Paxillin is a focal adhesion adaptor protein, heavily phosphorylated at multiple tyrosine residues, as well as at serine 273 (S273), and is known to be critical for cytoskeleton rearrangement and cell migration. We previously found that paxillin plays a regulatory role in IL-3-dependent survival of Ba/F3 cells, a mouse pro-B cell line. In this study, by using overexpressed His6 tagged-paxillin as a bait, we found that DDX42, a DEAD-box RNA helicase, interacted with paxillin, inhibited apoptosis, and promoted polarization of Ba/F3 cells. His6 tagged-paxillin was stably overexpressed in Ba/F3 cells, pulled-down from cell lysates with Ni⁺-NTA beads, and analyzed by one-dimensional SDS-PAGE followed by LC–MS. We found that DDX42 co-precipitated with paxillin, as demonstrated by western blotting analysis of His6 tagged-paxillin precipitates with anti-DDX42 antibodies and His6 tagged-DDX42 precipitates with anti-paxillin antibodies. In addition, we observed a preferential interaction of DDX42 with the paxillin mutant, S273A, compared to the S273D mutant. Furthermore, DDX42 overexpression in Ba/F3 cells delayed the apoptosis induced by IL-3 deprivation and promoted restoration of the elongated shape in Ba/F3 cells induced by IL-3 re-supply after a 6 h-deprivation. These results suggested that DDX42 interacts with paxillin and participates in IL-3-dependent cell survival, as well as in the cytoskeletal rearrangements underlying polarization of Ba/F3 cells.

Sleep is an essential component of quality of life. The majority of people experience sleep problems that impact their quality of life. Melatonin is currently a representative sleep aid. However, it is classified as a prescription drug in most countries, and consumers cannot purchase it to improve their sleep. This sleep induction experiment in mice aimed to identify a natural combination product (NCP) that can create synergistic sleep-promoting effects. Based on the mechanism of action of sleep, we investigated whether phenomenological indicators of sleep quality change according to the intake of NCP. The sleep onset and sleep time of the mice that consumed the NCP found by this study were improved compared to the existing sleep aids. The mean melatonin level in the blood increased by 197% compared to the control. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that Rosa multiflora Thunb. (Yeongsil) can promote sleep similarly to Zizyphus jujuba Miller (Sanjoin). The results indicate a preclinical study of NCPs containing Rosa multiflora Thunb and Zizyphus jujuba Miller developed by us showed significant differences in sleep incubation and duration depending on melatonin concentrations. Our results also suggest that increased melatonin concentrations in the blood are likely to improve sleep quality, especially regarding incubation periods.

In this study, we evaluated the physiological effects of fermented metabolites derived from puffed grains (z), fermented using Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NPKE6, a strain isolated from Korean water kimchi. In vitro assays showed that NPKE6-FM significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, GPx) and digestive enzyme activities (α-amylase, protease), suggesting its strong biofunctional potential. To confirm its in vivo efficacy, we established two inflammatory disease models—ulcerative colitis and liver injury—in male C57BL/6 mice. Colitis was induced by oral administration of 1% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS, 1 mL), while liver injury was induced by intraperitoneal injection of acetaminophen (APAP, 300 mg/kg) three times per week for 4 weeks. In disease-induced control groups, elevated serum biomarkers (AST, ALT, ALP) and reduced antioxidant activity were observed. Experimental groups received 10 or 50 mg/kg/day of NPKE6-FM for 4 weeks. Treatment significantly restored antioxidant enzyme levels and reduced inflammatory markers such as TNF-α and IL-6. In the colitis model, NPKE6-FM alleviated DSS-induced tissue damage, evidenced by improved colon length, weight, and histological scores. Gene expression analysis showed downregulation of iNOS and COX-2 in colon tissues and Akt and MCP-1 in liver, indicating molecular anti-inflammatory effects. Although liver histopathology did not show marked improvement, biochemical and gene expression results supported its protective role. In summary, NPKE6-FM demonstrated potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo, indicating its potential as a functional food additive to prevent or alleviate inflammatory conditions such as colitis and liver injury.

Gastric mucosal injury is associated with acute epithelial damage, inflammatory cytokine release, and disruption of the protective mucus barrier. NPKE6-FM is a fermented metabolite preparation produced from puffed soybean and rice inoculated with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NPKE6, a strain isolated from Korean water kimchi. Although NPKE6-FM has shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential in previous in vitro and in vivo studies, its gastroprotective efficacy against acute gastric injury has not been fully evaluated. This study investigated the protective effects of NPKE6-FM in an HCl/ethanol-induced acute gastritis model in ICR mice. Male ICR mice were randomly assigned to six groups after weight measurement (n = 5 per group): normal control (distilled water only), model group (HCl/ethanol plus distilled water), positive control (HCl/ethanol plus rebamipide, 50 mg/kg), and NPKE6-FM treatment groups receiving 10, 50, or 100 mg/kg. Test substances or vehicle were orally administered for 14 consecutive days. Following an approximately 18 h fast on Day 15, acute gastric mucosal injury was induced by oral administration of 200 mM HCl in 80% ethanol. Gastric tissues were collected approximately 1 h after injury induction for macroscopic lesion assessment, histopathological examination, cytokine analysis, and quantitative real-time PCR analysis of inflammation- and mucin-related genes. HCl/ethanol administration induced marked hemorrhagic and erosive gastric lesions, histopathological mucosal damage, and increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6. NPKE6-FM treatment reduced gross gastric lesion scores in a dose-dependent manner, with the 100 mg/kg group showing the greatest protective effect. Histological evaluation further indicated improved preservation of gastric mucosal architecture in NPKE6-FM-treated mice. In addition, NPKE6-FM significantly suppressed TNF-α and IL-6 levels and downregulated the mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators, including COX-2, iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-6. Conversely, the HCl/ethanol-induced reduction in Muc5ac expression was substantially restored by NPKE6-FM treatment. These findings demonstrate that NPKE6-FM protects against HCl/ethanol-induced acute gastric mucosal injury through anti-inflammatory activity and reinforcement of the gastric mucus barrier. NPKE6-FM may therefore represent a promising functional food ingredient or nutraceutical candidate for the prevention or attenuation of gastric mucosal injury.

The discovery and industrial application of functional microbial strains with probiotic potential have gained global attention. This study focused on Clostridium butyricum S-45-5, a butyrate-producing strain isolated from the feces of breastfed infants in Korea and transferred from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB, Jeongeup, Korea). Comparative analyses were conducted with representative commercial strains, including MIYAIRI 588 (Japan) and CGMCC0313 (China), to evaluate origin, cultivation characteristics, and industrial applicability. The S-45-5 strain exhibited superior productivity, stable fermentation profiles, and consistent viable cell counts under large-scale production conditions. Comprehensive safety assessments, including toxicity, antibiotic resistance, and pathogenicity tests, confirmed its compliance with international probiotic safety standards. These findings demonstrate that C. butyricum S-45-5 is a safe and robust probiotic candidate suitable for commercial use. Furthermore, ongoing registration for Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and forthcoming human clinical trials are expected to support its global commercialization. The establishment of a stable mass-production process highlights the potential of S-45-5 as a Korea-origin butyrate-producing probiotic with broad industrial and functional applications.