• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.255-264
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• 2009

Background: Chronic low grade inflammation is closely linked to type II diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis. Macrophages play a key role in the regulation of pro- or anti-inflammatory actions at the lesion sites of disease. Components of cordyceps militaris, cordycepin and adenosine, have been used for the modulation of inflammatory diseases. The effects of cordycepin in the modulation of macrophages have yet to be be elucidated. We investigated the effects of cordycepin and adenosine on the morphological changes of macrophages under the inflammatory condition of LPS and an anti-inflammatory condition involving high concentrations of adenosine. Methods: We confirmed the mRNA levels of the M1/M2 cytokine genes through RT-PCR and morphological change. Results: LPS-activated macrophages returned to their inactivated original shape, i.e., they looked like naive macrophages, through the treatment with high concentrations of cordycepin ($40{\mu}g/ml$). LPS and adenosine activated macrophages also returned to their original inactivated shapes after cordycepin treatment; however, at relatively higher levels of cordycepin than adenosine. This change did not occur with relatively low concentrations of cordycepin. Adenosine down-regulated the gene expression of M1 cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$) and chemokines (CX3CR1, RANTES), such as cordycepin. Additionally, M2 cytokines (IL-10, IL-1ra, TGF-${\beta}$) were up-regulated by both cordycepin and adenosine. Conclusion: Based on these observations, both cordycepin and adenosine regulated the phenotypic switch on macrophages and suggested that cordycepin and adenosine may potentially be used as immunomodulatory agents in the treatment of inflammatory disease.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.357-365
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• 2021

Purpose: A change in diagnosis from ulcerative colitis (UC) to Crohn's disease (CD) has been reported in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease; however, only a few clinical characteristics and predictors of this diagnostic change have been reported. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with UC who underwent a change in diagnosis to CD and identify variables associated with the change. Methods: The medical records of pediatric patients with UC who were followed up at the National Center for Child Health and Development between 2006 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical data on disease phenotype, laboratory parameters, endoscopic findings, and treatment of patients whose diagnosis changed to CD (cCD) were compared to those of patients whose diagnosis remained UC (rUC). Results: Among the 111 patients initially diagnosed with UC, 11 (9.9%) patients were subsequently diagnosed with CD during follow-up. There was no significant difference between the cCD and rUC groups in terms of sex, age at initial diagnosis, and the extent and severity of disease at initial diagnosis. Albumin and hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in the cCD group than in the rUC group. The proportion of patients who required biologics was significantly higher in the cCD group than in the rUC group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Approximately 10% children initially diagnosed with UC were subsequently diagnosed with CD. Hypoalbuminemia and anemia at initial diagnosis and use of biologics could be predictors of this diagnostic change.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.295-300
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• 2015

Stress and its related hormones epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) play a crucial role in tumor progression. Macrophages in the tumor microenvironment (TME) polarized to M2 is also a vital pathway for tumor deterioration. Here, we explore the underlying role of macrophages in the effect of stress and E promoting breast cancer growth. It was found that the weight and volume of tumor in tumor bearing mice were increased, and dramatically accompanied with the rising E level after chronic stress using social isolation. What is most noteworthy, the number of M2 macrophages inside tumor was up-regulated with it. The effects of E treatment appear to be directly related to the change of M2 phenotype is reproduced in vitro. Moreover, E receptor $ADR{\beta}2$ involved in E promoting M2 polarization was comprehended simultaneously. Our results imply psychological stress is influential on specific immune system, more essential for the comprehensive treatment against tumors. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(5): 295-300]

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.316-322
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• 1995

The GTPase activating protein (GAP) can function both as a negative regulator and an effector of $p21^{ras}$. Overexpression of GAP in NIH-3T3 cells has been shown to inhibit transformation by ms or src. To investigate the function of GAP in a differentiative system, we overexpressed this protein in the nerve growth factor (NGF)-responsive PC12 cell line. Two-fold overexpression of GAP caused a delay of several days in the onset of NGF- but not FGF-induced neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells. However, the NGF-induced activation or tyrosine phosphorylation of upstream (Trk, PLC-${\gamma}1$, SHC) and downstream (B-Raf and $p44^{mapk/erk1}$) components of $p21^{ras}$, signalling cascade was not altered by GAP overexpression. Therefore, the change of phenotype induced by GAP was probably not due to GAP functioning as a negative regulator of $p21^{ras}$. Rather, we found that NGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of SNT, a specific target of neurotrophin-induced tyrosine kinase activity, was inhibited by GAP overexpression. SNT is thought to function upstream or independent of $p21^{ras}$. Thus in PC12 cells, overexpressed GAP may control the rate of neuronal differentiation through a pathway involving SNT rather than the $p21^{ras}$ signalling pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.161-168
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• 2000

Plasmid pLEX3 isolated from the recombinant cosmid library of Zoogloea ramigera 115 was found to be responsible for the restoration of the rugose colony phenotype. To confirm the essential region responsible for the complementation, subclones were constructed from plasmid pLEX3 and transformed into mutant strain Z. ramigera 115SLR. The recombinant plasmids pLEX10 and pLEX11 were shown to complement the slime-forming property of Z. ramigera 115SLR. In a compositional analysis of the exopolysaccharides from Z. ramigera 115, Z. ramigera 115SLR, and Z. ramigera 115SLR harboring plasmid pLEX11, the exopolysaccharides showed a similar composition with glucose, galactose, and side chain groups. The complete nucleotide sequence of the 3.25kb genocim DNA insert in plasmid pLEX11 was determined and its analysis identified two open reading frames which could encode two proteins. The gene products derived form the two open reading frames were confirmed by and in vivo transcription using a T7-RNA polymerase. The ORF1 produced a 30 kDa protein, whereas the ORF2 was found responsible for the complementation of the morphological mutation and produced a 14 kDa protein. An in vivo gene expression of plasmid pTEX10 showed another open reading frame encoding a 50 kDa protein. The gene products form ORF1 and ORF2 are regarded as novel proteins which do not show any homology with other proteins.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.172-180
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• 2015

It is well reported that tumor cells can regulate host immune systems. To identify the detailed changes of immune cells between tumor bearing mice and normal mice, we evaluated the systemic immune cell phenotype of B16F10 tumor bearing mice in a time dependent manner. The lymphocytic population (CD4+ and CD8+ T cells) of tumor bearing mice significantly decreased compared to that of normal mice. We found that the Foxp3+CD25+ CD4 T cell decreased, but the Foxp3+$CD25^{high}$ CD4 T cell significantly increased. All subpopulations of CD8 T cells decreased, except the CD62L-CD44+ CD8 T cell subpopulation. The myeloid cell population (CD11b+ and Gr-1+ cells) of tumor bearing mice significantly increased. Specifically, Foxp3+$CD25^{high}$ CD4 T cell and CD11b+Gr-1+ cells significantly increased in early phase of tumor progression. These results are helpful to understand the change of the systemic immune cell subpopulation of tumor bearing mice in a time-dependent manner.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.565-571
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• 2003

The locomotor responses of human peripheral blood neutrophils and lymphocytes were measured by the change from spherical to polarized shapes in the presence of endotoxins (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) of enteric pathogens: S. dysenteriae type 1, V. cholerae Inaba 569B, S. typhimurium, and K. pneumoniae. We reported earlier that these endotoxins are chemotactic factors for the neutrophils since they stimulated cell polarization within a few minutes of incubation. Endotoxins had an inhibitory effect upon neutrophil phagocytosis of opsonized yeast and the cells engulfed fewer yeasts. Interestingly, endotoxins increased neutrophil adhesion to clean glass surfaces, but stimulated the cells to exhibit increased random locomotion (chemokinesis) through cellulose nitrate filters and show an enhanced ability to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye. Unlike neutrophils, lymphocytes direct from blood do not show polarized morphology towards chemotactic factors but the cells acquire locomotor capacity during 24-72 h culture with mitogens such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA), phorbol myristate acetate or concanavalin A. Stimulation of blood lymphocytes with endotoxins did not induce cell polarization in short-term but long-term culture resulted in an increase in the proportion of polarized cells that acquired locomotor morphologies. The majority of these cells were identified as esterase negative B-lymphocytes that migrated through filters. Despite the optimum time of incubation for each of these cell types being different, we found that lymphocytes respond to much lower concentrations of endotoxins than the neutrophils. These findings suggest that endotoxins of enteric pathogens modulate the functions of human blood neutrophils and lymphocytes.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.366-372
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• 2009

This study was conducted to develop new lines expressing the characteristic of early flowering by introducing MdMADS2 gene in chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura) ‘Zinba'. Transformation of chrysanthemum was conducted by Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 harboring the binary vector containing MdMADS2 controlled by double CaMV 35S promoters. Ninety three shoots were regenerated from 1,463 leaf segment explants cultured on the first selection medium (MS basal salts + 1.0 mg/L BA + 0.5 mg/L IAA + 10 mg/L kanamycin + 400 mg/L cefotaxime, pH 5.8) after co-cultivation, and 20 out of the 93 shoots rooted on the second selection medium containing 20 mg/L kanamycin and 400 mg/L cefotaxime. Many escapes (98.6%) were removed on the selection stage for rooting. Nineteen lines were confirmed as transgenic plant with transgene by PCR analysis. Six transgenic plants flowered 2-11 days earlier than non-transgenic plant without big change of phenotype, and especially, 3 (Mo-7, Mo-11, Mo-17) out of 6 transgenic lines showed a significant reduction in days to flowering compared to non-transgenic plant. Introduction and expression of MdMADS2 gene in them were confirmed by Southern and real-time PCR analyses, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 2011

By a series of positional cloning, we successfully narrowed down the AM candidate region to approximately 1.2 Mbp on GGA2q including 7 functional genes. Subsequently, we identified WWP1 gene as the most likely AM candidate by sequence comparison. The amino acid sequence around the candidate mutation was highly conserved among tetrapods, suggesting that WWP1 is the causative gene of chicken muscular dystrophy. Transfection of mutated WWP1 gene into $C_2C_{12}$ myoblasts disrupted muscle differentiation process. The abnormal muscle differentiation is a characteristic of chicken muscular dystrophy, so we could demonstrate a part of phenotype of the disease. Furthermore, western blotting revealed that accumulation of caveolin-3 protein is limited in damaged muscle of muscular dystrophic chicken, suggesting caveolin-3 may be associated with the pathological change of the disease. We could conclude that WWP1 gene is the responsible one for chicken muscular dystrophy from these results, but the mechanism leading the onset should be clarified in the future. The information will contribute to the study of chicken muscular dystrophy and the corresponding human dystrophies.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2014

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumor, generally affecting young people. While the etiology of osteosarcoma has been largely unknown, recent studies have suggested that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays a critical role in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. To understand the mechanism of action of COX-2 in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma, we compared gene expression patterns between three stable COX-2-overexpressing cell lines and three control cell lines derived from U2OS human osteosarcoma cells. The data showed that 56 genes were upregulated, whereas 20 genes were downregulated, in COX-2-overexpressed cell lines, with an average fold-change > 1.5. Among the upregulated genes, COL1A1, COL5A2, FBN1, HOXD10, RUNX2, and TRAPPC2 are involved in bone and skeletal system development, while DDR2, RAC2, RUNX2, and TSPAN31 are involved in the positive regulation of cell proliferation. Among the downregulated genes, HIST1H1D, HIST1H2AI, HIST1H3H, and HIST1H4C are involved in nucleosome assembly and DNA packaging. These results may provide useful information to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the COX-2-mediated malignant phenotype in osteosarcoma.