• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.51-59
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• 2014

Cellular senescence is a physiological process of irreversible cell-cycle arrest that contributes to various physiological and pathological processes of aging. Whereas replicative senescence is associated with telomere attrition after repeated cell division, stress-induced premature senescence occurs in response to aberrant oncogenic signaling, oxidative stress, and DNA damage which is independent of telomere dysfunction. Recent evidence indicates that cellular senescence provides a barrier to tumorigenesis and is a determinant of the outcome of cancer treatment. However, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, which contributes to multiple facets of senescent cancer cells, may influence both cancer-inhibitory and cancer-promoting mechanisms of neighboring cells. Conventional treatments, such as chemo- and radiotherapies, preferentially induce premature senescence instead of apoptosis in the appropriate cellular context. In addition, treatment-induced premature senescence could compensate for resistance to apoptosis via alternative signaling pathways. Therefore, we believe that an intensive effort to understand cancer cell senescence could facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies for improving the efficacy of anticancer therapies. This review summarizes the current understanding of molecular mechanisms, functions, and clinical applications of cellular senescence for anticancer therapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2004

The immunomodulating activities and chemical characteristics of a water-soluble exopolymer from submerged mycelial culture of Phellinus pini were studied. Anticomplementary activity of this polymer was found to be $73.2\%$, and its activation system occurred through both classical and alternative pathways, where the classical pathway was detected to be the major one by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. Nitric oxide (NO) release ability and acid phosphatase activity of macrophage were increased by 1.6-fold ($100{\mu}g/ml$) and 3.4-fold ($500{\mu}g/ml$), respectively, and splenocyte proliferation in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was also increased by 2.6-fold ($200{\mu}g/ml$), compared to the control. The molecular weight of this polymer, determined by HPLC, was under 5 kDa. Total sugar and protein contents were 89.7 and 10.3%, respectively. Both sugar and amino acid compositions of the exopolymer were also analyzed.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2020

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory disease that affects 1%-20% of people worldwide. Despite affecting many people, AD current treatments, such as corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors, have not only harmful secondary effects but are also often ineffective. Therefore, natural nontoxic compounds are on high demand for developing new effective AD treatments. Panax ginseng Meyer has been used traditionally for its promising healing and restorative properties to treat many diseases including skin disorders, reason why in this review we want to explore the research performed with AD and P. ginseng as well as determining its potential for new drug development. Previous researches have shown that P. ginseng has positive effects in AD patients such as lower eczema area and severity index, transepidermal water loss, and immunoglobulin E levels and better quality of sleep. In vivo animal models, as well, have shown positive results to P. ginseng and derived ginsenosides, such as the decrease of transepidermal water loss, immunoglobulin E levels in serum, allergy-related cytokines, and downregulation of NF-κB, MAPK, and Ikaros pathways. All of these previous data suggest that P. ginseng and its derived ginsenosides are undoubtedly a nontoxic effective option to treat AD.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.62-71
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• 2002

How parks are to be made in the twenty-first century should certainly be different. This is the inevitable conclusion of the recent significant international design competition for Downsview Park in Toronto, 2000. The purpose of this critical study is to investigate new strategies for urban park design manifested in the proposals of that competition and to explore alternative ways of landscape design that could solve the recent crisis of urban parks. Tree City, the winning entry, and other final entries proclaim that city is park and park is city. In this sense, Downsview Park marks the end of traditional Olmstedian parks and the dichotomy between city(culture) and park(nature). Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau's Tree City will become the model for urban park design in the near future. There are three reasons for this. First, its design is a strategy rather than a form. We can interpret that Tree City is to be developed over time as directed by six strategies: grow the park, manufacture nature, 1000 pathways, sacrifice and save, curate culture, destination and dispersal. Second, it places faith in landscape as a revenue generator instead of a fiscal liability. Third, its implementation is possible with crude installation, requiring virtually no craft. Koolhaas and Mau intend for Downsview to be an environment that is never actually designed but is formed through natural succession, cultural action, and programmatical insertions. Rather than designed objects and formal solutions, their strategy is to allow the landscape to evolve with changing uses.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.697-702
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• 2011

A strain of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira was isolated from Lake Chahannaoer in northern China and was characterized according to microscopic morphology, photosynthetic oxygen-evolving activity, growth rate, and nutritional profile. Compared with thermophilic Arthrospira species occurring naturally in tropical and subtropical lakes, this isolate is mesophilic and grows optimally at ${\sim}20^{\circ}C$. The total protein, fatty acid, phycocyanin, carotenoid, and chlorophyll a contents were 67.6, 6.1, 4.32, 0.29, and 0.76 grams per 100 grams of dry weight, respectively. The strain is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). An essential omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), was detected, and ${\gamma}$-linolenic acid (GLA) and DHA accounted for 28.3% of the total fatty acid content. These features of this newly isolated strain make it potentially useful in commercial mass culture in local areas or as a biofuel feedstock. It is also an alternative resource for studying the metabolic PUFA pathways and mechanisms of cold stress tolerance in cyanobacteria.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.1766-1772
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• 2009

In this study, we are interested in comparing the protein profiles of acid-shocked and control cells of S. mutans isolated from Korean children with caries. The results of 2D gel electrophoresis showed that twelve proteins are up-regulated when the cells were grown under 20 mM lactic acid stress in the exponential phase. Up-proteins under acid stress were estimated a major key of the survival and proliferation of S. mutans in low pH environments. These proteins are estimated generally associated with three biochemical pathways: glycolysis, alternative acid production and branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis.

• International Neurourology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.228-236
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• 2018

Neuromodulation was introduced for patients with poor outcomes from the existing traditional treatment approaches. It is well-established as an alternative, novel treatment option for voiding dysfunction. The current system of neuromodulation uses an open-loop system that only delivers continuous stimulation without considering the patient's state changes. Though the conventional open-loop system has shown positive clinical results, it can cause problems such as decreased efficacy over time due to neural habituation, higher risk of tissue damage, and lower battery life. Therefore, there is a need for a closed-loop system to overcome the disadvantages of existing systems. The closed-loop neuromodulation includes a system to monitor and stimulate micturition reflex pathways from the lower urinary tract, as well as the central nervous system. In this paper, we reviewed the current technological status to measure biomarker for closed-loop neuromodulation systems for voiding dysfunction.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.2-11
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• 2021

Antibody-based therapeutics targeting the inhibitory receptors PD-1, PD-L1, or CTLA-4 have shown remarkable clinical progress on several cancers. However, most patients do not benefit from these therapies. Thus, many efforts are being made to identify new immune checkpoint receptor-ligand pathways that are alternative targets for cancer immunotherapies. Nectin and nectin-like molecules are widely expressed on several types of tumor cells and play regulatory roles in T- and NK-cell functions. TIGIT, CD226, CD96 and CD112R on lymphoid cells are a group of immunoglobulin superfamily receptors that interact with Nectin and nectin-like molecules with different affinities. These receptors transmit activating or inhibitory signals upon binding their cognate ligands to the immune cells. The integrated signals formed by their complex interactions contribute to regulating immune-cell functions. Several clinical trials are currently evaluating the efficacy of anti-TIGIT and anti-CD112R blockades for treating patients with solid tumors. However, many questions still need to be answered in order to fully understand the dynamics and functions of these receptor networks. This review addresses the rationale behind targeting TIGIT, CD226, CD96, and CD112R to regulate T- and NK-cell functions and discusses their potential application in cancer immunotherapy.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.377-387
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• 2022

Benzimidazole anthelmintic agents have been recently repurposed to overcome cancers resistant to conventional therapies. To evaluate the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole on resistant cells, various cell death pathways were investigated in 5-fluorouracil-resistant colorectal cancer cells. The viability of wild-type and 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 colorectal cancer cells was assayed, followed by Western blotting. Flow cytometry assays for cell death and cell cycle was also performed to analyze the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole. When compared with albendazole, fenbendazole showed higher susceptibility to 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells and was used in subsequent experiments. Flow cytometry revealed that fenbendazole significantly induces apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase on both cells. When compared with wild-type SNU-C5 cells, 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells showed reduced autophagy, increased ferroptosis and ferroptosis-augmented apoptosis, and less activation of caspase-8 and p53. These results suggest that fenbendazole may be a potential alternative treatment in 5-fluorouracil-resistant cancer cells, and the anticancer activity of fenbendazole does not require p53 in 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.269-293
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• 2022

Oomycete pathogens that belong to the genus Phytophthora cause devastating diseases in solanaceous crops such as pepper, potato, and tobacco, resulting in crop production losses worldwide. Although the application of fungicides efficiently controls these diseases, it has been shown to trigger negative side effects such as environmental pollution, phytotoxicity, and fungicide resistance in plant pathogens. Therefore, biological control of Phytophthora-induced diseases was proposed as an environmentally sound alternative to conventional chemical control. In this review, progress on biological control of the soilborne oomycete plant pathogens, Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora infestans, and Phytophthora nicotianae, infecting pepper, potato, and tobacco is described. Bacterial (e.g., Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Chryseobacterium, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces) and fungal (e.g., Trichoderma and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) agents, and yeasts (e.g., Aureobasidium, Curvibasidium, and Metschnikowia) have been reported as successful biocontrol agents of Phytophthora pathogens. These microorganisms antagonize Phytophthora spp. via antimicrobial compounds with inhibitory activities against mycelial growth, sporulation, and zoospore germination. They also trigger plant immunity-inducing systemic resistance via several pathways, resulting in enhanced defense responses in their hosts. Along with plant protection, some of the microorganisms promote plant growth, thereby enhancing their beneficial relations with host plants. Although the beneficial effects of the biocontrol microorganisms are acceptable, single applications of antagonistic microorganisms tend to lack consistent efficacy compared with chemical analogues. Therefore, strategies to improve the biocontrol performance of these prominent antagonists are also discussed in this review.