• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1137-1144
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• 2012

Inflammation is a host defense mechanism that is activated in response to harmful substances or pathogens. However, an excessive inflammatory response is a problem in itself. Macrophages secrete inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO) or cytokines through various pathways such as the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$)-activated pathway after recognizing pathogen-like lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). In this study, anti-inflammatory effects of Eupatorium chinensis var. simplicifolium (EUC) extracts were investigated using LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The EUC root extract significantly reduced NO production, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the EUC root extract reduced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and protein kinase B, which is upstream of NF-${\kappa}B$. The EUC root extract also reduced the degradation of inhibitory kappa B. These results indicate that EUC root extract exerts anti-inflammatory effects, which are mediated by inhibition of iNOS expression and the NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1867-1876
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• 2017

Most of the biosynthetic pathways for secondary metabolites are influenced by carbon metabolism and supply of cytosolic NADPH. We engineered carbon distribution to the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and redesigned the host to produce high levels of NADPH and primary intermediates from the PPP. The main enzymes producing NADPH in the PPP, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (encoded by zwf1 and zwf2) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (encoded by zwf3), were overexpressed with opc encoding a positive allosteric effector essential for Zwf activity in various combinations in Streptomyces lividans TK24. Most S. lividans transformants showed better cell growth and higher concentration of cytosolic NADPH than those of the control, and S. lividans TK24/pWHM3-Z23O2 containing zwf2+zwf3+opc2 showed the highest NADPH concentration but poor sporulation in R2YE medium. S. lividans TK24/pWHM3-Z23O2 in minimal medium showed the maximum growth (6.2 mg/ml) at day 4. Thereafter, a gradual decrease of biomass and a sharp increase of cytosolic NADPH and sedoheptulose 7-phosphate between days 2 and 4 and between days 1 and 3, respectively, were observed. Moreover, S. lividans TK24/pWHM3-Z23O2 produced 0.9 times less actinorhodin but 1.8 times more undecylprodigiosin than the control. These results suggested that the increased NADPH concentration and various intermediates from the PPP specifically triggered undecylprodigiosin biosynthesis that required many precursors and NADPH-dependent reduction reaction. This study is the first report on bespoke metabolic engineering of PPP routes especially suitable for producing secondary metabolites that need diverse primary precursors and NADPH, which is useful information for metabolic engineering in Streptomyces.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.10
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• pp.47-61
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• 1968

Sweetpotato infected by Soft-rot, Rhizopus nigricans, has been investigated for its biochemical changes. The results of the present experiment are summarized as follows: 1. From the Soft-rotted tuber, nineteen Ehrlich's positive substances and three fluorescent compounds which had not been found in a healthy tuber were detected with thin layer chromatography. 2, Ipomeamarone and umbelliferone, each of which are predominating substances among the Ehrlich's positive and fluorescent compounds, were isolated by silica gel column chromatography and studied for their identities. 3. Time course biosynthesis of the metabolites was studied and discussed for their possible biosynthetic pathways. 4. Among the metabolites, ipomeamarone and ipomeamarone-like substances have enzyme: inhibitive action against ${\alpha}$-amylase and probably other enzymes; the inhibition type was determined as the uncompetitive one. 5. Ipomeamarone obtained from soft-rotted sweetpotato was proved to have an uncoupling action as 2, 4-dinitrophenol.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.19-29
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• 2013

Marbling (intramuscular fat) is an important trait that affects meat quality and is a casual factor determining the price of beef in the Korean beef market. It is a complex trait and has many biological pathways related to muscle and fat. There is a need to identify functional modules or genes related to marbling traits and investigate their relationships through a weighted gene co-expression network analysis based on the system level. Therefore, we investigated the co-expression relationships of genes related to the 'marbling score' trait and systemically analyzed the network topology in Hanwoo (Korean cattle). As a result, we determined 3 modules (gene groups) that showed statistically significant results for marbling score. In particular, one module (denoted as red) has a statistically significant result for marbling score (p = 0.008) and intramuscular fat (p = 0.02) and water capacity (p = 0.006). From functional enrichment and relationship analysis of the red module, the pathway hub genes (IL6, CHRNE, RB1, INHBA and NPPA) have a direct interaction relationship and share the biological functions related to fat or muscle, such as adipogenesis or muscle growth. This is the first gene network study with m.logissimus in Hanwoo to observe co-expression patterns in divergent marbling phenotypes. It may provide insights into the functional mechanisms of the marbling trait.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.147-152
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• 2001

Objective : It has been thought that estrogen has neuroleptic like effect in women schizophrenic patients. This study aimed to investigate neuroleptic side-effects severity in women with schizophrenia and to investigate their putative association with variations in sex steroids over menstrual cycle. Based on the estrogen theory, The author hypothesized that parkinsonian side-effects would be exacerbated when estrogen levels were high. Method : 26 schizophrenic women were assessed using the ESRS(Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale) and estrogen analysis. Tests were conducted twice, in the mid luteal and mid follicular phase. Result : It was hypothesized that high level of estrogen would lead to an exacerbation of parkinsonian side-effects but the results indicated that parkinsonian side effects decreased overall when estrogen levels were high. This effects were more marked for the group taking typical neuroleptics than those taking atypical neuroleptics. Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that estrogen and progesteron may reduce the severity of neuroleptic induced extrapyramidal side effects over menstrual cycle in women with schizophrenia. It was concluded that estrogen has different effects on dopamine dynamics in the mesolimbic and mesostriatal pathways according to estrogen, progesteron, catecol estrogen, prolactine.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2008

It was previously found that PG102, a water-soluble extract derived from Actinidia arguta, was able to modulate Th1/Th2 pathways and suppress IgE production resulting in dramatic amelioration of atopic dermatitis in NC/Nga mouse and hairless rat models. In order to evaluate the subacute toxicity of PG102, female and male SD rats were daily fed with various doses of PG102 for 4 weeks. Six week old SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and orally administrated with 100-, 300-, and 1,000- mg/kg of PG102 as well as the vehicle only. At the end of the study, no significant differences in the body and organ weights were observed between control and treated rats of both genders. Hematological and blood chemical analysis showed little differences between the animal groups. Neither gross abnormalities nor histopathological changes were found. PG102 produced little or no subacute toxicity and could be used as a safe nutraceutical for the treatment of individuals with allergic diseases including atopic dermatitis.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.101-111
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• 2008

The fungal genus Alternaria is comprised of many saprophytic and endophytic species, but is most well known as containing many notoriously destructive plant pathogens. There are over 4,000 Alternaria/host associations recorded in the USDA Fungal Host Index ranking the genus 10th among nearly 2,000 fungal genera based on the total number of host records. While few Alternaria species appear to have a sexual stage to their life cycles, the majority lack sexuality altogether. Many pathogenic species of Alternaria are prolific toxin producers, which facilitates their necrotrophic lifestyle. Necrotrophs must kill host cells prior to colonization, and thus these toxins are secreted to facilitate host cell death often by triggering genetically programmed apoptotic pathways or by directly causing cell damage resulting in necrosis. While many species of Alternaria produce toxins with rather broad host ranges, a closely-related group of agronomically important Alternaria species produce selective toxins with a very narrow range often to the cultivar level. Genes that code for and direct the biosynthesis of these host-specific toxins for the Alternaria alternata sensu lato lineages are often contained on small, mostly conditionally dispensable, chromosomes. Besides the role of toxins in Alternaria pathogenesis, relatively few genes and/or gene products have been identified that contribute to or are required for pathogenicity. Recently, the completion of the A. brassicicola genome sequencing project has facilitated the examination of a substantial subset of genes for their role in pathogenicity. In this review, we will highlight the role of toxins in Alternaria pathogenesis and the use of A. brassicicola as a model representative for basic virulence studies for the genus as a whole. The current status of these research efforts will be discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1755-1764
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• 2016

The application of Bacillus sp. in the biological control of plant soilborne diseases has been shown to be an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of chemical fungicides. In this study, the effects of bioorganic fertilizer (BOF) fortified with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SQY 162 on the suppression of tomato bacterial wilt were investigated in pot experiments. The disease incidence of tomato wilt after the application of BOF was 65.18% and 41.62% lower at 10 and 20 days after transplantation, respectively, than in the control condition. BOF also promoted the plant growth. The SQY 162 populations efficiently colonized the tomato rhizosphere, which directly suppressed the number of Ralstonia solanacearum in the tomato rhizosphere soil. In the presence of BOF, the activities of defense-related enzymes in tomato were lower than in the presence of the control treatment, but the expression levels of the defense-related genes of the plants in the salicylic acid and jasmonic acid pathways were enhanced. It was also found that strain SQY 162 could secrete antibiotic surfactin, but not volatile organic compounds, to suppress Ralstonia. The strain could also produce plant growth promotion compounds such as siderophores and indole-3-acetic acid. Thus, owing to its innate multiple-functional traits and its broad biocontrol activities, we found that this antagonistic strain isolated from the tobacco rhizosphere could establish itself successfully in the tomato rhizosphere to control soilborne diseases.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.485-489
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• 1992

Plants are altered not only in the outward appearance but also in their physiological and biochemical properties with reaction to the environmental stresses; particularly, the biosynthetic system of protein in situ rapidly responds to this. In order to investigate the change of properties of polypeptides in rice plants induced by several stresses, the seedlings were subjected to exposure to NaCl, drought, and low and high temperatures, respectively, and then some aspects of polypeptide variations were compared. Without exception, the rice plant, which is somewhat tolerant to environmental change, shows the alteration in several polypeptides. Moreover, newly synthesized polypeptides were observed in response to stresses. The existing proteins for the primary metabolic pathways were markedly decreased as each treatment progressed.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 2007

In this paper we have provided an extensive survey of the databases and other resources related to the current research in bioinformatics and the issues that confront the database researcher in helping the biologists. Initially we give an overview of the concepts and principles that are fundamental in understanding the basis of the data that has been captured in these databases. We briefly trace the evolution of biological advances and point out the importance of capturing data about genes, the fundamental building blocks that encode the characteristics of life and proteins that are the essential ingredients for sustaining life. The study of genes and proteins is becoming extremely important and is being known as genomics and proteomics, respectively. Whereas there are numerous databases related to various subfields of biology, we have maintained a focus on genomic and proteomic databases which are the crucial stepping stones for other fields and are expected to play an important role in the future applications of biology and medicine. A detailed listing of these databases with information about their sizes, formats and current status is presented. Related databases like molecular pathways and interconnection network databases are mentioned, but their full coverage would be beyond the scope of a single paper. We comment on the peculiar nature of the data in biology that presents special problems in organizing and accessing these databases. We also discuss the capabilities needed for database development and information management in the bioinformatics arena with particular attention to ontology development. Two research case studies based on our own research are summarized dealing with the development of a new genome database called Mitomap and the creation of a framework for discovery of relationships among genes from the biomedical literature. The paper concludes with an overview of the applications that will be driven from these databases in medicine and healthcare. A glossary of important terms is provided at the end of the paper.