단백질의 구조 예측은 생명 과학 및 의약학 분야의 핵심적인 연구 주제 중 하나로, 단백질의 기능 및 상호작용을 이해하기 위한 주요 정보를 제공할 수 있어 다양한 연구가 수행되고 있다. 이러한 연구의 일환으로 최근 Google DeepMind의 AlphaFold2가 등장하였으며, 단백질 구조 예측 성능을 대폭 향상시켜 CASP(Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction)에서 뛰어난 평가점수를 받아 단백질 구조 예측 분야의 최신 기술을 크게 향상시켰다. 이러한 컴퓨터 기반의 단백질의 구조 예측 방법은, 고전적인 방법을 사용하여 직접 단백질 구조를 결정하는 방법 에 비해 매우 정확하고 빠르며 경제적인 비용으로 수행될 수 있어 단백질 구조 예측 및 생리학 연구를 수행하는 연구자들에게 유용한 방법론이 될 것으로 사료된다. 따라서 본 연구소에서는 곤충을 포함한 무척추 자생동물을 연구하는 연구자들을 위해 단백질 구조 예측을 수행할 수 있도록 64Core/128Threads의 CPU, 256GB의 RAM과 6장의 GeForce RTX 3090으로 이루어진 GPU(Graphical Processing Unit) 고성능 컴퓨터 시스템에 AlphaFold2 program을 구축하였다. 최근 인간을 대상으로 한 단백질 구조 예측 연구는 상당한 진전을 보이고 있지만, 곤충을 포함한 자연계의 동물을 대상으로 한 연구는 여전히 미비한 상황이다. 이러한 자생동물자원연구의 확대를 위해 본 연구소에서 구축한 GPU 시스템 및 생물정보학적 분석 방법이 많이 활용되어야 하며, 이를 위해서는 연구자들 의 협력과 참여가 필요하다.

To elucidate the effect of cellular phone electromagnetic wave (EMW) exposure on the developing cerebellar cortex of neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats, animals were exposed to cellular phone electromagnetic waves for 1 hr per day for 3 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, animals were sacrificed by cardiac perfusion, after which histological samples were prepared and observed microscopically. In the EMW exposure group, external granule cells were remained partially in the external granular layer without migrating into the internal granular layer. In addition, dark stained shrunken Purkinje cells with pyknotic nuclei increased and the outline of cells became irregular and showed degenerative signs, such as mitochondrial swelling and disrupted cristae. Moreover, the cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticula and Golgi complex were severely swollen. Bergmann glial cells adjacent to the dark stained Purkinje cells were swollen and cytoplasmic organelles were scant. Dark stained shrunken granule cells were also observed and the outline of cells was irregular. The results of the present study suggest that cellular phone EMW exposure to neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats leads to a partial delay of early migration of cerebellar cortical cells and degenerative changes in Purkinje cells, Bergmann glial cells and granule cells.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of core strengthening training on baseball throwing. A total of 14 subjects were recruited from among middle school baseball players. The main outcome measures were as follows: speed guns were used to measure the velocity of baseballs thrown; scored targets were used to measure throwing accuracy; and 50m measuring tapes were used to measure throwing distances. It was found that core strengthening training improved the velocity of baseballs thrown and throwing accuracy and distance. Thus, core strengthening training is effective for improving the throwing ability of baseball players.

EP was obtained through 20% ethanol extraction of Pueraria lobata root, and the fermented form of EP, FEP, was prepared from the EP after incubating with Lactobacillus rhamnosus vitaP1. There was no significant toxicity by EP and FEP up to 1000 ㎍/㎖ in NIH-3T3, HaCaT, and B16F10 cells. In addition to antioxidant potentials of EP and FEP determined by DPPH and ABST assays, we confirmed increase of procollagen type I and elastin synthesis by supplementation of the EP and FEP at the concentration of 50 ㎍/㎖ using ELISA kits. The protein expression levels of matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-1, -3, and -9, those are involved in the degradation of collagen or other skin matrix proteins, were remarkably suppressed while their inhibitory protein metallopeptidase inhibitor 1 (TIMP-1) was greatly up-regulated by supplementation of the EP and FEP at a concentration of 50 ㎍/㎖. Taken together, both EP and FEP supplementation could be involved in the suppression of the skin wrinkle formation through inhibiting degradation of collagen and stimulating the synthesis of collagen and elastin. The results showed that the anti-wrinkle potential of the EP and FEP will be a promising candidate for developing cosmeceutical compounds or products.

Background : Acanthopanax sessiliflorus (Rupr. et Maxim) Seem, belonging to the Araliaceae family, is widely distributed in Korea, China, and Japan. The plants belonging to Acanthopanax species are traditionally used in Korea as anti-rheumatoid arthritis, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic drugs and are recognized to have ginseng-like activities. A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for independent analysis of major compounds and chlorogenic acid in A. sessiliflorus fruits. Chlorogenic acid was reported that prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease in vivo. Also, it has antioxidant effect in vitro test. In the previous experiment, chlorogenic acid were found in A. sessiliflorus fruits. This study was performed to identification of the major compounds and investigate the method validation for the determination of chlorogenic acid in A. sessiliflorus fruits. Methods and Results : Three major compounds were recorded on a Varian Unity Inova AS-400 FT-NMR spectrometer and analyzed by the new HPLC analysis method. HPLC analysis was carried out using an Waters e2695 and PDA detector. The new analyasis method was validated by the measurement of intra-day, inter-day precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD, S/N=3), and limit of quantification (LOQ, S/N=10) of chlorogenic acid. The results showed that the correlation coefficient (R2) for the calibration curves of chlorogenic acid was 0.997 in terms of linearity. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.565 ㎍/ml and 2.88 ㎍/ml, respectively. There was no interfering peak observed each other and HPLC system was suitable for analysis showing goodness of peak and high precision. Conclusion : This method is suitable to detect and quantify major compounds in A. sessiliflorus fruits. Furthermore, the result will be applied to establish chlorogenic acid as an standard compound for A. sessiliflorus fruits.

Background : Allergy is a common disease caused by type I hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system. Unfortunately, there is no proper treatment for allergy. Therefore, the discovery of therapeutic drugs for allergy is essential. In this study, the crude extracts of 56 plant parts were screened for anti-allergy effects in RBL-2H3 cells. Methods and Results : IgE-sensitized RBL-2H3 cells were individually treated with 56 extracts of medicinal herbs at the final concentration of 20 ㎍/㎖ and stimulated with the antigen DNP-BSA. β-Hexosaminidase release, interleukin-4 (IL-4) secretion, and cell viability in the sample treated cells were measured. Among the tested samples, extracts from the root of Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim., aerial part of Acer triflorum Kom., and leaf of Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta (Makino) Nakai showed inhibitory effects on β-hexosaminidase release. The aerial part of Peucedanum japonicum Thunberg and seed of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. showed suppressive activities on IL-4 secretion. All of the extracts were not cytotoxic at the tested concentration. Conclusion : From the result, six extracts including Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim. (root) and Acer triflorum Kom. (aerial part) inhibited both β-hexosaminidase release and IL-4 secretion in IgE-sensitized RBL-2H3 cells. The use of these extracts for developing anti-allergy materials is suggested.