or c-Kit inhibitor, $10{\mu}M$) at 21.3%. In the early stage of the infection (2, 4, and 8 hr after T. gondii challenge), Afatinib inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT6 in western blot and immunofluorescence assay. Both JAK1 and JAK3, the upper hierarchical kinases of cytokine signaling, were strongly phosphorylated at 2 hr and then disappeared entirely after 4 hr. Some TKIs, especially the EGFR inhibitors, might play an important role in the inhibition of intracellular replication of T. gondii through the inhibition of the direct phosphorylation of STAT6 by T. gondii.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2016

Objectives : The aerial parts of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb (Agrimoniae Herba; AH) has been traditionally used as a Korean medicine to treatment of abdominal pain, sore throat, headaches, bloody discharge, parasitic infections and eczema. In this study, we investigated the effect of AH ethanol extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 macrophage cells.Methods : AH was extracted by 30% ethanol (AH-E). Raw264.7 cells were treated with AH-E extract at different concentrations for 30 min and then stimulated with LPS (1㎍/㎖) or without for indicated times. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and nitric oxide (NO) production was measured by Griess assay. The expression of inflammatory mediators, iNOS and COX-2 and inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 was detected by RT-PCR, and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 and JNK MAP kinases (MAPKs) was analyzed by Western blot. Also, the expression of NF-κB in nuclear and cytosol was detected by Western blot.Results : AH-E extract significantly decreased LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells. AH-E extract inhibited the mRNA expression of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in LPS-stimulated cells with a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the phosphorylation of ERK, p38 and JNK MAPKs was also inhibited by AH-E extract. AP-E extract inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated cells.Conclusions : Our results suggest that AH-E extract has an anti-inflammatory activity in macrophages-mediated inflammation.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.189-195
• /
• 2002

The aim of this study was to investigate the action of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) used as a preservative in most ophthalmic topical solutions, on human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells in vitro. HCE cell line was exposed to BAC solutions at various concentrations (0.01%~0.0001%) for 15 minutes followed by 24 hours of cell recovery. Cell viability was assessed using MTT assay and chromatin condensation with a Hoechst 33342 test. The expression of membrane protein Fas and Fas ligand was examined by western blot and immunocytochemistry, and DNA fragmentation was studied by agarose gel electrophoresis. A significant decrease of membrane integrity with chromatin condensation was observed with BAC tested at concentrations of 0.005% and higher. BAC was cytotoxic preservatives in this study. An apoptotic mechanism appeared to be present at low concentrations of BAC, whereas a necrotic process appeared at higher concentrations. A functional Fas-mediated apoptotic pathway is present in cultured HCE cells and can be activated by upregulation of Fas expression with BAC.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.319-326
• /
• 2011

In order to investigate the potential of Nigella sativa (N. sativa) oil as an active ingredient for whitening cosmetics, we prepared N. sativa oil. We measured its inhibitory effects on mushroom tyrosinase activity, cellular tyrosinase activity, and melanin synthesis inhibitory activity in B16 melanoma cells. N. sativa oil and its components showed inhibitory activity against mushroom tyrosinase and melanin synthesis. In a melanin synthesis inhibition assay using mouse B16-F10 melanoma cell, it reduced melanin production up to 86 % at a concentration of 10 mg/mL without cytotoxicity. In the study on the melanogenic protein expressions by using RT-PCR and Western blot, N. sativa oil and its components inhibited expression of tyrosinase protein, which is a well-known key protein on melanogenesis, and tyrosinase expression was gradually decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, this result suggests that N. sativa oil could be used as an active ingredient for whitening cosmetics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.316-326
• /
• 2018

Objective: This study investigated the expression of genes in cashmere goats at different periods of their fetal development. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was used to evaluate data obtained by transcriptome sequencing of fetus skin samples collected from Inner Mongolia cashmere goats on days 45, 55, and 65 of fetal age. Results: We found that FoxN1, FoxE1, and FoxI3 genes of the Fox gene family were probably involved in the growth and development of the follicle and the formation of hair, which is consistent with previous findings. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction detecting system and Western blot analysis were employed to study the relative differentially expressed genes FoxN1, FoxE1, and FoxI3 in the body skin of cashmere goat fetuses and adult individuals. Conclusion: This study provided new fundamental information for further investigation of the genes related to follicle development and exploration of their roles in hair follicle initiation, growth, and development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.9
• /
• pp.4295-4300
• /
• 2012

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic potential of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as a vaccine to induce an immune response and provide antitumor protection in a rat model. Methods: Cross-reactivity of antigens between hESCs and tumour cells was screened by immunohistochemistry. Fischer 344 rats were divided into 7 groups, with 6 rats in each, immunized with: Group 1, hESC; Group 2, pre-inactivated mitotic NuTu-19; Group 3 PBS; Group 4, hESC; Group 5, pre-inactivated mitotic NuTu-19; Group 6, PBS; Group 7, hESC only. At 1 (Groups 1-3) or 4 weeks (Groups 4-6) after the last vaccination, each rat was challenged intraperitoneally with NuTu-19. Tumor growth and animal survival were closely monitored. Rats immunized with H9 and NuTu-19 were tested by Western blot analysis of rat orbital venous blood for cytokines produced by Th1 and Th2 cells. Results: hESCs presented tumour antigens, markers, and genes related to tumour growth, metastasis, and signal pathway interactions. The vaccine administered to rats in Group 1 led to significant antitumor responses and enhanced tumor rejection in rats with intraperitoneal inoculation of NuTu-19 cells compared to control groups. In contrast, rats in Group 4 did not display any elevation of antitumour responses. Western blot analysis found cross-reactivity among antibodies generated between H9 and NuTu-19. However, the cytokines did not show significant differences, and no side effects were detected. Conclusion: hESC-based vaccination is a promising modality for immunotherapy of ovarian cancer.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.104-109
• /
• 2013

Hesperidin (HES), a flavonone glycoside isolated from the citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges, has been reported to have many biological properties including antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and antiallergy activities. In this study, we focused on the action of HES modulating Th2-associated cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-13 expression in PMA/ionomycin (PI)-stimulated rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. The production of IL-4 and IL-13 was quantified by ELISA and the mRNA expression was detected by using RT-PCR assay. In addition, western blot analysis was performed to determine the transcription factors involved in the cytokine expression. We found that HES significantly decreased PI-induced IL-4 and IL-13 productions and also decreased the level of mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, western blot analysis of the transcription factors implied that HES down-regulated the protein level of c-Jun and c-Fos, which are the activating protein 1 (AP-1) family and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-${\kappa}B$) characterized as a transcription factors related to the Th2-associated cytokine expression. Taken together, our data showed that the action of HES responsible for antiallergy activities is based on suppression of Th2-associated cytokines through inhibition of AP-1 and NF-${\kappa}B$ transcription factors.