Several factors, including genetic and environmental insults, impede protein folding and secretion in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Accumulation of unfolded or mis-folded protein in the ER manifests as ER stress. To cope with this morbid condition of the ER, recent data has suggested that the intracellular event of an unfolded protein response plays a critical role in managing the secretory load and maintaining proteostasis in the ER. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) is a chemical chaperone and hydrophilic bile acid that is known to inhibit apoptosis by attenuating ER stress. Numerous studies have revealed that TUDCA affects hepatic diseases, obesity, and inflammatory illnesses. Recently, molecular regulation of ER stress in tooth development, especially during the secretory stage, has been studied. Therefore, in this study, we examined the developmental role of ER stress regulation in tooth morphogenesis using in vitro organ cultivation methods with a chemical chaperone treatment, TUDCA. Altered cellular events including proliferation, apoptosis, and dentinogenesis were examined using immunostaining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. In addition, altered localization patterns of the formation of hard tissue matrices related to molecules, including amelogenin and nestin, were examined to assess their morphological changes. Based on our findings, modulating the role of the chemical chaperone TUDCA in tooth morphogenesis, especially through the modulation of cellular proliferation and apoptosis, could be applied as a supporting data for tooth regeneration for future studies.

Repetitive applications of drugs to tumor tissues and animals induced resistance and/or tolerances which caused severe problem in agriculture and medicine. However, we still do not clearly understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying development of resistance and tolerance to chemicals. Drosophila is one of the most widely used model for studying fundamental phenomena in sciences using its available genetic and genomic resources. To investigate unknown molecular and cellular basis of drug resistance development, we applied Drosophila with two different concentrations of a chemical after treating them with Ethyl methanesulfonate mutatgenesis. We found that flies treating with two different concentration of chemicals showed different susceptibility to a chemical. We have established two different lines showing different susceptibility to a chemical. We will use these lines to compare any differences in mRNA expression profiling and enzyme activities. (This work was supported by project title: Investigation on cross drug resistance mechanisms using Drosophila as a model (PJ010821032016) from Rural Development Administration).

  This paper presents design and development of a simulator evaluates the performance of a hierarchical cellular system. The proposed hierarchical cellular simulator, consisting of macro, micro, and pico cells, applies the wrap-around technique to reduce