We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of shiitake mushroom and kelp (SMK) mixture extracts in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine RAW 264.7 cells. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells with LPS significantly increased NO (nitric oxide) production, pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β), and inflammation-related genes (COX-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)). In cytotoxicity testing using RAW 264.7 cells, SMK mixture extracts in the range of 1-16 μg/mL did not inhibit cell proliferation. However, SMK mixture extracts significantly inhibited NO production in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05). SMK treatment significantly decreased TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-1β levels compared to the LPS group, and similarly, pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA levels also decreased. SMK mixture extracts reduced the mRNA expression of COX-2 and iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells compared to LPS (p<0.05). The above results show that SMK mixture extracts suppressed the inflammatory response induced by LPS. In particular, the extracts were shown to regulate the inflammatory response by suppressing the expression of inflammatory cytokines and inflammation-related enzymes.

Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of the most important agricultural commodities, being widely consumed in the world. Various beneficial health effects of coffee have been extensively investigated, but data on habitual coffee consumption and its bio-physiological effect have not been clearly explained as well as it is not proved the cause and effect between drinking coffee and its bio-physiological reactions. We made the dialyzed coffee extract (DCE), which is absorbable through gastrointestinal tract, in order to elucidate the cellular effect of whole small coffee molecules. RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage lineage, were directly treated with DCE, i.e., DCE-2.5 (equivalent to 2.5 cups of coffee a day), DCE-5, and DCE-10, for 12 hours, and their protein extracts were examined by immunoprecipitation high performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). RAW 264.7 cells differently expressed the inflammation-related proteins depending on the doses of DCE. RAW 264.7 cells treated with DCE showed marked increase of cathepsin C, cathepsin G, CD20, CD28, CD31, CD68, indicating the activation of innate immunity. Particularly, the macrophage biomarkers, cathepsin G, cathepsin C, CD31, and CD68 were markedly increased after DCE-5 and DCE-10 treatments, and the lymphocyte biomarkers, CD20 and CD28 were consistently increased and became marked after DCE-10 treatment. On the other hand, RAW 264.7 cells treated with DCE showed consistent increase of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory factor, but gradual decreases of different pro-inflammatory proteins including TNFα, COX-2, lysozyme, MMP-2, and MMP-3. In particular, the cellular signaling of inflammation was gradually mitigated by the reduction of TNFα, COX-2, IL-12, and M-CSF, and also the matrix inflammatory reaction was reduced by marked deceases of MMP-2, MMP-3, and lysozyme. These anti-inflammatory expressions were consistently found until DCE-10 treatment. Therefore, it is presumed that DCE may have dynamic effects of innate immunity activation and pro-inflammation suppression on RAW264.7 cells simultaneously. These effects were consistently found in the highest dose of coffee, DCE-10 (equivalent to 10 cups of coffee a day in man), that might imply the small coffee molecules were accumulated in RAW 264.7 cells after DCE-10 treatment and produce synergistic cytokine effects for innate immunity activation and anti-inflammatory reaction concurrently.

Coffee is one of the most familiar beverages to modern human adults, but its bio-physiological effect has not been clearly elucidated. It was known that more than one thousand chemicals were included in the ordinary coffee extract. Among them, the caffein and chlorogenic acid (caffeoylquinic acids) are most abundant and have been investigated by many authors so far. In order to know the real cellular effect of whole coffee extract elements, the dialyzed coffee extract (DCE)1) was made to get coffee elements less than 1000 Da molecular weight, which are freely absorable through gastrointestinal tract. It was directly treated in the culture of RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage lineage. RAW 264.7 cells were treated with DCE equivalent to 2.5 cups of coffee (DCE-2.5), DCE-5, and DCE-10 for 12 hours, and their protein extracts were examined by histological observation and immunoprecipitation high performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). RAW 264.7 cells differently expressed the proliferation-related proteins depending on the dose of DCE. DCE-2.5 and DCE-5 enhanced the cellular growth of RAW 264.7 cells by increasing the expression of β-actin, PCNA, Ki-67, MPM2, MAX, cMyc, E2F-1, and Rb-1, and by decreasing the expression of MAD and p21. These proliferation-related proteins were rarely affected by DCE-10. DCE-2.5 and DCE-5 induced the cellular proliferation of RAW 264.7 cells by the signaling of E2F-1 and cMyc, respectively, but these cellular effects almost disappeared in DCE-10. Therefore, it was presumed that the low dose of coffee, DCE-2.5 and DCE-5 might be effective for the proliferation of murine macrophages, RAW264.7 cells, contrast to the high dose of coffee, DCE-10. It was also suggested that the low dose of DCE-2.5 and DCE-5 be helpful to increase the innate immunity in vivo by increasing the cell number of macrophages in contrast to the high dose of DCE-10.

In order to perform the biological investigation of coffee extract containing different molecules, it would be necessary to develop in vitro experimental system rather than animal experiment. Although the animal experiment treated via oral intake or intravenous injection may disclose the whole systemic effect, the in vitro cell culture experiment would be more convenient to analyze direct cellular effect of coffee extract than animal experiment. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop a dialysis method for the crude coffee extract to perform the biological investigation using murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. First of all, the RAW 264.7 cells treated with dialyzed coffee extract were observed, and subsequently their protein extracts were analyzed by gel filtration chromatography, thin layer chromatography, and immunoprecipitation high performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). Resultantly, it was found that the low dose (20μg/mL) of dialyzed coffee extract, about 5 cups of ordinary coffee drinking for human adult, enhanced the growth of RAW 264.7 cells by increased expression of β-actin and Ki-67, and also induced the anti-inflammatory effect by decreased expression of NFkB, TNFα, and LC3 contrast to the high dose (40μg/mL) of dialyzed coffee extract. The low dose of dialyzed coffee extract produced almost no harmful effect on RAW cell culture for 12 hours, rather than it produced stimulatory effect on RAW cells by increasing the cell number and enhancing the protein expression of β-actin, Ki-67. Therefore, it was thought that the low dose of dialyzed coffee extract is applicable to cell culture experiment without difficult purification procedures of coffee elements. In addition, as the contrast cellular effect between the low and high dose of coffee extract was found in this study, it was also presumed that the low dose of coffee extract may play an important role in the inflammatory reaction of murine macrophages.

활성산소 (reactive oxygen species, ROS)에 대한 현삼(Scrophulariae Radix, SR)추출물의 항산화 효과를 조사하기 위하여 NIH3T3 섬유모세포를 배양한 후 H2O2의 세포독성분석과 이에 대한 SR추출물의 영향을 항산화 측면에서 조사하였다. 본 실험에서 H2O2는 세포생존율의 감소함으로서 세포독성을 나타냈으며 이는 Borenfreund와 Puerner(1984)의 독성판정기준에 의하여 강독성인 것으로 나타났다. 한편, H2O2에 대한 SR추출물의 항산화 효과에 대한 분석에 있어서 SR추출물은 H2O2의 세포독성에 대하여 세포생존율의 증가를 비롯하여 LDH 활성감소 및 DPPH-자유기제거능을 나타냄으로서 항산화 효과를 나타냈다.

대부분의 포유동물에서 수란관내로 배란된 난자는 정자에 의해 수정이 된 후 개체발생을 시작한다. 그러나 수정이 되지 못한 난자들은 난구세포와 함께 수란관내에서 퇴화하여 제거되는데, 그 기작에 대해서는 구체적으로 알려져 있지 않다. 따라서 본 연구는 포유동물의 수란관내 물질이 난자-난구 복합체에 미치는 영향을 알아보고자 사람의 난포액과 소의 수란관 조직 추출액을 생쥐의 난자-난구 복합체에 처리하고 난자의 생존율 및 난구세포의 세포자연사(apoptosis)를

약용 식물의 추출액이 자가영양배양세포의 광합성전자전달계에 미치는 영향을 조사하기 위해 9종의 약용식물 추출액으로부터 종자발아, PA세포의 엽록소 억제정도, DCIP의 환원율, 세포 생존율, 광계 I의 전자전달활성, 단백질에 미치는 영향을 조사한 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 식물의 추출액을 농도별로 처리하였을 때 10％ 처리시 전 식물체에서 상추의 발아억제 현상을 나타내었고, 특히 백두옹과 초오 추출물 10％ 처리시는 100％ 억제를 나타내었다. 2. 백두옹의 증류수 및 MeOH 추출액을 PA세포에 처리한 경우 엽록소의 생성을 100％ 억제 하 였다. 이는 광합성 전자전달 저해제로 알려진 DCMU 10-3M 처리와 동일한 억제 효과였다. 3. PA세포에 추출물 처리시 백두옹이 힐반응 억제가 가장 컸으며, 세포 생존력은 가장 낮았다. 4. 광합성 산소발생은 반하, 독활, 백두옹, 만형자 추출액 처리시 14-77％ 억제되었고, 특히 PA 세포 2ml 반응액에 백두옹 추출물 60rl 처리시 50％ 산소발생 억제를 나타내었다. 5. 추출액을 PA 세포에 처리한 후 단백질을 추출하여 SDS-PAGE를 이용하여 조사한 결과 대조구에 비하여 백두옹 추출물 10％ 처리에서 14KD, 31KD, 41KD, 53KD, 73KD의 밴드가 나타나지 않았다.