• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6017-6022
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• 2012

Background: Resveratrol has been reported to have potential chemopreventive and apoptosis-inducing properties in a variety of tumor cell lines. Objective: In this study, to investigate the effects of resveratrol on protein kinase C (PKC) activity and apoptosis in human colon carcinoma cells, we used HT-29 cells and examined the $PKC{\alpha}$ and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. Methods: To test the effects of resveratrol on the growth of HT-29 cells, the cells were exposed to varying concentrations and assessed with the the MTT cell-viability assay. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis was applieded to determine the effects of resveratrol on cell apoptosis. Western blotting was performed to determine the protein levels of $PKC{\alpha}$ and ERK1/2. In inhibition experiments, HT-29 cells were treated with G$\ddot{o}$6976 or PD98059 for 30 min, followed by exposure to $200{\mu}M$ resveratrol for 72 h. Results: Resveratrol had a significant inhibitory effect on HT-29 cell growth. FACS revealed that resveratrol induced apoptosis. Western blotting showed that e phosphorylation of $PKC{\alpha}$ and ERK1/2 was significantly increased in response to resveratrol treatment. Pre-treatment with $PKC{\alpha}$ and ERK1/2 inhibitors (G$\ddot{o}$6976 and PD98059) promoted apoptosis. Conclusion: Resveratrol has significant anti-proliferative effects on the colon cancer cell line HT-29. The PKC-ERK1/2 signaling pathway can partially mediate resveratrol-induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.81-94
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• 2010

Background: Autophagy is an important adaptive mechanism in normal development and in response to changing environmental stimuli in cancer. Previous papers have reported that different types of cancer underwent autophagy to obtain amino acids as energy source of dying cells in nutrient-deprived conditions. However, whether or not autophagy in the process of lung cancer causes death or survival is controversial. Therefore in this study, we investigated whether nutrient deprivation induces autophagy in human H460 lung cancer cells. Methods: H460, lung cancer cells were incubated in RPMI 1640 medium, and the starved media, which are BME and RPMI media without serum, including 2-deoxyl-D-glucose according to time dependence. To evaluate the viability and find out the mechanism of cell death under nutrient-deprived conditions, the MTT assay and flow cytometry were done and analyzed the apoptotic and autophagic related proteins. It is also measured the development of acidic vascular organelles by acridine orange. Results: The nutrient-deprived cancer cell is relatively sensitive to cell death rather than normal nutrition. Massive cytoplasmic vacuolization was seen under nutrient-deprived conditions. Autophagic vacuoles were visible at approximately 12 h and as time ran out, vacuoles became larger and denser with the increasing number of vacuoles. In addition, the proportion of acridine orange stain-positive cells increased according to time dependence. Localization of GFP-LC3 in cytoplasm and expression of LC-3II and Beclin 1 were increased according to time dependence on nutrient-deprived cells. Conclusion: Nutrient deprivation induces cell death through autophagy in H460 lung cancer cells.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2008

We analyzed soil characteristics, soil seed banks, and plant communities in a small islet in Ganwol Lake from May 2005 to August 2006 to examine the forces driving plant settlement on sand bars and the effects of plant settlement patterns on nesting sites of little terns (Sterna albifrons). The soil nutrients contents in a site where the feces of wintering birds accumulate (N: 15.4 mg/kg, P: 10.5 mg/kg, LOI: 0.51 %, pH: 6.8) and a site where organic sediments accumulate (N: 20.7 mg/kg, P: 16.4 mg/kg, LOI: 0.40%, pH: 6.6) were much higher those of a control site which was not affected by bird feces and organic sediments (N: 4.1 mg/kg, P: 5.4 mg/kg, LOI: 0.41%, pH: 6.7). However, a seed bank was formed only on the site with accumulated organic sediments. Plant settlement was accelerated by feces from wintering birds and organic sediment accumulation on sand bars in Ganwol Lake. The percentage of area disturbed by human activities increased from 0.2% in May 2005 to 13.9% in August 2006, and the percentage of annual communities increased from 27.5% to 43.3%, but the percentage of open area decreased from 55.2% to 28.0% from May 2005 to August 2006. These increases in disturbed area and annual communities decreased the open area for breeding of little terns. The enlargement of P. communis and T. angustata communities was suppressed by irregular flooding. These results provide useful information for the management of little tern breeding sites for conservation purposes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6363-6367
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• 2013

Atractylis lancea (Thunb.) DC. (AL), an important medicinal herb in Asia, has been shown to have anti-tumor effects on cancer cells, but the involved mechanisms are poorly understood. This study focused on potential effects and molecular mechanisms of AL on the proliferation of the Hep-G2 liver cancer cell line in vitro. Cell viability was assessed by MTT test in Hep-G2 cells incubated with an ethanol extract of AL. Then, the effects of AL on apoptosis and cell cycle progression were determined by flow cytometry. Telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assays was performed to investigate telomerase activity. The mRNA and protein expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and c-myc were determined by real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Our results show that AL effectively inhibits proliferation in Hep-G2 cells in a concentrationand time-dependent manner. When Hep-G2 cells were treated with AL after 48h,the $IC_{50}$ was about 72.1 ${\mu}g/mL$. Apoptosis was induced by AL via arresting the cells in the G1 phase. Furthermore, AL effectively reduced telomerase activity through inhibition of mRNA and protein expression of hTERT and c-myc. Hence, these data demonstrate that AL exerts anti-proliferative effects in Hep-G2 cells via down-regulation of the c-myc/hTERT/telomerase pathway.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.6 s.89
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• pp.441-445
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• 2004

Cellular iron uptake was performed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that transformed with human ferritin H- and L-chain genes. The recombinant yeasts were enriched in YEP medium supplemented with $2\%$ galactose for 3 days and the iron uptake was followed by incubating the cells with iron in 20 mM MOPS buffer (pH 6.5). The reactions were examined under different conditions including the iron compounds of Fe(II) and Fe(III), the concentration of iron, the concentration of cells and the reaction time. From our results, the recombinant yeast YGH2 producing H-chain ferritin showed higher cellular iron concentration at the cell concentration of 100 mg/ml than 200 mg/ml. Iron presented as Fe(II) rather than Fe(III) was taken up more efficiently. Iron uptake increased slightly when iron was added up to 14.3 mM Fe(II) and then its cellular iron concentration was $16.7{\pm}0.7\;{\mu}mol/g$ cell wet wt. In addition, the iron uptake reaction reached to maximum at about 2 hr incubation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.239-249
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• 1999

The role of amino acids in culture media for IVF-ET was examined in a total of 76 cycles. Patients received clomiphene citrate (CC) followed by hMG or GnRH-a combined with gonadotropins (FSH/hMG) for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Severe male (<$4{\times}10^6$ motile sperm) or age factor (>39 y) patients were excluded in this study. Pregnancy was classified as clinical if a gestational sac or fetal cardiac activity was seen on ultrasound. No significant differences were found in age, duration of infertility, follicle size, the level of $E_2$ on the day of hCG injection, the mean number of oocytes retrieved, total motile sperm count, fertilization rate and the mean number of embryos transferred between bHTF (without amino acids) and mHTF (with amino acids) groups. However, total ampules of gonadotropins were higher (p<0.01) in mHTF group than bHTF group. Significantly (p<0.05) more clinical pregnancies were recorded in mHTF group (13/30) compared with bHTF group (9/46). The multiple pregnancy rates were 11.1% in bHTF group and 7.7% in mHTF group. There were one ectopic pregnancy in mHTF group and one heterotopic pregnancy in bHTF group. Abortion rates were 22.2% in bHTF group and 7.7% in mHTF, respectively. The ongoing pregnancy or livebirth rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in mHTF group (12/30) than bHTF group (7/46). These results suggest that the addition of amino acids in culture media is essential for culture of zygotes in vitro and adjustment of energy substrates in phosphate-free culture media appears to be beneficial for human IVF-ET procedure.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1260-1270
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• 2007

The discovery of drugs on the treatment of mast cell-mediated allergic disease is a very important subject in human heath. The Socheongyoug-tang(SCYT) has been used for centruries as a traditional medicine in Korea and is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect. However, its specific mechanism of action is still unknown. In this report, we investigated the effect of hot water extract from SCYT on RBL-2H3 mast cell-mediated allergic reaction and studied its possible mechanism of action. SCYT inhibited compound 48/80-induced systemic anaphylaxis and serum histamine release in mice. SCYT decreased the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction activated by Anti-lgE antibody-HSA. SCYT dose-dependently reduced histamine release from mice peritoneal mast cells activated by Anti-lgE antibody-HSA. SCYT increased cAMP and decreased compound 48/80-induced intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels. Our findings provide evidence that SCYT inhibits mast-derived allergic reactions, and also demonstrate the involvement of cAMP and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ in these effects.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.162-170
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• 2016

The effects of dietary ${\beta}$-glucan, obtained from bacterial fermentation, on the intestinal mass, short chain fatty acids, lactate production and pH in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were evaluated. SD rats fed with 0% (control group), 1% or 5% ${\beta}$-glucan supplemented diets (w/w) for 3 weeks. The presence of ${\beta}$-glucan in the diets resulted in a significant increase in colonic contents in a dose dependent manner. The amount of short chain fatty acids increased in rats fed ${\beta}$-glucan diets. Rats fed the 5% ${\beta}$-glucan diets had higher levels of acetate, propionate and butyrate by 1.8, 1.7 and 3.0 fold of the control group in the cecum, and 2.2, 2.9 and 3.1 fold of the control group in the colon, respectively. The ${\beta}$-glucan diets also significantly increased the levels of cecal and colonic lactate by 1.4~3.4 fold, when compared to the control diet, indicating that dietary ${\beta}$-glucan stimulated the growth of lactic acid bacteria within the intestine. These results suggest that dietary ${\beta}$-glucan, by providing short chain fatty acids and reducing the cecal and colonic pH, may be beneficial in improving gut health, and provide evidence for the use of ${\beta}$-glucan as a dietary supplement for human consumption.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.432-445
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• 2000

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various kinds of composts on the change of nutrition loss in upland soils. Field experiments were conducted in the loam and sandy loam soils, while the clay loam and sandy loam soils were used for laboratory experiments. Various kinds of composts such as poultry manure compost(PMC), cow manure compost(CMC), human excrement sludge(HES), and food industrial sludge compost(FISC) were applied annually at rates of 0, 40, and $80mg\;ha^{-1}$ to soils grown with soybean and maize plants for 4 years during 1994 to 1997. The results of this study were as follows : The loss of nutrients in the form of cation and anion by run-off water increased with the increase of compost application rate. Compared with bare soils, maize cultivation decreased the nutrient loss by run-off from soils by 43% in anionic form and 32% in cationic form. Amount of cation loss were ordered $K^+$ > $Ca^{2+}$ > $Na^+$ > $Mg^{2+}$ > $NH_4{^+} $ and that of anion loss were ordered $SO_4{^{2-}}$ > $NO_3{^-}$ > $Cl^-$ > $PO_4{^{3-}}$. Nutrient loss of sand loam soil in the cation and anion by percolation water increased 1.7 times compared with loam soil. $NO_3{^-}-N$ contents in percolated water were high at the initial stage after compost application, and the amounts were higher in sandy loam soil than loam soil. The maize cultivation also decreased the $NO_3{^-}-N$ contents in percolated water by 82% in loam soil, and 58% in sand loam soil. Soil pH of composts determined by laboratory incubation test increased pH 6.1~6.8 application with poultry and cow manure compost but application with human excrement sludge decreased pH 4.5~4.7. Soil EC were increased initially composts application and decreased up to 2 weeks, thereafter kept a certain level. Nitrogen mineralization rates of composts determined by laboratory incubation test at $25^{\circ}C$ were 39~76% in sandy loam soil, and 16~48% in clay loam soil.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.667-673
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• 2009

The antihyperlipidemic and glycemic control effects of mycelia of Inonotus obliquus including protein-bound polysaccharides extract were investigated. In high fat diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice, the mycelia of Inonotus obliquus including protein-bound polysaccharides extract showed significant decrease in epididymal fat tissue weight, blood triglyceride and VLDL level, triglyceride and total cholesterol level in liver, serum insulin and HOMA-IR level and AUC. Oral glucose tolerance test glucose level reduction were 4.9% (M150L; ${\beta}$-glucan 1.303 mg/kg bw), 9.5% (M150; ${\beta}$-glucan 2.606 mg/kg bw) after 180 min of glucose loading compared to H-C group. Besides, the mycelia of Inonotus obliquus including protein-bound polysaccharides extract treatment significantly increased glycogen contents in liver and adiponectin level in high fat diet-induced obese mice. In conclusion, the results showed that the mycelia of Inonotus obliquus including protein-bound polysaccharides extract possesses significant antihyperlipidemic and glycemic control effects in C57BL/6J mice.