• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.357-366
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• 2018

Periodontitis, an infective disease caused by oral pathogens and the intrinsic aging process, results in the destruction of periodontal tissues and the loss of alveolar bone. This study investigated whether Boesenbergia pandurata extract (BPE) standardized with panduratin A exerted anti-periodontitis effects, using an aging model representative of naturally occurring periodontitis. In aged rats, the oral administration of BPE ($200mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}{\cdot}day^{-1}$) for 8 weeks significantly reduced the mRNA and protein expression of $interleukin-1{\beta}$, nuclear factor-kappa B, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-8 in gingival tissues (p < 0.01). In alveolar bone, histological analysis with staining and micro-computed tomography revealed the attenuation of alveolar bone resorption in the BPE-treated aged group, which led to a significant reduction in the mRNA and protein expression of nuclear factor of activated T-cells c1 (NFATc1), c-Fos, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, and cathepsin K (p < 0.01). BPE not only increased the expression of osteoblast differentiation markers, such as alkaline phosphate, and collagen type I (COL1A1), but also increased the ratio of osteoprotegerin to RANKL. Collectively, the results strongly suggested that BPE is a natural resource for the prevention or treatment of periodontal diseases.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2018

Ginseng has gained its popularity as an adaptogen since ancient days because of its triterpenoid saponins, known as ginsenosides. These triterpenoid saponins are unique and classified as protopanaxatriol and protopanaxadiol saponins based on their glycosylation patterns. They play many protective roles in humans and are under intense research as various groups continue to study their efficacy at the molecular level in various disorders. Ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 are the most abundant ginsenosides present in ginseng roots, and they confer the pharmacological properties of the plant, whereas ginsenoside Rg3 is abundantly present in Korean Red Ginseng preparation, which is highly known for its anticancer effects. These ginsenosides have a unique mode of action in modulating various signaling cascades and networks in different tissues. Their effect depends on the bioavailability and the physiological status of the cell. Mostly they amplify the response by stimulating phosphotidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway, caspase-3/caspase-9-mediated apoptotic pathway, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells signaling. Furthermore, they trigger receptors such as estrogen receptor, glucocorticoid receptor, and N-methyl-$\text\tiny{D}$-aspartate receptor. This review critically evaluates the signaling pathways attenuated by ginsenosides Rb1, Rg1, and Rg3 in various tissues with emphasis on cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.823-832
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• 2020

Background: The formation of a nanotube layer on a titanium nanotube (N-Ti) plate facilitates an active reaction between bone cells and the material surface via efficient delivery of the surface materials of the dental implant into the tissues. Studies have reported that Korean Red Ginseng extracts (KRGEs) are involved in a variety of pharmacological activities: we investigated whether implantation with a KRGE-loaded N-Ti miniimplant affects osteogenesis and osseointegration. Methods: KRGE-loaded nanotubes were constructed by fabrication on pure Ti via anodization, and MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the N-Ti. N-Ti implants were subsequently placed on a rat's edentulous mandibular site. New bone formation and bone mineral density were measured to analyze osteogenesis and osseointegration. Results: KRGE-loaded N-Ti significantly increased the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells compared with cells on pure Ti without any KRGE loading. After 1-4 weeks, the periimplant tissue in the edentulous mandibular of the healed rat showed a remarkable increase in new bone formation and bone mineral density. In addition, high levels of the bone morphogenesis protein-2 and bone morphogenesis protein-7, besides collagen, were expressed in the periimplant tissues. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that KRGE-induced osteogenesis and osseointegration around the miniimplant may facilitate the clinical application of dental implants.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.2023-2028
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• 2013

A number of studies have indicated that Nurr1, which belongs to a novel class of orphan nuclear receptors (the NR4A family), is important for carcinogenesis. Here we investigated expression of Nurr1 protein in benign and malignant human prostate tissues and association with clinicopathologic features using immunohistochemical techniques. Moreover, we also investigated the ability of Nurr1 to influence proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells using small interfering RNA silencing. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the expression of Nurr1 protein was higher in prostate cancer tissues than in benign prostate tissue (P<0.001), levels being positively correlated with tumor T classification (P = 0.003), N classification (P = 0.017), M classification (P = 0.011) and the Gleason score (P = 0.020) of prostate cancer patients. In vitro, silencing of endogenous Nurr1 attenuated cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. These results suggest that Nurr1 may be used as an indicator for prostate cancer progression and be useful for novel potential therapeutic strategies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7395-7399
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• 2014

Background: Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, especially with high-risk types such as HPV16 and HPV18, has been identified as the primary cause of cervical cancer. E6 and E7 are the major onco-proteins of high-risk HPVs, which are consistently expressed in HPV infected tissues but absent in normal tissues and represent ideal therapeutic targets for immunotherapy of cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: In this study, the optimized fusion gene HPV18 E6E7 (HPV18 ofE6E7) was constructed according to genetic codon usage for human genes. At the same time, for safety future clinical application, a mutant of HPV18 ofE6E7 fusion gene was generated by site-directed mutagenesis at L52G for the E6 protein and C98G for the E7 protein. Results: HPV18-E6E7 mutant (HPV18 ofmE6E7) constructed in this work not only lost the transformation capability for NIH 3T3 cells and tumorigenicity in BALB/c nude mice, but also maintained very good stability and antigenicity. Conclusion: These results suggest that the mutant should undergo further study for application as a safe antigenspecific therapeutic vaccine for HPV18-associated tumors.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.267-274
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• 1995

Based upon the nucleotide sequence of As strain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV-As0 RNA4, coat protein (CP) gene was selected for the design of oligonucleotide primers of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection and identification of the virus. Reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed with a set of 18-mer CMV CP-specific primers to amplify a 671 bp fragment from crude nucleic acid extracts of virus-infected leaf tissues as well as purified viral RNAs. The minimum concentrations of template viral RNA and crude nucleic acids from infected tobacco tissue required to detect the virus were 1.0 fg and 1:65,536 (w/v), respectively. No PCR product was obtained when potato virus Y-VN RNA or extracts of healthy plants were used as templates in RT-PCR using the same primers. The RT-PCR detected CMV-Y strain as well as CMV-As strain. Restriction analysis of the two individual PCR amplified DNA fragments from CMV-As and CMV-Y strains showed distinct polymorphic patterns. PCR product from CMV-As has a single recognition site for EcoRI and EcoRV, respectively, and the product from CMV-Y has no site for EcoRI or EcoRV but only one site for HindIII. The RT-PCR was able to detect the virus in the tissues of infected pepper, tomato and Chinese cabbage plants.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.268-274
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• 2009

Porphyromonas gingivalis, the gram-negative anaerobic oral bacterium, initiates periodontal disease by binding to saliva-coated oral surface. The cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) genetically linked to FimA1 (1-200 aa) or FimA2 (201-337 aa) of the P. gingivalis fimbrial antigen were introduced into Solanum tuberosum cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method. The integration of CTB-FimA1 or CTB-FimA2 fusion genes were confirmed in the chromosome of transformed leaves by genomic DNA PCR amplification method. Synthesis and assembly of the CTB-FimA fusion proteins into oligomeric structures with pentamer size was detected in transformed tuber extracts by immunoblot analysis. The binding activities of CTB-FimA fusion proteins to intestinal epithelial cell membrane receptors were confirmed by GM1-ganglioside enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GM1-ELISA). The ELISA showed that the expression levels of the CTB-FimA1 or CTB-FimA2 fusion proteins were 0.0019, 0.002% of the total soluble protein in transgenic tuber tissues, respectively The synthesis of CTB-FimA monomers and their assembly into biologically active oligomers in transformed potato tuber tissues demonstrates the feasibility of using edible plants for the production of enterocyte targeted fimbrial antigens that could elicit mucosal immune responses.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2000

Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli, normal colonic inhabitants, are the most frequently isolated bacteria in infected tissues, particularly in intraabdominal abscesses. This study was designed to determine whether enteric bacteria may alter the B. fragilis-induced expression of pro inflammatory cytokines in mouse peritoneal tissue (MPT). After C57BL/6 mice were inoculated with abscess-forming mixture containing B. fragilis in the presence or absence of E. coli, RNA was extracted from MPT. Expression of interleukin (IL)-$1{\alpha}$ and tumor necrosis factor $(TNF){\alpha}$ mRNA was assessed using RT-PCR and standard RNA. Each cytokine protein was also measured by ELISA. The co-inoculation of E. coli into mouse peritoneal cavity advanced the onset of abscess development by B. fragilis infection. When mouse was co-infected with E. coli and B. fragilis intraperitoneally, there was a synergistic increase in the expression of IL-$1{\alpha}$ and $TNF{\alpha}$ mRNA in MPT and this was paralleled by increased cytokine protein secretion. Mixed inoculation of heat-killed E. coli and B. fragilis did not cause a synergistic increase in those cytokine mRNA expression. These results suggest that enteric bacteria may significantly affect proinflammatory cytokine signal produced by host peritoneal cavity in response to B. fragilis infection.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4545-4548
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to assess tissue expression of CA-125 and HE4 protein in primary benign and malignant epithelial tumours of the ovary and correlate with serum CA-125 levels. A total of 100 formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded sections of ovarian tumours which included serous adenoma (11), mucinous adenoma (42), serous carcinoma (20), mucinous carcinoma (12) and endometrioid carcinoma (15), histologically diagnosed between $1^{st}$ January 2004 to $31^{st}$ December 2012 at the University Malaya Medical Centre, were stained for HE4 (rabbit polyclonal antibody, Abcam, UK) and CA-125 (mouse monoclonal antibody clone: OC125, Cell Marque Corporation, Rocklin, California, USA). Pre-operative serum CA-125 levels were obtained from the laboratory information system. Immunoscore (I score) for HE4 and CA-125 was given based on the intensity of staining and percentage of positive tumour cells and considered significant when it was >50 (intensity of staining multiplied by percentage of positive tumour cells). Serum CA-125 levels were compared with the I score of HE4 and CA-125 in tissues. We noted that the CA-125 levels in serum and tissues were significantly raised in malignant compared to benign ovarian tumours (p value<0.05). Tissue expression of HE4 protein was also significantly raised in malignant tumours compared to benign tumours (p value<0.05). We conclude that HE4 can be a useful tissue immunomarker in addition to CA-125.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3325-3331
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• 2015

Pim kinase-3(Pim-3), a member of serine/threonine protein kinases, has been implicated in multiple human cancers and involved in Myc-induced tumorigenesis. However, little is known regarding its expression and biological function in human ovarian cancer. In this study we showed that the clinical significance and biological functions of Pim-3 in ovarian cancer and found that higher Pim-3 mRNA level are detected in ovarian cancer tissues than those in normal ovarian tissues. There are significant correlations between higher Pim-3 expression levels with the FIGO stage, histopathological subtypes, and distant metastasis in ovarian cancer patients. Lentivirus-mediated gene overexpression of Pim-3 significantly promotes the proliferation and migration of SKOV3 cell lines. Furthermore, MACC1 and Pim-3 expression were significantly correlated in human ovarian cancer cells, and overexpression of Pim-3 in ovary cancer cells increased MACC1 mRNA and protein expression. The data indicate that Pim-3 acts as a putative oncogene in ovary cancer and could be a viable diagnostic and therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.