콩은 식물성 단백질과 지방을 얻기 위하여 가장 널리 재배되는 주요 콩과 작물이다. 그러나, 성숙 콩 실에는 가공적성과 품질 저하, 알러지 유발 및 소화 불량을 일으키는 성분이 포함되어져 있다. 콩 성숙 종실에서 주요 항영양성분으로 알려진 lectin, KTI, lipoxygenase 및 7S α' subunit의 4가지 단백질이 모두 부재하면서 stachyose의 함량이 낮은 대립 노란콩 ‘백세’ 품종이 국내 최초로 육성되었다. ‘백세’ 품종은 F-1-9와 F-1-6의 육성계통간 교배로 얻어진 집단에서 선발되었다. ‘백세’ 품종은 보라색 화색, 유한신육형, 회색 모용색 및 성숙시 연한 갈색의 협색을 가지며, 종피 및 제색은 노란색이다. ‘백세’의 종실 조단백질 및 조지방 함량은 각각 41.1%와 15.8%이었고, stachyose의 함량은 2.9 g/kg으로 대조 품종인 ‘대원’의 12.7 g/kg보다 훨씬 낮았다. ‘백세’는 콩 모자이크 바이러스, 콩 괴사병, 검은뿌리썩음병, 꼬투리 및 줄기 무름병, 불마름병에 대한 저항성을 나타내었다. ‘백세’는 6월 20일경 파종시 성숙기는 10월 16일경이며, 경장은 53 ㎝, 백립중은 31.0 g 정도이고 2020년 3곳에서의 평균 수량은 2.95 ton/ha-1 정도였다.‘백세’는 2023년 4월 6일 국립종자원에 콩 품종 등록(등록번호: 9515) 되었다.

Cerebral ischemia is a serious neurological disorder that can lead to high morbidity and mortality. Baicalin is a naturally bioactive flavonoid derived from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, which has neuroprotective activity. Baicalin exerts a neuroprotective effect against hypoxic ischemic injury. In this study, we investigated whether baicalin regulates specific proteins in the cerebral cortex of ischemic stroke animals. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) surgery was performed to induce ischemic brain injury, and baicalin (30 mg/kg) or vehicle was injected into the abdominal cavity before MCAO surgery. Neurological behavior tests were performed 24 h after MCAO surgery and proteomics approach was performed using proteins extracted from cortical tissue. Two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis and MALDI-TOF were performed to identify the regulated protein by baicalin. MCAO damage caused severe behavioral disorders, but baicalin treatment improved these behavioral deficits. Baicalin also induced changes in the expression of various proteins in the cerebral cortex of MCAO animals. Proteins changed by baicalin administration are as follow: adenosylhomocysteinase, isocitrate dehydrogenase [NAD] subunit alpha, apolipoprotein A-I, Rab GDP dissociation inhibitor beta, eukaryotic initiation factor 4A, and mu-crystallin. These proteins were involved in metabolism and protein synthesis. The results of this study demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of baicalin by improving behavioral disorders caused by MCAO damage. The results also showed that baicalin regulates the expression of a variety of proteins involved in neuroprotective functions. Therefore, our findings provide evidence that baicalin plays a neuroprotective role in stroke animal models by regulating specific proteins.

The primary therapeutic approach for Brucella species infections has mainly been based on antibiotic treatment. However, the development of vaccines for brucellosis control remains controversial. Furthermore, there is currently no licensed vaccine available for human brucellosis. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a combination of recombinant protein vaccines against Brucella (B.) abortus infection using a mouse model. Two B. abortus genes, namely dapB and gpm, were cloned and expressed in competent Escherichia (E.) coli DH5α using the pCold-TF vector. Successfully cloned vectors were subjected to PCR amplification using specific primer pairs. The apparent sizes of dapB and gpm were detected at 807 bp and 621 bp, respectively. Besides, the purified recombinant proteins dapB and gpm were detected using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis with correct sizes of 82.86 kDa and 87.61 kDa, respectively. These recombinant proteins were used to immunize mice as a combined subunit vaccine (CSV) to elicit host immunity against B. abortus infection. Mice immunized with CSV exhibited increased proliferation of CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cells at week 7th and 9th before sacrifice, in comparison to the control group. Notably, CSV immunization showed a significant decrease in bacterial burden in the spleen compared to the control group. Altogether, CSV using dapB and gpm induced host adaptive immune response against Brucella infection, suggesting its potential as an effective new subunit vaccine candidate.

This study was conducted to evaluate in vitro antioxidant activity of goat meat hot water extracts and the changes in apoptosis-related protein expression levels in the cancer cells treated with these extracts. Goat meat hot water extracts were prepared using different cuts of goat meat, including foreleg, hindleg, loin, and rib. Among these extracts, the foreleg and hindleg extracts displayed higher (P<0.05) ABTS radical scavenging activity than the other two extracts. Protein expression levels of BAX, p53, and p21 were not different in the cells treated with the extracts from different cuts, regardless of the cell type. Only p53 expression in HT-29 cells was elevated (P<0.05) after loin extract treatment. These results suggest that antioxidant activity and apoptosis-related effects of goat meat hot water extract varied with cut of meat under in vitro conditions. Because all data was obtained from the in vitro experiment, the ability to generalize conclusions is limited. Additional in vivo studies are necessary.

Ischemic stroke leads to severe brain damage and high mortality. Chlorogenic acid is a phenolic compound known to have neuroprotective properties. Bcl-2 family protein plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis. We investigated whether chlorogenic acid exerts neuroprotective effects against ischemic injury by modulating Bcl-2 and Bax proteins. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed to induce cerebral ischemia and rats were injected intraperitoneally with phosphate buffered saline or chlorogenic acid (30 mg/kg) for 2 h after MCAO. Cortical tissues were collected 24 h after MCAO injury and reverse transcription-quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses were performed to investigate the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax. The regulation of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins by chlorogenic acid during glutamateinduced cell damage were examined. Cells were collected at 24 h after administration of glutamate (5 mM) and chlorogenic acid (10, 30, 50 μM). These results showed a decrease in Bcl-2 expression and an increase in Bax expression in MCAO animals, but chlorogenic acid treatment alleviated these changes by MCAO damage. Glutamate significantly reduced cell viability, and chlorogenic acid treatment alleviated this reduction in a dose-dependent manner. Glutamate induced a decrease in Bcl-2 expression and an increase in Bax expression, but chlorogenic acid treatment alleviated these changes. We found that chlorogenic acid alleviates changes in the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins induced by brain injury. Therefore, our findings provide an evidence that chlorogenic acid has neuroprotective effects against MCAO damage by modulating Bcl-2 and Bax proteins.

Organisms constituting a large proportion of marine ecosystems, ranging from bacteria to fish, exhibit fluorescence and bioluminescence. A variety of marine organisms utilize these biochemically generated light sources for feeding, reproduction, communication, and defense. Since the discovery of green fluorescent protein and the luciferin-luciferase system more than a century ago, numerous studies have been conducted to characterize their function and regulatory mechanism. The unique properties of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins offer great potential for their use in a broad range of applications. This short review briefly describes the functions and characteristics of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins, in addition to summarizing the recent status of their applications.