Improved Menaquinone (Vitamin K_2) Production in Cheonggukjang by Optimization of the Fermentation Conditions

Wei-Jie Wu,안병용 한국식품과학회 2011 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.20 No.6

To improve the content of menaquinone (MK)in cheonggukjang by using Bacillus amyloliquefaciens KCTC11712BP, the fermentation conditions were optimized. The rate of sporulation was found inversely correlated with MK productivity in soybean extract medium during the fermentation process. The best sensory quality of cheonggukjang was appeared at 36 h of fermentation. The synthesis rate of MK was slowed down after fermented for 36 h, which may due to the accumulation of aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan). Especially, tryptophan was found to be the most sensitive feedback inhibitor of MK biosynthetic pathway. The optimum temperature for MK production was 43^oC, and supplement of 4% glycerol could significantly increase the yield of MK. The content of MK in cheonggukjang fermented by using B. amyloliquefaciens KCTC11712BP under the optimum condition reached as high as 12.47 μg/g, which was about 4-fold higher than that of commercial cheonggukjang and natto products.

The Antiosteoporotic Effects of Cheonggukjang Containing Vitamin K2 (Menaquinone-7) in Ovariectomized Rats

Wei-Jie Wu,이화영,이금화,채한정,안병용 한국식품영양과학회 2014 Journal of medicinal food Vol.17 No.12

The effect of dietary vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7, MK-7) and cheonggukjang (CGJ) on the prevention of ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss was studied in rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into eight groups: shamoperated; OVX control; OVX treated with MK-7 at doses of 2, 4, and 8 lg/day; and OVX treated with CGJ at doses of 0.063, 0.125, and 0.250 g/day referenced to MK-7 levels at 2, 4, and 8 lg/day, respectively. After 8 weeks of treatment, the preventive effects of MK-7 and CGJ were evaluated by measuring body weights, serum levels of bone turnover markers, bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), trabecular microarchitectural properties, and bone histological characteristics. Our results showed that rats treated with a high dose of MK-7 (8 lg/day) exhibited a minor inhibitory effect on OVX-induced bone loss, as indicated by a significant increase in trabecular number, as well as BMC and BMD (P < .01). Moreover, the preventive effects of MK-7 were augmented by administration of CGJ at the same MK-7 dose. In addition, the preventive effects of CGJ were shown to be dose dependent, with the highest dose (0.250 g/day) significantly (P < .01) increasing BMC and BMD by 31.8% and 47.6%, respectively. In summary, these results suggest that administration of CGJ containing abundant levels of MK-7 may be a promising approach for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.

Statistical Optimization of Medium Components by Response Surface Methodology to Enhance Menaquinone-7 (Vitamin K₂) Production by Bacillus subtilis

( Wei-jie Wu ),( Byung-yong Ahn ) 한국미생물생명공학회(구 한국산업미생물학회) 2018 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.28 No.6

Optimization of the culture medium to maximize menaquinone-7 (MK-7) production by Bacillus subtilis strain KCTC 12392BP in static culture was carried out using statistical experimental methods, including one factor at a time, fractional factorial design, and response surface methodology (RSM). Maltose (carbon source), tryptone (nitrogen source), and glycerol (activator) were identified as the key medium components for MK-7 synthesis by the fractional factorial design, and were selected for statistical optimization by RSM. The statistical analysis indicated that, in the range that was studied, maltose, tryptone, and glycerol were all critical factors having profound effects on the production of MK-7, with their coefficients for linear and quadratic all significant at the p < 0.05 level. The established model was efficient and feasible, with a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.9419. The predicted concentrations of maltose, tryptone, and glycerol in the optimal medium were determined as 36.78, 62.76, and 58.90 g/l, respectively. In this optimized medium, the maximum yield of MK-7 reached a remarkably high level of 71.95 ± 1.00 μg/ml after 9 days of static fermentation, which further verified the practicability of this optimized strategy.

Effect of Crude Microbial Enzyme Pretreatment on the Liberation of Biological Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Red Ginseng Extract

Wei-Jie Wu,안병용 한국식품과학회 2013 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.22 No.3

To improve the quality of red ginseng extract,the effects of crude microbial enzyme pretreatment on the liberation of biological compounds and the antioxidant activity of the extract were studied. The total ginsenoside contents in red ginseng extract pretreated with and without crude microbial enzyme were 199 and 186μg/mL, respectively. More specifically, ginsenosides with the protopanaxadiol type of aglycone moieties showed significant increases (about 10%), while the protopanaxatriol type ginsenosides were hardly changed. Ginsenosides are thermally unstable,as they may degrade during thermal extraction above 70oC,and protopanaxatriol type ginsenosides are more susceptible than protopanaxadiol type. The contents of soluble solid,reducing sugars, polyphenolic compounds, and recovery of the enzymatic-pretreated group were increased 17, 51, 10,and 17%, respectively, compared with control. Additionally,the enzymatic-pretreated red ginseng extract showed significantly higher antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging ability than control.

Low Expression of Tyrosine-protein Phosphatase Nonreceptor Type 12 is Associated with Lymph Node Metastasis and Poor Prognosis in Operable Triple-negative Breast Cancer

Wu, Min-Qing,Hu, Pan,Gao, Jie,Wei, Wei-Dong,Xiao, Xiang-Sheng,Tang, Hai-Lin,Li, Xing,Ge, Qi-Dong,Jia, Wei-Hua,Liu, Ren-Bin,Xie, Xiao-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.1

Background: Low tyrosine-protein phosphatase nonreceptor type 12 (PTPN12) expression may be associated with breast cancer growth, proliferation, and metastasis. However, the prognostic value of PTPN12 in breast cancer has not been clearly identified. Patients and Methods: 51 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients and 83 non-TNBC patients with a histopathology diagnosis from October 2001 to September 2006 were included in this study. Immunohistochemical staining for PTPN12 on tissue microarrays was conducted. Results: High PTPN12 expression was seen in 39.2% of TNBC and 60.2 % of non-TNBC cases. Low PTPN12 expression was associated with lymph node status (p = 0.002) and distant metastatic relapse (p = 0.002) in TNBC patients. Similarly, low PTPN12 expression in non-TNBC patients was significantly correlated with lymph node status (p = 0.002), stage (p = 0.002) and distant metastatic relapse (p = 0.039). The high PTPN12 expression group was associated with longer DFS and OS compared with low PTPN12 expression group only in TNBC cases (p = 0.005, p = 0.015), according to univariate Cox regression analysis. Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that low expression of PTPN12 is associated with worse prognosis and may be used as a potential prognostic biomarker in TNBC patients.

Isolation and Identification of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BY01 with High Productivity of Menaquinone for Cheonggukjang Production

Wei-Jie Wu,안병용 한국응용생명화학회 2011 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.54 No.5

To develop a cheonggukjang with high content of menaquinone (MK), bacterial strains were isolated from good quality cheonggukjang, and MK productivities of isolated strains were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. After sensory evaluation and MK determination, a potential probiotics, BY01, with acceptable sensory quality and high productivity of MK was isolated. Fermentation under aerobic condition produced more MK than that obtained under anaerobic condition, and the synthesized MK mainly remained in the form of endocellular deposit. To identify species of strain BY01, biochemical tests and gyrase B gene (gyrB) sequence analysis were carried out, and strain BY01 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The content of MK in cheonggukjang fermented with B. amyloliquefaciens BY01 reached 7.54 μg/g, 2-fold higher than that of commercial cheonggukjang products. This is the first report on the isolation of B. amyloliquefaciens as a superior MK producer in cheonggukjang fermentation.

Isolation and Identification of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BY01 with High Productivity of Menaquinone for Cheonggukjang Production

Wu, Wei-Jie,Ahn, Byung-Yong The Korean Society for Applied Biological Chemistr 2011 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.54 No.5

To develop a cheonggukjang with high content of menaquinone (MK), bacterial strains were isolated from good quality cheonggukjang, and MK productivities of isolated strains were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. After sensory evaluation and MK determination, a potential probiotics, BY01, with acceptable sensory quality and high productivity of MK was isolated. Fermentation under aerobic condition produced more MK than that obtained under anaerobic condition, and the synthesized MK mainly remained in the form of endocellular deposit. To identify species of strain BY01, biochemical tests and gyrase B gene (gyrB) sequence analysis were carried out, and strain BY01 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The content of MK in cheonggukjang fermented with B. amyloliquefaciens BY01 reached 7.54 ${\mu}g$/g, 2-fold higher than that of commercial cheonggukjang products. This is the first report on the isolation of B. amyloliquefaciens as a superior MK producer in cheonggukjang fermentation.

Food Science/Microbiology : Isolation and Identification of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BY01 with High Productivity of Menaquinone for Cheonggukjang Production

( Wei Jie Wu ),( Byung Yong Ahn ) 한국응용생명화학회(구 한국농화학회) 2011 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.54 No.5

To develop a cheonggukjang with high content of menaquinone (MK), bacterial strains were isolated from good quality cheonggukjang, and MK productivities of isolated strains were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. After sensory evaluation and MK determination, a potential probiotics, BY01, with acceptable sensory quality and high productivity of MK was isolated. Fermentation under aerobic condition produced more MK than that obtained under anaerobic condition, and the synthesized MK mainly remained in the form of endocellular deposit. To identify species of strain BY01, biochemical tests and gyrase B gene (gyrB) sequence analysis were carried out, and strain BY01 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The content of MK in cheonggukjang fermented with B. amyloliquefaciens BY01 reached 7.54 μg/g, 2-fold higher than that of commercial cheonggukjang products. This is the first report on the isolation of B. amyloliquefaciens as a superior MK producer in cheonggukjang fermentation.

Isolation and Characterization of an Antimicrobial Substance from Bacillus subtilis BY08 Antagonistic to Bacillus cereus and Listeria monocytogenes

Wei-Jie Wu,박승문,안병용 한국식품과학회 2013 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.22 No.2

A wild-type bacteria producing an antimicrobial substance was isolated from Korean traditional fermented soybean paste, and identified as Bacillus subtilis. The antimicrobial substance purified by TLC, tentatively named UV254-B, displayed a specific antimicrobial activity against pathogenic Bacillus cereus and Listeria monocytogenes,without inhibiting the growth of soybean-fermenting Bacillus species. The antimicrobial substance was susceptible to proteinase K and lipase but resistant to esterase. Antimicrobial activity was observed over a wide range of pH from 3 to 11, with the maximum activity at pH 9, and thermal stability up to 80oC. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the antimicrobial substance was found to be 64 μg/mL for B. cereus and 128 μg/mL for L. monocytogenes. This antimicrobial substance has a putative molecular weight either at 1,133.6 or 1,700.5, which differs from that of other antimicrobial substances described for B. subtilis such as iturin, surfactin, fengycin, and subtilisin.

Allyl isothiocyanate may reverse the expression of MRP1 in COPD rats via the Notch1 signaling pathway

Jie Wu,Xueqi Wang,Zhaomin Yao,Qingqing Wu,Wei Fang,Zegeng Li,Dianlei Wang 대한약학회 2019 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.42 No.11

In the present study, the roles of AITC in upregulatingthe MRP1 expression and its relationship with theactivation of the Notch1 signaling pathway were investigatedby combining the in vivo and in vitro experiments. AITCwas administered to the COPD model rats and normal ratsto explore the association between Notch1 and MRP1. Thehuman bronchial epithelial cells were treated with DAPT,the Notch1 signaling pathway inhibitor, to verify the effectof Notch1 on the expression of AITC-induced MRP1. Comparedwith the control group, the expressions of Notch1,Hes1 (the target gene of Notch1) and MRP1 in the lung tissueof the COPD model group were significantly inhibited. In contrast to the COPD model group, the expressions ofMRP1, Hes1 and Notch1 dramatically up-regulated followingthe treatment with Low/High doses of AITC. The expressionof MRP1 in the 16 HBE cells was down-regulated bythe inhibition of Notch in a DAPT concentration-dependentmanner. Additionally, the AITC-induced up-regulation ofthe MRP1 expression was markedly impaired following the inhibition of Notch1. The above results indicated that thepulmonary function and the expression of MRP1 in COPDrats could be improved by AITC, which was partly dependenton the Notch1 signaling pathway. Therefore, targetingthe Notch signaling pathway may present as an effectivetherapeutic strategy for COPD treatment.