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Osteoblasts originate from mesenchymal stem cells that also differentiate into adipocytes, myoblasts, chondrocytes and fibroblasts. Osteogenic differentiation involves diverse regulatory proteins, including transcription and growth factors. Neurally differentiated embryonal carcinoma-derived protein (Necdin) has been identified as a key regulator of cell differentiation in various tissues, including neuronal, adipose, and muscular tissues; although its role in bone tissue remains to be established. Here, we investigated the potential involvement of Necdin in osteogenic differentiation. Our experiments revealed high expression of Necdin during osteoblast differentiation. Moreover, both transient and stable expression of Necdin induced osteoblast-specific markers in an osteogenic cell line through formation of a complex with melanoma-associated antigen D1 (MAGE-D1) and distal-less Homeobox 5 (Dlx5) and Runx2 promoter activation. Necdin expression was further associated with suppression of both cell proliferation and death in osteoblasts. Our results suggest that Necdin plays roles in cellular differentiation, proliferation and death in bone tissue.

해양심층수는 저온성, 미네랄성, 청정성 등의 고유의 특성이 산업활용의 포인트가 되고 있다. 우리나라의 경우, 2008년을 기점으로 해양심층수 산업이 형성되어 현재에 이르고 있으나, 산업의 성장기 정착과 성숙기 진입 단계에는 아직 이르지 못하고 있는 실정이다. 이러한 해양심층수 산업 정체의 요인으로는 먹는물 위주로 편중된 산업구조와 함께, 동일한 산업군과의 경쟁력이 미흡하여 산업계의 매출이 부진한데서 기인하는 것으로 분석되고 있다. 우리나라보다 먼저 해양심층수 자원개발과 산업을 안착시킨 일본 등의 국가는 공통적으로 해양심층수 자원의 고부가가치화 및 신산업 지원을 위한 방안으로 새로운 기술을 개발하고 해양심층수 자원의 응용범위를 확대하고 있다. 본 고는 해양심층수 주요개발 국가의 특허를 정량적으로 분석하여 이들 국가의 해양심층수 신기술 개발 경향을 분석하여 향후 우리나라 해양심층수 자원의 고부가가치 기술개발 방향과 전략에 대한 시사점과 비전을 제시하였다.Abstract − Deep Sea Water (DSW) has recently drawn attention due to the considerable benefits provided by low-temperature, various minerals included, purity and safety of the water resource. Since Korean DSW-industry initi-ated exploitation of the alternative water resource in 2008, it merely took off, but remains in the infant stage. It ismainly because the industry has only focused on production of drinkable bottled water, and failed to improve sus-tainability and competitiveness. On the contrary, not a few oversea DSW industries (e.g. Japanese and TaiwaneseDSW industries) have successfully cultivated their markets, and have become leading cases of the industry. Thecommon success factors learned from the cases are as follows; 1) They continuously invest on technology innova-tion, introduce new DSW-based products, and increase the usability of DSW in various areas of products and ser-vices, and 2) they strategically focus on high value-added products rather than just bottled water products. Thispaper examines the cases of the advanced DSW industries and analyzes patent data and their technology-baseddevelopment strategies.Keywords: Deep Sea Water(해양심층수), New technology(신기술), Patent(특허), Deep Sea Water Industry(해양심층수 산업), value-added(고부가가치)

Honeybees are among the most important pollinators in nature, and honeybee-associated products are useful in various areas, including the food industry. However, honeybees may be infected by various types of pathogens. The study of honeybee-associated diseases would greatly benefit from a successful cell culture system, but although some honeybee cell culture techniques have been introduced, these methods have not yet been fully established. Here, we describe a primary cell culture method for the honeybee, Apis mellifera. We isolated, sterilized, and seeded egg cells into non-coated cell culture dishes to generate cell aggregates. After approximately 10 d, aggregates were dissociated and seeded to cell culture dishes. Cell passages were continuously performed, with sub-culturing every 3–4 d. The cells expressed non-adherent phenotypes. Their growth increased with the passage number when they were cultured in growth medium based on L-15 insect medium but not Schneider’s insect medium. Finally, polymerase chain reaction confirmed that the cells originated from A. mellifera. Our results suggest that the culturing methods described herein are appropriate for isolating primary cells from honeybee eggs. These methods could thus facilitate the study of honeybee-associated pathogenesis, development, and toxicology.

Background Heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins (G-proteins) play an important role in mediating signal transduction generated by neurotransmitters or hormones. Go, a member of the Gi/Go subfamily, is the most abundant G-protein found in the brain. Recently, the alpha subunit of Go (Gαo) was characterized as an inducer of neuronal differentiation. However, its underlying molecular mechanisms have remained unclear to date, since the downstream effectors of Gαo are ambiguous. Results A neurally differentiated embryonal carcinoma-derived protein (Necdin) was isolated as an interacting partner for Gαo from a mouse brain cDNA library using yeast two-hybrid screening. Interactions between the proteins were confirmed with several affinity binding assays, both in vitro and in vivo. Necdin interacted directly and preferentially with activated Gαo, compared to wild-type protein. Interestingly, Gαo did not interact with Gαi, despite high sequence homology between the two proteins. We subsequently analyzed whether Gαo modulates the cellular activities of Necdin. Notably, expression of Gαo significantly augmented Necdin-mediated cellular responses, such as proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, activation of type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R), a Gi/oα-coupled receptor, augmented cell growth suppression, which was mediated by Gαo and Necdin in U87MG cells containing CB1R, Gαo, and Necdin as normal components. Conclusions These results collectively suggest that Necdin is a candidate downstream effector for Gαo. Our findings provide novel insights into the cellular roles of Gαo and its coupled receptor.