The human ELAV(embryonic lethal abnormal vision)-like protein HuR stabilizes a certain group of cellular mRNAs that contain AU- ri ch elements in theil‘ 3’• untranslated region, Dysregulation of mRNA s tability may be relevant in tumor biology and may lead to abnormal expression of several proteins in malignant tumors, The aim of this study is to identify the differentially expressed proteins according to the functi onal activi ty of HuR Methods : We used stabl e expression of small interfering RNA(siRNA) of HuR gene to inhibit the expression of HuR in human ora l car cinoma cell lines‘ KB cell line and YD10B cell line‘ and compared the proteomic changes between s iRNA-treated and cont rol cell line using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis , Flow cytometry caliber scan(FACS) was employed to investigate the effects of HuR on cell apoptosis and proliferation , Results: Seventeen differentially expressed proteins between the two cell lines were identified by electrospray ioruzati on quadrupole time-of- fl ight mass spectrometry(ESI-Q-TOF MS) and database searching, Among them there are eleven proteins which are significant ly up- regulated in siRNA- treated cell line, which include heat shock protein 10(influencing nucl eocytoplas rnic transpo 다， cell dedifferentiation , and inhibition of apoptosis) , keratin 19(basal cell differ ent iat ion) ‘ and nucleoside diphosphate kinase B(G protein activator), etc Enolase 1 and Ml of pyruvate kinase a re the representatives of signifi cantly down-regulated proteins in siRNA-treated cell 11l1e Conclusion : Our data suggest that HuR participate in mRNAs stability of proteins that have the counter effects in the carcinogenesis of oral ca ncer , And the functiona l proteomics a re needed to elucidate the detailed interactions between HuR and t hese molec ules

The present study investigated the effects of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) on the nuclear maturation of canine oocytes. Oocytes were recovered from mongrel female ovaries in various reproductive states; follicular, luteal or anestrous stage. Oocytes were cultured in serum-free tissue culture medium (TCM)-199 supplemented with various concentrations of FSH (Exp. 1: 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 10 IU) or hCG (Exp. 2: 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 10 IU) or both (Exp. 3: 1 IU FSH + 1 IU hCG) for 72 hr to determine the effective concentration of these hormones, and to examine their combined effect. After maturation culture, oocytes were denuded in PBS containing 0.1% (w/v) hyaluronidase by gentle pipetting. The denuded oocytes were stained with 1.9 μM. Hoechst 33342 in glycerol and the nuclear state of oocytes was evaluated under UV light. More (p<0.05) oocytes matured to MII stage when follicular stage oocytes were supplemented with 1 IU FSH (6.2%) compared with the control, 0.1 or 10.0 IU FSH (0 to 1.2%). Significantly higher (p<0.05) maturation rate to MII stage was observed in follicular stage oocytes supplemented with 1.0 IU hCG (7.2%) compared with the control or other hCG supplemented groups (0 to 1.5%). However, the combination of FSH and hCG did not improve the nuclear maturation rate of canine oocyte (2.4 %) compared with FSH (6.2%) and hCG alone (7.2%). In conclusion, FSH or hCG alone significantly increased the maturation of canine oocytes to MII stage.

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) has been shown to have a positive effect on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and has been reported to stimulate meiosis at follicular level in variety of species. The study was designed to determine the expression patterns of TGF-β1, TGF-β receptors type Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Smads gene in bovine oocytes and embryos. TGF-β1 and their receptors were observed in the unfertilized oocytes. TGF-β1 and type Ⅱ receptor were not expressed at the blastocyst stage, however, only type I receptor was exclusively observed at the same stage. The blastocyst stage, in particular, showed high levels of mRNA expression patterns containing a TGF-β type Ⅰ receptor. The mRNA expression pattern of Smad 2 at all stages of embryonic development was similar in all respect with TGF-β1 type I receptor. On the contrary, Smad 3 and 4 were expressed with high and low level mRNA at the blastocyst stage. In conclusion, it is suggested that TGF-β signaling may be regarded as an important entity during the preimplantation embryo development.

Ameloblastoma and adenomatoid odontogenic tumor showed quite different tumorigenesis and prognosis , Besides theil‘ growth potential and histological features , there must be an essential diffcJ'cncc in gene expJ'ession profile between ameloblatoma and adenomatoid odontogenic tumor , The gene expression profiles we1'e compared by im munohi stochemi stry and immunoblot methods using different monoclonal and monospecific antibodies against on cogenes, growth factors, signaling molecules‘ matrix proteins, enzymes, Based on the immunohi stochemical find ings previously J'epo1'ted in the literature we found some di stinguishing feature of gene expressions 1'0 1' the tu mOl'igenesis between ameloblastoma and adenomatoid odontogenic tumors , The hi s togeneti c and mol eculal' mechani sms of both tumors wiII be discussed

방사능 오염도 측정에 사용하기 위한 이중구조 고분자막이 폴리설폰과 세륨활성화된 이트륨실리케이트(CAYS)를 이용하여 제조되었다. 제조된 막은 순수 고밀도 고분자 지지층과 이에 제막된 고분자 용액의 상전환 공정에 의해 고형화된 CAYS 함침 활성층의 이중구조로 구성된다. 제막공정에서 대기방치 공정이 생략되었을 때 CAYS를 포함하는 활성층은 전형적인 비대칭 구조를 지니며, CAYS 입자들이 고분자 구조 사이에 박혀있는 형상을 지닌다. 제막공정에서 대기에 방치하는 시간이 증가할수록 막의 형상은 스폰지 구조를 띠며 CAYS는 고분자 구조로부터 분리되어 막 내부에 셀 같은 공간에 밀집되어 존재함을 보였다. 한편, 두 충 사의 계면형상은 고분자 고형화 과정에서의 상전환 속도와 밀접한 관련되었으며, 대기방치 시간의 증가에 따라 계면의 구분이 뚜렷하게 나타나지 않았다. 방사능 탐지 특성에서 스폰지 구조를 지니는 막의 고분자 구조는 방사성핵종이 통과할 수 없는 밀집된 형상을 지니면서 탐지효율의 감소를 초래하는 것으로 나타났다.

Periodontitis is a multi-microbial disease and the comparison of a series of periodontopathogenic and non-periodontopathogenic bacteria in terms of microbe-host interaction may provide clues to understand the microbial etiology of the disease better. When we deal with twenty different bacterial species in a study, the first technical issue is how to measure the accurate concentration and use the same number of bacterial cells. We measured bacterial concentration by enumerating bacteria stained with SYTOX green for constant time using a flow cytometer and compared the results with those obtained by plate counting. Concentrations calculated by two different methods were very close. Therefore, flow cytometric counting allowed the rapid analysis of live/dead bacteria, offering the advantage of turbidity measurement and that of colony counting together.

Floral scents and metabolites from cut flowers of 14 peony cultivars (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) were analyzed to discriminate different cultivars and to compare the Korean cultivar with the other cut peonies imported to Korea using electronic nose (E-nose) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant function analysis (DFA) dendrogram of peony floral scents were not precisely same but there were 3 groups including same cultivars. PCA and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) dendrograms of peony metabolites showed that different cut peony cultivars were clustered into two major groups including same cultivars. Fragrance pattern of Korean ‘Taebaek’ was classified to same group with ‘Jubilee’ on the PCA and DFA results and its metabolite pattern was clearly discriminated by the PCA and PLS-DA compared to the other cultivars. These results show that the 14 peony cut flowers could be discriminated corresponding to their chemical relationship and the metabolic profile of Korean ‘Taebaek’ has distinctive characteristics. Furthermore, we suggest that these results could be used as the preliminary data for breeding new cut peony cultivars and for improving the availability of Korean cut peony in cosmetic industry.

본 연구는 LPS로 유도된 RAW 264.7 세포에서 다양한 약용식품으로 사용되고 있는 올리브 잎과 가지 추출물의 항염증 효과를 확인하였다. 올리브 잎과 가지 추출물은 각각 RAW 264.7 세포에 대하여 세포독성을 나타내지 않았고, LPS 자극에 의한 NO 및 PGE2 생성을 농도 의존적으로 억제했다. 또한, 올리브 추출물은 LPS 자극으로 분비된 TNF-α, IL-1β 및 IL-6의 전염증성 cytokine의 분비량을 억제하였으며, 특히 200 μg/mL 농도에서 올리브 가지 추출물이 잎 추출물 보다 IL-6를 억제하는 것으로 나타났다. 대표적인 염증 관련 신호 전달 경로 인자인 iNOS 및 COX-2의 발현을 검토한 결과 올리브 추출물은 iNOS의 발현을 농도의존적으로 현저히 감소시키는 것으로 관찰되었으나, 각각의 올리브 추출물이 COX-2 발현에는 영향을 미치지 않은 것으로 관찰되었다. 이와 같은 결과는 올리브 각 부위별 추출물은 모두 iNOS 및 NO 조절 경로를 조절하는 것으로 사료되나 iNOS 및 COX-2 단백질 발현은 병립적이지 않을 수 있음을 제시하고 있다. 본 연구 결과로 올리브 추출물이 독성과 부작용이 적은 항염증 효능을 가진 기능성 화장품 소재로써 개발 가능성이 있다고 사료된다.

Light is very important for plant growth and a major limiting factor in indoor plant cultivation, such as in balconies. This study was conducted to investigate the light intensity and lettuce (Latuca sativa L.) growth in an apartment balcony affected by the direction of balcony. Photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), air temperature, and relative humidity in the east-, south-, or west-facing balcony were measured for a year. The lettuce was grown in the east-, south-, or west-facing balcony. The time and amount of light entering into the balcony differed according to the direction of the balcony window. Whereas light entered into the east-facing balcony from sunrise to noon, it entered into the west-facing balcony afternoon before sunset. The temperature and humidity in the balcony also varied according to the direction of the balcony window. Daily Light Integral (DLI) in the south-facing balcony was 20~50% of outdoor and DLI in east- or west-facing balconies was 10~20%. Also, the environmental characteristics of the balconies were affected seasonally. In the spring (from March to May), the DLI was around 10 mol･m-2･day-1 and the average temperature was around 25°C. But the DLI was below 10 mol･m-2･day-1 and the average temperature and relative humidity were around 30°C and over 60%, respectively, in the summer (from June to August). In the balcony, the average temperature was maintained around 10°C even in winter, which is a condition of freezing outdoor. Growth of the lettuce in the south-facing balcony was better than that of the other directions. This is attributed to better environmental conditions of south-facing balcony. Therefore, considering the environmental characteristics of the balcony, selection and management of crops with relatively low light demand like leafy vegetables are required. It is also recommended to cultivate crops from autumn to spring.

In this study, we elucidated the molecular mechanism of silymarin by which silymarin may inhibits cell proliferation in human colorectal cancer cells in order to search the new potential anti-cancer target associated with the cell growth arrest. Silymarin reduced the level of c-Myc protein but not mRNA level indicating that silymarin-mediated downregulation of c-Myc may result from the proteasomal degradation. In the confirmation of silymarin-mediated c-Myc degradation, MG132 as a proteasome inhibitor attenuated c-Myc degradation by silymarin. In addition, silymarin phosphorylated the threonine-58 (Thr58) of c-Myc and the point mutation of Thr58 to alanine blocked its degradation by silymarin, which indicates that Thr58 phosphorylation may be an important modification for silymarin-mediated c-Myc degradation. We observed that the inhibition of ERK1/2, p38 and GSK3β blocked the Thr58 phosphorylation and subsequent c-Myc degradation by silymarin. Finally, the point mutation of Thr58 to alanine attenuated silymarin-mediated inhibition of the cell growth. The results suggest that silymarin induces the cell growth arrest through c-Myc proteasomal degradation via ERK1/2, p38 and GSK3β-dependent Thr58 phosphorylation.

Background : Arctii Radix (the dried roots of Arctium lappa L., AR) is used in traditional medicine to treat oxidative stress related diseases including cancer. Therefore, this study focuses on the antioxidant potential of AR as extraction solvents. Methods and Results : To increase the extraction amount of active ingredient, the AR were extracted by ethanol (ARE) and water (ARW). In order to determine active ingredient content of AR, we were carried out total polyphenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) analyses. As a result, TPC (47.74 ± 1.02 g․GAE/㎏ extract) and TFC (19.34 ± 0.30 g․CTE/㎏ extract) of ARE were found significantly higer as compared to ARW. The IC50 values based on the DPPH (59.00 ± 3.25 ㎍/㎖), ABTS (93.20 ± 1.30 ㎍/㎖), ROS (57.78 ± 3.44 ㎍/㎖) and ONOO- (14.56 ± 1.24 ㎍/㎖) for ARE were generally stronger showing potential antioxidant properties compared to ARW. Conclusion : Data from results revealed Arctii Radix ethanol extracts act as an antioxidant agent due to its free radical scavenging activity.