We determined the microviscosity of synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMV) isolated from bovine cerebral cortex and liposomes of total lipids (SPMTL) and phospholipids (SPMPL) extracted from SPMV. Changes in the microviscosity induced by the range and rate of lateral diffusion were measured by the intramolecular excimerization of 1, 3-di(1-pyrenyl)propane (Py-3-Py). The microviscosity values of the direct probe environment in SPMV, SPMTL and SPMPL were 38.17, 31.11 and 27.64 cP, respectively, at$37^{\circ}C$and the activation energies $(E_a)$ of the excimer formation of Py-3-Py in SPMV, SPMTL and SPMPL were 8.236, 7.448 amd 7.025 kcal/mol, respectively. Probe location was measured by polarity and polarizability parameters of the probe Py-3-Py and probe analogues, pyrene, 1-pyrenenonanol and 1-pyrenemethyl-3${\beta}$-hydroxy-22, 23-bisnor-5-cholenate (PMC), incorporated into membranes or solubilized in reference solvents. There existed a good linear relationship between the first absorption peak of the $^1_a$ band and the polarizability parameter $(n^{2}-1)/(2n^{2}+1)$.The calculated refractive index values for SPMV, SPMTL and SPMPL were close to 1.50, which is higher than that of liquid paraffin (n=l.475). The probe location was also determined by using a polarity parameter $(f-1/2f^{I})$. Here f=$({\varepsilon}-1)/(2{\varepsilon}+1)$ is the dielectric constant function and $f^I=(n^2-1)/(2n^2+1)$ is the refractive index function. A correlation existed between the monomer fluorescence intensity ratio and the solvent polarity parameter. The probes incorporated in SPMV, SPMTL, and SPMPL report a polarity value close to that of 1-hexanol $({\varepsilon}=13.29)$. In conclusion, Py-3-Py is located completely inside the membrane, not in the very hydrophobic core, but displaced toward the polar head groups of phospholipid molecules, e.g., central methylene region of aliphatic chains of phospholipid molecules.

Glutamate uptake inhibitor, L-trans-pyrrolidine-2, 4-dicarboxylate (PDC, $20{\mu}M$) elevated basal and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA, $100{\mu}M$)-induced extracellular glutamate accumulation, while it did not augment kainate $100{\mu}M$-induced glutamate accumulation in cultured cerebellar granule neurons. However, pretreatment with PDC for 1 h significantly reduced NMDA-induced glutamate accumulation, but did not affect kainate-induced response. Pretreatment with glutamate $(5{\mu}M)$ for 1 h also reduced NMDA-induced glutamate accumulation, but did not kainate-induced response. Upon a brief application (3-10 min), PDC did neither induce elevation of intracellular calcium concentration $([Ca^{2+}]_i)$ nor modulate NMDA-indLiced $[Ca^{2+}]_1$ elevation. Pretreatment with PDC for 1 h reduced NMDA-induced $[Ca^{2+}]_1$ elevation, but it did not reduce kainate-induced $[Ca^{2+}]_1$ elevation. These results suggest that glutamate concentration in synaptic clefts of neurana cells is increased by prolonged exposure (1 h) of the cells to PDC, and the accumulated glutamate subsequently induces selective desensitization of NMDA receptor.

The cytotoxicity of animal venoms (snakes, insects and marine animals) was measured against SNU-1 (stomach cancer cells) by dye uptake assay (MTT method). And also L-amino acid oxidase (AAO) activity of the venoms was compared. Among them, the venom from Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra) showed a strong AAO activity as well as a high potent cytotoxicity. Cytotoxic protein having a AAO was then partially purified by HPLC-GPC and two fractions (Fr. I and Fr. II) were collected. The $IC_{50}$ values of Fr. I and Fr. II were 0.19 ${\mu}g/ml$ and 1.36 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The results suggested that the cytotoxicity of king cobra venom may be due to its AAO activity.

A saline suspension of Lumbricus rubellus earthworm powder (EWP) was administered to rats (1 g/kg/day) orally for 15 days to evaluate an oral effectiveness for thrombotic disorders. Blood was drawn at 2-day interval after the administration. Several parameters for antithrombotic, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic activities were measured, including platelet aggregation, clotting time, plasmin activity and the levels of FDP (fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products), D-dimer, and t-PA antigen. It did not affect platelet aggregation induced by ADP and collagen but anticoagulant activity (aPTT and TT) was gradually increased to two-folds for the first 5 days of administration and back to normal. Fibrinolytic activity of euglobulin fraction was highest on the 11 th day after the administration. The level of FDP was elevated to be comparable to the positve control$ (5-10 {\mu}g/ml)$ after 9-day treatment. Oral administration of the EWP could also reduce the formation of venous thrombus induced with viper venom. Complete blood count (CBC) profiles were within normal ranges except for a slight increase in white blood cells after the oral administration for 15 days. These results suggested that the EWP may be valuable for the prevention and/or treatment of thrombotic diseases.

In the present study, a pharmacokinetic model to address the effects of the diffusional barrier between splanchnic bed and enterocytes on the extent of presystemic and systemic intestinal elimination of drugs was developed. The model is composed of five compartments, ie., gut lumen, enterocyte, splanchnic bed, liver and central compartments. The equations for various pharmacokinetic parameters important for estimating the quantitative differences between presystemic and systemic intestinal and hepatic elimination of drugs were derived. A simulation study demonstrated that the diffusions[ barrier present between splanchnic blood and enterocytes can have significant effects on oral bioavailability and systemic clearance of drugs. In conclusion, the model can be useful for a better understanding of the effects of diffusional barrier on the extent of administration-route dependent intestinal and hepatic elimination of drugs, especially those with high hydrophilicity and/or charge(s) under physiological conditions.

The effects of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and its novel derivative, named as HS-1030, on the proliferation of HepG2, human hepatocellular carcinoma cells were investigated. Whereas UDCA had no significant effect in a concentration range we have tested, HS-1030 inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a concentration dependent manner. Surprisingly, HS-1030 had no effect on the proliferation of Human Chang liver cell which is a normal liver cell line. We also found that proliferation-inhibitory effect of HS-1030 was due to the induction of apoptosis of HepG2 cells, which was confirmed by observing the internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and morphological changes (ie., cell shrinkage, nuclear condensation and the formation of apoptotic bodies). These results suggest that HS-1030 may be a good candidate as a drug for the treatment of liver cancer.

Recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF), a polypeptide of 53 amino acid residues, is subject to degradation by numerous enzymes, especially proteases, when it is applied on the skin for the treatment of open wound. Amastatin, aprotinin, bestatin, EDTA, EGTA, gabexate, gentamicin, leupeptin, and TPCK were investigated for the possible protease inhibitors, which may use to protect rhEGF from degradation by the enzymes in the skin. Skin homogenates containing protease inhibitors and rhEGF were incubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. After the reaction was stopped with trifluoroacetic acid, the amount of rhEGF remaining in the sample was determined with an HPLC method. The percentages of rhEGF degraded, at the skin/PBS ratio of 0.25, in the mouse, rat, and human skin homogenate were 85%, 70%, and 46%, respectively. The degree of degradation of rhEGF in the cytosolic fraction was higher than that in the membrane fraction and these enzyme reactions were completed in 30 minutes. Bestatin, EGTA, and TPCK showed significant inhibitory effects on the degradation of rhEGF in the two fractions (p<0.05), while the other protease inhibitors had no significant inhibitory effects or, even resulted in deleterious effects. Therefore, the formulation containing one or several inhibitors among these effective inhibitors would be a promising topical preparation of rhEGF for the treatment of open wound.

Changes in glutamatergic nervous activities following intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of ethylcholine aziridinium (AF64A) were studied in rats. The levels of total glutamate, those of glutamate in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in extracellular fluid (ECF) of striatum, the activities of glutamine synthetase (GS), glutaminase and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and the specific binding sites of $[^3H]$MK801 in striatum, hippocampus and frontal cortex were assessed a week after the infusion of AF64A (3 nmol) into lateral ventricle. The levels of total glutamate were significantly decreased in striatum, hippocampus and frontal cortex after AF64A treatment. Although the levels of glutamate in CSF weren't changed after AF64A treatment, the levels of glutamate in ECF of striatum were significantly decreased (62.6%). GS activities in striatum were significantly decreased. But, glutaminase activities in striatum were significantly increased. However, the activities of GS and glutaminase in frontal cortex and hippocampus weren't changed. Although GDH activities in frontal cortex were significantly decreased, those in striatum and hippocampus weren't altered. The striatal densities of $[^3H]$MK 801 binding sites were increased without changes in its affinity. Also, the specific binding sites of $[^3H]$MK801 were increased in frontal cortex but not in hippocampus. These results indicate that the glutamatergic nervous activities were altered with the infusion of AF64A into lateral ventricle. Furthermore, it suggest that the decreased levels of glutamate after AF64A treatment may affect the change in the other parameters of glutamatergic neuronal activities.

To obtain more sensitive immunoassay for methamphetamine (MA) determination, the optimum condition of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was investigated in regard to immunogens, antibody purification methods and coating tracers. Activated MA, N-(4-aminobutyl)methamphetamine (4-ABMA), was conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) or keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and used as immunogen. The antibodies were purified by protein G chromatography or various immunoaffinity chromatography-linked MA-protein ligands, such as MA-BSA, MA-KLH or MA-ovalbumin (OVA). Each purified antibody was characterized by means of sensitivity and cross-reactivity using the three MA-protein coating tracers, MA-BSA, MA-KLH and MA-OVA. The best sensitivity of each antibody was acquired with the MA-OVA tracer although the tracer concentration and the antibody titer level at optimum condition were varied. The antibody with high titer level did not always yield good sensitivity. At optimum condition, immunoaffinity chromatography-purified antibodies were better for sensitivity and for specificity than protein G-purified antibodies. The cross-reactivity of the purified antibodies seemed to be affected by immunogen structure and showed somewhat different patterns according to the immunoaffinity ligand utilized. These data show that the antibody purification method as well as choice of coating tracer and immunogen is essential for the sensitivity and specificity of EIA; the optimum condition for assay should be discovered using various methods and combinations.

For the purpose of defining the effects of the N-substituted alkyl groups on the anticonvulsant activities of N-Cbz-.alpha.-aminosuccinimides, various (R)- and (S)-N-alkyl substituted N-Cbz-.alpha.-aminosuccinimides (1 and 2) were prepared from the corresponding (R)- and (S)-N-Cbz-aspartic acid by using known reaction and were evaluated the anticonvulsant activies in the MES and PTZ tests, including their neurotoxicities. The most active compound in the MES test was (R)N-Cbz-.alpha.-amino-N-methylsuccinimide (1b) $(ED_{50}=52.5 mg/kg, Pl=3.2)$. And in case of the PTZ test, (R)-N-Cbz-.alpha.-amino-N-ethylsuccinimide (1c) was the most active compound $(ED_{50}/=32.5mg/kg, Pl=3.1)$. The order of anticonvulsant activities of these compounds against the MES test, as judged from the ED_50values for the R series (1), was N-methyl > N-isobutyl > non-substituted > N-ethyl, N-allyl > N-benzyl compound; for the S series (2) N-methyl > N-altyl > non-substituted > N-isobutyl > N-ethyl > N-benzyl compound. The anticonvulsant activities in the PTZ tests of these compounds exhibited somewhat different pattern ; for the R series (1) Nethyl > N-methyl > N-isobutyl> non-substituted > N-allyl > N-benzyl compound in order of decreasing activity; for S series (2) N-ethyl > N-allyl, non-substituted > N-isobutyl > N-methyl > N-benzyl compound in order of decreasing activity.

In order to find antiviral compounds against Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) and II (HSV2) from natural products, a convenient virus-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition assay was introduced. More than 300 fractions were prepared by solvent fractionation from sixty collected plants or purchased herbal medicines, and their anti-herpetic activities were evaluated. Among them, several medicinal plants showed potent anti-herpetic activity. Selective indexes (SI) of the EtOAc extract of Caraganae Radix (Caragana sinica) against HSV-1 and HSV-2 were more than 8.06 and 24.79, SI of the MeOH extract of Acer okamotoanum leaves were 3.92 and 3.51, SI of the $CH_{2}Cl_{2}$ extract of Veratri Rhizoma et Radix (Veratrum patulum) were 5.49 and 1.31 and SI of the MeOH extract of aerial part of Osmundae Rhizoma (Osmunda japonica) were more than 3.45 and 1.25, respectively.

Penicillin sensor was prepared by immobilizing penicillinase (Pcase) on $H^{+}$-selective carboxylated poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC-COOH) membrane or cellulose filter membrane. The immobilization techniques are as follows. Pcase was immobilized with GTH on $H^{+}$-selective PVC-COOH membrane or some amount of BSA was dropped on that membrane. Another method to make immobilization is to mix type I Pcase with GTH and drop on a cellulose filter membrane. According to immobilization techniques, there were some differences in response properties of enzyme electrodes, however, all electrodes responded to Pcase-resistant penicillin derivatives. Pcase immobilized on cellulose filter membrane with $H^{+}$-selective PVC membrane eletrode was more stable and more sensitive to penicillinase-resistant penicillin derivatives than any other immobilization techniques.

The synthesis of phenoxyalkanoic acid derivatives and their anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities are described. Analysis of structure-activity relationships shows that in trichlorophenoxy derivatives anti-edematous potency is associated with the presence of 1-thiopropyl moiety and 2 or 40aminopyridyl moiety at $R^{l}$ position contributes to the analgesic activity.

A new celastraceae alkaloid, euojaponine C has been isolated from the methanol extract of the root bark of Euonymus japonica. With the relative stereochemistry of euojaponine C established by NOESY data, the absolute stereochemistry has been determined by circular dichroism (CD) exciton chirality method. The CD of the 2, 5-bis-phenyl benzoate of triacetonide derived from the LiAlH$_{4}$, hydrolysate, euonyminol shows that the configuration of C-2 and C-5 are both R.

Substituted cinnamoyl-tyramine derivatives were synthesized by DCC-coupling of substituted cinnamic acid with tyramine or tyramine methyl-1-ether to evaluate PAF-receptor binding antagonistic activities and inhibitory activities on PAF-induced platelet aggregation with interest on structure-activity relations. The results show that 3,4-dimethoxy-cinnamoyl tyramine-amide or its methyl ether have significant PAF-receptor binding antagonistic activity and platelet anti-aggregatory activities.

The activity-guided fractionation upon the MeOH extract of the aerial parts of Sorbaria sorbifolia var. stellipila led to the isolation of two cucurbitacin-compounds, cucurbitacin D and cucurbitacin F, as active principles. Two compounds were shown to exhibit significant cytotoxicity against cultured human tumor cell lines, A-549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, XF-498, and HCT 15.

Two compounds were newly isolated from the leaves of Aloe barbadensis Mill. Their strucutres were identified as 3, 4-dihydro-3, 9-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-3-methyl-1(2H)-anthracenone(1) and 10-.betha.-D-glucopyranosyl-1, 80, 10-trihydroxy-3-(hydroxymethyl)-(R)-9(10H)-anth racenone(2) by chemical and spectral evidences.

In the course of continous work on tubers of Gastrodia elata, a new constituent, 4, 4$^{I}$-dihydroxybenzyl sulfoxide was isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction prepared from the methanol extract. The structure of the compound was identified from the elemental analytical and spectroscopic data in comparison with those of non-substituted benzyl sulfoxide.e.

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism of action of DA-5018 and to compare it with those of capasaicin, resiniferatoxin (ultrapotent capasaicin analog), and olvanil (systemic antinociceptive agent equipotent with capasaicin developed by Proctor & Gamble) (fig.1).