• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.273-278
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• 2011

Destruction of the skin barrier by thermal injury induces microbial invasion, which can lead to the development of systemic infection and septic shock. Microbial pathogens possess pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which are recognized by conserved receptors. To understand the role of PAMPs in thermal injury-induced mice, LPS or CpG-DNA were topically applied to dorsal skin after thermal injury. We observed an increase in the number of inflammatory cell infiltrates as well as thickening in the dermis upon treatment with LPS or CpG-DNA. We also found that expression of IL-$1{\beta}$, MIP-2, and RANTES induced by thermal injury was enhanced by LPS or CpG-DNA. In addition, the proportions of $CD4^+$ and $CD^8+$ T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes were altered by LPS or CpG-DNA. These results provide important information concerning PAMPs-induced inflammation upon thermal injury and provide a basis for studying the role of PAMPs in thermal injury-induced complications.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.219-223
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• 1998

We have established a transformation system for entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, in order to develop mycoinsecticide by recombinant DNA techniques. Protoplasts of M. anisopliae would be transformed to a benomyl-resistant by introducing pBRG-4 plasmid DNA, which contains a ${\beta}-tubulin$ gene of Aspergillus flavus conferring resistance to benomyl and a pyr4 gene of Neurospora crassa, in the presence of 5% polyethylene glycol and 10 mM calcium chloride. Transformants occuring at a frequency of 10 colonies per $50\;{\mu}g$ pBRG-4 DNA grew on the $5\;{\mu}g/ml$ concentrations of benamyl, while the wild type was inhibited by $2.5\;{\mu}g/ml$. From the Southern analysis using genomic DNAs isolated from M. anisopliae transformants, the positive signals suggested that the ${\beta}-tubulin$ gene had integrated in the M. anisopliae genome by homologous recombination.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.8
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• pp.701-707
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• 2007

This study was to investigate lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activity and DNA damage after exercise, and the protective effect of garlic against exercise-induced oxidative stress. Male Sprague-Dawley rats(4 weeks old) were randomly divided into three groups of 6 rats each; control group(Con) without garlic and exercise, Ex group with exercise alone, and Ex-G group with 2% garlic and exercise. For 4 weeks, rats were given diets containing 15% corn oil and 1% cholesterol with or without garlic. The swimming was selected as a model for exercise performance. Rats swam for 40 min a day, for 5 days a week. Group Ex and Ex-G showed significant lowering in body weight gain and fat accumulation compared to control. No significant changes were observed in levels of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride among three groups, demonstrating that exercise and garlic had no effects on changes of blood lipid. This finding of blood lipid seems to be due to higher plant sterol content in corn oil. The DNA tail moment of lymphocytes showed greater tendency in Ex and Ex-G than in control, but garlic supplements failed to suppress DNA damages. Compared to control, Ex had higher plasma TBARS which was lowered to the control's level in Ex-G with 2% garlic supplementation(p<0.05). Ex-G led to a higher hepatic superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity than control and Ex(p<0.05). Activity of hepatic catalase was also increased in Ex-G, while in Ex it was significantly low(p<0.05). It seemed that TBARS levels were related to the activities of SOD and catalase, and that garlic contributed to increasing the enzyme activities and led to decrease of TBARS. These results demonstrate that lipid peroxidation and DNA damage occur as a consequences of oxidative stress after exercise, and that antioxidant defense against oxidative stress could be enhanced by garlic supplementation through the induction of antioxidant enzymes. However, further investigations should be done on the garlic effect on DNA damage.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2001

Aucubin, an irdoid g1ucoside, was investigated to determine whether it has a stimulating effect on $\alpha$-amanitin excretion in $\alpha$-amanitin intoxicated rats, and whether there is binding activity to calf thymus DNA. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of $\alpha$-amanitin in rat urine allowed quantitative measurement of the $\alpha$-amanitin concentration with a detection limit of 50${mu}g/ml$. In this system, a group treated with both $\alpha$-amanitin and aucubin showed that o(-amanitin was excreted about 1.4 times faster than in the $\alpha$-amanitin only treated group. Our previous results showed that the toxicity of $\alpha$-amanitin is due to specific inhibition of RNA polymerase activity and the resultant blockage of the synthesis of certain RNA species in the nucleus. However, no significant activity change on RNA polymerase from Hep G2 cells was observed when aucubin was treated with $\alpha$-amanitin at any concentration tested. Nevertheless, aucubigenin inhibited both DNA polymerase (IC50, 80.5${mu}g/ml$) and RNA polymerase (IC50, 135.0${mu}g/ml$) from the Hep G2 cells. The potential of both $\alpha$-amanitin and aucubin to interact with DNA were examined by spectrophotometric analysis. $\alpha$-Amanitin showed no significant binding capacity to calf thymus DNA, but aucubin was found to interact with DNA, and the apparent binding constant ($K_{app}$) and apparent number of binding sites per D7A phosphate ($B_{app}$) were 0.45$0.45{\times}$$10^4$ $M^{-1}$ and 1.25, respectively.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.55-59
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• 2010

Objective : This study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant activity and inhibitory effect on oxidative DNA damage of Nelumbinis Semen Extracts Methods : Nelumbins semen were extracted with hot-water and ethylacetate (EtOAC). The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay and $Fe^{2+}$ chelating assay were performed for antioxidative effect and ${\phi}X$-174 RF I DNA cleavage assay and intracellular DNA damage assay were used for inhibitory effect on intracellular DNA damage. Results : In DPPH, Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and $Fe^{2+}$ chelating activity of EtOAC extracts were 96.22%, 53.53%, 64.72%, while those of hot-water extracts were 20.86%, 10.72%, 29.74% at $200{\mu}g/m{\ell}$, respectively. In ${\phi}X$-174 RF I plasmid DNA cleavage assay, the protective effects of EtOAC and hot-water extracts against oxidative DNA damage were 76% and 6% at $200{\mu}g/m{\ell}$, respectively. Conclusion : These results indicated that the seed extracts of Nelumbo nucifera can be used as a natural antioxidants, which effectively inhibits the oxidative DNA damage.

• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.379-383
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• 2017

We previously reported that p53 plays a role as a key regulator in the tetraploid G1 checkpoint, which is activated by actin damage-induced cytokinesis blockade and then prevents uncoupled DNA replication and nuclear division without cytokinesis. In this study, we investigated a role of Skp2, which targets CDK2 inhibitor p27/Kip1, in actin damage-induced tetraploid G1 arrest. Expression of Skp2 was reduced, but p27/Kip1 was increased, after actin damage-induced cytokinesis blockade. The role of Skp2 repression in tetraploid G1 arrest was investigated by analyzing the effects of ectopic expression of Skp2. After actin damage, ectopic expression of Skp2 resulted in DNA synthesis and accumulation of multinucleated cells, and ultimately, induction of apoptosis. These results suggest that Skp2 repression is important for sustaining tetraploid G1 arrest after cytokinesis blockade and is required to prevent uncoupled DNA replication and nuclear division without cytokinesis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1577-1581
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• 2010

Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a hematopoietic cytokine that stimulates bone marrow cells to proliferate and differentiate into granulocytes. G-CSF is approved and used for therapeutic purposes. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) signal peptide of hG-CSF was replaced with silkworm-specific signal peptides to express and efficiently secrete recombinant hG-CSF by silkworm cells. Plasmids that contain cDNAs for hG-CSF and hG-CSF fused with silkworm- specific signal peptides of prophenoloxidase activating enzyme (PPAE), protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), and bombyxin (BX) were constructed. The G-CSF protein was expressed in insect cell line BM5 and was detected by western blot analysis. The cells transfected with plasmids containing rhG-CSF genes with silkworm-specific signal sequences released mature rhG-CSF protein more efficiently than the cells transfected with pG-CSF, the plasmid containing human G-CSF gene, including its own signal sequence. The production of hG-CSF reached maximal level at four days post-transfection and remained at a high level until 7 days post-transfection. These data demonstrate that the modification of the human G-CSF mimic to insect proteins synthesized in ER greatly improves the production of the protein.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.406-410
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• 2004

Glyoxal or methylglyoxal was incubated with catalase in 0.24 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 37$^{\circ}C$. Dicarbonyls modify and inactivate catalase. Plasmid DNA that is directly incubated with glycation propagators, glyoxal and methylglyoxal, showed different DNA mobility shift compared to nomal plasmid DNA. When plasmid DNA is added in Fenton reaction with glycated catalase, plasmid DNA was significantly strand broken and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine production was time dependently increased. These results suggest that glycation of antioxidant is synergistic effect to oxidative stress.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.661-665
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• 1995

Ginsenoside-Rg$_{1}$(G-Rg$_{1}$) has been shown to stimulate DNA synthetic activity in SK-HEP-1 cells. This study was therefore designed to determine in SK-HEP-1 cells whether the stimulatory effect of G-Rg$_{1}$ may be mediated by protein kinase C (PKC) which is known to play a key role in the signal transduction pathway leading to the cell proliferation. Using the tn situ PKC assay method, the PKC enzyme activity was determined in SK-HEP-1 cell cultures in response to G-Rg$_{1}$ at 3*10$^{-5}$ M or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate(PMA) at 10$^{-6}$ M which in the enzyme activity by 1.5- and 7-fold, respectively. Furthermore, G-Rg$_{1}$, was also able to synergistically increase the enzyme activity by 11-fold m the cell cultures in the presence of PMA. These stimulatory effects of G-Rg$_{1}$ or PMA on the DNA synthetic activity and the PKC activity were ablished by a specific PKC inhibitor, GF109203X. These results suggest that the stimulatory effect of G-Rg$_{1}$ on the DNA synthetic activity may be partly due to stimulation of PKC-mediated signal transduction pathway leading to the proliferation of SK-HEP-1 cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.758-763
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• 2011

Immunostimulatory CpG-DNA targeting TLR9 is one of the most extensively evaluated vaccine adjuvants. Previously, we found that a particular form of natural phosphodiester bond CpG-DNA (PO-ODN) encapsulated in a phosphatidyl-${\beta}$-oleoyl-${\gamma}$-palmitoyl ethanolamine (DOPE) : cholesterol hemisuccinate (CHEMS) (1 : 1 ratio) complex (Lipoplex(O)) is a potent adjuvant. Complexes containing peptide and Lipoplex(O) are extremely useful for B cell epitope screening and antibody production without carriers. Here, we showed that IL-12 production was increased in bone marrow derived dendritic cells in a CpG sequence-dependent manner when PO-ODN was encapsulated in Lipoplex(O), DOTAP or lipofectamine. However, the effects of Lipoplex(O) surpassed those of PO-ODN encapsulated in DOTAP or lipofectamine and also other various forms of liposome-encapsulated CpG-DNA in terms of potency for protein antigen-specific IgG production and Th1- associated IgG2a production. Therefore, Lipoplex(O) may have a unique potent immunoadjuvant activity which can be useful for various applications involving protein antigens as well as peptides.