Publications by authors named "Minhee Baek"

Given the challenges posed by antibiotic resistant microbes and the high mortality rate associated with sepsis, there is an urgent need to develop novel peptide antibiotics that exhibit both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. Herein, we evaluated antimicrobial activity and anti-inflammatory activity of psacotheasin 2, one of the antimicrobial peptide candidates identified previously using an in silico analysis on the transcriptome of Psacothea hilaris. In addition to exhibiting antimicrobial activities against microorganisms without inducing hemolysis, psacotheasin 2 also decreased the nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced Raw264.

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Previously, we performed an analysis of the transcriptome. Antimicrobial peptide candidates were selected using an antimicrobial peptide prediction method. It was found that periplanetasin-5 had antimicrobial activity against yeast and grampositive and gram-negative bacteria.

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In a previous work, we performed RNA sequencing of using next generation sequencing and identified several antimicrobial peptide candidates based on transcriptome analysis. Among them, a cationic antimicrobial peptide, allomyrinasin, was selected bioinformatically based on its physicochemical properties. Here, we assessed the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of allomyrinasin against microorganisms and mouse macrophage Raw264.

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Recently, we reported that Lumbricusin, an antimicrobial peptide isolated from earthworm Lumbricus terrestris, enhanced neuronal proliferation and ameliorated motor dysfunction and dopaminergic neurodegeneration. Accumulating evidence suggests that neurodegeneration is the primary pathological feature of acute or chronic inflammation mediated by microglia, the resident macrophage of the central nervous system. Therefore, microglial activation inhibitors may be useful as therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases.

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Despite the increasing interest in insect-based bioactive products, the biological activities of these products are rarely studied adequately. Larvae of , the yellow mealworm, have been eaten as a traditional food and provide many health benefits. Therefore, we hypothesized that larvae might influence adipogenesis and obesity-related disorders.

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