• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.502-507
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• 2019

Translation is a costly, but inevitable, cell maintenance process. To reduce unnecessary ATP consumption in cells, a fine-tuning mechanism is needed for both ribosome biogenesis and translation. Previous studies have suggested that the ribosome functions as a hub for many cellular signals such as ribotoxic stress response, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) signaling. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between ribosomes and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation under ribotoxic stress conditions and found that the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) was suppressed by ribosomal protein knockdown but that of p38 was not. In addition, we found that JNK activation is driven by the association of inactive JNK in the 80S monosomes rather than the polysomes. Overall, these data suggest that the activation of JNKs by ribotoxic stress is attributable to 80S monosomes. These 80S monosomes are active ribosomes that are ready to initiate protein translation, rather than polysomes that are already acting ribosomes involved in translation elongation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.658-663
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• 2020

The N-myc downstream regulated gene (NDRG) family members are dysregulated in several tumors. Functionally, NDRGs play an important role in the malignant progression of cancer cells. However, little is known about the potential implications of NDRG4 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The aim of the current study was to elucidate the expression pattern of NDRG4 in PDAC and evaluate its potential cellular biological effects. Here, we firstly report that epigenetic-mediated silencing of NDRG4 promotes PDAC by regulating mitochondrial function. Data mining demonstrated that NDRG4 was significantly down-regulated in PDAC tissues and cells. PDAC patients with low NDRG4 expression showed poor prognosis. Epigenetic regulation by DNA methylation was closely associated with NDRG4 down-regulation. NDRG4 overexpression dramatically suppressed PDAC cell growth and metastasis. Further functional analysis demonstrated that up-regulated NDRG4 in SW1990 and Canpan1 cells resulted in attenuated mitochondrial function, including reduced ATP production, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and increased fragmented mitochondria. However, opposite results were obtained for HPNE cells with NDRG4 knockdown. These results indicate that hypermethylation-driven silencing of NDRG4 can promote PDAC by regulating mitochondrial function and that NDRG4 could be as a potential biomarker for PDAC patients.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1635-1648
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• 2022

Thermal stress due to extreme changes in the thermal environment is a critical issue in cattle production. Many previous findings have shown a decrease in feed intake, milk yield, growth rate, and reproductive efficiency of cattle when subjected to thermal stress. Therefore, selecting thermo-tolerant animals is the primary goal of the efficiency of breeding programs to reduce those adverse impacts. The recent advances in molecular genetics have provided significant breeding advantages that allow the identification of molecular markers in both beef and dairy cattle breeding, including marker-assisted selection (MAS) as a tool in selecting superior thermo-tolerant animals. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which can be detected by DNA sequencing, are desirable DNA markers for MAS due to their abundance in the genome's coding and non-coding regions. Many SNPs in some genes (e.g., HSP70, HSP90, HSF1, EIF2AK4, HSBP1, HSPB8, HSPB7, MYO1A, and ATP1A1) in various breeds of cattle have been analyzed to play key roles in many cellular activities during thermal stress and protecting cells against stress, making them potential candidate genes for molecular markers of thermotolerance. This review highlights the associations of SNPs within these genes with thermotolerance traits (e.g., blood biochemistry and physiological responses) and suggests their potential use as MAS in thermotolerant cattle breeding.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2022

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors have received considerable attention regarding their involvement in glutamate-induced neuronal excitotoxicity. Resveratrol has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective effects against this kind of overactivation, but the underlying cellular mechanisms are not yet clearly understood. In this study, HT-22 neuronal cells were treated with NMDA in Mg²⁺-free buffer and subsequently used as an experimental model of glutamate excitotoxicity to elucidate the mechanisms of resveratrol-induced neuroprotection. We found that NMDA treatment causes a drop in MTT reduction ability, disrupts inside-negative transmembrane potential of mitochondria, depletes cellular ATP levels, and stimulates intracellular ROS production. Double fluorescence imaging studies demonstrated an increased formation of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) pores accompanied by apoptotic cell death, while cobalt protoporphyrin and bilirubin showed protective effects against NMDA-induced mitochondrial injury. On the other hand, zinc protoporphyrin IX significantly attenuated the protective effects of resveratrol which was itself shown to enhance heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mRNA and protein expression levels. In cells transfected with HO-1 small interfering RNA, resveratrol failed to suppress the NMDA-induced effects on MTT reduction ability and MPT pore formation. The present study suggests that resveratrol may prevent mitochondrial injury in NMDA- treated HT-22 cells and that enhanced expression of HO-1 is involved in the underlying cellular mechanism.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.70-81
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• 2015

Helicases are known to be a proteins that use the chemical energy of NTP binding and hydrolyze to separate the complementary strands of double-stranded nucleic acids to single-stranded nucleic acids. They participate in various cellular metabolism in many organisms. DEAD-box proteins are ATP-dependent RNA helicase that participate in all biochemical steps involving RNA. DEAD-box3 (DDX3) gene is belonging to the DEAD-box family and plays an important role in germ cell development in many organisms including not only vertebrate, but also invertebrate during asexual and sexual reproduction and participates in stem cell differentiation during regeneration. In this study, in order to identify and characterize DDX3 gene in the earthworm, Perionyx excavatus having a powerful regeneration capacity, total RNA was isolated from adult head containing clitellum. Full length of DDX3 gene from P. excavatus, Pe-DDX3, was identified by RT-PCR using the total RNA from head as a template. Pe-DDX3 encoded a putative protein of 607 amino acids and it also has the nine conserved motifs of DEAD-box family, which is characteristic of DEAD-box protein family. It was confirmed that Pe-DDX3 has the nine conserved motifs by the comparison of entire amino acids sequence of Pe-DDX3 with other species of different taxa. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Pe-DDX3 belongs to a DDX3 (PL10) subgroup of DEAD-box protein family. And it displayed a high homology with PL10a, b from P. dumerilii.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.1470-1476
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• 2016

The viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), which belongs to the Novirhabdovirus genus of the Rhabdoviridae family, is a viral pathogen that causes severe losses in the olive flounder farming industry. Among six encoding VHSV proteins, the non-virion (NV) protein has been shown to have an impact on virulence. In our previous studies, transcriptomics microarray analysis by using VHSV-infected olive flounder showed that VHSV infection significantly down-regulated the mRNA expression of glycolytic enzymes. In addition, VHSV NV protein variants decreased the intracellular ATP level. Based on these results, we have tried to examine the effect of VHSV NV protein on glycolytic enzyme glucokinase expression, which phosphorylates glucose to glucose 6-phosphate. Our results indicated that the NV protein significantly decreased the mRNA expression of glucokinase in olive flounder HINAE cells. Furthermore, the NV protein played a negative role in the promoter activation of glucokinase. Furthermore, glucose uptake was effectively inhibited by VHSV infection and NV protein expression in olive flounder HINAE cells. These results suggest that the VHSV NV protein negatively regulates glycolytic enzyme expression by a transcription level and eventually leads to gradual morbidity of olive flounder through cellular energy deprivation. The present results may be useful for the prevention and diagnosis of VHSV infection in olive flounder.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.165-178
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• 2017

Background: Traditional Korean Sasang constitutional (SC) medicine categorizes individuals into four constitutional types [Tae-eum (TE), So-eum (SE), Tae-yang (TY), or So-yang (SY)] based on biological and physiological characteristics. As these characteristics are closely related to the bioenergetics of the human body, we assessed the correlation between SC type and energy metabolism features. Methods: Forty healthy, young ($22.3{\pm}1.4$ years) males volunteered to participate in this study. Participants answered an SC questionnaire, and their face shape, voice tone, and body shape were assessed using an SC analysis tool. Thirty-one participants (10 TE, 10 SE, 3 TY, and 8 SY) were selected for further analysis. Collected blood samples were subjected to blood composition analysis, mitochondrial function analysis, and whole-exome sequencing. Results: The SY type showed significantly lower total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than the SE type. Cellular and mitochondrial Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels were similar across types. All types showed similar basal mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates, whereas the TE type showed a significantly lower ATP-linked oxygen consumption rate than the other types. Whole-exome sequencing identified several genes variants that were exclusively detected in particular SC types, including 19 for SE, seven for SY, 11 for TE, and six for TY. Conclusion: SC type-specific differences in mitochondrial function and gene mutations were detected in a small group of healthy, young Korean males. These results are expected to greatly improve the accurate screening and utilization of SC medicine.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.106-115
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• 2021

Sperm cryopreservation is an important method of assisted reproductive techniques and storing genetic resources. It plays a vital role in genetic improvement, livestock industrial preservation of endangered species, and clinical practice. Consequently, the cryopreservation technique is well organized through various studies, especially on Korean native cattle (Hanwoo). However, the cryopreservation technique of Korean native brindled cattle, which is one of the native cattle species in Korea, is not well organized. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a Supplementary Table technique for the cryopreservation of Korean native brindled cattle. For this purpose, it is important to first evaluate the quality of the currently produced cryopreserved sperm of Korean native brindled cattle. In this study, we randomly selected 72 individual Korean native brindled cattle semen samples collected from 8 different region research centers and used them to evaluate sperm functions. We focused on the quality evaluation of cryopreserved Korean native brindled cattle semen following the measurement of motion kinematics, capacitation status, intracellular ATP level, sperm motility, and cell viability. Then, the values of each of the eight groups were derived from various sperm parameters of nine individual samples, including sperm motility, kinematics, cellular motility, and intracellular ATP levels, which were used to compare and evaluate sperm function. Overall, differences in various sperm parameters were observed between most of the research centers. Particularly, the deviations of motility and motion kinematics were high according to the sample. Therefore, we suggest that it is necessary to develop a standard method for the cryopreservation of Korean native brindled cattle semen. We also suggest the need for sperm quality evaluation of the cryopreserved semen of Korean native brindled cattle before using artificial insemination to attain a high fertility rate.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2020

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily represents the largest transmembrane protein that transports a variety of substrates across extra- and intra-cellular membranes. In insects, the ABC transporter proteins play crucial roles in insecticide resistance. To date, no studies have investigated the involvement of ABC transporter gene for cross-resistance to insecticide chemistries. Here, we studied such possible mechanisms against six conventional insecticides using transgenic Drosophila melanogaster strains carrying Mdr49 transcript variant A. For the 91-R and 91-C strains of Drosophila melanogaster, although they have a common origin, 91-R has been intensely selected with DDT for over 60 years, while 91-C has received no insecticide selection. Our transgenic analyses showed that overexpression of 91-R-MDR49 transcript variant A along with three amino acid variations can yield a relatively low degree of cross-resistance to carbofuran (2.0~6.7-fold) and permethrin (2.5~10.5-fold) but did not show cross-resistance to abamectin, imidacloprid, methoxychlor, and prothiofos as compared to the Gal4-driver control strain without transgene expression. These results indicate that the overexpression of Mdr49A in itself leads to a cross-resistance and three amino acid changes have additional effects on positive cross-resistance to carbofuran and permethrin.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.263-275
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• 2022

There is a paucity of detailed data related to the effect of senescence on the mitochondrial antioxidant capacity and redox state of senescent human cells. Activities of TCA cycle enzymes, respiratory chain complexes, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide anions (SA), lipid peroxides (LPO), protein carbonyl content (PCC), thioredoxin reductase 2 (TrxR2), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1), glutathione reductase (GR), reduced glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSG), along with levels of nicotinamide cofactors and ATP content were measured in young and senescent human foreskin fibroblasts. Primary and senescent cultures were biochemically identified by monitoring the augmented cellular activities of key glycolytic enzymes including phosphofructokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glycogen phosphorylase, and accumulation of H₂O₂, SA, LPO, PCC, and GSSG. Citrate synthase, aconitase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and complex I-III, II-III, and IV activities were significantly diminished in P25 and P35 cells compared to P5 cells. This was accompanied by significant accumulation of mitochondrial H₂O₂, SA, LPO, and PCC, along with increased transcriptional and enzymatic activities of TrxR2, SOD2, GPx1, and GR. Notably, the GSH/GSSG ratio was significantly reduced whereas NAD⁺/NADH and NADP⁺/NADPH ratios were significantly elevated. Metabolic exhaustion was also evident in senescent cells underscored by the severely diminished ATP/ADP ratio. Profound oxidative stress may contribute, at least in part, to senescence pointing at a potential protective role of antioxidants in aging-associated disease.