• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.277-286
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• 2016

Makgeolli lees (ML) has several physiological effects such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties, but its biological functions have not been determined definitively. Here, we tested whether ML has a cytoprotective effect on paraquat (PQ)-induced oxidative stress in the human lung carcinoma cell line A549. At 0.1 mg/ml ML, viability of PQ-exposed A549 cells was restored by 12.4%, 18.5%, and 48.6% after 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. ML also reduced production of the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) that were generated by PQ treatment. Further experiments revealed that ML treatment enhanced the expression and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) as well as ARE-GFP reporter activity. ML treatment also effectively increased the expression of NRF2's target genes NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 (NQO1) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). Moreover, we found that expression of cytoprotective genes, including glutathione peroxidases (GPXs), superoxide dismutase (SOD1), catalase (CAT), peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3), and peroxiredoxin 4 (PRDX4), was greatly enhanced by treatment with ML during PQ exposure. Taken together, the data suggest that treatment of PQ-exposed A549 cells with ML ameliorates cytotoxicity through induction of NRF2 expression and its target genes HO-1, NQO1, and other antioxidant genes. Thus, ML may serve as a functional food applicable to ROS-mediated human diseases.

• 생약학회지
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• 제50권4호
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• pp.285-290
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• 2019

This study was carried out to identify the skin anti-aging effect of cycloheterophyllin on dermal fibroblasts. To elucidate anti-aging effects of cycloheterophyllin on dermal fibroblasts, I measured cell viability, mRNA expressions, and Collagen, type I/matrix metallopeptidase 1(MMP1)-ELISA assay. In this study, I investigated the effects of cycloheterophyllin on Collagen, type I, alpha 1(COL1A1)/Collagen, type III, alpha 1(COL3A1)/MMP1/Superoxide dismutases/Catalase(CAT) mRNA expressions and Collagen, type I/MMP1 protein production. Quantitative Real-time RT-PCR showed that cycloheterophyllin increased mRNA level of COL1A1/COL3A1/CAT genes and collagen, type I protein by ELISA assay compared to UVA-treated dermal fibroblasts. Furthermore MMP1 mRNA and protein expressions were decreased by cycloheterophyllin treatment. These observations revealed that cycloheterophyllin increased anti-aging effects in dermal fibroblasts. Therefore, I identified the anti-aging effects of cycloheterophyllin, and these results showed that the cycloheterophyllin can be a considerable potent ingredient for skin anti-aging. Based on this, I anticipated further researches about cycloheterophyllin for mechanism to develop not only cosmetics but for healthcare food or medicine.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권1호
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• pp.31-36
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• 2017

High-dose caffeine uptake is a developmental stressor and causes food-avoidance behavior (aversion phenotype) in C. elegans, but its mode of action is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the molecular basis of the caffeine-induced aversion behavior in C. elegans. We found that aversion phenotype induced by 30 mM caffeine was mediated by JNK/MAPK pathway, serotonergic and dopaminergic neuroendocrine signals. In this process, the dopaminergic signaling appears to be the major pathway because the reduced aversion behavior in cat-2 mutants and mutants of JNK/MAPK pathway genes was significantly recovered by pretreatment with dopamine. RNAi depletion of hsp-16.2, a cytosolic chaperone, and cyp-35A family reduced the aversion phenotype, which was further reduced in cat-2 mutants, suggesting that dopaminergic signal is indeed dominantly required for the caffeine-induced food aversion. Our findings suggest that aversion behavior is a defense mechanism for worms to survive under the high-dose caffeine conditions.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.267-273
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• 1993

Promoters of the chlorophyll a/b bidning protein genes, cab1, and cab2, of Arabidopsis thaliana were studied for their functions in differential expression during greening of etiolated shoots. The etiolated shoots were derived from leaves of transgenic tobacco plants with the cab-CAT (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) translational fusions, and CAT activity was measured to monitor the activities of the cab promoters. Cab1 promoter activity increased rapidly and showed saturation after about 24 hours of greening, but that of cab2 increased with about 2 day-lag period and showed saturation after 6 days. Cab1 promoter activity was more sensitive to levulinic acid (LA) compared with cab2 activity. Cab2 promoter activity was inhibited more sensitively by chloramphynicol (CAP) than by inhibitors of Chl formation. Cab1 promoter activity was, however, inhibited less sensitively by CAP than by LA. The treatment of abscisic acid (ABA) did not block Chl synthesis so significantly as LA treatment did, and cab2 promoter activity was much less sensitive to ABA compared with that of cab1. These results suggest that cab1 expression is strongly related with Chl formation, possibly with $\delta$-aminolevulinic acid accumulation, and cab2 expression is suppressed more by the blockage of translation of Chl a-apoproteins than by the blockage of Chl a accumulation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.339-345
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• 2009

We evaluated the activity and abundance of the crude-oil-degrading bacterium Nocardia sp. H17-1 during bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil, using real-time PCR. The total petroleum hydrocarbon(TPH) degradation rate constants(k) of the soils treated with and without H17-1 were $0.103\;d^{-1}$ and $0.028\;d^{-1}$ respectively. The degradation rate constant was 3.6 times higher in the soil with H17-1 than in the soil without H17-1. In order to detect and quantify the Nocardia sp. H17-1 in soil samples, we quantified the genes encoding 16S ribosomal RNA(16S rRNA), alkane monooxygenase(alkB4), and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase(23CAT) with real-time PCR using SYBR green. The amounts of H17-1 16S rRNA and alkB4 detected increased rapidly up to 1,000-folds for the first 10 days, and then continued to increase only slightly or leveled off. However, the abundance of the 23CAT gene detected in H17-1-treated soil, where H17-1 had neither the 23CAT gene for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons nor the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activity, did not differ significantly from that of the untreated soil($\alpha$=0.05,p>0.22). These results indicated that H17-1 is a potential candidate for the bioaugmentation of alkane-contaminated soil. Overall, we evaluated the abundance and metabolic activity of the bioremediation strain H17-1 using real-time PCR, independent of cultivation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.294-304
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• 2020

Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the absorbent (a mixture of activated carbon and hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate) on growth performance, blood profiles and hepatic genes expression in broilers fed diets naturally contaminated with aflatoxin. Methods: A total of 1,200 one-day-old male chicks were randomly assigned to 6 treatments with 10 replicate cages per treatment. The dietary treatments were as follows: i) control (basal diets); ii) 50% contaminated corn; iii) 100% contaminated corn; iv) control+1% adsorbent; v) 50% contaminated corn+1% absorbent; vi) 100% contaminated corn+1% absorbent. Results: During d 1 to 21, feeding contaminated diets reduced (p<0.05) body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and average daily feed intake (ADFI), but increased (p<0.05) feed-to-gain ratio (F/G). The absorbent supplementation increased (p<0.05) BW, ADG, and ADFI. There were interactions (p<0.05) in BW, ADG, and ADFI between contaminated corn and absorbent. Overall, birds fed 100% contaminated diets had lower (p<0.05) final BW and ADG, but higher (p<0.05) F/G compared to those fed control diets. The absorbent addition increased (p<0.05) serum albumin concentration on d 14 and 28 and total protein (TP) level on d 28, decreased (p<0.05) alanine transaminase activity on d 14 and activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase on d 28. Feeding contaminated diets reduced (p<0.05) hepatic TP content on d 28 and 42. The contaminated diets upregulated (p<0.05) expression of interleukin-6, catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), but downregulated (p<0.05) glutathione S-transferase (GST) expression in liver. The absorbent supplementation increased (p<0.05) interleukin-1β, CAT, SOD, cytochrome P450 1A1 and GST expression in liver. There were interactions (p<0.05) in the expression of hepatic CAT, SOD, and GST between contaminated corn and absorbent. Conclusion: The results suggest that the naturally aflatoxin-contaminated corn depressed growth performance, while the adsorbent could partially attenuate the adverse effects of aflatoxin on growth performance, blood profiles and hepatic genes expression in broilers.

• 한국축산식품학회지
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.352-358
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of enterococci in cheese samples and to characterize their antimicrobial resistance profiles as well as the associated resistance genes. A total of 139 enterococci were isolated from 99 cheese samples, the isolates were identified as E. faecalis (61.2%), E. faecium (15.1%), E. gallinarum (12.9%), E. durans (5.0%), E. casseliflavis (2.9%) and E. avium (2.9%). The most frequent antimicrobial resistance observed in enterococci isolates was to lincomycin (88.5%), followed by kanamycin (84.2%), gentamycin (low level, 51.1%), rifampin (46.8%) and tetracycline (33.8%). Among the isolates, the frequencies of high level gentamycin and streptomycin resistant enterococci strains were 2.2% and 5.8%, respectively. Apart from the mentioned antibiotics, low levels of resistance to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and chloramphenicol were found. Moreover no resistance was observed against penicillin and ampicillin. The antimicrobial resistance genes including tetM, tetL, ermB, cat, aph(3’)-IIIa, ant(6)-Ia and aac(6’)-Ieaph(2”)-Ia were found in enterococci from Turkish cheese samples. In the current study, we provided data for antibiotic resistance and the occurrence of resistance genes among enterococci. Regulatory and quality control programs for milk and other dairy products from farms to retail outlets has to be established and strengthened to monitor trends in antimicrobial resistance among emerging food borne pathogens in Turkey.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제43권3호
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• pp.302-310
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• 2016

A study aimed at identifying putative drought responsive genes that confer tolerance to water stress deficit in tea plants was conducted in a 'rain-out shelter' using potted plants. Eighteen months old drought tolerant and susceptible tea cultivars were each separately exposed to water stress or control conditions of 18 or 34% soil moisture content, respectively, for three months. After the treatment period, leaves were harvested from each treatment for isolation of RNA and cDNA synthesis. The cDNA libraries were sequenced on Roche 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing platform to produce 232,853 reads. After quality control, the reads were assembled into 460 long transcripts (contigs). The annotated contigs showed similarity with proteins in the Arabidopsis thaliana proteome. Heat shock proteins (HSP70), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (cat), peroxidase (PoX), calmodulinelike protein (Cam7) and galactinol synthase (Gols4) droughtrelated genes were shown to be regulated differently in tea plants exposed to water stress. HSP70 and SOD were highly expressed in the drought tolerant cultivar relative to the susceptible cultivar under drought conditions. The genes and pathways identified suggest efficient regulation leading to active adaptation as a basal defense response against water stress deficit by tea. The knowledge generated can be further utilized to better understand molecular mechanisms underlying stress tolerance in tea.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.151-155
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• 1997

Promoter of the Drosophila proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) gene contains DRE (Drosophila DNA replication-related element) required for the high level expression of replication-related genes. Recently, we found that promoter region of the D-raf (a Drosophila homolog of the human c-raf-1) contains two sequences homologous to the DRE and demonstrated the DRE/DREF (DRE-binding factor) involvement in regulation of the D-raf gene. In this study, using ursolic acid (UA), a pentacyclic triterpene acid reported to possess antitumor activities, we examined effects of UA on proliferation of the Drosophila cultured Kc cells and on expression of the PCNA and D-raf genes. UA showed an inhibitory effect on proliferation of the Kc cells in a concentration-dependent manner in DNA content assays and [3H]thymidine incorporation assays. The IC50 value of anti-proliferative effects of UA in DNA content assays was about 7.5uM. UA showed inhibitory effects on expression of the PCNA as well as on that of the D-raf, which were examined with the reporter plasmic p5'-168DPCNACAT or p5'-878DrafCAT, respectively. The results obtained in the present study suggest that expression of the PCNA and D-raf genes is coordinately regulated in at least UA-treated Kc cells and that down-regulation of expression of the PCNA and D-raf genes might be related with the antitumor activities of UA.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.231-238
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• 2024

국내에서 V. parahaemolyticus로 인한 식중독 사고가 지속적으로 보고되고 있으며, 최근 국내 수산물 판매량 및 수산물 양식에 사용되는 항생제 판매량은 증가하는 추세이다. 따라서 본 연구는 국내에 유통되는 수산물에서 분리한 V. parahaemolyticus의 분포, 항생제 감수성, 유전적 특성 및 유전학적 통계를 조사하였다. 79건의 유통 수산물로부터 47건(59.5%)에서 V. parahaemolyticus가 분리되었다. 항생제 내성 양상의 경우, 총 47균주의 분리 균주에서는 ampicillin에 2균주(4.3%)가 내성을 보였으며, 이외 균주는 모든 항생제에 대해 감수성을 보였다. 항생제 내성 유전자의 경우, 모든 균주(100%)로부터 bla_CAR family gene, tet(35), catC가 확인되었으며, 1균주(2.1%)에서는 fos가 확인되었다. 병원성 유전자 여부의 경우, 모든 분리 균주에서 tdh, trh 유전자는 확인되지 않았으나, T3SS1은 모든 균주(100%), T3SS2는 1균주(2.1%)에서 확인되었다. MLST의 경우, 17균주로부터 15가지의 ST가 확인되었으며, ST 658가 3균주, 이외 14가지 ST는 1균주씩 확인되었다. 확인된 ST는 대부분 중국, 태국 등의 환경 분리주로 확인되었으며, ST 396, ST 3042는 중국 임상 분리주로부터 확인되었다. 이로써, 최근 국내에 수산물과 관련한 식중독, 유통량, 항생제 판매량 등의 추세에 따른 위험성에 V. parahaemolyticus에 대한 지속적인 연구가 필요할 것으로 사료되며, 본 연구는 그에 대한 도움이 될 것이라 사료된다.