• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.32 no.4 s.127
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• pp.280-286
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• 2001

Epigallocathechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the main polyphenol component in green tea, inhibits angiogenesis, urokinase, and matalloproteinases, and EGCG also has the antioxidative property. Recent reports proposed that EGCG may modulate the immune response on allergy or asthma. Human nasal mucosal fibroblasts are a rich source of cytokines, inflammatory mediators, and chemokines. Chemokines are important for the recruitment of leukocytes to sites of infection, which is essential in host defense. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of EGCG on the expression of the chemokines such as RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and presumably secreted), eotaxin, and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in human nasal mucosal fibroblasts after stimulation with cytokines like IL-4, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}\;(TNF-{\alpha})$, and $interferon-{\gamma}\;(IFN-{\gamma})$. To detect the expression of chemokine genes, RT-PCR was performed. Expressions of RANTES, eotaxin, and IL-8 mRNA stimulated with IL-4 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ were increased, respectively, while the expression of those genes incubated with $IFN-{\gamma}$ was similar pattern compared to control group. Analyses of chemokine genes of cells pretreated with EGCG showed that the expressions of eotaxin, and IL-8 genes stimulated $IFN-{\gamma}$ were higher compared with those not pretreated with EGCG.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.167-172
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• 2011

LAR-RPTP (leukocyte common antigen-related receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase) is an important regulator in the nervous system, but little is known about its expression pattern in rat trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons. To examine whether LAR-RPTP is expressed in the TG in the current study, we sacrificed rats at 0, 7, 10 and 56 day postpartum (dpp) and a second group of rats at 3 and 5 days after an experimental tooth extraction as a TG injury model. RT-PCR was then used to determine the level of LAR-RPTP expression in the TG and immunohistology was employed to detect the subcellular localization of the protein. The mRNA expression of LAR-RPTP during the developmental stages in the TG was found to gradually increase. After experimental tooth extraction however, these transcript levels had significantly decreased at three days. LAR-RPTP protein signals in the TG were found to be cytoplasmic in the normal animals but interestingly, at five days after an experimental tooth extraction, these signals were rare. These results indicate that LAR-RPTP may be regulated during both the developmental as well as regenerative processes that take place in the TG. This further suggests that LAR-RPTP is not only involved in primary axonogenesis but possibly also in the molecular control of axons during TG repair.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2018

Cyclic AMP-response element binding protein zhangfei (CREBZF), a member of ATF/CREB (activating transcription factor/ cAMP response element binding protein) family, regulates numerous cellular functions and development of cells by interacting transcription factors. This study discovered the expression pattern of CREBZF in seminiferous tubule of testes during the postnatal development of mice. In testis, CREBZF mRNA expression was the highest among other organs. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that the CREBZF was specifically expressed on spermatocyte but not in spermatogonia and Sertoli cells in seminiferous epithelium of mouse testis. Semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that CREBZF transcript level was significantly elevated during postnatal development of mouse testis. Confocal imaging analysis indicated that the protein expression of CREBZF in seminiferous tubule remained low until postnatal day (PD) 14, and was dramatically increased in PD 21. Interestingly, only one type of the spermatocyte expressed CREBZF specifically among SCP3-positive spermatocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that CREBZF may be novel putative marker of the spermatocyte and regulate meiosis during postnatal development of mice.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.942-948
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• 2021

Canine influenza virus (CIV) induces acute respiratory disease in dogs. In this study, we aimed to determine the signaling pathways leading to the induction of IFN-β in a canine respiratory epithelial cell line (KU-CBE) infected with the H3N2 subtype of CIV. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) specific to pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and transcription factors were used to block the IFN-β induction signals in H3N2 CIV-infected KU-CBE cells. Among the PRRs, only the TLR3 and RIG-I expression levels significantly (p < 0.001) increased in CIV-infected cells. Following transfection with siRNA specific to TLR3 (siTLR3) or RIG-I (siRIG-I), the mRNA expression levels of IFN-β significantly (p < 0.001) decreased, and the protein expression of IFN-β also decreased in infected cells. In addition, co-transfection with both siTLR3 and siRIG-I significantly reduced IRF3 (p < 0.001) and IFN-β (p < 0.001) mRNA levels. Moreover, the protein concentration of IFN-β was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in cells co-transfected with both siTLR3 and siRIG-I than in cells transfected with either siTLR3 or siRIG-I alone. Also, the antiviral protein MX1 was only expressed in KU-CBE cells infected with CIV or treated with IFN-β or IFN-α. Thus, we speculate that IFN-β further induces MX1 expression, which might suppress CIV replication. Taken together, these data indicate that TLR3 and RIG-I synergistically induce IFN-β expression via the activation of IRF3, and the produced IFN-β further induces the production of MX1, which would suppress CIV replication in CIV-infected cells.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2006

We determined the partial cDNA of Type II procollagen ${\alpha}1$[pro-${\alpha}1$(II)] chain (1802 bp) of the skate Raja kenojei, which codes 581 amino acid residues. The partial structure of the pro-${\alpha}1$(II) chain consisted of a part of triple helical region (309 residues) and a C-domain (272 residues). Comparing the chain to other vertebrates showed relatively low homology (about 50%) at the amino acid level. However, eight Cys residues in the C-domain of the skate pro-${\alpha}1$(II) chain were conserved in common with those of other vertebrates. The skate pro-${\alpha}1$ (II) chain mRNA was detected by RT-PCR of various tissues, but was undetected in tissues containing Type II collagen. The low homology and unexpected expression pattern suggest the presence of another mRNA variant of the skate pro-${\alpha}1$(II) chain. The present study is the first report of the primary structure of pro-${\alpha}1$(II) chain in an elasmobranch.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.262-269
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• 2024

Panax ginseng has been widely applied as an important herb in traditional medicine to treat numerous human disorders. However, the inflammatory regulation effect of P. ginseng distillate (GSD) has not yet been fully assessed. To determine whether GSD can ameliorate inflammatory processes, a GSD was prepared using the vacuum distillation process for the first time, and the regulation effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages was assessed. The results showed that GSD effectively inhibited nitric oxide (NO) formation and activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA in murine macrophage cell, but not cyclooxygenase-2 production. The mRNA expression pattern of tumor necrosis factor alpha and IL-6 were also reduced by GSD. Furthermore, we confirmed that GSD exerted its anti-inflammatory effects by downregulating c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation, the extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation, and signaling pathway of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Our findings revealed that the inflammatory regulation activity of GSD could be induced by iNOS and NO formation inhibition mediated by regulation of nuclear factor kappa B and p38/JNK MAPK pathways.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.497-504
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• 2021

EGR1 (early growth response 1) is dysregulated in many cancers and exhibits both tumor suppressor and promoter activities, making it an appealing target for cancer therapy. Here, we used a systematic multi-omics analysis to review the expression of EGR1 and its role in regulating clinical outcomes in breast cancer (BC). EGR1 expression, its promoter methylation, and protein expression pattern were assessed using various publicly available tools. COSMIC-based somatic mutations and cBioPortal-based copy number alterations were analyzed, and the prognostic roles of EGR1 in BC were determined using Prognoscan and Kaplan-Meier Plotter. We also used bc-GenEx-Miner to investigate the EGR1 co-expression profile. EGR1 was more often downregulated in BC tissues than in normal breast tissue, and its knockdown was positively correlated with poor survival. Low EGR1 expression levels were also associated with increased risk of ER+, PR+, and HER2- BCs. High positive correlations were observed among EGR1, DUSP1, FOS, FOSB, CYR61, and JUN mRNA expression in BC tissue. This systematic review suggested that EGR1 expression may serve as a prognostic marker for BC patients and that clinicopathological parameters influence its prognostic utility. In addition to EGR1, DUSP1, FOS, FOSB, CYR61, and JUN can jointly be considered prognostic indicators for BC.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.239-248
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• 2015

The nature of molecular mechanisms governing embryonic cell block is largely unknown, but recent reports have demonstrated that proper execution of programmed cell death is crucial for this process. The main objective of this study is to determine effects of programmed cell death on porcine oocytes development in vitro after parthenogenesis. Among the blastocysts matured in 3MA, MAP1LC3A and ATG5 RNA gene expression level increased in the order of Cyst < 3MA < RP. However, Casp-3 and TNF-r RNA gene expression level decreased in the order of RP < 3MA < Cyst. Expression of mTOR within the RP-cultured blastocyst was the most highly to the inner cell mass, while 3MA-cultured blastocyst showed very lowest expression in inner cell mass. The expression of mTOR showed a pattern opposite to that of MAP1LC3A. That is, its expression was the lowest in Cyst group. When the enzymatic activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was assessed in culture, the level of active MMP-9 was higher expression in the medium of each RP treatment group, with the level of another treatment group being relatively higher. Analyses of TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 revealed that their expression was higher in groups that did not receive RP treatment. More specifically, the level of TIMP-2 was not affected by Cyst treatment, while the level of TIMP-3 was higher in 3MA and RP treatment group. There was highly cell division activation efficiency of parthenogenesis on cultured system of RP supplement IVC medium. Therefore, these results suggest that embryo development was significantly increased in conditional culture medium with active autophagy as compared to common cultured condition. Further investigation of this distinction may enable the development of innovative improvements for the production of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.367-375
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• 2004

As the periodontal ligament cells show similar phenotype with osteoblasts, periodontal ligament cells are thought to play an important role in alveolar bone remodeling. According to recent studies, receptor activation of nuclear factor $^{\kappa}B$ ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) are expressed in periodontal ligament cells during tooth movement. Also periodontal ligament cells is known to play an important role in the progression of periodontal disease. This study was designed how the expression of RANKL and OPG in periodontal ligament cells was regulated by IL-1 ${\beta}in$ the concentration of $0.01{\sim}10$ ng/ml. The results are as follows; 1. Periodontal ligament cells which stimulated by 1L-1 ${\beta}$ increased soluble RANKL synthesis by dose-dependent pattern in the concentration of $0.01{\sim}10$ ng/ml. 2. 1L-1 ${\beta}$ induced mRANKL expression in dose-dependent manner in the concentration of $0.01{\sim}5$ ng/ml. 3. mOPG expression was not to be influenced by 1L-1 ${\beta}$. These results suggested that rat periodontal ligament cells could regulate osteoclastogenesis by stimulation of production of RANKL.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2013

Ran is a small GTP-binding protein that binds and subsequently hydrolyzes GTP. The functions of Ran in nuclear transport and mitotic progression are well conserved in plants and animals. In animal cells, stress treatments cause Ran relocalization and slowing of nuclear transport, but the role of Ran proteins in plant cells exposed to stress is still unclear. We have therefore compared Ran genes from three EST libraries construed from different cell types of sweetpotato and the distribution pattern of Ran ESTs differed according to cell type. We further characterized two IbRan genes. IbRan1 is a specific EST to the suspension cells and leaf libraries, and IbRan2 is specific EST to the root library. IbRan1 showed 94.6 % identity with IbRan2 at the amino acid level, but the C-terminal region of IbRan1 differed from that of IbRan2. These two genes showed tissue-specific differential regulation in wounded tissues. Chilling stress induced a similar expression pattern in both IbRan genes in the leaves and petioles, but they were differently regulated in the roots. Hydrogen peroxide treatment highly stimulated IbRan2 mRNA expression in the leaves and petioles, but had no significant effect on IbRan1 gene expression. These results showed that the transcription of these two IbRan genes responds differentially to abiotic stresses and that they are subjected to tissue-specific regulation. Plant Ran-type small G-proteins are a multigenic family, and the characterization of each Ran genes under various environmental stresses will contribute toward our understanding of the distinctive function of each plant Ran isoform.