Continuous alkaline pretreatment of Miscanthus sacchariflorus using a bench-scale single screw reactor.

Miscanthus sacchariflorus 'Goedae-Uksae 1' (GU) was developed as an energy crop of high productivity in Korea. For the practical use of GU for bioethanol production, a bench-scale continuous pretreatment system was developed. The reactor performed screw extrusion, soaking and thermochemical pretreatment at the following operating conditions: 3 mm particle size, 22% moisture content, 140 °C reaction temperature, 8 min residence time, 15 g/min biomass feeding and 120 mL/min NaOH input.

The optimized CO2-added ammonia explosion pretreatment for bioethanol production from rice straw.

A CO2-added ammonia explosion pretreatment was performed for bioethanol production from rice straw. The pretreatment conditions, such as ammonia concentration, CO2 loading level, residence time, and temperature were optimized using response surface methodology. The response for optimization was defined as the glucose conversion rate.

A new cytotoxic spiroketal from the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum.

A new spiroketal, spirodienal B (1), was isolated from culture extracts of S. cellulosum. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic analysis.

Soraphinol C, a new free-radical scavenger from Sorangium cellulosum.

A new compound named soraphinol C (1) was isolated from myxobacteria Sorangium cellulosum KM1001 a soil isolate, together with a structurally related known compound, 4-hydroxysattabacin (2). These compounds were isolated by silica gel column chromatography and recycling preparative HPLC, consecutively. The structures of the compounds were determined on the basis of combined spectroscopic analyses.

Sorangiadenosine, a new sesquiterpene adenoside from the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum.

Sorangiadenosine (1), a novel nucleoside possessing a bicyclic, eudesmane-type sesquiterpene as an auxiliary component, was isolated from the culture broth of the gliding bacterium Sorangium cellulosum KM1003, collected from Korean soil. The chemical structure of this compound was determined by combined spectroscopic and chemical analyses. The new compound exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against a wide range of bacterial strains.

Apicularen A induces cell death through Fas ligand up-regulation and microtubule disruption by tubulin down-regulation in HM7 human colon cancer cells.

Purpose: Apicularen A has been shown to cause growth inhibition and apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. However, the mechanisms of apicularen A-induced cell death and in vivo effects remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of apicularen A-induced cell death in HM7 human colon cancer cells in vitro and anticancer activity in vivo.

Bithiazole metabolites from the myxobacterium Myxococcus fulvus.

Two new bithiazole metabolites (3, 4) along with the previously reported compounds (1, 2) were isolated from the culture broth of the gliding bacterium Myxococcus fulvus collected from a Korean soil. The structures of these compounds were determined to be analogous to myxothiazole A on the basis of combined spectroscopic analyses. The new compounds exhibited significant cytotoxicity and moderate antifungal activity against the mouse fibloblast cell-line L929 and Candida albicans, respectively.

Isolation of tetraprenyltoluquinols from the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii.

Thunbergols A (4) and B (5), tetraprenyltoluquinols, along with three known compounds (1-3) have been isolated from the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii. The structures of these two new compounds were determined to be 9-(3,4-dihydro-2,8-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-2H-1-benzopyran-2-yl)-6-methyl-2-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)-(2E,6E)-nonadienoic acid (4) and 10-(2,3-dihydro-5-hydroxy-7-methyl-1-benzofuran-2-yl)-10-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)-(2E,6E)-undecadienoic acid (5), respectively, by combined spectroscopic methods. Both of them exhibited significant scavenging activities on radical and potently inhibited generation of ONOO(-) from morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1).

Inhibition of vacuolar-type (H+)-ATPase by the cytostatic macrolide apicularen A and its role in apicularen A-induced apoptosis in RAW 264.7 cells.

Apicularen A and the known vacuolar-type (H(+))-ATPase (V-ATPase) inhibitor bafilomycin A(1) induced apoptosis of RAW 264.7 cells, while apicularen B, an N-acetyl-glucosamine glycoside of apicularen A, was far less effective. Apicularen A inhibited vital staining with acridine orange of the intracellular organelles of RAW 264.

New macrolides from the sponge Chondrosia corticata.

Three new oxazole-containing metabolites, neohalichondramide (5), (19Z)-halichondramide (6), and secohalichondramide (7), along with four previously reported compounds of the same structural class were isolated from the marine sponge Chondrosia corticata collected from Guam. The structures of novel compounds were determined on the basis of combined spectroscopic analyses. These compounds exhibited significant cytotoxicity and antifungal activity toward the human leukemia cell-line K562 and Candida albicans, respectively.

Induction of nitric oxide production by the cytostatic macrolide apicularen A [2,4-heptadienamide, N-[(1E)-3-[(3S,5R,7R,9S)-3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydro-7,14 dihydroxy-1-oxo-5,9-epoxy-1H-2-benzoxacyclododecin-3-yl]-1 propenyl]-, (2Z,4Z)-(9CI)] and possible role of nitric oxide in apicularen A-induced apoptosis in RAW 264.7 cells.

We previously reported that apicularen A [2,4-heptadienamide, N-[(1E)-3-[(3S,5R,7R,9S)-3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydro-7,14 dihydroxy-1-oxo-5,9-epoxy-1H-2-benzoxacyclododecin-3-yl]-1 propenyl]-, (2Z,4Z)-(9CI)], a highly cytostatic macrolide isolated from the myxobacterial genus Chondromyces, induces apoptosis in the mouse leukemic monocyte cell line RAW 264.7. To analyze the action mechanism of apicularen A for the induction of apoptosis, effects of apicularen A on nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.

New sesterterpenes from the sponge Smenospongia sp.

Five new sesterterpenes, three scalarane-type (1-3) and two linear furanosesterterpenes (4, 5), were isolated from the marine sponge Smenospongia sp. collected from Gagu-Do, Korea. The structures of the new compounds, which exhibited moderate cytotoxicity toward the human leukemia cell line K562, were determined from an analysis of spectroscopic data.

New sesterterpenes from the Antarctic sponge Suberites sp.

Suberitenones C and D and suberiphenol, three new sesterterpenes of the suberitane class, were isolated from the sponge Suberites sp. collected from Antarctica. The structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of combined spectral and chemical analyses.

Induction of apoptosis of RAW 264.7 cells by the cytostatic macrolide apicularen A.

In RAW 264.7 cells, a mouse leukaemic monocyte cell line, apicularen A decreased cell growth and survival as assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in a concentration-dependent manner at 10-1000 nM. Apicularen B, an N-acetyl-glucosamine glycoside of apicularen A, was 10-100-fold less effective than apicularen A.

Plesiocystis pacifica gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine myxobacterium that contains dihydrogenated menaquinone, isolated from the Pacific coasts of Japan.

Two strains of a novel myxobacterium (designated SIR-1T and SHI-1) were isolated from Japanese coasts located in the Pacific subtropical zone. Cells of both strains were Gram-negative, rod-shaped and motile by gliding. The strains were chemoheterotrophic and strictly aerobic.

Apicidin, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, induces differentiation of HL-60 cells.

The fungal metabolite apicidin (cyclo(N-O-methyl-L-tryptophanyl-L-isoleucinyl-D-pipecolinyl-L-2-amino-8-oxodecanoyl)) inhibited the growth of HL-60 cells in a concentration-dependent manner (100-1000 nM). At higher concentrations (>300 nM), cell death was induced. At 100 nM, it induced hyperacetylation of histone H4 time-dependently, while trichostatin A induced transient hyperacetylation.

Induction of nitric oxide synthase by Oldenlandia diffusa in mouse peritoneal macrophages.

Oldenlandia diffusa (OD) has been used to treat malignant tumors. In this study using mouse peritoneal macrophages, we have examined the mechanism by which OD regulates nitric oxide (NO) production. When OD (1 mg/ml) was used in combination with 10 U/ml of recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma), there was a marked cooperative induction of NO production (36.

Inhibitory effect of apoptosis in human astrocytes CCF-STTG1 cells by lemon oil.

The effects of lemon pure essential oils on the heat shock-induced apoptosis in human astrocytes cell line CCF-STTG1 were examined. In previous studies, heat shock has been reported to induce the apoptosis or programmed cell death through the activation of caspase-3. Treatment of heat shock on CCF-STTG1 cells markedly induced apoptotic cell death as determined by flow cytometry.

Hydrazinocurcumin, a novel synthetic curcumin derivative, is a potent inhibitor of endothelial cell proliferation.

Curcumin and some of its derivatives were known as in vivo inhibitors of angiogenesis. In present study, a novel curcumin derivative, named hydrazinocurcumin (HC) was synthesized and examined for its biological activities. HC potently inhibited the proliferation of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) at a nanomolar concentration (IC(50)=520 nM) without cytotoxicity.

ATF is important to late S phase-dependent regulation of DNA topoisomerase IIalpha gene expression in HeLa cells.

DNA topoisomerase IIalpha (Topo IIalpha) is regulated in late S phase-dependent manner. To identify late S phase-dependent cis-acting elements of Topo IIalpha gene, we have investigated the synchronized HeLa cells with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and DNase I footprinting assays. The level of Topo IIalpha mRNA increased after release from aphidicolin block and reached a maximum in 8h (late S phase) in HeLa cells, and Topo II unknotting activity was also in parallel with the level of Topo IIalpha mRNA.

Hydrazinocurcumin, a novel synthetic curcumin derivative, is a potent inhibitor of endothelial cell proliferation.

Curcumin and some of its derivatives were known as in vivo inhibitors of angiogenesis. In present study, a novel curcumin derivative, named hydrazinocurcumin (HC) was synthesized and examined for its biological activities. HC potently inhibited the proliferation of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) at a nanomolar concentration (IC(50)=520 nM) without cytotoxicity.

Activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase by Euonymus alatus in mouse peritoneal macrophages.

Background: Euonymus alatus (EA) has been used for tumor therapy. However, it is still unclear how this herb prevents the diseases in experimental models. Nitric oxide (NO) as a potent macrophage-derived effector molecule against a variety of tumors has received increasing attention.