• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.10
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• pp.1552-1559
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• 2013

Rubus coreanus Miquel (RCM) has been used as one of the Korean traditional medicines for prostate health. In addition, recent studies have reported that RCM reduced chronic inflammatory diseases such as cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of unripe and ripe RCM on inflammationrelated gene expressions in LPS-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages. Mice were fed with 2% unripe RCM (U2), 10% unripe RCM (U10), 2% ripe RCM (R2), and 10% ripe RCM (R10) for 8 weeks. Peritoneal macrophages were isolated and stimulated with LPS then proinflammatory mediators (TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, and IL-6), and prostaglandin E2 ($PGE_2$) productions were assessed. Moreover, gene expression profiles were analyzed by cDNA microarray method. Unripe and ripe RCM significantly reduced TNF-${\alpha}$ production but only unripe RCM decreased IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 production. RCM intake significantly reduced inflammatory-related gene expressions such as arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase, interleukin 11, and nitric oxide synthase 2. Furthermore, unripe and ripe RCM significantly decreased ceruloplasmin, tissue plasminogen activator, thrombospondin 1, and vascular endothelial growth factor A expression which modulates symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases. RCM intake also significantly increased hypoxia inducible factor 3, alpha which is the negative regulators of hypoxia-inducible gene expression. Furthermore, only unripe RCM reduced chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 8, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 14, and phospholipase A2 expression. In this study, we showed that RCM had anti-inflammatory effects by suppression of pro-inflammatory mediator expressions and may reduce chronic inflammatory disease progress through regulation of gene expressions. These findings suggest that RCM might be used as a potential functional material to reduce chronic inflammatory responses.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2006

In order to investigate the molecular basis of the aging process in brain, we have employed high-density oligonucleotide microarrays providing data on 10,108 gene clusters to define transcriptional patterns in three brain regions, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus. Comparison of the expression patterns between young (6-week-old) and aged (17-month-old) C57BL/6 male micerevealed that about ten percent (1098) of the genes showed a significant change in the expression level in at least one of the three tissues. Among them, 23 genes were upregulated and 62 genes were downregulated in all three tissues of the old mice. The number of genes upregulated exclusively in hippocampus (337) was much larger compared to other tissues. Gene ontology-based analysis showed the genes related with signal transduction or molecular transports are more likely to be upregulated than downregulated in the aging process of hippocampus. These data may provide some useful means for elucidating the molecular aspect of aging in hippocampus and other regions in brain.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2011

Even though exposure to benzene has been linked to a variety of cancers including leukemia, the detailed molecular mechanisms relevant to benzene-induced carcinogenesis remain to be clearly elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the effects of benzene on differential gene expression in a leukemia cell line. The K562 leukemia cell line used in this study was cultured for 3 h with 10 mM benzene and RNA was extracted. To analyze the gene expression profiles, a 41,000 human whole genome chip was employed for cDNA microarray analysis. We initially identified 6,562 genes whose expression was altered by benzene treatment. Among these, 3,395 genes were upregulated and 3,167 genes were downregulated by more than 2-fold, respectively. The results of functional classification showed that the identified genes were involved in biological pathways including transcription, cell proliferation, the cell cycle, and apoptosis. These gene expression profiles should provide us with further insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying benzene-induced carcinogenesis, including leukemia.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.146-152
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• 2008

In the presence of NGF, PC12 cells extend neuronal processes, cease cell division, become electrically excitable, and undergo several biochemical changes that are detectable in developing sympathetic neurons. We investigated the expression pattern of the apoptosis-related genes at each stage of neuronal differentiation using a cDNA microarray containing 320 apoptosis-related rat genes. By comparing the expression patterns through time-series analysis, we identified candidate genes that appear to regulate neuronal differentiation. Among the candidate genes, HO2 was selected by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. To identify the roles of selected genes in the stages of neuronal differentiation, transfection of HO2 siRNA in PC12 cells was performed. Down-regulation of HO2 expression causes a reduction in neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells. Our results suggest that the HO2 gene could be related to the regulation of neuronal differentiation levels.

• Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.741-762
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• 2003

Ginsenosides, the major active ingredients of ginseng, show a variety of biomedical efficacies such as anti-aging, anti oxidation and anti-inflammatory activities. To understand the effects of compound K (20-O-D-glucopyranosyl-20 (S)-protopanaxadiol), one of the major metabolite of ginsenosides on the skin, we assessed the expression level of ∼ 100 transcripts in compound K-treated HaCaT cells using cDNA microarray analysis. Compound K treatment induced differential expression of 21 genes, which have been reported to be involved in the organization of ECM structure as well as defense responses in human skin cells. One of the most interesting findings is 2-fold increase in hyaluronan synthase2 (HAS2) gene expression by compound K. We found that change in expression of HAS2 gene represents a specific response of HaCaT cells to compound K because hyaluronan synthase 1, 3 was not changed by treatment with compound K. We also demonstrated that the compound K effectively induced hyaluronan synthesis in human skin cells and hairless mouse skin. The human clinical study indicates that topical application of compound K-containing oil-in-water emulsion showed improvement of xerosis, wrinkle and fine lines in the aged skin. We concluded that compound K has anti-aging effects by the induction of HAS2 gene expression and following hyaluronan synthase.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.418-427
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• 2006

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are ligand-gated nonselective cation channels that mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission. Although homologues of the iGluRs have been identified in higher plants, their roles are largely unknown. In this work we isolated a full-length cDNA clone (RsGluR) encoding a putative glutamate receptor from small radish. An RsGluR:mGFP fusion protein was localized to the plasma membrane. In Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing the fulllength cDNA, glutamate treatment triggered greater $Ca^{2+}$ influx in the root cells of transgenic seedlings than in those of the wild type. Transgenic plants exhibited multiple morphological changes such as necrosis at their tips and the margins of developing leaves, dwarf stature with multiple secondary inflorescences, and retarded growth, as previously observed in transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing AtGluR3.2 [Kim et al. (2001)]. Microarray analysis showed that jasmonic acid (JA)-responsive genes including defensins and JA-biosynthetic genes were up-regulated. RsGluR overexpression also inhibited growth of a necrotic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea possibly due to up-regulation of the defensins. Based on these results, we suggest that RsGluR is a glutamate-gated $Ca^{2+}$ channel located in the plasma membrane of higher plants and plays a direct or indirect role in defense against pathogen infection by triggering JA biosynthesis.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.488-494
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• 2013

The anti-diabetic effect of green tea fermented by cheonggukjang was evaluated using KK-$A^y$ mice, an animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Over a 90 day testing period, food and water intake decreased significantly in the group fed fermented green tea (FGT) and a group fed commercially available health functional food (PC), when compared with a diabetic control group (DC). The blood glucose levels of FGT mice were lower than in DC mice throughout the test period and were similar to the levels in PC after 60 days. Levels of Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and insulin resistance were lower in mice of the FGT group than in mice of the DC group. DNA microarray analysis showed that administration of FGT increased the abundance of 12 mRNA transcripts related to diabetes. Whereas FGT increased hexokinase transcripts related to glycolysis more than 37 fold, levels of Pdx1 (pancreatic and duodenal homeobox1) and Cacna1e (calcium channel) transcripts increased more than 1.8 fold.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.149-156
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• 2005

Di (n-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is thought to mimic estrogens in their action, and are called endocrine disrupting chemicals. DEHP is used in numerous consumer products, especially those made of flexible polyvinyl chloride and have been reported to be weakly estrogenic. In this study, DEHP were tested for estrogenic properties in vitro models and with microarray analysis. First, the E-screen assay was used to measure the proliferation of DEHP in MCF-7 cells, a human breast cancer cell line. DEHP induced an increase in MCF-7 cell proliferation at concentration of $10^{-4}M$. Second, we carried out a microarray analysis of MCF-7 cells treated with DEHP using human c-DNA microarray including 401 endocrine system related genes. Of the genes analyzed, 60 genes were identified showing significant changes in gene expression resulting from DEHP. Especially, 4 genes were repressed and 4 genes were induced by DEHP compared to $17{\beta}-estradiol$. Among these genes, trefoil factor 3 (intestinal), breast cancer 1, early onset and CYP1B1 are involved in estrogen metabolism and regulation. Therefore it suggests that these genes may be associated with estrogenic effect of the DEHP on transcriptional level. The rationale is that, as gene expression is a sensitive endpoint, alterations of these genes may act as useful biomarkers to define more precisely the nature and level of exposure to kinds of phthalates.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.283-292
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• 2006

Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis was conducted using a complementary DNA (cDNA) library made from the kidney mRNA of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). In the survey of 390 ESTs chosen from the kidney cDNA library, 250 ESTs showed significant homology to previously described genes while 140 ESTs were unidentified or novel. Comparative analysis of the 250 identified ESTs showed that 14 (5.6%) clones were representing 11 unique genes identified as homologous to the previously reported olive flounder ESTs, 198 (79.2%) clones representing 160 unique genes were identified as orthologs of known genes from other organisms, and orthologs were established for 38 (15.2%) clones representing 37 genes of known sequences with unknown functions. We also identified several kinds of immune associated proteins, indicating EST as a powerful method for identifying immunerelated genes of fish as well as identifying novel genes. Further studies using cDNA microarrays are needed to identify the differentially expressed transcripts after disease infection.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2013

In order to investigate genetic stability and gene expression profile after cloning procedure, two groups of cloned pigs were used for swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) gene nucleotide alteration and microarray analyses. Each group was consist of cloned pigs derived from same cell line (n=3 and 4, respectively). Six SLA loci were analyzed for cDNA sequences and protein translations. In total, 16 SLA alleles were identified and there were no evidence of SLA nucleotide alteration. All SLA sequences and protein translations were identical among the each pig in the same group. On the other hand, microarray assay was performed for profiling gene expression of the cloned pigs. In total, 43,603 genes were analyzed and 2,150~4,300 reliably hybridized spots on the each chip were selected for further analysis. Even though the cloned pigs in the same group had identical genetic background, 18.6~47.3% of analyzed genes were differentially expressed in between each cloned pigs. Furthermore, on gene clustering analysis, some cloned pigs showed abnormal physiological phenotypes such as inflammation, cancer or cardiomyopathy. We assumed that individual environmental adaption, sociality and rank in the pen might have induced these different phenotypes. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that SLA locus genes appear to be stable following SCNT. However, gene expressions and phenotypes between cloned pigs derived from the same cell line were not identical even under the same rearing conditions.