• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.3 s.83
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• pp.420-426
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• 2007

In the present investigation, we studied the modulating effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG) on the differentiation of mouse C2C12 myoblasts. We found that the strong inhibitory effect of EGCG on DNA methyltransferase-mediated DNA methylation induced transdifferentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into smooth muscle cells demonstrated by both morphological changes and immunofluorescent staining. C2C12 myoblasts treated with EGCG for 4 days expressed smooth muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ protein. Real-time PCR data revealed that smooth muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA was induced by EGCG treated C2C12 myoblasts in a concentration-dependent manner. Smooth muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA concentration increased 330% and 490% after 2 and 3 days of 50 ${\mu}M$ of EGCG treatment. The expression of another smooth muscle marker, transgelin, mRNA was also increased up to 9-fold by 4 days of EGCG treatment compared with control in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggested that C2C12 enables to transdifferentiate into smooth muscle when gene expression patterns are changed by the inhibition of DNA methylation induced by EGCG. In conclusion, transdifferentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into smooth muscle is resulted from the modulating effects of EGCG on DNA methylation which subsequently results in changing the expression pattern of several genes playing a critical role in the differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1709-1716
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• 2007

The health benefits of garlic (Allium sativum L.) are derived from a wide variety of components and from the different ways it is administered. The known health benefits of garlic include cardiovascular protective effects, stimulation of immune function, reduction of blood glucose level, protection against microbial, viral and fungal infections, as well as anticancer effects. In the present study, it was examined the effects of water extract of A. sativum (WEAS) on the growth of cultured human tumor cells in order to investigate its anti-proliferative mechanism. Treatment of WEAS to tumor cells resulted in the growth inhibition, especially in leukemia cells, which was associated with induction of G2/M arrest of the cell cycle and apoptosis. In order to further explore the critical events leading to apoptosis in WEAS-treated U937 human leukemia cells, the following effects of WEAS on components of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway were examined: generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), alteration of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and the expression changes of Bcl-2 and IAP family proteins. The cytotoxic effect of WEAS was mediated by its induction of apoptosis as characterized by the occurrence of DNA ladders, apoptotic bodies and chromosome condensation in U937 cells. The WEAS-induced apoptosis in U937 cells was correlated with the generation of intracellular ROS, collapse of MMP, activation of caspase-3 and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins. The quenching of ROS generation with antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine conferred significant protection against WEAS-elicited ROS generation, caspase-3 activation, G2/M arrest and apoptosis. In conclusion, the present study reveals that the cellular ROS generation plays a pivotal role in the initiation of WEAS-triggered apoptotic death in U937 cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1649-1653
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• 2007

High temperature stresses have caused growth inhibition and delayed heading in highland cultivation Chinese cabbage during summer in Korea. We have studied high temperature stress responses in the terms of changes of inorganic components and proteins by proteomic analyses. Insufficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorus have affected growth rate and calcium deficiency has caused blunted heading. Proteins extracted from Brassica seedling grown at the altitude of 600m and 900m in the Mount Jilun were extracted and analysed by 2-dimentional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Profiles of protein expression was then analyzed by 2-dimentional gel analyses. Protein spots showing different expression level were picked using the spot handling workstation and subjected to MALDI-TOF MS. Total 48 protein spots were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS and 30 proteins spots out of 48 were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting analyses. Fourteen proteins were up-regulated in extracts from the altitude of 900m and they were identified as oxygen-evolving proteins, rubisco activase and ATPase etc. Sixteen proteins were up-regulated in extracts from the altitude of 600m and they were identified as glutathione S-transferase(1, 28kD cold induced- and 24 kD auxin-binding proteins) and salt-stress induced protein etc. These stress-induced proteins were related to the mediated protective mechanism against oxidative damage during various stresses. The results indicated that physiological phenomenon in response to high temperature stresses might be resulted by complex and multiple array of responses with drought, heat, oxidative, salt, and cold by high temperature.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.44-48
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• 2015

To investigate the anti-cancer effect of shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) cultured in aloe-supplement, we treated extract of shiitake mushroom cultured in aloe-supplement (ESA) to MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. ESA-treated MDA-MB-231 cells showed decreased growth rate in XTT assay. In addition migration/invasion was noticeably inhibited by ESA in TNF-${\alpha}$-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. Western blot analysis showed that the molecular mechanism of cell migration/invasion was mediated by reduced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression via p-ERK signal transduction pathways. We found ESA had inhibition activity against cellular growth and migration/invasion. Taken together, ESA has putative anti-cancer activity against human breast cancer.

• Gut and Liver
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.682-693
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• 2018

Background/Aims: Intestinal barrier dysfunction is a hallmark of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as ulcerative colitis. This dysfunction is caused by increased permeability and the loss of tight junctions in intestinal epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether estradiol treatment reduces colonic permeability, tight junction disruption, and inflammation in an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) colon cancer mouse model. Methods: The effects of $17{\beta}$-estradiol (E2) were evaluated in ICR male mice 4 weeks after AOM/DSS treatment. Histological damage was scored by hematoxylin and eosin staining and the levels of the colonic mucosal cytokine myeloperoxidase (MPO) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To evaluate the effects of E2 on intestinal permeability, tight junctions, and inflammation, we performed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. Furthermore, the expression levels of mucin 2 (MUC2) and mucin 4 (MUC4) were measured as target genes for intestinal permeability, whereas zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1), occludin (OCLN), and claudin 4 (CLDN4) served as target genes for the tight junctions. Results: The colitis-mediated induced damage score and MPO activity were reduced by E2 treatment (p<0.05). In addition, the mRNA expression levels of intestinal barrier-related molecules (i.e., MUC2, ZO-1, OCLN, and CLDN4) were decreased by AOM/DSS-treatment; furthermore, this inhibition was rescued by E2 supplementation. The mRNA and protein expression of inflammation-related genes (i.e., KLF4, NF-${\kappa}B$, iNOS, and COX-2) was increased by AOM/DSS-treatment and ameliorated by E2. Conclusions: E2 acts through the estrogen receptor ${\beta}$ signaling pathway to elicit anti-inflammatory effects on intestinal barrier by inducing the expression of MUC2 and tight junction molecules and inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.11-11
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• 1999

;It has been reported that suspension-cultured rice cells grown on mixed carbon sources of glucose (GIc) and acetate exhibited diauxic growth in which acetate was the preferred carbon source (Lee and Lee, 1996). Carrot (Daucus carota L.) suspension cells, showing a diauxic growth very similar to that of rice cells, were used to delineate the mechanisms underlying this preferential use of acetate over GIc. Uptakes of both GIc and 3-0-methylglucose (3-0MG), a non-metabolizable GIc analogue, were similarly inhibited when acetate or butylate, weak acids which are capable of transporting protons into the cytosol, were present in the uptake assay mixture containing cells harvested during the GIc-utilizing second growth phase. Inhibition of GIc uptake by these weak acids was similar when equivalent experiments were carried out with isolated plasma membranes. It was further shown that Glc uptake, which requires a proper proton gradient across the plasma membranes, was inhibited during the first growth phase by acetate-mediated alkalization of growth medium and/or simultaneous acidification of cytosol. This study strongly suggests that Glc utilization in plant cells is inhibited by co-presenting carbon source(s) which can alter the proton gradient across the plasma membrane. We further examined diauxic growth in culture containing GIc and malate. Unlike the case in the culture with GIc and acetate, carrot cells used GIc first. Malate was utilized only after Glc is depleted from medium. These results indicate that GIc can be a preferred or less-preferred carbon source depending on the competing carbon source. It was noted that malate was not directly taken up by cells. Instead it was converted extracellularly into fumarate which was subsequently transported into cells. During the malate-growth phase malate uptake was negligible, and fumarate uptake was active and pH-sensitive. It was shown that fumarase released into medium was responsible for the extracellular conversion of malate into fumarate. An immunoblot experiments showed that fumarase antibody raised against Arabidopsis fumarase provided positive signals only in medium in malate culture, not in fumarate or GIc cultures. This study demonstrates the first example in that fumarase, a mitochondria marker enzyme, can be present in places other than mitochondria.ndria.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.165-171
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• 2010

Oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen intermediates has been implicated in a variety of human diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and mode of action of environmental toxicants. Tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP) is an organic lipid hydroperoxide analogue, which is commonly used as a pro-oxidant for evaluating mechanisms involving oxidative stress in cells and tissues. In this study, the underlying mechanisms involved in the protective effects of Hwabuk 94 kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. 'Hwabuk 94'), which is cultivated in Jeju, on the t-BHP-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cell. The pretreatment of rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 with Hwabuk 94 extract ($1-100\;{\mu}g/ml$) resulted in a significant recovery from t-BHP-induced cell death and increased Bcl-2 and procaspase-3 expression, whereas the expression of Bax and cleaved PARP were decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control. Furthermore, Hwabuk 94 inhibited the t-BHP-induced p38 MAP kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase activations. Finally, these findings suggest that Hwabuk 94 kiwifruit might attenuate t-BHP-induced PC12 cell cytotoxicity, at least in part, through the inhibition of signaling pathways mediated by the ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.546-551
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• 2001

We have previously shown that, in circular muscle cells of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) isolated by enzymatic digestion, contraction in response to maximally effective doses of acetylcholine (ACh) or Inositol Triphosphate ($IP_3$) depends on the release of $Ca^{2+}$ from intracellular stores and activation of a $Ca6{2+}$-calmodulin (CaM)-dependent pathway. On the contrary, maintenance of LES tone, and response to low doses of ACh or $IP_3$ depend on a protein kinase C (PKC) mediated pathway. In the present investigation, we have examined requirements for $Ca6{2+}$ regulation of the interaction between CaM- and PKC-dependent pathways in LES contraction. Thapsigargin (TG) treatment for 30 min dose dependently reduced ACh-induced contraction of permeable LES cells in free $Ca6{2+}$ medium. ACh-induced contraction following the low level of reduction of $Ca6{2+}$ stores by a low dose of TG ($10^{-9}{\;}M$) was blocked by the CaM antagonist, CCS9343B but not by the PKC antagonists chelerythrine or H7, indicating that the contraction is CaM-dependent. After maximal reduction in intracellular $Ca{2+}$ from $Ca6{2+}$stores by TG ($10^{-6}{\;}M$), ACh-induced contraction was blocked by chelerythrine or H7, but not by CCS9343B, indicating that it is PKC-dependent. In normal $Ca^{2+}$medium, the contraction by ACh after TG ($10^{-9}{\;}M$) treatment was also CaM-dependent, whereas the contraction by ACh after TG ($10^{-9}{\;}M$) treatment was PKC-dependent. We examined whether PKC activation was inhibited by activated CaM. CCS 7343B Inhibited the CaM-induced contraction, but did not inhibit the DAC-induced contraction. CaM inhibited the DAC-induced contraction in the presence of CCS 9343B. This inhibition by CaM was $Ca{2+}$dependent. These data are consistent with the view that the switch from a PKC-dependent pathway to a CaM dependent pathway can occur and can be regulated by cytosolic $Ca{2+}$ in the LES.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.770-779
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• 2021

Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana expressing an anti-rabies monoclonal antibody (mAb), SO57, was obtained using Agrobacterium-mediated floral dip transformation. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention signal Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu (KDEL) was tagged to the C-terminus of the anti-rabies mAb heavy chain to localize the mAb to the ER and enhance its accumulation. When the inaccurately folded proteins accumulated in the ER exceed its storage capacity, it results in stress that can affect plant development and growth. We generated T₁ transformants and obtained homozygous T₃ seeds from transgenic Arabidopsis to investigate the effect of KDEL on plant growth. The germination rate did not significantly differ between plants expressing mAb SO57 without KDEL (SO plant) and mAb SO57 with KDEL (SOK plant). The primary roots of SOK agar media grown plants were slightly shorter than those of SO plants. Transcriptomic analysis showed that expression of all 11 ER stress-related genes were not significantly changed in SOK plants relative to SO plants. SOK plants showed approximately three-fold higher mAb expression levels than those of SO plants. Consequently, the purified mAb amount per unit of SOK plant biomass was approximately three times higher than that of SO plants. A neutralization assay revealed that both plants exhibited efficient rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test values against the rabies virus relative to commercially available human rabies immunoglobulins. KDEL did not upregulate ER stress-related genes; therefore, the enhanced production of the mAb did not affect plant growth. Thus, KDEL fusion is recommended for enhancing mAb production in plant systems.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.499-508
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• 2019

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are primarily responsible for metastasis and recurrence, have self-renewal, differentiation, therapeutic resistance, and tumor formation abilities. Numerous studies have demonstrated the signaling pathways essential for the acquisition and maintenance of CSC characteristics, such as WNT/${\beta}$-catenin, Hedgehog, Notch, B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI1), Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), and TGF-${\beta}$ signals. However, few therapeutic strategies have been developed that can selectively eliminate CSCs. Recently, neutralizing antibodies against Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), have shown promising outcomes in clinical trials of melanoma, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, as well as in hematologic malignancies. ICIs are considered to outperform conventional anticancer drugs by maintaining long-lasting anti-cancer effects, with less severe side effects. Several studies reported that ICIs successfully blocked CSC properties in head and neck squamous carcinomas, melanomas, and breast cancer. Together, these findings suggest that novel and effective anticancer therapeutic modalities using ICIs for selective elimination of CSCs may be developed in the near future. In this review, we highlight the origin and characteristics of CSCs, together with critical signaling pathways. We also describe progress in ICI-mediated anticancer treatment to date and present perspectives on the development of CSC-targeting ICIs.