Daekyeung University

Chronic inflammatory atopic dermatitis (AD) is a skin disorder characterized by cutaneous inflammation and a dysfunctional skin barrier. Although perilla seed oil (PO) is known to exhibit various biological activities, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant effects, its inhibitory effects together with the ethanol extract of PO (PE) on atopic and inflammatory responses in the dermal skin has not yet been investigated. In the present study, PE significantly reduced mRNA expressions of inflammation-associated cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-33. Furthermore, PE decreased the levels of the chemokine, thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) in TNF-α and interferon (IFN)-γ-stimulated human HaCaT keratinocytes. In addition, PE effectively suppressed activation of MAPK/NF-κB and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in HaCaT keratinocytes co-stimulated with TNF-α and IFN-γ. These findings indicate that PE possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-atopic properties, suggesting its potential benefits in treating inflammatory skin diseases including AD.

This study aims to give fundamental academic and practical insights into the health-seeking, taste-seeking, convenience-seeking, and economic-seeking lives of Korean restaurant customers, as well as their perceived value and revisit intention.The statistical method was conducted in a self-response format targeting Korean restaurant visitors who have visited Korean restaurants more than twice in the past year in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do, as the spatial scope of the survey target.A survey of 194 customers of Korean restaurants was conducted.For the collected data, SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 programs were used to perform frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and path analysis to verify hypotheses.As a result of the hypothesis, first, it was analyzed that four factors, such as health-seeking type, taste-seeking type, convenience-seeking type, and economy-seeking type, as subfactors of Korean restaurant customer lifestyle, would have a positive effect on perceived value.Second, the analysis of the relationship between Korean restaurant customers' perceived value and their intention to revisit revealed that perceived value would positively impact the customers' intention to revisit.In conclusion, lifestyle and perceived value were determined to be antecedent variables that have a positive effect on revisit intention.Based on these findings, a successful marketing plan must be developed.First, the lifestyle of Korean customers at restaurants must be understood, and then a plan to raise perceived value must be developed.

Mealworm and mealworm oil (MWO) have been reported to affect antioxidant, anti-coagulation, anti-adipogenic and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the function of MWO in wound healing is still unclear. In this study, we found that MWO induced the migration of fibroblast cells and mRNA expressions of wound healing factors such as alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen-1 (COL-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in fibroblast cells. The tube formation and migration of endothelial cells were promoted through the activation of VEGF/VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2)-mediated downstream signals including AKT, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 by MWO-stimulated fibroblasts for angiogenesis. Moreover, we confirmed that MWO promoted skin wound repair by collagen synthesis, re-epithelialization and angiogenesis in an in vivo excisional wound model. These results demonstrate that MWO might have potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of skin wounds.

Ambient temperature can regulate the immune response and affect tumor growth. Although thermoneutral caging reduces tumor growth via immune activation, little attention has been paid to the tumorigenic effect of low temperature. In the present study, tumor growth was higher at low ambient temperature (4 °C for 8 h/d) than at the standard housing temperature (22 °C) in allograft models. Low temperature-stimulated tumor growth in mice was reduced by monocyte depletion using clodronate liposomes. Proliferation was considerably greater in cancer cells treated with 33 °C-cultured RAW264.7 cell-conditioned media (33CM) than in cells treated with 37 °C-cultured RAW264.7 cell-conditioned media (37CM). Additionally, glutamine levels were markedly higher in 33CM-treated cells than in 37CM-treated cells. We further confirmed that the addition of glutamine into 37CM enhanced its effects on cancer cell proliferation and glutamine uptake inhibition ameliorated the accelerated proliferation induced by 33CM. Consistently, the inhibition of glutamine uptake in the allograft model exposed to low temperature, effectively reduced tumor volume and weight. Collectively, these data suggest that the secretion and utilization of glutamine by macrophages and cancer cells, respectively, are key regulators of low temperature-enhanced cancer progression in the tumor microenvironment.

Fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) have become a major problem in urinary tract infections (UTIs). The purpose of this study was to compare the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) and plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants of FQ resistant UPEC between 1989 and 2010-2014. A total of 681 strains of UPEC clinical isolates was collected from Korean healthcare facility in 1989 (123 strains) and in 2010-2014 (558 strains). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of FQs were determined by agar dilution method. QRDRs (gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE) and PMQR determinants (qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr and qepA) were analyzed polymerase chain reaction and sequencing method. Among 681 isolates, FQ resistant UPEC were 3 strains (2.4%) in 1989 isolates and 220 strains (39.4%) in 2010-2014 isolates. The rate of the FQ resistant UPEC strains in 2010-2014 isolates was increased than that of in 1989 isolates. UPEC isolates from 1989 and 2010-2014 were shown to carry mutations in gyrA (Ser83 and Asp87), gyrB (Ser464 and Thr469), parC (Ser80 and Glu84) and parE (Glu460, Ser458, Ile464 and Leu445). The most common mutations of QRDRs in 1989 isolates were Ser83Leu and Asp87Gly in gyrA and Ser80Ile in parC (2 strains: 66.7%) while those in 2010-2014 isolates were Ser83Leu and Asp87Asn in gyrA and Ser80Il2 and Glu84Val in parC (88 strains: 40.0%). PMQR determinants were detected only in 2010-2014 UPEC strains (47 strains: 21.4%).

Angiogenesis should be precisely regulated because disordered neovascularization is involved in the aggravation of multiple diseases. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A/VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) axis is crucial for controlling angiogenic responses in vascular endothelial cells (ECs). Therefore, inactivating VEGFR-2 signaling may effectively suppress aberrant angiogenesis and alleviate related symptoms. In this study, we performed virtual screening, identified the synthetic disaccharide 6′-sialylgalactose (6SG) as a potent VEGFR-2-binding compound and verified its high binding affinity by Biacore assay. 6SG effectively suppressed VEGF-A-induced VEGFR-2 phosphorylation and subsequent in vitro angiogenesis in HUVECs without inducing cytotoxicity. 6SG also inhibited VEGF-A-induced extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK)/Akt activation and actin stress fiber formation in HUVECs. We demonstrated that 6SG inhibited retinal angiogenesis in a mouse model of retinopathy of prematurity and tumor angiogenesis in a xenograft mouse model. Our results suggest a potential therapeutic benefit of 6SG in inhibiting angiogenesis in proangiogenic diseases, such as retinopathy and cancer.

본 연구는 포도수확 후 버려지는 가지를 이용한 포도전정가지 추출물(grape pruning stem extracts, GPSE)에 함유된 polyphenol류가 UVB로 유도된 HR-1 hairless mice의 손상된 피부에 대한 피부증식 억제, 항 알레르기, 아포토시스 억제능을 분석하여 기능성 화장품 소재로서의 응용 가능성을 확인하고자 하였다. 포도전정가지에서 polyphenol 성분을 80% 에탄올로 추출하고 여과하여 농축한 후, 동결건조하여 -20°C에 보관하면서 사용하였다. GPSE의 유효성분 함량은 HPLC를 사용하여 선행연구논문에 보고하였다. 피부손상을 유도하기 위해 UVB를 HR-1 hairless mice에 조사하였고, GPSE가 피부 알레르기 반응을 일으키는지 확인하기 위하여 toluidine blue 염색을 통하여 비만세포의 수를 확인한 결과 포도전정가지 추출물(GPSE)를 도포한 그룹에서는 정상군과 유사한 결과를 나타내어 GPSE 도포군은 알레르기 반응이 없으며 suncream 대조군대비 현저하게 감소하는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 표피의 증식표지자인 PCNA 면역조직화학적 염색을 시행한 결과 GPSE와 serum base 혼합물의 모든 농도에서 대조군 대비 평균 42%로 표피상피세포 증식 억제 효과를 나타내었다. 또한 GPSE와 serum base 혼합물이 자외선 조사로 인한 아포토시스 억제율은 대조군 대비 평균 27% 억제 한다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 이상의 결과로 포도전정가지로부터 추출한 페놀성 화합물이 화장품기초 원료인 serum base에 함유토록 제조된 GPSE는 피부증식억제, 알레르기 억제, 아포토시스 억제효과를 얻을 수 있었다. 본 연구의 의의는 지역포도농가에서 수확 후 버려지는 포도전정가지에서 폴리페놀류와 같은 유효성분을 확보하여 고부가가치를 창출할 수 있는 기능성화장품 원료로서의 활용 가치가 높을 것으로 기대된다.

Re-education of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) toward antitumor effectors may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the successful treatment of cancer. HangAmDan-B (HAD-B), a herbal formula, has been used for stimulating immune function and activation of vital energy to cancer patients in traditional Korean Medicine. Previous studies have reported the anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic effects of HAD-B; however, evidence on the immunomodulatory action of HAD-B was not demonstrated. In the present study, immunocompetent mice were used to demonstrate the suppression of the in vivo growth of allograft Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells, by HAD-B. In addition, HAD-B inhibited the in vitro growth of LLC cells by driving macrophages toward M1 polarization, but not through direct inhibition of tumor cell growth. Furthermore, culture media transfer of HAD-B-treated macrophages induced apoptosis of LLC cells. Results of the present study suggest that the antitumor effect of HAD-B may be explained by stimulating the antitumor function of macrophages. Considering the importance of re-educating TAMs in the regulation of the tumor microenvironment, the present study may confer another option for anti-cancer therapeutic strategy, using herbal medicines such as HAD-B.

In this study, we have attempted to determine the effects of dietary fructose polymers (fructan), high molecular-weight β-(2,6)-linked levan, and low-molecular-weight β-(2,1)-linked inulin, on two intestinal enzymes (β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase). As a preliminary experiment, when intestinal microflora were cultured in anaerobic media harboring levan or its oligosaccharides, bacterial cell growth was observed in the levanoligosaccharide-supplemented media, but not in the levan-supplemented media, indicating that levan’s size is important for the utilization by intestinal bacteria of levan as an energy source. In our animal study, the intake of a levan-rich diet was determined to significantly attenuate the activity of the harmful enzyme β-glucuronidase, but did not affect the activity of β-glucosidase.