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The present study aims to evaluate Cordyceps militaris water extract (CMWE) with a view to develop melanogenesis inhibitors. Inhibitory activities of CMWE against tyrosinase, L-DOPA(L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) oxidation, and melanin biosynthesis in B16 mouse melanoma cells were investigated. CMWE, at 5000 μg/ml, inhibited tyrosinase activity of 71% and DOPA oxidation of 40% as reacting with L-DOPA. Furthermore, B16 mouse melanoma cell survived over 50% from low to high dose on MTT assay, and CMWE markedly inhibited (>50%) melanin synthesis at 5000 μg/ml. The inhibitory effect of CMWE on melanogenesis was attributed to enhancement of tyrosinase degradation. Key enzyme of melanin biosynthesis is tyrosinase which catalyses a beginning step from tyrosine to DOPA quinine and melanin formation step, respectively. These results indicated that CMWE may be a potential source of novel whitening agents for cosmetic or therapeutic application.

Biodiesel has been recommended as an environmentally benign alternative fuel because it emits a comparatively small amount of air pollutants. Biodiesel can be processed from canola oil, which has a low liquefaction temperature owing to its high unsaturated fatty acid content, which also limits its engine-clogging effects. In this study, optimum conditions such as the amount of methanol, the alkali catalyst, and the reaction temperature were determined for production of biodiesel from canola oil. A maximum biodiesel yield was shown at an oil/methanol mole ratio of 1:6. The optimum amount of catalyst was 1 wt% of potassium hydroxide. The biodiesel yield and the methyl ester content were high when the reaction temperature was 55 °C. The consolute temperature for determining the maximum biodiesel yield was proposed in consideration of the boiling point of methanol. The energy density was analyzed for the final products of biodiesel in comparison to the raw canola oil and other plant oil based biodiesels.

Ethnopharmacological relevance : Lonicera japonica Thunb and Anemarrhena asphodeloides BUNGE have been used for the treatment of a variety of inflammatory diseases, cold and infective diseases in many countries, including Korea and China. Aim of the study : This study aimed to assess the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of n-butanol fraction (WIN-34B) prepared from dried flowers of Lonicera japonica and dried roots of Anemarrhena asphodeloides as potential novel treatment of osteoarthritis. Materials and methods : Anti-nociceptive activities of WIN-34B (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) were measured using acetic acid-induced writhing response, formalin-induced paw licking, hot plate, radiant heat tail-flick, carrageenan-induced paw pressure, and Hargreaves tests, respectively. Anti-inflammatory activities of WIN-34B (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) were assessed using acetic acid-induced vascular permeability, carrageenan-induced paw edema, and croton oil-induced ear edema. Anti-osteoarthritis effect of WIN-34B was analyzed using monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis animal model. Results : WIN-34B exhibited better anti-inflammatory activity than that of celecoxib in carrageenan at the dose of 200 mg/kg and croton oil-induced paw edema and ear edema at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg. WIN-34B exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effects on vascular permeability. WIN-34B also exhibited significant anti-nociceptive activities in the late phase of formalin-induced paw licking and writhing response model in mice. In radiant heat tail-flick and carrageenan-induced paw pressure tests, WIN-34B at the dose of 400 mg/kg and at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg presented similar activities to indomethacin and celecoxib. Compared to indomethacin WIN-34B at 400 mg/kg showed similar or better anti-nociceptive activities after 1 and 2 h of theraphy in the hot plate test and better anti-nociceptive activity than that of celecoxib in Hargreves test. In the MIA-induced osteoarthritis animal models, WIN-34B at 400 mg/kg exhibited similar or better anti-nociceptive property than that of celecoxib throughout the pain measurement periods. Conclusion : When compared to celecoxib, WIN-34B exhibited similar or better anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities in osteoarthritic animal models, which may become a potential novel treatment for osteoarthritis.

Bee venom (BV) treatment is the therapeutic application of honeybee venom (HBV) for treating various diseases in Oriental medicine. In the present work, the authors investigated the functional specificity of BV as an angiogenesis inhibitor using in vitro models and in vivo mouse angiogenesis and lung metastasis models. BV significantly inhibited the viability of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells but did not affect peripheral blood mononuclear lymphocytes (PBML) cells. BV also inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced proliferation, migration and capillary-like tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Western blotting analysis showed that BV inhibited AKT and MAPK phosphorylation in LLC cells and HUVECs and down regulated expression of VEGF and VEGFR-2 of LLC cells and HUVECs. Also, BV effectively disrupted VEGF-induced neovascularization in Matrigel plugs in our in vivo angiogenesis assay. When given subcutaneously, BV also significantly suppressed tumor angiogenesis through inhibition of VEGF and VEGFR-2 in LLC model. Mice bearing subcutaneous LLC tumors were treated with 1mug/ml or 10mug/ml of BV. They showed reductions ranging between 49% and 62% in primary tumor volume and reduction of spontaneous pulmonary metastasis occurrences. Furthermore, BV treatment in the spontaneous lung metastases model after primary tumor excision prolonged their median survival time from 27 to 58days. These results suggest that the tumor-specific anti-angiogenic activity of BV takes effect during different stages of tumor progression by blocking the tyrosine phosphorylation of VEGFR-2, and validate the application of BV in lung cancer treatment.

The concentration of phenolics in Phellinus pini (CY001) extracts, expressed as mg of GAEs per g of P. pini fractions, and the EtOAc fraction (436.5 ㎎ GAEs/g) of P. pini had a higher phenolic content than other fractions. Several biochemical assays were used to screen antioxidant properties such as reducing power, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, NBT/XO superoxide system and inhibition of DCF/AAPH peroxyl radicals. Among the six mushroom extracts, the EtOAc fraction from P. pini (CY001) showed the most potent DPPH radical, superoxide radical, and peroxyl radical scavenging activities, with IC 50 values of 11.49 ㎍/ml, 8.32 ㎍/㎖, and 1.91 μg/㎖, respectively. The EtOAc fraction of P. pini (CY001) significantly inhibited enzymatic lipid peroxidation and effectively attenuated LPS-induced NO production of RAW 264.7 cells without cytotoxicity. We also found that the EtOAc fraction had a significant hepato-protectant effect on tacrine-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. These findings suggest that P. pini (CY001) may have potential as a natural antioxidant, which contains compound(s) with radical scavenging activity.

The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of hot water extract from Cordyceps militaris fruiting bodies (CMWE) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) release in RAW 264.7 cells. The treatment of macrophages with various concentrations of hot CMWE significantly reduced LPS-induced production as well as NO, TNF-α and IL-6 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that CMWE have potent inhibitory effects on the production of these inflammatory mediators.

Understanding the collaborative behaviors of the excitons and phonons that result from light-matter interactions is important for interpreting and optimizing the underlying fundamental physics at work in devices made from atomically thin materials. In this study, the generation of exciton-coupled phonon vibration from molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) nanosheets in a pre-excitonic resonance condition is reported. A strong rise-to-decay profile for the transient second-harmonic generation (TSHG) of the probe pulse is achieved by applying substantial (20%) beam polarization normal to the nanosheet plane, and tuning the wavelength of the pump beam to the absorption of the A-exciton. The time-dependent TSHG signals clearly exhibit acoustic phonon generation at vibration modes below 10 cm-1 (close to the Γ point) after the photoinduced energy is transferred from exciton to phonon in a nonradiative fashion. Interestingly, by observing the TSHG signal oscillation period from MoS2 samples of varying thicknesses, the speed of the supersonic waves generated in the out-of-plane direction (Mach 8.6) is generated. Additionally, TSHG microscopy reveals critical information about the phase and amplitude of the acoustic phonons from different edge chiralities (armchair and zigzag) of the MoS2 monolayers. This suggests that the technique could be used more broadly to study ultrafast physics and chemistry in low-dimensional materials and their hybrids with ultrahigh fidelity.

The stacking order in layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) induces variations in the electronic and interlayer couplings. Therefore, controlling the stacking orientations when synthesizing TMDCs is desirable but remains a significant challenge. Here, we developed and showed the growth kinetics of different shapes and stacking orders in as-grown multi-stacked MoS2 crystals and revealed the stacking-order-induced interlayer separations, spin–orbit couplings (SOCs), and symmetry variations. Raman spectra in AA(A…)-stacked crystals demonstrated blueshifted out-of-plane (A1g) and in-plane (E2g1) phonon frequencies, representing a greater reduction of the van der Waals gap compared to conventional AB(A…)-stacking. Our observations, together with first-principles calculations, revealed distinct excitonic phenomena due to various stacking orientations. As a result, the photoluminescence emission was improved in the AA(A…)-stacking configuration. Additionally, calculations showed that the valence-band maxima (VBM) at the K point of the AA(A…)-stacking configuration was separated into multiple sub-bands, indicating the presence of stronger SOC. We demonstrated that AA(A…)-stacking emitted an intense second-harmonic signal (SHG) as a fingerprint of the more augmented non-centrosymmetric stacking and enabled SOC-induced splitting at the VBM. We further highlighted the superiority of four-wave mixing-correlated SHG microscopy to quickly resolve the symmetries and multi-domain crystalline phases of differently shaped crystals. Our study based on crystals with different shapes and multiple stacking configurations provides a new avenue for development of future optoelectronic devices. A method for investigating the relative alignment of stacks of two-dimensional layers has been developed by researchers in Korea. Two-dimensional materials, those just a single atom thick, have a host of unusual electronic and optical properties. Placing two-dimensional materials on top of each other to create thicker films offers a way to engineer further novel materials, but the properties of these stacks depend crucially on the relative orientation of each layer. Jong-Hyun Ahn from Yonsei University and colleagues synthesized stacks of molybdenum disulfide monolayers with various angular alignments using a technique called atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition. They then characterized the structures optically and measured a gradual spectroscopic evolution induced by the varying the arrangement. This insight will be useful for designing future optoelectronic devices based on molybdenum disulfide monolayers. NaCl-assisted APCVD technique to synthesize multi-stacked MoS2 crystals with different stacking orientations and shape has been developed. We found that the stacking orientation of multi-stacked MoS2 crystals shows the underlying variation in the crystalline phases, symmetry inversion, spin–orbit coupling and interlayer interactions through intensive optical study based on Raman spectroscopy, PL spectroscopy and nonlinear technique of FWM correlated SHG imaging technique. Our study based on the crystals with different shape and multiple stacking configurations provide a new avenue for the possibilities of future optoelectronic devices.

Because tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is well-known to induce inflammatory responses, thus its clinical use is limited in cancer treatment. Rosmarinic acid (RA), a naturally occurring polyphenol flavonoid, has been reported to inhibit TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappaB activation in human dermal fibroblasts. However, the precise mechanisms of RA have not been well elucidated in TNF-alpha-mediated anti-cancer therapy. In this study, we found that RA treatment significantly sensitizes TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis in human leukemia U937 cells through the suppression of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Activation of caspases in response to TNF-alpha was markedly increased by RA treatment. However, pretreatment with the caspase-3 inhibitor, z-DEVD-fmk, was capable of significantly restoring cell viability in response to combined treatment. RA also suppressed NF-kappaB activation through inhibition of phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaBalpha, and nuclear translocation of p50 and p65. This inhibition was correlated with suppression of NF-kappaB-dependent anti-apoptotic proteins (IAP-1, IAP-2, and XIAP). RA treatment also normalized TNF-alpha-induced ROS generation. Additionally, ectopic Bcl-2 expressing U937 reversed combined treatment-induced cell death, cytochrome c release into cytosol, and collapse of mitochondrial potential. These results demonstrated that RA inhibits TNF-alpha-induced ROS generation and NF-kappaB activation, and enhances TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis.

The objective of this study was to determine the anticancer effects of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in vitro. For this study, the lipid extracts of C. gigas were prepared using several organic solvents: methanol, chloroform, hexane, methanol:chloroform=1:1, chloroform: hexane=1:1. The anticancer activity of the extracts was evaluated using cell cycle and apoptosis assays analyzed by a flow cytometry. Of all the extracts, the hexane extracts exhibited the highest anticancer activity compared to the other extracts. The hexane extracts were further separated and purified using thin layer chromatography. The final isolated lipid compounds were identified their components as palmitic acid, margaric acid, and stearic acid. These results indicate that this combination of lipids effectively inhibit in vitro human prostate tumor growth by inducing apoptosis of cancer cells.

Introduction Thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) is a special type of acupuncture that inserts certain medical threads (eg, catgut or polydioxanone) into subcutaneous tissue or muscles at specific points. Although TEA has been widely used for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain in Korea, China and Taiwan, evidence regarding its efficacy is lacking. The aim of this protocol is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TEA in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain, by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods and analysis The following 16 databases will be searched from their inception to 14 May 2017: MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, three Chinese database (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database and the Wanfang database) and eight Korean databases (Korean Medical Database, Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors, Korean Studies Information Service System, Korean National Assembly Digital Library, National Digital Science Library, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, ’Database Periodical Information Academic and Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal9). The WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform will also be searched to retrieve the recently completed studies. All randomised controlled studies in which TEA was used on specific points for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain will be included and no restrictions on language will be applied. The risk of bias of each study will be evaluated by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Mean difference or standardised mean difference for continuous data and risk ratio for dichotomous data will be calculated with 95% CIs using a random effects model or a fixed effects model. Additional subgroup and sensitivity analyses will be conducted according to a predefined protocol. Ethics and dissemination No ethical issues are predicted. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentation. These findings will summarise the current evidence of TEA for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and may provide guidance for clinicians and patients to select TEA for musculoskeletal pain. PROSPERO registration number CRD42015019046.

Hydrogen has been attracting much interest recently as a source of clean and sustainable energy. However, the volatility of hydrogen, its tendency to explode at concentrations as low as 4 % in air, requires a reliable sensing technology for safe hydrogen utilization. An optical hydrogen safety sensor based on gasochromic thin films can detect a change in color of the film upon exposure to hydrogen gas in an area where a hydrogen leak is suspected. In this study, we compared the sensitivity and the durability of hydrogen sensor films of Pd/WO3, Pt/WO3, and Pt/Pd/WO3. The change in the optical transmittance of the films was measured as these films were repeatedly exposed to hydrogen and air.

We have used Pd–Pt alloy as the catalyst in the hydrogen sensor thin film. Palladium and platinum were co-sputtered on top of a tungsten oxide layer grown by reactive sputtering. Both the sensitivity and the durability were dramatically improved over the case of a palladium single-component catalyst. The fractional change in the optical absorption on exposure to 1% hydrogen gas was increased by a factor larger than 2, and the fractional change decreased only a little after more than 1000 cycles of repeated exposure to 1% hydrogen and air. Moreover, the sensor film exhibited good selectivity to other organic vapors.

Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein that plays an important role in neoplastic immortality, is up-regulated in approximately 85% of cancers, especially in leukemia. The polyphenol, butein, has potent effects against various types of cancer cells, but its effects on telomerase activity have not been well characterized. In this study, we show that butein causes a down-regulation of hTERT gene expression and a concomitant decrease of telomerase activity. Butein also suppresses expression of c-Myc at the transcriptional level and down-regulates DNA-binding activity, regardless of cell type specificity, in leukemia cells. DNA-binding activities of c-Myc to the hTERT core promoter were decreased in butein-treated cells, as seen by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Treatment with butein also suppressed the activation of Akt, thereby inhibiting hTERT phosphorylation and translocation into the nucleus. In this process, butein also up-regulated the surface expression of CD11b in leukemia cells. Inhibition of telomerase activity by butein was followed by loss of proliferative capacity, induction of apoptosis, and differentiation. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of butein at inhibiting telomerase activity by down-regulating hTERT gene expression in human leukemia cells.

According to development of internet and an increase in demand of multimedia contents, the contents industry is being developed. However, they are served same contents in the limited environment(user device environment, network environment) of the present contents industry. And users have difficulties in searching and finding contents since they are served contents they want and contents suitable to diverse context and affection. Therefore, it is necessary to make a system offering contents according to context and affection of users. The study proposes the system to offer contents suitable to context and affection of users whenever and wherever through diverse devices in a ubiquitous environment and designs/implementation a user device framework system that users can be offered contents suitable to their devices.Keywords:User Context, User Affection, Contents Adaptation, User Device Framework, Ubiquitous 1. 서 론 1) 유비쿼터스 컴퓨팅 기술이 발전함에 따라 언제, 어디서든지 다양한 디바이스를 통해 콘텐츠를 소비할 수 있는 있는 시대가 도래하고 있다. 또한, 유비쿼터스 환경에서 콘텐츠를 소비하는 사용자들은 자신의 디바이스, 네트워크, 주변 환경과 같은 다양한 상황 및 감성 정보에 적합한 콘텐츠를 제공받기를 원할 것이다[1-3].

The C. militaris belongs to entomopathogenic fungi, which have their specific sequences in internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) depending on species. In this study, to identify the phylogenetic relationship of the strain hybrided by mating of C. militaris, we compared DNA sequences of ITS regions and 5.8S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeat unit of hybrid strain and its parental strains. The result revealed that hybrid strains are C. militaris species. In addition, cordycepins produced by hybrid strains and other strains of C. militaris were analyzed by HPLC with 20mM of mobile phase and C-18 columns. The result indicated that the strain hybrided by mating produce higher concentration of phytochemical cordycepin than other C. militaris strains.

Anatomical features of both leaves and stems of the four mistletoes in Korea (Viscum album var. coloratum, Korthalsella japonica, Loranthus yadoriki, L. tanaka) and of their secondary haustorial structure within several host plants were investigated. Among the four mistletoes, there were diagnostic characters of the anatomy of leaves and stems which enabled us to distinguish the four taxa. Leaves were observed to have three distinct characters including unifacial or bifacial leaves, the number of vascular bundles in the midveins, and the level of development of sclerenchyma cells. There were four diagnostic characters of stems: overall morphology of stems in transverse view, degree of cuticle development, arrangement of vascular bundles, and features of the sclerenchyma and pith. In order to determine secondary haustorial traits, the research focused on the seven host plants of L. yadoriki and on the five host plants of K. japonica. The following features were found to be important: presence or absence of an aerial runner root, the shape of the haustorial strand and flange, the degree of penetration into host tissues, and their development of shaft in transverse view, the development both of secondary haustorial cells and short tracheid in hyphae. Korthalsella japonica and L. yadorki were clearly distinguished by these characters. The secondary haustorial forms in each host were somewhat different, due to varying degrees of development in the strength of the host plants' wood. However, qualitative characters like the final position of the secondary haustorial penetration into host tissues and the development of short tracheid cells were not only affected by the degree of development of the host plants, but also useful for the systematic study.

Collaborative filtering is a popular technique that recommends items based on the opinions of other people in recommender systems. Memory-based collaborative filtering which uses user database can be divided in user-based approaches and item-based approaches. User-based collaborative filtering predicts a user’s preference of an item using the preferences of similar neighborhood, while item-based collaborative filtering predicts the preference of an item based on the similarity of items. This paper proposes a combined forecast scheme that predicts the preference of a user to an item by combining user-based prediction and item-based prediction using the ratio of the number of similar users and the number of similar items. Experimental results using MovieLens data set and the BookCrossing data set show that the proposed scheme improves the accuracy of prediction for movies and books compared with the user-based scheme and item-based scheme.Keywords:Recommender Systems, Memory-Based Collaborative Filtering, Combined Forecast

KHBJ-9B has been formulated by n-butanol fraction from 2 herbs known to have cartilage protection and anti-inflammatory effects. We elected to determine the osteoarthritic efficacy and mechanism of KHBJ-9B on human osteoarthritis cartilage explants culture and in a rabbit model of collagenase-induced osteoarthritis (CIA). The major chemical composition and quantification of KHBJ-9B was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The efficacy of KHBJ-9B and its major compounds on cartilage protective effects such as inhibition of GAG release and type II collagen degradation, and their cytotoxicity in IL-1beta-treated human cartilage culture were examined. The mechanism of action of KHBJ-9B and its major compounds were evaluated by measuring inflammatory cytokines (IL-1beta and TNF-alpha) and matrix proteinases (ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, MMP-1, MMP-13 and TIMP-3) in IL-1beta-treated human cartilage cultures. Also, the therapeutic effect of KHBJ-9B was confirmed using a collagenase-induced osteoarthritis (CIA) rabbit model. KHBJ-9B and 3 combined triterpenoids potently inhibited the release of proteoglycan and type II collagen in a dose dependent manner without cytotoxicity in IL-1beta-treated human cartilage explants culture, whereas its single major compounds (betulin, pimaradienoic acid and betulinic acid) and COX-2 inhibitor (NS398) showed little inhibition even at high concentrations. KHBJ-9B and the combination of 3 triterpenoids markedly inhibited the level of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha, and down-regulated the level of aggrecanases, ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, MMP-1 and MMP-13, and up-regulated TIMP-3 in human cartilage explants culture. However, standard compounds and NS398 do not much affect the level of TNF-alpha, aggrecanases, and TIMP-3 in cartilage explants culture. In in vivo studies, KHBJ-9B significantly suppressed the stiffness level and global histologic score. Cartilage loss was significantly inhibited in the knee joint in a dose dependent manner, and this was associated with the finding that loss of proteoglycan, degradation of aggrecan and type II collagen was markedly reduced. These results suggest that the effect of KHBJ-9B is bigger than the effects of its single major compounds of triterpenoids or celecoxib inhibitors on cartilage protection and anti-inflammation in human cartilage and in in vivo model of osteoarthritis, and thus has potential for use in osteoarthritis treatment.

Oriental herbal medicines have been widely used for the prevention or treatment of various diseases including cancer in Asia. However, to prove their chemo preventive efficacies in modern times, scientific evidence for those herbal medicines is required. Thus, in the present study, an effective herbal cocktail Bojungbangdocktang (BJBDT) was investigated to elucidate antiangiogenic mechanism in vitro and in vivo. BJBDT significantly inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induced proliferation in HUVECs at nontoxic concentrations, despite weak cytotoxicity against human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). BJBDT also significantly suppressed VEGF-induced migration and tube formation of HUVECs. Furthermore, BJBDT treatment resulted in pale color and low hemoglobin level in Matrigel plugs, as well as dark red color and high hemoglobin level in untreated control. Interestingly, BJBDT specifically inhibited the binding of VEGF to vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), but not VEGFR1. In addition, friedelin, formononetin, ginsenoside Rb1, naringin, atractyloside, diosgenin, and allantonin were identified from BJBDT by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis as a quality of control. Taken together, these results suggest that BJBDT is a potent angiogenesis inhibitor blocking the VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling pathway in HUVECs.

In this study, we found that pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) decreased cell viability and inhibited telomerase activity with downregulation of hTERT expression in human leukemia cells. PTX-2 treatment also reduced c-Myc and Sp1 gene expression and DNA binding activity. Further chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that PTX-2 attenuated the binding of c-Myc and Sp1 to the regulatory regions of hTERT. We also observed that PTX-2 treatment attenuated the phosphorylation of Akt, thereby reducing the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of hTERT. We concluded that PTX-2 suppressed telomerase activity through the transcriptional and post-translational suppression of hTERT and this process precedes cellular differentiation of human leukemia cells.Structured summaryMINT-6742762:hTERT (uniprotkb:O14746) physically interacts (MI:0218) with AKT (uniprotkb:P31749) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)

Collaborative filtering is a popular technique used for the recommendation system, but its performance, especially the accuracy of recommendation, depends on how to define the reference group. This paper proposes a new contents recommendation scheme based on collaborative filtering technique whose reference groups are created by consumer's affection and consumption type in order to improve the accuracy of recommendation. In this paper, joy, sadness, anger, happiness, and relax are considered as the consumer's affection. And, low-utility / low-pleasure, low-utility / high-pleasure, high-utility / low-pleasure, and high-utility / high-pleasure are considered as the consumer's shopping types. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme improves the accuracy of recommendation compared to the recommendation scheme considering neither consumer's affection nor consumption type.Key Words:Contents Recommendation, Affection, Consumption Type, Collaborative Filtering

In this paper, we propose the effective exchange-method of a user profile for adapted contents services in the contents adaptation system. The profiles continuously exchange among the devices of contents adaption system for providing the adapted contents to a user. The profile should be also exchanged according to periodic, aperiodic, event, request and response. Consequently, a lot of network traffic occur and computing power require. Solving theses problem, the profile exchange research needs. we analyze creation information, exchange information, and exchange form of the profile information in contents adaptation system for effective profile exchange and define exchange procedure of the profile using the analyzed profile information. we also propose providing method of the profile configured information for decreasing profile processing time and user setting method for decreasing the number of profile transmission. As a result of performance evaluation, providing method of the profile configured information reduce 7% processing time and user setting method decrease the number of profile transmission are effective to exchange the profile.

Siegesbeckia pubescens (S. pubescens) was widely used to alleviate symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) in traditional medicine. However, the mechanism of action of S. pubescens remains unresolved. In the present study, we determined the physiological relevance of S. pubescens on cartilage protection in collagenase-induced osteoarthritis (CIA) in rabbits. The right knees of rabbits were injected intra-articularly with collagenase, and rabbits were orally administered with distilled water (vehicle), S. pubescens (100, 400 mg/kg) or celecoxib (100 mg/kg) once a day for 28 days after the initiation of the CIA. S. pubescens significantly suppressed the stiffness and global histological score including articular cartilage and synovial layer in CIA. Proteoglycan, aggrecan, and type II collagen expression was significantly increased in the rabbit knee joints of the S. pubescens–treated group. However, celecoxib had no effect on cartilage protection in CIA. The expression level of ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-13 were dose-dependently decreased in the S. pubescens–treated group. In contrast, the level of TIMP-1 dose-dependently increased. The pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in cartilage destruction, such as IL-1β, and inflammatory mediators containing PGE2 and NO were also inhibited in the S. pubescens–treated group. These results indicate that the cartilage protective effect of S. pubescens works through down-regulation of inflammatory mediators and aggrecanases and MMPs, while up-regulating TIMP-1 in the CIA rabbit model. Keywords:: Siegesbeckia pubescens, osteoarthritis, cartilage protection

Pro-inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO), and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, play pivotal roles in brain injuries. The anti-inflammatory properties are known to be associated with significant reductions in pro-inflammatory mediators in brain injuries. In the present study we investigate whether the effects of curcumin on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia.Curcumin were administered and their effects on LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators were monitored by Western blotting and RT-PCR.Curcumin significantly inhibited the release of NO, PGE2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin also attenuated the expressions of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, curcumin suppressed NF-kappaB activation via the translocation of p65 into the nucleus. Our data also indicate that curcumin exerts anti-inflammatory properties by suppressing the transcription of proinflammatory cytokine genes through the NF-kappaB signaling pathway.Anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin may be useful for treating the inflammatory and deleterious effects of microglial activation in response to LPS stimulation.

Bee venom (BV), well known as a traditional Oriental medicine, has been shown to exhibit anti-arthritic and anti-carcinogenic effects. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of BV have not been elucidated in microglia. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of BV and its major component, melittin (MEL), on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia. Our results indicate that BV and MEL suppress LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in a dose-dependent manner, without causing cytotoxicity in BV2 microglia. Moreover, BV and MEL suppressed LPS-induced activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) by blocking degradation of IkappaBalpha and phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Akt, which resulted in inhibition of iNOS expression. Our data also indicate that BV and MEL exert anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the transcription of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 genes and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. BV and MEL also attenuated the production of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). These results demonstrate that BV and MEL possess a potent suppressive effect on proinflammatory responses of BV2 microglia and suggest that these compounds may offer substantial therapeutic potential for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are accompanied by microglial activation.

The cytotoxic effect of the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is limited in some cancer cells, including A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. However, treatment with TRAIL in combination with subtoxic concentrations of sulforaphane (SFN) sensitizes TRAIL-resistant A549 cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Combined treatment with SFN and TRAIL induced chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, annexin V staining and sub-G(1) phase DNA content. These indicators of apoptosis correlate with the induction of caspase-3 activity that results in the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and the release of lactate dehydrogenase. Both the cytotoxic effect and apoptotic characteristics induced by combined treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Combined treatment also triggered the activation of p38 MAPK and JNK, and downregulation of ERK and Akt. Inhibitors of ERK (PD98059) or Akt (LY294002), but not p38 MAPK, resulted in significantly decreased cell viability. Although the activation of JNK was increased in response to combined treatment, inhibition of the JNK pathway significantly attenuated cell viability. These results indicate that caspase-3 is a key regulator of apoptosis in response to combined SFN and TRAIL in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells through downregulation of ERK and Akt.

Central poststroke pain can occur as a result of lesion or dysfunction of the brain from stroke, and may influence the autonomic nervous system to regulate the vasomotor activity which could result in the lowered skin temperature. In order to assess CPSP objectively, seventy patients with CPSP were evaluated as their pain with VAS pain score and the skin temperature of pain site by infrared thermography before and after pain treatment. And evaluated correlation between changes of temperature and VAS. The skin temperature of pain site was significantly lower than non-pain before treatment and improved after treatment(p

In this paper, the management architecture and the ubiquitous profile based on CC/PP for contents adaptation in the ubiquitous environment is designed. The components and the attributes of the ubiquitous profile are defined based on the services scenario of contents adaptation in the ubiquitous environment. The ubiquitous profile was applied to techniques such as standard vocabulary, CC/PP structure, RDF schema and RDF to use effectively in the ubiquitous environment during the design. Also we design and propose the another management architecture based on ideas such as the dynamic constitution method, the metadata constitution method using a repository and the management method of gateway on center for the effective management of the ubiquitous profile. The result of performance evaluation for the proposed management architecture is more effective compared with the previous management method of the profile. The proposed the ubiquitous profile and the management architecture has provided the foundation of the research for a user to adaptation contents services in the ubiquitous environment.

Immunostimulating factor (ISTF) isolated from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans which has been described previously, is distinct from lipopolysaccharide and induces proliferation of B cells. This study was undertaken to investigate whether ISTF might enhance the stimulation of other immune cells. Immunohistochemically, ISTF exhibited a profound stimulating effect on macrophages and dendritic cells as well as B cells in the spleen of BALB/c mice. ISTF was also recognized for its capacity to induce direct activation of mouse macrophages to produce IL-6, TNF-alpha, and NO and MHC class II expression. Therefore, it is postulated that ISTF stimulates macrophages and possibly other cells to produce a wide variety of proinflammatory mediators, which may be involved in the chronicity and tissue destruction of periodontal disease.

Although Fursarium oxysporum causes diseases in economically important plant hosts, identification of F. oxysporum formae speciales has been difficult due to confusing phenotypic classification systems. To resolve these complexity, we evaluated genetic relationship of nine formae speciales of F. oxysporum with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), and translation elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1α) gene. In addition, the correlation between mycotoxin content of fusaric acid and isolates based on molecular marker data was evaluated using the modified Mantel's test. According to these result, these fusaric acid-producing strains could not identify clearly, and independent of geographic locations and host specificities. However, in the identification of F. oxysporum formae speciales, especially, AFLP analysis showed a higher discriminatory power than that of a the RAPD and EF-1α analyses, all three techniques were able to detect genetic variability among F. oxysporum formae speciales in this study.

Puerariae radix (PR) is a traditional medicine herb used for enhancing body resistance against various diseases. The aim of this study was to identify whether Puerariae radix extract induces osteogenic activity in human osteoblast-like SaOS-2 cells. Puerariae radix had no effect on the viability of osteoblastic cells, and dose-dependently increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Puerariae radix markedly increased mRNA expression for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), osteocalcin (OCN), osteopontin (OPN), and type I collagen (Col I) in SaOS-2 cells. Extracellular accumulation of proteins such as VEGF and Col I was increased in a dose-dependent manner. Also, Puerariae radix significantly induced mineralization in the culture of SaOS-2 cells. In conclusion, this study showed that Puerariae radix had no effect on viability, but enhanced ALP activity, VEGF, bone matrix proteins such as OCN, OPN, and Col I, and mineralization in SaOS-2 cells. These results propose that Puerariae radix can play an important role in osteoblastic bone formation, and may possibly lead to the development of bone-forming drugs.

The antinociceptive effect and the mechanism of bee venom acupuncture (BVA) on inflammatory pain, especially in the rat model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), have not yet been fully studied. This study was designed to investigate the antinociceptive effect and its μ-opioid and α 2 -adrenergic mechanism of BVA in the CIA rat model. To induce CIA, male Sprague–Dawley rats were immunized with bovine type II collagen emulsified in Freund's incomplete adjuvant followed by a booster injection 14 days later. The antinociceptive effect was evaluated by tail flick latency (TFL). After induction of arthritis, the inflammatory pain threshold decreased as time passed, and there was no big change of the pain threshold after 3 weeks. Three weeks after the first immunization, BVA (0.25 mg/kg) injected into the Zusanli acupoint (ST 36 ) showed the antinociceptive effect. Furthermore, the antinociceptive effect of BVA was blocked by yohimbine (α 2 -adrenergic receptor antagonist, 2 mg/kg, i.p) pretreatment, but not by naloxone (μ-opioid receptor antagonist, 2 mg/kg, i.p.) pretreatment. These results suggest that BVA can relieve inflammatory pain in CIA and the antinociceptive effect of BVA can be mediated by α 2 -adrenergic receptor.

Articular cartilage is a potential target for drugs designed to inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to stop or slow the destruction of proteoglycan and collagen in the cartilage extracellular matrix. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Betula platyphylla var. japonica on inhibiting the release of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), the degradation of collagen, and MMP expression and activity in rabbit articular cartilage explants. Interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) rapidly induced GAG, but collagen was much less readily released from cartilage explants. Betula platyphylla var. japonica significantly inhibited GAG and collagen release in a concentration-dependent manner. Betula platyphylla var. japonica dose-dependently inhibited MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression and activities from IL-1alpha-treated cartilage explant culture when tested at concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.2 mg/ml. Betula platyphylla var. japonica had no harmful effect on chondrocyte viability or cartilage morphology in cartilage explants. Histological analysis indicated that Betula platyphylla var. japonica reduced the degradation of the cartilage matrix compared with that of IL-1alpha-treated cartilage explants. These results indicate that Betula platyphylla var. japonica inhibits the degradation of proteoglycan and collagen through the down regulation of MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression and activities without affecting the viability or morphology of IL-1alpha-stimulated rabbit articular cartilage explants.

Formononetin (1), a plant-derived phytoestrogen, possesses bone protective properties. To address the potential therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of action of 1, we investigated its antiosteoclastogenic activity and its effect on nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL)-induced bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs). Compound 1 markedly inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation in the absence of cytotoxicity, by regulating the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and RANKL in BMMs and in cocultured osteoblasts. Compound 1 significantly inhibited RANKL-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α) in a concentration-dependent manner. These effects were accompanied by a decrease in RANKL-induced activation of the NF-κB p65 subunit, degradation of inhibitor κBα (IκBα), induction of NF-κB, and phosphorylation of AKT, extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK). NF-κB siRNA suppressed AKT, ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK phosphorylation. Furthermore, 1 significantly suppressed c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T-cells cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1), key transcription factors during osteoclastogenesis. SP600125, a specific inhibitor of JNK, reduced RANKL-induced expression of phospho-c-Jun, c-Fos, and NFATc1 and inhibited osteoclast formation. These results suggested that 1 acted as an antiresorption agent by blocking osteoclast activation.

Over for the past 10 years, the increase in geometric progression for the internet traffic, has allowed the IP protocol framework to be the most important network technology. In addition, the internet service is being developed as a service mode differentiated, aiming to support the new-mode real-time multimedia services such as internet phone, video conference, cyber reality, and internet game, focusing on offering a latest service. These days, aiming to solve the need for broad bandwidth along with guaranteeing QoS, the WDM technology of offering multiple gigabit wavelengths is emerging as the core technology of next-generation optical internet backbone network. In the next-generation optical internet backbone network based on WDM, the QoS framework is one of fore subjects aiming to offer a service of guaranteeing QoS This study analyzes the requirements of performance related to QoS framework in IP Subnet and in WDM optical backbone network, and suggests optical QoS service framework differentiated. in order to guarantee end-to-end QoS through the next-generation optical internet backbone network, using GMPLS control protocol.

We previously reported that herbimycin A (HMA) alters the mode of cell death of K562 cells induced by radiation and enhanced their radiosensitivity. In the present study, we explored the apoptosis-inducing activity of HMA and the fundamental mechanism via which it regulates radiation-induced cell death.Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cell line K562 was used. For X-irradiation and drug treatment, cells were plated at approximately 2x10(5) cells/ml. Exponentially growing cells were treated with 10 Gy of X-ray using a 6-MeV X-ray machine at a dose rate of 200-300 cGy/min. The cells were treated with 0.25 microM HMA immediately after irradiation and HMA remained for the entire culture period. The modes of cell death were discriminated by morphological changes, analysis of cell cycle, analysis of the mitochondrial events, and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins.Our data demonstrates that radiation induced a significant time-dependent increase of cell death and failed to sustain a prolonged G2 arrest in K562 cells. Radiation-induced cell death caused the accumulation of cyclinB1 and weak nuclear fragmentation, suggesting a mitotic catastrophe. This mitotic catastrophe was dependent upon the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP) opening and was independent of caspase-3. In contrast, K562 cells treated with radiation and HMA had an accelerated cell death and induced a p53-independent apoptosis. This apoptotic pathway was dependent upon an initial hyperpolarization of the mitochondrial inner membrane, following the release of cytochrome c and subsequent caspase-3 activation.Two mechanisms of radiation-induced cell death in K562 cells, mitotic catastrophe and apoptosis, are regulated through distinct pathways, mitochondria and caspase-independent and -dependent, respectively. The findings of this study may provide new insights into improving the efficiency of radiotherapy in CML patients.

Bee venom acupuncture (BVA), as a kind of herbal acupuncture, exerts not only pharmacological actions from the bioactive compounds isolated from bee venom but also a mechanical function from acupuncture stimulation. BVA is growing in popularity, especially in Korea, and is used primarily for pain relief in many kinds of diseases. We aimed to summarize and evaluate the available evidence of BVA for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Computerized literature searches for experimental studies and clinical trials of BVA for arthritis were performed on the databases from PUBMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library. In addition, two leading Korean journals (The Journal of Korean Society for Acupuncture and MoxibustionandThe Journal of Korean Oriental Medicine) were searched for relevant studies. The search revealed 67 studies, 15 of which met our criteria. The anti-inflammation and analgesic actions of BVA were proved in various kinds of animal arthritic models. Two randomized controlled trials and three uncontrolled clinical trials showed that BVA was effective in the treatment of arthritis. It is highly likely that the effectiveness of BVA for arthritis is a promising area of future research. However, there is limited evidence demonstrating the efficacy of BVA in arthritis. Rigorous trials with large sample size and adequate design are needed to define the role of BVA for these indications. In addition, studies on the optimal dosage and concentration of BVA are recommended for future trials.

Angiogenesis consists of the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of endothelial cells, and angiogenic factors and matrix protein interactions modulate this process. The aim of this study was to determine the angiogenic properties of Uncaria rhynchophylla. Uncaria rhynchophylla significantly enhanced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Neutralization of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) by monoclonal antibody suppressed the Uncaria rhynchophylla stimulatory effect on proliferation. In addition, Uncaria rhynchophylla significantly increased chemotactic-migration on gelatin and tubular structures on Matrigel of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, Uncaria rhynchophylla dose-dependently increased VEGF, and bFGF gene expression and protein secretion of HUVEC. The angiogenic activity of Uncaria rhynchophylla was confirmed using an in vivo Matrigel angiogenesis model, showing promotion of blood vessel formation. These results suggest that Uncaria rhynchophylla could potentially used to accelerate vascular wound healing or to promote the growth of collateral blood vessel in ischemic tissues.

In this study the ITS1, ITS2 and 5.8S ribosomal DNA sequences from 29 strains of the Genus Inonotus and its related genera were compared with 31 strains obtained from GenBank database. Using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method and most parsimonious analysis the phylogenetic tree was constructed. The hymenochaetales formed no monophyletic group and several non-hymenochaetales appeared as intermingled with the Hymenochaetales. Strains 6, 46, 49, 50, 53, 55 showed no certain affinities within the Hymenochaetales, whereas Inonotus sp. (51) was closely related to Phellinus baumii, and Inonotus sp. (52), and Inonotus glomeratus (10) was related to Phellinus linteus, and Fomes fomentarius (30) was related to Ganoderma lucidum. Inonotus sp. and Phellinus sp. formed no monophyletic groups and a subdivision in the following genera is accepted: Inonotus sp. Phellinus baumii, Phellinus linteus, Phellinus igniarius, Phellinus pini, Hericium erinaceum, Ganoderma lucidum and Sparassis sp. were confirmed and separated genera. The taxonomic status of Inonotus remained uncertain. Eight new combinations are proposed.

The damage of plant growth and alteration of cellular tissues of barley infected by Barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV) was explored. The infected plots significantly damaged in all of measured factors by the disease. In severely diseased plant, the viral infection affected on plant growth like as shorten culm length about 25cm, 36％ constrained ratio, comparing to healthy. The yield decreased over 70％ in diseased plots by fewer numbers of spike and kernel per square meter and spike, respectively. BaYMV constructed typical inclusion body like a pinwheel type inside barley leaves, and the infection affected on cellular elongation or growth not cell division in examined three parts as stem, neck of panicle and node, related to dwarfness of infected barley. The stem tissues were most severely affected on cell growth as restrained epidermis cell length in diameter and vascular bundle size. In neck of panicle tissues, distribution and size of tissues of fiber and cortex parts, respectively, showed differences between healthy and infected plants. In node part, healthy plant showed bigger tissue size as 1.5 times than infected plant. Theses results suggest that BaYMV infection could affect on the cell growth not cell division, and which resulted shorten culm length in plant growth and decreased yield, finally.

In an attempt to find bioactive natural products with an anti-inflammatory activity, we evaluated the effects of the methanol extract of Fomes fomentarius (MEFF) on in vivo anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities. MEFF (50, 100 mg/kg/d, p.o.) reduced acute paw edema induced by carrageenin in rats, and showed MEFF analgesic activity, as determined by an acetic acid-induced writhing test and a hot plate test in mice. To investigate the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory action of MEFF, we examined the effect of MEFF on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced responses in murine macrophages cell line RAW 264.7. MEFF potently inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Consistent with these observations, inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) levels were reduced by MEFF in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, MEFF suppressed nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. These findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties of the methanol extract of MEFF may result from the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 expression through the down-regulation of NF-kappaB binding activity.

It has been known that acupuncture has various effects such as analgesia, promotion of homeostasis, improvements in brain circulation, and rectification of internal disorders. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a 36-amino-acid peptide, is known to increase appetite. In the present study, the effect of acupuncture stimulation at Zusanli (St.36) on NPY expression in the Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats was investigated via immunohistochemistry. Increased NPY expression was detected in both the Arcuate nucleus (ARN) and the Paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the Hypothalamus in rats with in STZ-induced diabetes. Needling on Zusanli resulted in decreased NPY levels in both the ARN and PVN of diabetic rats. The present study shows that acupuncture suppressed NPY expression in the ARN and PVN of the Hypothalamus in STZ-induced diabetic rats, suggesting the possibility that acupuncture treatment is effective in curbing the hyperphagia of diabetes.

Mushroom polysaccharides are increasingly being utilized to treat a wide variety of diseases. Phellinus linteus proteoglycan (PL) has been reported to have anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties. However, the cellular and molecular mechanism underlying its therapeutic effect is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether PL induces the phenotypic and functional maturation of murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) and the possibility that Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are known to be involved in immune-related responses, may be the receptor(s) of PL. The expression of surface molecules, including major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and CD86, increased on DC that were stimulated in a dose-dependent manner with PL, in comparison with unstimulated DC. Furthermore, PL increases the production of IL-12 by DC, as well as the IL-2 secretion and proliferation of allogeneic T cells. In addition, the activities of PL on DC were significantly reduced by treating the cells with anti-TLR2 or anti-TLR4 antibody (Ab) prior to PL, suggesting that both of them are possible receptors of PL. Also, maturation of DC by PL was able to directly activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), such as ERK1/2 and p38, and the nuclear transcription factor NF-kappaB p65. Also, the pretreatment of DC with inhibitors of NF-kappaB p65, and ERK and p38 MAPK signal pathways inhibited PL-induced up-regulation of surface molecules, such as MHC class II and CD86, and IL-12 production. Our results demonstrated that PL stimulation could induce the phenotypic and functional maturation of DC via TLR2 and/or TLR4 mediated-NF-kappaB, ERK and p38 MAPK signal pathways.

This study was carried out to identify the phylogenetic relationship of Phellinus species and to know its distribution by comparing the DNA sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions(ITS1 and IST2) and 5.8S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeat unit. The Phellinus species had their specific sequences in IST1 and 2 regions depending on suedes. The comparison of the ITS sequences of standard strains indicated that the sequences of ITS1 were more variable than those of ITS2. Nine strains of the commercial products of Phellinus species used in this study were identified as P. lintues, P. baumii, P. igniarius, and P. pini. Most of commercial species were P. pini and P. baumii, and P. gilvus was not found. Also, P. linteus was only found in form of mycelial culture rather than fruiting body. Moreover, the species-specific primers were designed based on ITS sequence data. Each species-specific primers were bound in P. lintues(ITSF-PL2R), P. baumii(PB1F-ITS4R), P. igniarius(IF1-IR3), P. pini(PF1-PR3), and P. gilvus(GF2-GR4), respectively. These primer sets would be useful fer the detection of specific-species among unidentified Phellinus species rapidly.

Medicinal mushrooms are increasingly used to treat a wide variety of disease processes. Aqueous extract from the fruiting body or mycelia of Phellinus linteus has been reported to produce antitumor and immunomodulatory activities in vivo and in vitro. However, the therapeutic mechanism has not been known. In the present study, we investigated whether proteoglycan (PL) isolated from P. linteus has an effect on the immunomodulatory activities of the murine splenic lymphocytes (MSLs). Treatment with PL caused a four-fold augmentation in [3H]thymidine incorporation compared to untreated control group in MSLs. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that the affected cell population was mainly CD19(+) cells, but not CD3(+) cells. These data suggested that the main target of PL was the B cells, but not T cells. PL also enhanced the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, CD80 and CD86, in murine B cells in a time-dependent manner. Accordingly, we investigated if intracellular [Ca(2+)] and reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) were the principal downstream components that contributed to PL-induced activation, with respect to both increases of proliferation and induction of co-stimulatory molecules. However, PL has no influence on the [Ca(2+)] concentration and the ROI formation in murine B cells, whereas the genistein, protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor or staurosporine, protein kinase C (PKC), blocked the proliferation and the induction of co-stimulatory molecules, CD80 and CD86, in B cells stimulated with PL. Taken together, these data suggest that PL is a biological response modifier that stimulates proliferation and expression of co-stimulatory molecules in B cells, probably by regulating PTK and PKC signaling pathways.

Phellinus linteus is a well-known oriental medicinal fungus that has various biological activities such as stimulation of humoral and cell mediated immunity, anti-mutagenicity activity, and anti-cancer activity. The process of isolating and purifying a water-soluble glycan from P. linteus was achieved by hot water extraction, filtration, solvent precipitation, dialysis, and freeze-drying. Acidic fractions of the polysaccharide were separated from crude polysaccharides by DEAE-cellulose anion exchange chromatography at 0.4 M NaCl. The molecular weight of the proteo-heteroglycan after Sepharose CL-4B gel filtration chromatography was about 150,000. The acidic proteo-heteroglycan consisted of 72.2% polysaccharide and 22.3% protein. The sugar of the proteo-heteroglycan was composed of mannose, galactose, glucose, arabinose, and xylose. The amino acid pattern showed that the fractions contained large amounts of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, glycine, and serine. The fractions for both alpha-glycan at 860 cm(-1) and beta-glycan at 910 cm(-1) had the characteristics of IR spectrum absorption as compared to those for beta-glucan derived from Lentinus edodes. A 13C and 1H NMR spectroscopy showed that the acidic proteo-heteroglycan was a noble biomolecule mixed both alpha- and beta-linkages, and a (1,6) branched type (1,3) glycan.

New photoreactive prepolymers for the color filter resist of LCD were designed and synthesized through the reaction between several kinds of epoxy resins and methacrylic acid (MAA) or itaconic acid (ITA). The chemical structures of the prepolymers were confirmed by NMR and FT-IR spectroscopies. We investigated the photocure kinetics of the prepolymers using FT-IR spectroscopy, confirming high degree of photocuring of the prepolymers could be obtained upon UV irradiation. We also figured out the polymers possessed good thermal stability, showing little change of transmittance in the visible range even after heating at 250°C for 1 hour. The prepolymers showed good pattern resolution as low as several tens of microns.