• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.277-288
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• 2014

T cells are central players in the regulation of adaptive immunity and immune tolerance. In the periphery, T cell differentiation for maturation and effector function is regulated by a number of factors. Various factors such as antigens, co-stimulation signals, and cytokines regulate T cell differentiation into functionally specialized effector and regulatory T cells. Other factors such as nutrients, micronutrients, nuclear hormones and microbial products provide important environmental cues for T cell differentiation. A mounting body of evidence indicates that the microbial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have profound effects on T cells and directly and indirectly regulate their differentiation. We review the current status of our understanding of SCFA functions in regulation of peripheral T cell activity and discuss their impact on tissue inflammation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.472-477
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• 2020

Osteoclasts are hematopoietic-derived cells that resorb bone. They are required to maintain proper bone homeostasis and skeletal strength. Although osteoclast differentiation depends on receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) stimulation, additional molecules further contribute to osteoclast maturation. Here, we demonstrate that protocadherin-7 (Pcdh7) regulates formation of multinucleated osteoclasts and contributes to maintenance of bone homeostasis. We found that Pcdh7 expression is induced by RANKL stimulation, and that RNAi-mediated knockdown of Pcdh7 resulted in impaired formation of osteoclasts. We generated Pcdh7-deficient mice and found increased bone mass due to decreased bone resorption but without any defect in bone formation. Using an in vitro culture system, it was revealed that formation of multinucleated osteoclasts is impaired in Pcdh7-deficient cultures, while no apparent defects were observed in differentiation and function of Pcdh7-deficient osteoblasts. Taken together, these results reveal an osteoclast cell-intrinsic role for Pcdh7 in maintaining bone homeostasis.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.381-387
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• 2016

The scientific information on the microbial differentiation according to the changes in chemical properties of paddy soil in reclaimed tidal lands is not enough to understand the reclamation processes. The changes in microflora based on the chemical properties of paddy soils at the same sites of reclaimed tidal lands (21 samples from Nampo, Ewon, Sukmoon and Shihwa sites) were investigated in 2013 and 2015. In general, organic matter in paddy soils increased whereas pH decreased with the reclamation time. The electrical conductivities (EC) of soil samples were closely related to the exchangeable $Na^+$. With an increases in EC of paddy soils from 0.39 to $48.9dS\;m^{-1}$, the ratios (%) of halotolerant and halophilic bacteria to mesophilic bacteria proportionally increased from 0.2% to 102,000%. The population of halotolerant and halophilic bacteria in total microflora was also differentiated with the changes in EC of the same sites from reclaimed tidal soils within 2 years. The population of mesophilic bacteria decreased with an increase in EC above $5dS\;m^{-1}$. The microflora including halotolerant and halophilic bacteria could be a candidate as a biological parameter in evaluating the reclamation processes in addition to the chemical index of EC.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.783-788
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• 2016

Agricultural management of paddy soil depends on the effects of soil microbial activities. The present study evaluated the soil microbial community of 25 paddy soils in Gyeongnam Province by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The average of microbial communities in paddy soils were 32.2% of total bacteria, 16.7% of Gram-negative bacteria, 12.9% of Gram-positive bacteria, 2.0% of actinomycetes, 14.9% of fungi, and 1.3% of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The communities of total bacteria (34.9%) and Gram-negative bacteria (19.4%) in soils with $30{\sim}35g\;kg^{-1}$ of organic matter were significantly larger than those in soils with other organic matter levels. However, soils with $20{\sim}30g\;kg^{-1}$ of organic matter had significantly low ratio of cy17:0 to $16:1{\omega}7c$ and cy19:0 to $18:1{\omega}7c$ as compared with soils with $30{\sim}35g\;kg^{-1}$ of organic matter, indicating microbial stress decreased (p < 0.05). In principal component analyses of soil microbial communities, Gram-negative bacteria should be considered as a potential responsible factor for the obvious microbial community differentiation that was observed between the two different organic matter levels in paddy fields. Thus, soils containing $20{\sim}30g\;kg^{-1}$ of organic matter were responsible for strong effect on microbial biomass and stress in paddy fields.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.372-382
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• 2022

Soybean is an important source of protein and for a wide range of agricultural, food, and industrial applications. Soybean is being affected by Xanthomonas citri pv. glycines, a causal pathogen of bacterial pustule disease, result in a reduction in yield and quality. Diverse microbial communities of plants are involved in various plant stresses is known. Therefore, we designed to investigate the microbial community differentiation depending on the infection of X. citri pv. glycines. The microbial community's abundance, diversity, and similarity showed a difference between infected and non-infected soybean. Microbiota community analysis, excluding X. citri pv. glycines, revealed that Pseudomonas spp. would increase the population of the infected soybean. Results of DESeq analyses suggested that energy metabolism, secondary metabolite, and TCA cycle metabolism were actively diverse in the non-infected soybeans. Additionally, Streptomyces bacillaris S8, an endophyte microbiota member, was nominated as a key microbe in the healthy soybeans. Genome analysis of S. bacillaris S8 presented that salinomycin may be the critical antibacterial metabolite. Our findings on the composition of soybean microbiota communities and the key strain information will contribute to developing biological control strategies against X. citri pv. glycines.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2018

Background: Ginseng is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that has been widely used in a range of therapeutic and healthcare applications in East Asian countries. Microbial transformation is regarded as an effective and useful technology in modification of nature products for finding new chemical derivatives with potent bioactivities. In this study, three minor derivatives of ginsenoside compound K were isolated and the inducing effects in the Wingless-type MMTV integration site (Wnt) signaling pathway were also investigated. Methods: New compounds were purified from scale-up fermentation of ginsenoside Rb1 by Paecilomyces bainier sp. 229 through repeated silica gel column chromatography and high pressure liquid chromatography. Their structures were determined based on spectral data and X-ray diffraction. The inductive activities of these compounds on the Wnt signaling pathway were conducted on MC3T3-E1 cells by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results: The structures of a known 3-keto derivative and two new dehydrogenated metabolites were elucidated. The crystal structure of the 3-keto derivative was reported for the first time and its conformation was compared with that of ginsenoside compound K. The inductive effects of these compounds on osteogenic differentiation by activating the Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway were explained for the first time. Conclusion: This study may provide a new insight into the metabolic pathway of ginsenoside by microbial transformation. In addition, the results might provide a reasonable explanation for the activity of ginseng in treating osteoporosis and supply good monomer ginsenoside resources for nutraceutical or pharmaceutical development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6409-6413
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• 2012

The innate immune system coordinates the inflammatory response to pathogens. To do so, its cells must discriminate self from non-self utilizing receptors that identify molecules synthesized exclusively by microbes. Toll-like receptors have a crucial role in the detection of microbial infection in mammals and insects. In mammals, they have evolved to recognize conserved products unique to microbial metabolism. These include lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipotechoic acids, and peptidoglycans (PGN). We show here that TLRs, including TLR2, are expressed on the THP-1 human leukemia cell line. Activation of TLR2 signaling in THP-1 by PGN induces the synthesis of various soluble factors and proteins including interleukin-$1{\beta}$, interleukin-8 and TNF-${\alpha}$ and apoptosis of THP-1 with PGN dose and time dependence. Moreover, in this study we show that PGN induces apoptosis of THP-1 cells in a TNF-${\alpha}$-dependent manner. These findings indicate that TLR2 signaling results in a cascade leading to tumor apoptosis and differentiation, which may suggest new clinical prospects using TLR2 agonists as cytotoxic agents in certain cancers.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.226-232
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• 2006

Swarming has proven to be a good in vitro model for bacterial surface adherence and colonization, and the swarming differentiation of a bacterium has been shown to be coupled with changes in the expression of virulence factors associated with its invasiveness, particularly in the early stages of infection. In this study, we attempted to determine whether the expression of vvhA, which encodes for hemolysin/cytolysin (VvhA), is either upregulated or downregulated during the swarming differentiation of V. vulnificus. The insertional inactivation of vvhA itself exerted no detectable effect on the expression of V. vulnificus swarming motility. However, in our lacZ-fused vvhA transcriptional reporter assay, vvhA expression decreased in swarming V. vulnificus as compared to non-swarming or planktonic V. vulnificus. The reduced expression of vvhA in swarming V. vulnificus increased as a result of the deletional inactivation of luxS, a gene associated with quorum sensing. These results show that vvhA expression in swarming V. vulnificus is downregulated via the activity of the LuxS quorum-sensing system, suggesting that VvhA performs no essential role in the invasiveness of V. vulnificus via the adherence to and colonization on the body surfaces required in the early stages of the infection. However, VvhA may playa significant role in the pathophysiological deterioration occurring after swarming V. vulnificus is differentiated into planktonic V. vulnificus.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2021

Carnosol is a phenolic diterpene phytochemical found in rosemary and sage with reported anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic activities. This study aimed to investigate the effect of carnosol on the lineage commitment of mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs) into osteoblasts and adipocytes. Interestingly, carnosol stimulated the early commitment of mBMSCs into osteoblasts in dose-dependent manner as demonstrated by increased levels of alkaline phosphatase activity and Alizarin red staining for matrix mineralization. On the other hand, carnosol significantly suppressed adipogenesis of mBMSCs and downregulated both early and late markers of adipogenesis. Carnosol showed to induce osteogenesis in a mechanism mediated by activating BMP signaling pathway and subsequently upregulating the expression of BMPs downstream osteogenic target genes. In this context, treatment of mBMSCs with LDN-193189, BMPR1 selective inhibitor showed to abolish the stimulatory effect of carnosol on BMP2-induced osteogenesis. In conclusion, our data identified carnosol as a novel osteoanabolic phytochemical that can promote the differentiation of mBMSCs into osteoblasts versus adipocytes by activating BMP-signaling.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 1993

The genus Ganoderma is typical wood-rotting fungi and its fruiting body has been used as an important herb in oriental medicine. Recent research discovered antitumor components from Ganoderma lncidum. Various Ganoderma species are being cultivated in Korea. However, taxonomic system of the genus Ganoderma has been based mainly on the macromorphology of fruiting bodies and the ultrastructural characteristics of basidiospores. Since there are similar characteristics in Ganoderma mycelia grown on the same artificial media, it is suggested that the compatibility of the fungi by di-mon mating be used as an aid to determine the identity of species in addition to the conventional characterization. In this study, we examined physiological and genetical properties such as growth temperature, pH, compatibility and enzyme or protein patterns of laccase, esterase and cellular proteins of G. lucidum RZ, G. tsugae and Ganoderma species cultivated in Korea by electrophoresis for characterization of the isolates. We found that compatibility test and isozyme patterns of laccase and esterase of the mycelia could be used for the differentiation of the isolates. These results showed that Ganoderma species cultivated in Korea is genetically similar to G. lucidum but physiologically closer to G. tsugae than to G. lucidum.