• Mycobiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.427-431
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• 2014

Mitochondrial protein Nfu1 plays an important role in the assembly of mitochondrial Fe-S clusters and intracellular iron homeostasis in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, we identified the Nfu1 ortholog in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Our data showed that C. neoformans Nfu1 localized in the mitochondria and influenced homeostasis of essential metals such as iron, copper and manganese. Marked growth defects were observed in the mutant lacking NFU1, which suggests a critical role of Nfu1 in Fe-S cluster biosynthesis and intracellular metal homeostasis in C. neoformans.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.402-408
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• 2010

Plant matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are a family of apoplastic metalloproteases closely related to human matrilysins. Up-regulation of Nicotiana benthamiana matrix metalloprotease 1 (NMMP1) expression by treatment with pathogens, ethephon and aging indicates that the gene is related to plant defense and the aging process through ethylene signaling. NMMP1 expression was higher than in normal growth leaves following infection with an incompatible pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato T1 or a compatible pathogen P. syringae pv. tabaci and in aged leaves. Transient overexpression of NMMP1 in N. benthamiana leaves lowered the growth of P. syringae pv. tabaci. However, NMMP1-silenced leaves showed increased growth of P. syringae pv. tabaci. These data strongly suggest that NMMP1 in N. benthamiana is a defense related gene, which is positively regulated by ethylene.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.261-270
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• 2016

The human immune system has evolved to fight against foreign pathogens. It plays a central role in the body's defense mechanism. However, the immune memory geared to fight off a previously recognized pathogen, tends to remember an original form of the pathogen when a variant form subsequently invades. This has been termed 'original antigenic sin'. This adverse immunological effect can alter vaccine effectiveness and sometimes cause enhanced pathogenicity or additional inflammatory responses, according to the type of pathogen and the circumstances of infection. Here we aim to give a simplified conceptual understanding of virus infection and original antigenic sin by comparing and contrasting the two examples of recurring infections such as influenza and dengue viruses in humans.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.37.1-37.15
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• 2020

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an etiologic pathogen of human tuberculosis (TB), a serious infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality. In addition, the threat of drug resistance in anti-TB therapy is of global concern. Despite this, it remains urgent to research for understanding the molecular nature of dynamic interactions between host and pathogens during TB infection. While Mtb evasion from phagolysosomal acidification is a well-known virulence mechanism, the molecular events to promote intracellular parasitism remains elusive. To combat intracellular Mtb infection, several defensive processes, including autophagy and apoptosis, are activated. In addition, Mtb-ingested phagocytes trigger inflammation, and undergo necrotic cell death, potentially harmful responses in case of uncontrolled pathological condition. In this review, we focus on Mtb evasion from phagosomal acidification, and Mtb interaction with host autophagy, apoptosis, and necrosis. Elucidation of the molecular dialogue will shed light on Mtb pathogenesis, host defense, and development of new paradigms of therapeutics.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1644-1652
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• 2012

Iron plays a key role in host-pathogen interactions. Microbial pathogens require iron for survival and virulence, whereas mammalian hosts sequester and withhold iron as a means of nutritional immunity. We previously identified two paralogous genes, CFT1 and CFT2, which encode homologs of a fungal iron permease, Cft1 and Cft2, respectively, in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Cft1 was shown to play a role in the high-affinity reductive iron uptake system, and was required for transferrin utilization and full virulence in mammalian hosts. However, no role of Cft2 has been suggested yet. Here, we identified the third gene, CFT3, that produces an additional fungal iron permease homolog in C. neoformans, and we also generated the cft3 mutant for functional characterization. We aimed to reveal distinct functions of Cft1, Cft2 and Cft3 by analyzing phenotypes of the mutants lacking CFT1, CFT2 and CFT3, respectively. The endogenous promoter of CFT1, CFT2 and CFT3 was replaced with the inducible GAL7 promoter in the wild-type strain or in the cft1 mutant for gain-of-function analysis. Using these strains, we were able to find that CFT2 is required for growth in low-iron conditions in the absence of CFT1 and that overexpression of CFT2 compensates for deficiency of the cft1 mutant in iron uptake and various cellular stress conditions. However, unlike CFT2, no clear phenotypic characteristic of the cft3 mutant and the strain overexpressing CFT3 was observed. Overall, our data suggested a redundant role of Cft2 in the high-affinity iron uptake and stress responses in C. neoformans.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.249-255
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• 2002

Zea Mays L. has been known to be effective for improving tissue health and Magnoliae cortex to have effective antibacterial and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microbes. The purpose of this study was to examine the antimicrobial effects of Zea Mays L. and Magnoliae cortex extract mixtures on periodontal pathogens(Prevotella intermedia, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutans )and to examine the effects on human gingival fibroblast cellular activity. Zea Mays L. and Magnoliae cortex extracts and their mixtures were prepared with various mixing ratios (0.5:1, 1:1, 1.5:1, 2:1). These extracts were loaded to periodontal pathogen cultured petri dish for antimicrobial test and also loaded to cultured human gingival fibroblast for cellular activity test. Each test was repeated 3 times and data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with 95% confidence level. Mixture of these two extracts showed greater amount of inhibition area on periodontal pathogen and more improved gingival fibroblast activity as Zea Mays L. ratio reduced. So, mixture ratio 0.5:1 (Zea Mays L. : Magnoliae cortex) group showed statistical significance in antimicrobial activity and cellular activity among various mixtures(p < 0.05). In conclusion, 0.5:1 (Zea Mays L. : Magnoliae cortex) mixture possessed best gingival fibroblast cellular activity and antimicrobial activity toward periodontal pathogens.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.547-551
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• 2013

We recently reported a Philyra pisum lectin (PPL) that exerts mitogenic effects on human lymphocytes, and its molecular characterization. The present study provides a more detailed characterization of PPL based on the results from a monosaccharide analysis indicating that PPL is a glycoprotein, and circular dichroism spectra revealing its estimated ${\alpha}$-helix, ${\beta}$-sheet, ${\beta}$-turn, and random coil contents to be 14.0%, 39.6%, 15.8%, and 30.6%, respectively. These contents are quite similar to those of deglycosylated PPL, indicating that glycans do not affect its intact structure. The binding properties to different pathogen-associated molecular patterns were investigated with hemagglutination inhibition assays using lipoteichoic acid from Gram-positive bacteria, lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria, and both mannan and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucan from fungi. PPL binds to lipoteichoic acids and mannan, but not to lipopolysaccharides or ${\beta}$-1,3-glucan. PPL exerted no significant antiproliferative effects against human breast or bladder cancer cells. These results indicate that PPL is a glycoprotein with a lipoteichoic acid or mannan-binding specificity and which contains low and high proportions of ${\alpha}$-helix and ${\beta}$-structures, respectively. These properties are inherent to the innate immune system of P. pisum and indicate that PPL could be involved in signal transmission into Gram-positive bacteria or fungi.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2000

Staphylococcus aureus is a causative pathogen of bovine mastitis. It is recognized as a common pathogen in human and animal and specially enterotoxin-producing strain of S aureus is a common cause of staphylococcal food poisoning in human. Various food originated raw milk, cheese, butter produced from mastitic cow causes staphylococcal food poisoning. It is difficult to treat the staphylococcal mastitis because of increasing resistance by using overdose of antibiotics. This study was conducted to investigate the enterotoxin-production and coagulase serotypes of S aureus in Chonnam province for 6 month, 1999. Also we studied the antibiotic resistant pattern with 14 types against isolates. 18(10.1%) S aureus were isolated from 178 raw milk samples in seven farms. and 8 strains(38%) were isolated in 21 raw milk samples which was below 500,000 somatic cells. We identify that 7(87.5%) of 8 isolates and 15(83.3%) 18 isolates produce enterotoxin. Their enterotoxin serotype was type B(66.7%), type A(33.3%) and type C(13.3%). Also 2 strains of isolates was positive to the type A and B. Coagulase serotype of isolates was 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8. Most stains(70.6%) were serotype 2. And most strains(17 isolates, 94.4%) except one isolate was multiple resistant to the tested antibiotics.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.457-464
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• 2022

A public health concern emerging from a zoonotic disease. Monkeypox is caused by the orthopoxvirus specie Monkeypox virus (MPXV). Monkeypox was identified as the most common orthopoxvirus infection in humans following the eradication of smallpox. Monkeypox has a similar clinical presentation to smallpox. The MPXV is now considered a high-threat pathogen that causes a serious public-health problem. The continuous spread of Monkeypox virus from West Africa to all other places around the world throughout 2018 to 2022, have raised concerns that MPXV could have emerged to acquire the immunological and ecological niche vacated by smallpox virus. This review highlights the current knowledge about Monkeypox evolution, infection biology, and epidemiology around the world since from 1970 to 2022, with a focus on the human, viral, and cellular factors that influence virus emergence, infection, spread, and maintenance in nature. This paper also discusses the current therapeutic options for Monkeypox treatment and control. Under the right conditions, with limited smallpox vaccination and very little orthopoxvirus immunity in some areas of the world, MPXV could become a more efficient human pathogen. Finally, the review identified knowledge gaps, particularly in terms of identifying a definitive reservoir host for monkeypox and proposes future research endeavors to address the unanswered questions.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.271-289
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• 2009

This thesis intend to help the eastern medical doctor to understand body condition from interpretation of perspirations(汗出) in daily time cycle. The conclusion is followed. 1. In most Eastern Medical classic and clinic literatures, the time of fever and perspirations are described as a result of disease's position at human body. Following this description, in daytime the perspirations must come from the Gi phase and night time the perspirations must come from the blood phase. Because in daytime the skin pores are opening and the defensive Gi is going out to the superficial portion of the body. In night time the skin pores are shutting and the defensive Gi is going in to the five solid organs. So a sweat in daytime comes out from the Gi phase and superficial portion of the body. And in night time comes out from the blood phase and five solid organs. But in recent real clinic cases, in daytime, there are so many perspirations from the five solid organs. Comparatively, the perspirations from the superficial portion of body are very little. And in same daytime perspirations, when the heat pathogens mixed with moist, the symptom revelation time delay to the afternoon. Therefore it can be concluded that the time of perspirations are combination of disease's Gi or blood phase and characteristics of pathogens. The position of disease at human body cannot simply judge the symptom revelation time. 2. The exchange of climate following time cycle of a day effect to the condition of human body. At same time it activates or not activates the pathogens in human body. So we can consider the kinds and characteristics of pathogens by distinguishing the symptom revelation time. In general differentiation of syndromes[辨證] pathogen's kinds and location are generally judged. By understanding the characteristics of pathogen, doctor can devise more correct and delicate prescription.