Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection.

There is a paucity of data regarding the differentiating characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed and those negative for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in South Korea. This hospital-based retrospective study compared MERS-CoV-positive and MERS-CoV-negative patients. A total of seven positive patients and 55 negative patients with a median age of 43 years (P = 0.

Immune modulation of glycosaminoglycan derived from P. lewisi in TNF-α stimulated cells.

Poecilocoris lewisi (Korean name: "Kwangdaenolinjae") is a red-striped gold stink bug (insect) which has been used as a crude drug in traditional medicine of East Asia and Korea. In this study, ethanol extract and glycosaminoglycan from P. lewisi (Pl GAG), as an active substance among its components, were investigated for their potential anti-inflammatory actions.

P70S6K and Elf4E dual inhibition is essential to control bladder tumor growth and progression in orthotopic mouse non-muscle invasive bladder tumor model.

We investigated how the dual inhibition of the molecular mechanism of the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) downstreams, P70S6 kinase (P70S6K) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), can lead to a suppression of the proliferation and progression of urothelial carcinoma (UC) in an orthotopic mouse non-muscle invasive bladder tumor (NMIBT) model. A KU-7-luc cell intravesically instilled orthotopic mouse NMIBC model was monitored using bioluminescence imaging (BLI) in vivo by interfering with different molecular components using rapamycin and siRNA technology. We then analyzed the effects on molecular activation status, cell growth, proliferation, and progression.

Modulating the internalization of bacille Calmette-Guérin by cathelicidin in bladder cancer cells.

Objective: To confirm the role of cathelicidin (LL-37) in the internalization of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) into bladder cancer cells.

Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis evaluated the changes in protein and messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) expression with BCG incubation after LL-37 pretreatment in 5637 and T24 human bladder cancer cells. The internalization rate was evaluated by a double immunofluorescence assay, and confocal microscopy confirmed the function of LL-37 in BCG internalization.

Immune Modulation of B. terrestris Worker (a Type of Bumblebee), Extract on CFA-induced Paw Edema in Rats.

To develop a composition for enhancing immunity, based on alcohol extracts of the bumblebee as an active ingredient, bumblebee ethanol extracts were evaluated for their protective effect in chronic models of inflammation, adjuvant induced rat arthritis. B. terrestris worker extract (SDIEX) and, B.

Murine β-defensin-2 may regulate the effect of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in normal mouse bladder.

Purpose: We investigated whether bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-induced secretion of murine β-defensin-2 (mBD2) and determined whether mBD2 regulated BCG effects in the normal mouse bladder.

Materials And Methods: A total of 140 C57BL/6 female mice were divided into 28 groups, and the experiment was performed over 3 steps. In the first step (20 groups), mice bladders were stimulated with different doses of BCG (multiplicity of infection [MOI] 0, 1, 10, 30, and 100) and histological analysis was conducted in bladder specimens isolated at different times (0, 4, 8, and 24h after instillation) to determine optimal dose and time point of BCG internalization and urine mBD2 and cytokine concentration.

Transesterification of plant oils using Staphylococcus haemolyticus L62 lipase displayed on Escherichia coli cell surface using the OmpA signal peptide and EstAβ8 anchoring motif.

Staphylococcus haemolyticus L62 (SHL62) lipase was displayed on the outer membrane of Escherichia coli using the OmpA signal peptide and the autotransporter EstAβ8 protein. Localization of SHL62 lipase on the outer membrane of E. coli was confirmed using immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis.

Phosphorylated p70S6K in noninvasive low-grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: correlation with tumor recurrence.

We investigated whether inhibiting phosphorylated p70S6K (p-p70S6K) suppresses the proliferation and growth of noninvasive low-grade urothelial carcinoma (LG-URCa) in vitroand whether p-p70S6K can serve as a predictive biomarker for the recurrence of noninvasive LG-URCa of the bladder in patients. We constructed a tissue microarray (TMA) for 95 LG-URCa and 35 benign urothelium samples and performed immunohistochemical staining for p-p70S6K and p-4E-BP1. A Cox regression model was used to investigate the predictive factors for recurrence of LG-URCa.

Establishment of an orthotopic mouse non-muscle invasive bladder cancer model expressing the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway.

We established an orthotopic non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) mouse model expressing the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. After intravesical instillation of KU-7-lucs (day 0), animals were subsequently monitored by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) on days 4, 7, 14, and 21, and performed histopathological examination. We also validated the orthotopic mouse model expressing the mTOR signaling pathway immunohistochemically.

Dual inhibition by S6K1 and Elf4E is essential for controlling cellular growth and invasion in bladder cancer.

Purpose: We investigated how dual inhibition of the molecular mechanism of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) downstream of S6K1 and the eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) can lead to suppression of proliferation and progression of urothelial carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: We characterized the molecular mechanism of the mTOR pathway in the T24 and 5637 urothelial carcinoma cell lines by interfering with different molecular components using rapamycin and short interfering (siRNA) technology (S6K1 or elF4E) and analyzed the effects on molecular activation status, cell growth, proliferation, and invasion.

Results: A high concentration of rapamycin (10 μM) blocked both S6K1 and elF4E phosphorylation and inhibited cell proliferation in T24 and 5637 cells.

Human β-defensin 2 may inhibit internalisation of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in bladder cancer cells.

Objective: To investigate whether secretion of human β-defensin 2 (HBD-2) is induced by bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and to determine whether HBD-2 affects BCG internalisation in bladder cancer cells.

Materials And Methods: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to determine whether HBD-2 mRNA increases after incubation with BCG. HBD-2 proteins in 5637 and T24 human bladder cancer cell lines were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Isolation and biochemical characterization of Bacillus pumilus lipases from the Antarctic.

Lipase-producing bacterial strains were isolated from Antarctic soil samples using the tricaprylin agar plate method. Seven strains with relatively strong lipase activities were selected. All of them turned out to be Bacillus pumilus strains by the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis.

Contact allergy to dimethacrylate.

Contact allergy to methacrylates is uncommon. We present a 55-year-old woman with a 10-year history of persistent pruritus and burning sensation of the gums every time she wore her dentures. Initially she developed swelling and erythema of the face soon after the dentures were placed on the gums.

Synthetic Coprisin analog peptide, D-CopA3 has antimicrobial activity and pro-apoptotic effects in human leukemia cells.

Recently, we reported that the synthetic Coprisin analog peptide 9-mer dimer CopA3 (consisted of all-L amino acid sequence) was designed based on a defensin-like peptide, Coprisin isolated from Copris tripartitus. The 9-mer dimer CopA3 (L-CopA3) had antibacterial activity and induced apoptosis in human leukemia cells via a caspase-independent pathway. In this study, all of amino acid sequences of L-CopA3 were modified to all D-form amino acids (D-CopA3) to develop a more effective antimicrobial peptide.

Effects of the synthetic coprisin analog peptide, CopA3 in pathogenic microorganisms and mammalian cancer cells.

A synthetic coprisin analog peptide, 9-mer dimer CopA3 (CopA3) was designed based on a defensin-like peptide, Coprisin, isolated from the bacteria-immunized dung beetle Copris tripartitus. Here, CopA3 was investigated for its antimicrobial activity and cancer cell growth inhibition. CopA3 showed antimicrobial activities against various pathogenic bacteria and yeast fungus with MIC values in 2~32 μM ranges, and inhibited the cell viabilities of pancreatic and hepatocellular cancer cells, except MIAPaca2, Hep3B, and HepG2 cells, in a dose-dependent manner.

Thirteen-Week Oral Dose Toxicity Study of G. bimaculatus in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Gryllus bimaculatus (Gb) was orally administered at doses of 0, 0.04, 0.2, 1 and 5 g/kg bw/day for 13 consecutive weeks.

Antibacterial activity of recombinant hCAP18/LL37 protein secreted from Pichia pastoris.

Human antimicrobial peptide CAP18/LL37 (hCAP18/LL37) was expressed in Pichia pastoris and its antibacterial activity was tested against pathogenic bacteria. The full length ORF of hCAP18/LL37 was cloned into the pPICZaA vector followed by integration into the genomic AOX1 gene of P. pastoris.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor scriptaid induces cell cycle arrest and epigenetic change in colon cancer cells.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are involved in cell growth, apoptosis and differentiation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of HDACI scriptaid on histone modification, demethylation, cell growth, cell cycle and apoptosis in the RKO colorectal cancer cell line and screening for scriptaid-induced genes. RKO cells were treated with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), trichostatin A (TSA) or scriptaid at different concentrations.

Disrupting vesicular trafficking at the endosome attenuates transcriptional activation by Gcn4.

The late endosome (MVB) plays a key role in coordinating vesicular transport of proteins between the Golgi complex, vacuole/lysosome, and plasma membrane. We found that deleting multiple genes involved in vesicle fusion at the MVB (class C/D vps mutations) impairs transcriptional activation by Gcn4, a global regulator of amino acid biosynthetic genes, by decreasing the ability of chromatin-bound Gcn4 to stimulate preinitiation complex assembly at the promoter. The functions of hybrid activators with Gal4 or VP16 activation domains are diminished in class D mutants as well, suggesting a broader defect in activation.

Activator Gcn4p and Cyc8p/Tup1p are interdependent for promoter occupancy at ARG1 in vivo.

The Cyc8p/Tup1p complex mediates repression of diverse genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is recruited by DNA binding proteins specific for the different sets of repressed genes. By screening the yeast deletion library, we identified Cyc8p as a coactivator for Gcn4p, a transcriptional activator of amino acid biosynthetic genes. Deletion of CYC8 confers sensitivity to an inhibitor of isoleucine/valine biosynthesis and impairs activation of Gcn4p-dependent reporters and authentic amino acid biosynthetic target genes.

Anticholesterolemic effect of 3,4-di(OH)-phenylpropionic amides in high-cholesterol fed rats.

Two amide synthetic derivatives of 3,4-di(OH)-hydrocinnamate (HC), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic (l-serine methyl ester) amide (E030) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic (l-aspartic acid) amide (E076), were investigated to compare their lipid-lowering efficacy with HC. Male rats were fed a 1 g/100 g high-cholesterol diet for 6 weeks with supplements of either clofibrate (0.02%, w/w), HC (0.

Lipid-lowering efficacy of 3,4-di(OH)-phenylpropionic L-leucine in high-cholesterol fed rats.

A preliminary study revealed that 3,4-di(OH)-hydrocinnamate (HC), a polyphenolic compound, lowered the plasma lipids in high-cholesterol fed rats. Accordingly, this study was designed to test the lipid-lowering efficacy of a synthetic derivative, 3,4-di(OH)-phenylpropionic (L-leucine) amide (PPLA), in rats fed a high-cholesterol (1%, wt/wt) diet. As such, HC or PPLA was given as supplement to a high-cholesterol diet for 6 weeks at a dose of 0.

Recruitment of the ArgR/Mcm1p repressor is stimulated by the activator Gcn4p: a self-checking activation mechanism.

Transcription of the arginine biosynthetic gene ARG1 is repressed by the ArgR/Mcm1p complex in arginine-replete cells and activated by Gcn4p, a transcription factor induced by starvation for any amino acid. We show that all four subunits of the arginine repressor are recruited to ARG1 by Gcn4p in cells replete with arginine but starved for isoleucine/valine. None of these proteins is recruited to the Gcn4p target genes ARG4 and SNZ1, which are not regulated by ArgR/Mcm1p.

A multiplicity of coactivators is required by Gcn4p at individual promoters in vivo.

Transcriptional activators interact with multisubunit coactivators that modify chromatin structure or recruit the general transcriptional machinery to their target genes. Budding yeast cells respond to amino acid starvation by inducing an activator of amino acid biosynthetic genes, Gcn4p. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of viable mutants affecting known coactivator subunits from the Saccharomyces Genome Deletion Project for defects in activation by Gcn4p in vivo.