Je-Sang Ko

To investigate the efficacy and the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of Taraxacum officinale leaves (TOLs), the effect of a methanol extract and its fractions recovered from TOLs on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced responses was studied in the mouse macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. Cells were pretreated with various concentrations of the methanol extract and its fractions and subsequently incubated with LPS (1 microg/mL). The levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (PG) E(2), and pro

Partial nerve injury is the main cause of neuropathic pain disorders in humans. Acupuncture has long been used to relieve pain. It is known to relieve pain by controlling the activities of the autonomic nervous system. Although the mechanism of neuropathic pain and analgesic effects of electroacupuncture (EA) have been studied in a rat model system, its detailed mechanism at the molecular level remains unclear. To identify genes that might serve as either markers or explain these distinct biolog

To investigate the efficacy and the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of Taraxacum officinale leaves (TOLs), the effect of a methanol extract and its fractions recovered from TOLs on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced responses was studied in the mouse macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. Cells were pretreated with various concentrations of the methanol extract and its fractions and subsequently incubated with LPS (1μg/mL). The levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin (PG) E2, and pro-inflam

The early growth response gene-1 (Egr-1) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in cell growth and differentiation. It has been known that Egr-1 expression is down-regulated in many types of tumor tissues, including human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells, and introduction of the Egr-1 gene into HT1080 cells inhibits cell growth and tumorigenic potential. Trifluoperazine (TFP), a phenothiazine class calmodulin antagonist, is known to inhibit DNA synthesis and cell proliferation and poten

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory response of the vascular wall, and immune responses are involved in every phase of atherosclerosis, from initiation, to progression, and finally to plaque rupture. Cytokines are the major atherogenic mediators that promote plaque formation and progression by activation of inflammatory cells. They induce expressions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), leading to vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration in atherosclerotic lesions. Although chronic inf

ABSTRACT The molecular mechanism of stress‐induced hepatic steatosis is not well known. Human leucine zipper protein (LZIP) regulates the expression of genes involved in inflammation, cell migration, and stress response. The aim of this study was to determine the regulatory role of LZIP in stress‐induced hepatic steatosis. We used a microarray analysis to identify LZIP‐induced genes involved in hepatic lipid metabolism. LZIP increased the expression of apolipoprotein A‐IV (APOA4) mRNA. In the pr

9-cis-retinoic acid (9CRA) plays an important role in the immune respon se; this includes cytokine pro-duction and cell migration. We have previously de-monstrated that 9CRA increases expression of che-mokine receptors CCR1 and CCR2 in human mono-cytes. To better understand how 9CRA induces CCR1 and CCR2 expression, we examined the contribution of signaling proteins in human monocytic THP-1 cells. The mRNA and surface protein up-regulation of CCR1 and CCR2 in 9CRA-stimulated cells were weakly bl

Chemokines and chemokine receptors play a role in inflamation. Human LZIP is an uncharacterized tran-scription factor and is known to participate in leuko-tactin (Lkn)-1/CCL15-induced cell migration. We in-vestigated the role of human LZIP in expression of C chemokine receptors (CCRs) and its involvement in monocyte migration. RNase protection analysis showed that LZIP increased mRNA expression of CCR2 and CCR1 in THP-1 cells. Surface expressions of both CCR2 and CCR1 were also increased by LZIP

Expression of protein kinase C-δ (PKCδ) is up-regulated by apoptosis-inducing stimuli. However, very little is known about the signaling pathways that control PKCδ gene transcription. In the present study, we demonstrate that JNK stimulates PKCδ gene expression via c-Jun and ATF2 in response to the anticancer agent doxorubicin (DXR) in mouse lymphocytic leukemia L1210 cells. Luciferase reporter assays showed that DXR-induced activation of the PKCδ promoter was enhanced by ectopic expression of J

α-synuclein (α-syn) is known to be implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and transiently bind to biological vesicles. In this study, we examined the effect of molecular crowding on the interaction of α-syn with biological vesicles by using inert polymers since the environment of proteins in cells are crowded with other macromolecules. The addition of different polymers including polyethylene glycol, dextran, and ficoll enhanced the binding of α-syn to vesicles in a concentration-