• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.29 no.11
• /
• pp.1032-1041
• /
• 2006

Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) affects the function of many tissues and cells. To confirm the biological activity of ATP on human myeloid leukemic cells, F-36P and HL-60, cells were treated with a variety of concentrations of ATP. The stimulation with extracellular ATP induced the arrest of cell proliferation and cell death. from the analysis of Annexin-V staining and caspase activity by flow cytometry. The Annexin-V positive cells in both cell lines were dramatically increased following ATP stimulation. The expression of P2 purinergic receptor genes was confirmed, such as P2X1, P2X4, P2X5, P2X7 and P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y5, P2Y6, P2Y11 in both leukemic cell lines. Interestingly, ATP induced intracellular calcium flux in HL-60 cells but not in F-36P cells, as determined by Fluo-3 AM staining. Cell cycle analysis revealed that ATP treatment arrested both F-36P and HL-60 cells at G1/G0. Taken together, these data showed that extracellular ATP via P2 receptor genes was involved in the cell proliferation and survival in human myeloid leukemic cells, HL-60 and F-36P cells by the induction of apoptosis and control of cell cycle. Our data suggest that treatment with extracellular nucleotides may be a novel and powerful therapeutic avenue for myeloid leukemic disease.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.263-268
• /
• 2009

Gamma knife surgery (GKS) is used for the treatment of various human brain disorders. However, the biological effects of gamma ray irradiation on both the target area, and the surrounding tissues are not well studied. The effects of gamma ray exposure to both targeted and untargeted regions were therefore evaluated by monitoring gene expression changes in the unilateral irradiated (60 Gy) and contralateral un-irradiated striata in the rat. Striata of irradiated and control brains were dissected 16 hours post-irradiation for analysis using a whole genome 44K DNA oligo microarray approach. The results revealed 230 induced and 144 repressed genes in the irradiated striatum and 432 induced and 239 repressed genes in the unirradiated striatum. Out of these altered genes 39 of the induced and 16 of the reduced genes were common to both irradiated and un-irradiated tissue. Results of semiquantitative, confirmatory RT-PCR and western blot analyses suggested that ${\gamma}$-irradiation caused cellular damage, including oxidative stress, in the striata of both hemispheres of the brains of treated animals.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.40 no.8
• /
• pp.587-597
• /
• 2017

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential small RNA molecules that regulate the expression of target mRNAs in plants and animals. Here, we aimed to identify miRNAs and their putative targets in Hibiscus syriacus, the national flower of South Korea. We employed high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs obtained from four different tissues (i.e., leaf, root, flower, and ovary) and identified 33 conserved and 30 novel miRNA families, many of which showed differential tissuespecific expressions. In addition, we computationally predicted novel targets of miRNAs and validated some of them using 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends analysis. One of the validated novel targets of miR477 was a terpene synthase, the primary gene involved in the formation of disease-resistant terpene metabolites such as sterols and phytoalexins. In addition, a predicted target of conserved miRNAs, miR396, is SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE, which is involved in flower initiation and is duplicated in H. syriacus. Collectively, this study provides the first reliable draft of the H. syriacus miRNA transcriptome that should constitute a basis for understanding the biological roles of miRNAs in H. syriacus.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.361-366
• /
• 2004

Defatted methanol extracts of the medicinal plants, Rubus coreanus Miq. (RC) and Atractylodes japonica Koidzumi (AJ) were added at the levels of 0.1, 0.5, or $2\%$ (w/w) to high cholesterol diets and fed to ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley female rats, weighing 212.6 $\pm$ 1.8 g for four weeks. Weight gains were lower in RC and AJ groups than the control group, but there were no changes in uterus weights. Serum levels of triglyceride decreased by 20-$27\%$ in the experimental groups fed $0.1\%$ of each extract (O.1RC and O.1AJ), compared with that of control (Ovx). Serum cholesterol levels were not changed in the RC groups but increased in the group fed $2\%$ of the AJ extract. Liver levels of cholesterol and triglyceride were reduced in both the RC and AJ groups. Microscopic observation revealed that there were no morphological alterations in liver, lung, heart, spleen and kidney tissues of the experimental groups. Plasma levels of albumin, BUN, creatinine, sodium, potassium and phosphate in the IRC and AJ groups were in normal ranges. Serum GOT and GPT activities were, however, higher in the 2.0AJ than Ovx group. These results suggest that the extracts of the Rubus coreanus Miq. and Atractylodes japonica Koidzumi at dietary levels as low as $0.1\%$ may be utilized as hypotriglyceridemic ingredients for functional foods.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.223-231
• /
• 1997

In this paper, an interframe coding method for volumetric medical images is proposed. By treating interslice variations as the motion of bones or tissues, we use the motion compensation (MC) technique to predict the current frame from the previous frame. Instead of a block matching algorithm (BMA), which is the most common motion estimation (ME) algorithm in video coding, image warping with biolinear transformation has been suggested to predict complex interslice object variation in medical images. When an object disappears between slices, however, warping prediction has poor performance. In order to overcome this drawback, an overlapped block motion compensation (OBMC) technique is combined with carping prediction. Motion compensated residual images are then encoded by using an embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) coder with small modification for consistent quality of reconstructed images. The experimental results show that the interframe coding suing warping prediction provides better performance compared with interframe coding, and the OBMC scheme gives some additional improvement over the warping-only MC method.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.225-241
• /
• 2009

We investigated the transcriptional profiles of Japanese indigenous grape cultivar 'Koshu' (Vitis vinifera) leaf and berry skin during ripening. In leaf, 64 genes were abundantly transcribed at the end of $v{\acute{e}}raison$ (14 weeks post-flowering), whereas the expression of 61 genes was upregulated at the end of ripening (20 weeks post-flowering). In berry skin, 67 genes were abundantly transcribed at the end of $v{\acute{e}}raison$, whereas the expression of 86 genes was upregulated at the end of ripening. Gene expression associated with biological processes was activated in both tissues at the end of ripening. The expression of genes associated with photosynthesis, sugar synthesis, anthocyanin synthesis, cinnamic acid synthesis, and amino acid metabolism was observed in leaf and berry skin during ripening, together with the accumulation of sugars, anthocyanins, cinnamic acids, and amino acids. Transcripts of AUX/IAA family proteins that repress the activities of auxin-induced proteins were expressed in berry skin at the end of $v{\acute{e}}raison$. Transcripts of genes related to the ubiquitin-proteasome system that degrades AUX/IAA family proteins were abundantly expressed in berry skin at the end of ripening, suggesting that the expansion of skin cells at $v{\acute{e}}raison$ is suppressed by AUX/IAA family proteins, and that the ubiquitin-proteasome system induces the expansion of skin cells during ripening by degrading AUX/IAA family proteins. These transcriptional profiles, which provide new information on the characteristics of 'Koshu' grapevine during ripening, may explain the unique characteristics of 'Koshu' grape in comparison with those of European grapes used for winemaking, and may contribute to the improvement of 'Koshu' grape quality.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.17-23
• /
• 2014

We already had reported that Bcl-w promotes invasion or migration in gastric cancer cells and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by activating matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) via specificity protein 1 (Sp1) or ${\beta}$-cateinin, respectively. High expression of Bcl-w also has been reported in GBM which is the most common malignant brain tumor and exhibits aggressive and invasive behavior. These reports propose that Bcl-w-induced signaling is strongly associated with aggressive characteristic of GBM. We demonstrated that Sp1 protein or mRNA expression is induced by Bcl-w using Western blotting or RT-PCR, respectively, and markedly elevated in high-grade glioma specimens compared with low-grade glioma tissues using tissue array. However, relationship between Bcl-w-related signaling and aggressive characteristic of GBM is poorly characterized. This study suggested that Bcl-w-induced Sp1 activation promoted expression of glioma stem-like cell markers, such as Musashi, Nanog, Oct4 and sox-2, as well as neurosphere formation and invasiveness, using western blotting, neurosphere formation assay, or invasion assay, culminating in their aggressive behavior. Therefore, Bcl-w-induced Sp1 activation is proposed as a putative marker for aggressiveness of GBM.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.15 no.6 s.73
• /
• pp.889-894
• /
• 2005

This experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of simulated acid rain (SAR) in the shoot growth and internal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana. In the shoot growth, the plants treated with SAR (pH 3.0) for 15 days showed no morphological change compared to the control plants. Some change was observed in the internal structure of the stems: the epidermis and cortex tissues of the stems treated with SAR were partly damaged. The plants treated with SAR showed no noticeable difference compared to the control plants, but morphological changes were observed in the leaf. The leaves of the plants treated with SAR showed many white necrotic spots on the part of upper epidermis. A light microscopic examination of the leaves with necrotic spots showed that the upper epidermis was severely compressed with the damaged cuticle layer and the mesophyll cells were also damaged and compressed. However, noticeable structural change of vascular bundle cells was not observed.

• Journal of fish pathology
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.163-171
• /
• 2013

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most rapid and widely used method to detect viral pathogens. However, this method does not provide histopathologic nature of the virus. In situ hybridization (ISH) with oligonucleotide probes is attractive because it is a rapid method for detection and identification of viral pathogens at sites of tissue infection. In order to understand the histopathologic characterictics of Red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV), viral-hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus and viral nervous necrosis (VNN) virus to cultured olive flounder, we her applied ISH method to various kinds of olive flounder tissues with PCR-positive for these three viruses. We found that these viruses showed different tissue tropism and were detected from different cell types. Our results suggest that ISH is useful not only in rapid detection of viral pathogens but also in understanding the histopathologic characters of specific viral pathogens.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.86-92
• /
• 2000

Conjugated linoleic acid(CLA) refers to a collective term of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid, which are different in their biological activities. The predominant isomer of CLA in animal tissues is cis-9, trans-11; smaller amounts of trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomers, CLA methyl ester (CLA-ME) was chemically syn-thesized from linoleic acid by the alkaline isomerization method. The synthetic CLA-ME, mainly composed of cis-9, trans-11 CLA and trans-10, cis-12 CLA, was dissolved in acetone, stored at 68$^{\circ}C$ for 1 day, and the supernatant(cis-9, trans-11 CLA-Me) was separated from the precipitate (trans-10, cis-12 CLA-Me). After the processes were repeated three times at -68$^{\circ}C$, the whole processes were repeated three times at -71$^{\circ}C$ in order to increase the purity of these two isomers. The cis-9, trans-11 CLA-Me and trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomers were further purified by the urea adduct. Purities of the cis-9, trans-11 CLA-Me and trans-10, cis-12 CLA-Me were 90.3 and 99.9%, respec-tively. This method could be employed for the preparation of a large quantity of highly purified cis-9, trans-11 CLA-Me or trans-10, cis-12 CLA-Me from synthetic CLA-Me.