Taxillus yadoriki (Siebold) Dancer is a parasitic plant that grows on camellia trees and is common on Jeju Island. The branches of T. yadoriki have long been used to treat various diseases, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, viral infections, and arthritis. Although recent studies reported that T. yadoriki has anticancer effects in various human cancer cell lines, including lung cancer, the exact molecular mechanisms supporting its anticancer effects are not well understood. This study aims to assess the anticancer effect of the methanol extract of T. yadoriki branches (METY) on mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) cell lines (MC3 cells and YD15 cells) and explore its mechanism of action. Inhibitory activity of MEC cell proliferation was assessed using the CCK-8 assay. The mechanism of the anticancer effect on METY-treated MC3 cells and YD15 cells was evaluated with Hoechst 33342 stain and Western blot. After treating MC3 cells and YD15 cells with METY for 48 hours, the cytotoxicity of MC3 and YD15 cells increased, and nuclear fragmentation increased in both METY-treated MEC cells. Caspase-3 and cleaved PARP activation demonstrated apoptosis of METY-treated MEC cells. Cell proliferation inhibition with METY was alleviated in METY-treated MEC cells pretreated with zVAD-FMK, supporting the cell proliferation inhibition effect by apoptosis. METY-induced apoptosis in MEC cells occurs through MAP kinase pathways such as p38 and pAkt. MEC cell. METY-induced apoptosis of MEC cells occurs via the p38 and pAkt MAPK pathways. Therefore, METY may be a promising anticancer candidate for the MEC therapeutic strategy.

본 연구에서는 효모에서 과 발현하는 Bax inhibior와 관련된 유전자를 동정하여 특성화 하였다. Yeast functional screening이라는 방법을 이용하여, 일반적은 환경에서 재배된 벼의 cDNA를 QX95001에 형질전 환하여 SD-galactose-Leu--Ura-배지에서 생성된 8개의 클론을 선발하였다. 그 중 AtBI-1과 같은 domain이 있는 D2-234를 포함하여 5개의 클론을 선발하였다. D2-243는 741bp의 염기서열과 247개의 아미노산으로 구성되었고 5 membrane-spanning 단편으로 되어 있음을 확인하였다. D2-234는 SD-galactose--배지에서 세포성장이 왕성하였다. 본 실험에서 얻어진 결과는 벼 식물에서 나타나는 세포예정사와 관련된 단백질을 선발하는데 유용하게 이용될 것으로 생각된다.

Adherent cells, such as those found in epithelial tissues, must be physically associated with extracellular matrix (ECM)components to survive. Though stimulation by growth factors is an essential factor in cell survival, normal cells also requires cell adhesion to ECM proteins. The cessation of these anchorage-mediated signals seems to be a common mechanism to physiolog ically t erminate t he l ife cycle of t hese c ells b y apoptosis. This form o f cell death has been termed anoikis.In cancer, resistance to anoikis of cancer cell is important in invasion and metastasis. The present study investigated the intracellular mechanism involved in anoikis, especially in cells treated with epigallocatechin- 3-gallate(EGCG). To induce anoikis, cell culture plates were coated with 10 ㎍/ml poly-HEMA. A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells were grown in RPMI 1640 medium with/without 10% fetal bovine serum, and then cells were replated on cell culture dishes coated with poly-HEMA in the presence or absence of serum. On the other hand, EGFR inhibitor, PI3K inhibitor, and EGCG were treated to the anoikis status cells, in order to evaluate the factors of anoikis. The result revealed that growth factors or loss of adhesion can increase phosphorylate Akt. In addition, lack of cell adhesion fails to activate pro-apoptotic factors directly. Activity of Erk kinase depends on not only EGFR signaling but also cell adhesion. Akt activation is mainly affected by EGCG whereas Raf-1 activation is controlled by the presence of cell contact. In addition, EGCG increased the level of NFkB, whereas phophroylated PTEN and total PTEN were not different. In this report,increase of NFkB was correlated with Akt phosphorylation, suggesting that EGCG can protect cells from detachment–induced cell death through Akt activation and subsequent NFkB

Green tea, derived from the plant Camellia sinensis, is one of the most common beverages consumed worldwide. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant and bioactive polyphenolic constituent in green tea. Understanding how intracellular signaling pathways respond to EGCG may provide a clue to the difference of cell responses and basis for usefulness of EGCG as a chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agent. In the present study, we tried to check whether EGCG could be a useful agent in chemotherapeutic treatment of oral squamous carcinoma. Furthermore, we investigated which signaling pathway is involved in biologic activities of EGCG. EGCG induced the cell death of oral squamous carcinoma cells. Furthermore, it increased phosphorylation of Akt in serum-strarved oral squamous carcinoma cells. But, initial increase of Akt activation did not affect cell survival. Activities of Raf-1 and Erk showed inconsistent response to EGCG treatment, but Erk phosphorylation is consistent with Raf-1 activity in YD 10B cells. These changes of Raf-1 and Erk activity in EGCG treated cells were different depending on cell line type. Supposedly, the difference of cell component may affect the Raf-1 and Erk reactivity to EGCG treatment. Akt activation by EGCG is independent on activities of PDK1 and PTEN, and expression of bax and bcl-2 proteins were not changed by EGCG treatment. Therefore, EGCG treatment did not induce the apoptosis of YD 10B cell. On the other hand, vascular adhesion molecule (VCAM) was decreased by EGCG treatment, so it is possible that decrease of VCAM can play certain role in survival and/or cell death in EGCG treated cells

Disruption of cell - matrix attachment results in a loss of prosurvival signals and culminates in programmed cell death, referred to as anoikis , Apoptosis signal- regulating kinase 1(ASKl)/MKK5 is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme that acti vates c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase JNK/SAPK and p38 pathways by direct site specific Ser/Thr phosphoryl ation of their respective MKKs-MKK4/MKK7 for JNK and MKK3/MKK6 for p38 kinases, The kinase activity of ASKl is stimulated by a variety of death signals, including TNF, Fas ligation, reactive oxygen species, and antineoplastic agents , The aim of this study was to investigate the relative importance of ASKl in anOlkls 1n the present study cells which lost their adhesion showed higher rate of cell death in compared to cells which maintained anchorage. 1nterestingly the res ult showed that suspended cells expressing ASK1 were more susceptible to anoikis than suspended cells having no ASK1 1n addition, cellu lar attachment seems to have significant effect on ASKl activity and p38 MAPK protein rather than serum stimulation

Background : We have previously reported that Oligonol, a low-molecular polyphenol derived from lychee fruit, has protective effect on the liver and kidney of diabetic animal model. In this study, we examined whether Oligonol has any beneficial effects on pancreas of diabetic rats. Methods and Results : Oligonol was orally administered at a dose of 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight for 10 days to STZ-induced diabetic rats, and the effects were compared with those of vehicle-treated diabetic control and non-diabetic control rats. The administration of Oligonol reduced hyperglycemia in diabetic rats through an improvement of serum and pancreatic insulin levels. The increased reactive oxygen species levels in pancreas of diabetic control rats was attenuated by the Oligonol administration through inhibiting the expression of NADPH oxidase-related proteins. The enhanced expression of pro-apoptotic proteins in pancreas of diabetic control rats was significantly reduced by Oligonol administration through down-regulation of phosphor-c-Jun N-terminal kinases protein in pancreas. Furthermore, the expressions of cell proliferation-related protein were also augmented in Oligonol treated-diabetic rats. However, Oligonol treatment led to improved histological changes in the pancreas. Conclusion : These pancreatoprotective effects of Oligonol were achieved through attenuation of oxidative stress and its sensitive protein expression associated with apoptosis and cell proliferation in diabetic rats.

포유류 난포의 폐쇄 과정은 매우 정교한 내분비적 조절작용에 의해 일어나며, 이 과정중에 발생하는 난포 내 과립세포의 퇴화는 핵응축 현상을 동반하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 본 연구는 핵응축 현상과 관련하여 돼지 난소 내 폐쇄난포의 과립세포가 퇴화 시 동반되는 세포 사멸이 아포토시스의 과정에 의해서 일어나는지의 여부와 아포토시스 관련 주요 단백질 분해 효소인 캐스파제-3과 연관된 세포 사멸 기전과 관련이 있는지에 대해서 조사하고자 하였다. 돼지 난소로부터 정

본 연구에서는 자연세포사 (apoptosis)를 유발시키는 것으로 알려진 ceramide를 배양중인 생쥐 과립세포에 처리한 뒤 형광염색, in-situ 3'-end labeling(ISEL), 그리고 flow cytometry 기법을 이용하여, 자연세포사 및 세포주기에 미치는 ceramide의 영향을 조사하였다. Ceramide를 처리하지 않은 대조군에 비하여, ceramide를 처리한 실험군에서 세로의 생존율은 농도에 비레하여 유의하게 감소하였다. 또

Recent studies have demonstrated that apoptotic cell death plays an important role in the mechanism underlying follicular atresia and luteolysis. However, the mechanisms responsible for initiating these processes have not been elucidated. In in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs, it is highly possible that continuous and repeated administration of FSH/hMG and GnRH agonists for the usage of ovarian hyperstimulation may induce apoptotic death of granulosa cells leading to atresia in the human ovarian follicles. The present study was performed to investigate whether FSH/hMG and GnRh agonists used for a longer period in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation has any effect on the apoptosis of granulosa-luteal (GL) cells obtained from hyperstimulated ovaries. To examine apoptotic cell death in the GL cells, cells were stained with acridie orange followed by observed in some of GL cells. Similar but distinct staining of apoptotic GL cells was observed when the cells were examined by using in situ TUNEL method. The healthy-looking cells with normal nuclear morphology were not stained, whereas cells with pyknotic nuclei or with apoptotic nuclei were intensively stained. After examining the ultrastructural features of GL cells by TEM, it was confirmed that the majority of cells seemed to have normal nuclei while GL cells undergoing apoptotic cel death were rarely found. The DNA extracted from GL cells showed a typical pattern of fragmentation following DNA electrophoretic analysis. We have confirmed that the apoptosis occurs in granulosa-luteal cells obtained from hyperstimulated ovaries. Technically, in situ apoptosis detection method is simple and reproducible and is well suited to identify the quality of oocytes retrieved from hyperstimulated ovaries.