Anti-Neuroinflammatory Effects of the Human Milk Oligosaccharide, 2'-Fucosyllactose, Exerted via Modulation of M2 Microglial Activation in a Mouse Model of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Cerebral ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL), a human milk oligosaccharide, exerts anti-inflammatory effects and plays a protective role in arterial thrombosis; however, its role in ischemic stroke remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of 2'-FL and its potential mechanisms in a mouse model of ischemic stroke.

2'-Fucosyllactose and 3-Fucosyllactose Alleviates Interleukin-6-Induced Barrier Dysfunction and Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Colitis by Improving Intestinal Barrier Function and Modulating the Intestinal Microbiome.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with relapsing and remitting patterns, and it is caused by varied factors, such as the intestinal inflammation extent and duration. We examined the preventative effects of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) on epithelial barrier integrity and intestinal inflammation in an interleukin (IL)-6-induced cell model and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute mouse colitis model. HMOs including 2'-fucosyllactose (FL) and 3-FL and positive controls including fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and 5-acetylsalicylic acid (5-ASA) were orally administrated once per day to C57BL/6J mice with colitis induced by 5% DSS in the administered drinking water.

Production and Characterization of Anti-Inflammatory Pigment Derivatives.

The prevention and treatment of chronic inflammation using food-derived compounds are desirable from the perspectives of marketing and safety. pigments, widely used as food additives, can be used as a chronic inflammation treatment. Orange pigments were produced by submerged fermentation in a 5 L bioreactor, and multiple orange pigment derivatives with anti-inflammatory activities were synthesized using aminophilic reaction.

Development of fluorescent Escherichia coli for a whole-cell sensor of 2'-fucosyllactose.

2'-Fucosyllactose (2'-FL), a major component of fucosylated human milk oligosaccharides, is beneficial to human health in various ways like prebiotic effect, protection from pathogens, anti-inflammatory activity and reduction of the risk of neurodegeneration. Here, a whole-cell fluorescence biosensor for 2'-FL was developed. Escherichia coli (E.

evaluation of the anti-obesity effects of combinations of pigment derivatives.

The prevention and treatment of obesity using naturally derived compounds is desirable in terms of marketing and safety in the nutraceutical and functional food markets. One of the noticeable effects of pigment derivatives is the inhibition/deactivation of lipid metabolism. Our earlier studies reported that threonine (Thr), tryptophan (Trp), and 2-(-tolyl)-ethylamine (TEA) derivatives of pigment showed cholesterol-lowering, lipase-inhibitory, and adipogenic differentiation-inhibitory activities, respectively.

Endocytosing Escherichia coli as a Whole-Cell Biocatalyst of Fatty Acids.

Whole cell biocatalysts can be used to convert fatty acids into various value-added products. However, fatty acid transport across cellular membranes into the cytosol of microbial cells limits substrate availability and impairs membrane integrity, which in turn decreases cell viability and bioconversion activity. Because these problems are associated with the mechanism of fatty acid transport through membranes, a whole-cell biocatalyst that can form caveolae-like structures was generated to promote substrate endocytosis.

Comparative characteristics of rice wine fermentations using koji and rice nuruk.

Wine fermentations using rice media containing either koji or rice nuruk were performed and fermentative characteristics based on the koji type were investigated. Cultivations were performed in a 20 °C room in a 20 L bottle with the rice media that included rice koji at both 20 and 30%, or rice nuruk at 20%. After 22 days of cultivation, the ethanol yield reached 14.

Synthesis of high-strength microcrystalline cellulose hydrogel by viscosity adjustment.

Developing hydrogels with enhanced mechanical strength is desirable for bio-related applications. For such applications, cellulose is a notable biopolymer for hydrogel synthesis due to its inherent strength and stiffness. Here, we report the viscosity-adjusted synthesis of a high-strength hydrogel through the physical entanglement of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in a solvent mixture of tetrabutylammonium fluoride/dimethyl sulfoxide (TBAF/DMSO).

Development of a Biofungicide Using a Mycoparasitic Fungus BCP and Its Control Efficacy against Gray Mold Diseases of Tomato and Ginseng.

To develop a commercial product using the mycoparasitic fungus BCP, the scaleup of conidia production from a 5-l jar to a 5,000-l pilot bioreactor, optimization of the freeze-drying of the fermentation broth, and preparation of a wettable powder-type formulation were performed. Then, its disease control efficacy was evaluated against gray mold diseases of tomato and ginseng plants in field conditions. The final conidial yields of BCP were 3.

Engineering of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase-based Escherichia coli biocatalyst for large scale biotransformation of ricinoleic acid into (Z)-11-(heptanoyloxy)undec-9-enoic acid.

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are able to catalyze regiospecific Baeyer-Villiger oxygenation of a variety of cyclic and linear ketones to generate the corresponding lactones and esters, respectively. However, the enzymes are usually difficult to express in a functional form in microbial cells and are rather unstable under process conditions hindering their large-scale applications. Thereby, we investigated engineering of the BVMO from Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and the gene expression system to improve its activity and stability for large-scale biotransformation of ricinoleic acid (1) into the ester (i.

Novel derivatives of monascus pigment having a high CETP inhibitory activity.

The cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), inhibition of which assists in maintaining a high level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, is a target for anti-atherosclerosis treatments. Orange monascus pigment was produced by a Monascus species in a 5 L jar fermenter and various derivative compounds were synthesised by incorporating 19 different L-amino acids into the orange pigment. Among them, the L-Thr and L-Tyr derivatives exhibited high inhibitory activities against the CETP reaction.

Biological evaluation of novel derivatives of the orange pigments from Monascus sp. as inhibitors of melanogenesis.

Nitrogenous derivatives of the two orange pigments from Monascus sp. with anti-melanogenic activities were prepared using fermentation and chemical synthesis. The pigments were produced in a 5 l jar fermentor.

Preparation of eutectic substrate mixtures for enzymatic conversion of ATC to L-cysteine at high concentration levels.

High concentration eutectic substrate solutions for the enzymatic production of L-cysteine were prepared. Eutectic melting of binary mixtures consisting of D,L-2-amino-Δ(2)-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATC) as a substrate and malonic acid occurred at 39 °C with an ATC mole fraction of 0.5.

Detailed modes of action and biochemical characterization of endo-arabinanase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13.

An endo-arabinanase (BLABNase) gene from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the biochemical properties of its encoded enzyme were characterized. The BLABNase gene consists of a single open reading frame of 987 nucleotides that encodes 328 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of about 36 kDa. BLABNase exhibited the highest activity against debranched α-(1,5)-arabinan in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer (pH 6.

Quantitative analyses of individual sugars in mixture using FRET-based biosensors.

Molecular biosensors were developed and applied to measure individual sugars in biological mixtures such as bacterial culture broths. As the sensing units, four sugar-binding proteins (SBPs for allose, arabinose, ribose, and glucose) were selected from the Escherichia coli genome and connected to a cyan fluorescent protein and yellow fluorescent protein via dipeptide linkers (CFP-L-SBP-YFP). The putative sensors were randomized in the linker region (L) and then investigated with regard to the intensity of fluorescence resonance energy transfer on the binding of the respective sugars.

Polyphenol compounds and anti-inflammatory activities of Korean black raspberry ( Rubus coreanus Miquel) wines produced from juice supplemented with pulp and seed.

Three types of Korean black raspberry wine were produced via alcoholic fermentation from juice, juice-pulp, and juice-pulp-seed, respectively. These wines were compared in terms of their anti-inflammatory activities and polyphenol contents. The total content of polyphenol compounds in wines was increased by 22.

Identification of prognostic biomarkers for glioblastomas using protein expression profiling.

A set of proteins reflecting the prognosis of patients have clinical significance since they could be utilized as predictive biomarkers and/or potential therapeutic targets. With the aim of finding novel diagnostic and prognostic markers for glioblastoma (GBM), a tissue microarray (TMA) library consisting of 62 GBMs and 28 GBM-associated normal spots was constructed. Immunohistochemistry against 78 GBM-associated proteins was performed.

Inhibition of hepatitis C virus replication by Monascus pigment derivatives that interfere with viral RNA polymerase activity and the mevalonate biosynthesis pathway.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes chronic liver disease and is a major public health problem worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of Monascus pigment derivatives, which were derived from a microbial secondary metabolite synthesized from polyketides by Monascus spp., as HCV antiviral agents.

Genetically engineered human neural stem cells with rabbit carboxyl esterase can target brain metastasis from breast cancer.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) led to the development of a novel strategy for delivering therapeutic genes to tumors. NSCs expressing rabbit carboxyl esterase (F3.CE), which activates CPT-11, significantly inhibited the growth of MDA-MB-435 cells in the presence of CPT-11.

Effects of associated bacteria on the pathogenicity and reproduction of the insect-parasitic nematode Rhabditis blumi (Nematoda: Rhabditida).

Three bacteria, Alcaligenes faecalis , Flavobacterium sp., and Providencia vermicola , were isolated from dauer juveniles of Rhabditis blumi . The pathogenic effects of the bacteria against 4th instar larvae of Galleria mellonella were investigated.

Production and solid-phase refolding of human glucagon-like peptide-1 using recombinant Escherichia coli.

Human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone with pharmaceutical potential in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus is known to be rapidly degraded when expressed in Escherichia coli. For the efficient production of the intact GLP-1 using a recombinant E. coli system, a fusion protein of GLP-1 was designed to be composed of the 6-lysine tag, ubiquitin and GLP-1 (K6UbGLP-1) in a row.

L-Trp and L-Leu-OEt derivatives of the monascus pigment exert high anti-obesity effects on mice.

High-fat diets (HFDs) supplemented with the L-Trp and L-Leu-OEt derivatives of the monascus pigment were fed to mice. Compared to the HFD group, the average body weight gain of the four HFD-pigment groups was decreased by 13.6-50.

Chitin synthase 2 inhibitory activity of O-methyl pisiferic acid and 8,20-dihydroxy-9(11),13-abietadien-12-one, isolated from Chamaecyparis pisifera.

In the course of search for potent chitin synthase inhibitors from plant extracts, the chitin synthase 2 inhibitors, O-methyl pisiferic acid and 8,20-dihydroxy-9(11),13-abietadien-12-one which have diterpene skeleton, were isolated from the leaves of Chamaecyparis pisifera. These compounds inhibited chitin synthase 2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with the IC50 values of 5.8 and 226.

Identification of two entomopathogenic bacteria from a nematode pathogenic to the Oriental beetle, Blitopertha orientalis.

A pathogenic nematode, Butlerius sp., was isolated from Oriental beetle, Blitopertha orientalis. The infective juveniles exhibited dose- as well as time-dependent entomopathogenicity on the larvae of B.

Development of inhibitors against lipase and alpha-glucosidase from derivatives of monascus pigment.

New derivatives of monascus pigment were produced during Monascus fermentation by the addition of unnatural amino acids, and the inhibitory activities of the derivatives against diet-related lipase and alpha-glucosidase were tested. Derivatives with penicillamine (H-Pen), cyclohexylalanine (H-Cha), butylglycine (L-t-Bg), and norleucine (H-Nle) showed relatively high inhibitory activities against lipase. The H-Pen derivative exhibited the highest inhibitory activity, with an IC(50) (50% inhibition) value of 24.