Insulin stimulates glucose uptake in muscle and adipose cells primarily by recruiting GLUT4 from an intracellular storage pool to the plasma membrane. Dysfunction of this process known as insulin resistance causes hyperglycemia, a hallmark of diabetes and obesity. Thus the understanding of the mechanisms underlying this process at the molecular level may give an insight into the prevention and treatment of these health problems. GLUT4 in rat adipocytes, for example, constantly recycles between the cells surface and an intracellular pool by endocytosis and exocytosis, each of which is regulated by an insulin-sensitive and GLUT4-selective sorting mechanism. Our working hypothesis has been that this sorting mechanism includes a specific interaction of a cytosolic protein with the GLUT4 cytoplasmic domain. Indeed, a synthetic peptide of the C-terminal cytoplasmic domain of GLUT4 induces an insulin-like GLUT4 recruitment when introduced in rat adipocytes. Relevance of these observations to a novel euglycemic drug design is discussed.

The oxidation-reduction potentials of cosmetic raw materials, showing tyrosinase inhibitory action, and phenolic compounds structurally similar to L-tyrosine were determined by cylcic voltammetry. The voltammograms obtained could be classified ito 4 patterns (patterns 1-4). Patterns 1, characterized by oxidation and reduction peaks as a pair, was observed with catechol, hydroquinone or phenol, and pattern 2 exhibiting another oxidation peak in addition to oxidation and reduction peaks as a pair was found with arbutin, kojic acid, resorcinol, methyl p-hydroxybenzoate and L-tyrosine as the substrate of tyrosinase. Pattern 3 with an independent oxidation peak only was expressed by L-ascorbic acid, and pattern 4 with a reduction peak only at high potentials, by hinokitiol. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity of these compounds was also evaluated using the 50% inhibitory concentration ($IC_{50}$) and the inhibition constant (Ki) as parameters. Hinokitiol, classified as patterns 4, showed the highest inhibitory activity (lowest $IC_{50}$ and Ki). Hydroquinone showing the second highest activity belonged to pattern 1, which also included compounds exhibiting pattern 2 was relatively low with Ki values being in the order of 10-4 M. Although there was no consistent relationship between oxidation-reduction potentials and tyrosinase inhibitory action, the voltammetry data can be used as an additional index to establish the relationship between the structure and the tyrosine inhibitory activity.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent professional antigen-presenting cells (APC) capable of inducing the primary T cell response to antigen. Although tumor cells express target antigens, they are incapable of stimulating a tumor-specific immune response due to a defect in the costimulatory signal that is required for optimal activation of T cells. In this work, we describe a new approach using tumor-DC coculture to improve the antigen presenting capacity of tumor cells which does not require a source of tumor-associated antigen. Immunization of a weakly immunogenic and progressive tumor cocultured with none marrow-derived DCs generated an effective tumor vaccine. Immunization with the cocutured DCs was able to induce complete protectiv immunity against tumor challenges and was effective for the induction of tumor-specific CTL (cytotoxic T lymphocyte) activity. Furthermore, high NK cell activity was observed in mice in which tumors were rejected. In addition, immunization with tumor-pulsed DC s induced delayed tumor growth, but not tumor eradication in tumor-bearing mice. Our results demonstrate that coculture of DCs with tumors generated antitumor immunity due to the NK cell activation as well as tumor-specific T cell. This approach would be used for designing tumor vaccines using DCs when the information about tumor antigens is limited.

Possible antiinflammatory effect of eudesmin were examined by assessing the effects on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-$\alpha$ production and lymphocyte proliferation as well as cytotoxicity against murine and human macrophages. the compound significantly inhibited TNF-$\alpha$, production by lipopolysaccaride (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage RAW264.7 without displaying cytotoxicity suggesting that eudesmin may inhibit TNF-$\alpha$ production without any interference of normal cell function. It also significantly attenuated T cell proliferation stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A) in a dose-dependent manner.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial disorder with unknown etiology and pathogenesis. DA-6034,$ 7-carboxymethyloxy-3^{l}, 4^{l},$ 5-trimethoxy flavone, is a synthetic flavonoid known to possess anti-inflammatory activity. This study was performed to evaluate the oral therapeutic effect of DA-6034 in three experimental animal models of IBD : two chemical-induced IBD models of rats and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 transgenic rat model known to develop spontaneous colitis without the use of exogenous agents. Acute chemical colitis was induced by intracolonic instillation of 1.2 ml of 4% acetic acid solution. Prednisolone (1 mg/kg), sulfasalazine (100 mg/kg) and DA-6034 (0.3~3 mg/kg) were orally administered twice daily for 6 days in these rats. In addition, chronic chemical colitis was induced by intracolonic administration of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) 30 mg in 50% ethanol and agents were orally administered for 6 or 20 days. In chemical-induced IBD models, all of these agents reduced the severity of colitis and specially, DA-6034 (3 mg/kg) showed more potent effect than other drugs in macroscopic lesion score. In HLA-B27 transgenic rats, DA-6034 (3 mg/kg) and prednisolone (0.5 gm/kg) were treated orally twice daily for 6 weeks. The HLA-B27 transgenic rats showed only mild colitis, compared with the chemical-induced colitis models. DA-6034 ameliorated the loose stool and decreased microscopic damage, which is the important indicator of this model. In conclusion, oral therapy of DA-6034 attenuated the macroscopic and histologic damages of the colon in all three experimental models of IBD, which suggest that DA-6034 could be a promising drug in the treatment of IBD.

One of the potential causes of age-related neuronal damage can be reactive oxygen species (ROS), as the brain is particularly sensitive to oxidative damage. In the present study, we investigated the effects of aging and dietary restriction (DR) on ROS generation, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzymes in cerebrum, hippocampus, and cerebellum of 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old rats. ROS generation significantly increased with age in cerebrum of ad libitum (AL) rats. However, no significant age-difference was observed in hippocampus and cerebellum. DR significantly decreased ROS generation in cerebrum and cerebellum at 24-months. On the other hand, the increased lipid peroxidation of AL rats during aging was significantly reduced by DR in all regions. Our results further showed that catalase activity decreased with age in cerebellum of AL rats, which was reversed by DR, although SOD activity had little change by aging and DR in all regions. In a similar way, glutathione (GSH) peroxidase activity increased with age in cerebrum of AL rats, while DR suppressed it at 24-months. These data further support the evidence that the vulnerability to oxidative stress in the brain is region-specific.

Effects of several durgs on rabbit renal proximal tubules were examined for the applicability of renal dipeptidase (RDPase, EC 3. 4. 13. 11) release as a model system to study nephrotoxicity. The proximal tubule prepared by the method of Taub (1990) released RDPase spontaneously in the control experiment which was confirmed by Western blotting. RDPase was also released form cisplatin, lipopolysaccardie (LPS), and indomethacin-treated tubules. Gentamicin inhibited RDPase release in a concentration-dependent manner. This RDPase release system may not be a general model to screen nephrotoxicity but could be a useful source of RDPase purification in a simple and inexpensive way.

A series of disubstituted 4,5-polymethylenepyrazoles were synthesized and evaluated their inhibitory activities against COX-2. Some compounds showed strong (0.3 nM) inhibitory activity on COX-2 and were found somewhat selective (up to 16) on COX-2 over COX-1.

Five 1-azzanthraquinone-3-carboxamides were synthesized and evaluated in vitro cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines. The most active compound, 7b, exhibited cytotoxic activity comparable to doxorubicin.

Thirty-four glutathione conjugates of 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinones (DMNQ) were synthesized and their structure was determined. The yield of GSH conjugate was dependent on size of alkyl group; the longer the size of alkyl group was, the lower was the yield. It was also found that the length of alkyl side chain influenced the chemical shift of quinonoid protons; the quinonoid protons of 2-glutathionyl DMNQ derivatives with R=H to propyl, 6.51-6.59 ppm vs. other ones with R=butyl to heptyl, 6.64-6.68 ppm. this was explained to be due to a folding effect of longer alkyl group. Glutathione (GSH) reacted with DMNQ derivative first to form a 1,4-adduct (2- or 3-glutathionyl-1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-dimethoxynaphthalenes) and then the adduct was autooxidized to 2- or 3-glutathionyl-DMNQ derivatives. Moreover, GSH reduced DMNQ derivatives to their hydrogenated products. It was suggested that such an organic reaction might play an important role for a study of metabolism or toxicity of DMNQ derivative sin the living cells.

The quaternary ammonium cephalosporin derivatives were prepared with various pyridines substituted at the 3 or/and 4 position. Their in vitro antibacterial activities were determined and substituent effect on pyridine nucleus was studied. Preparation of substituted pyridines are also described.

Sufentanil, a potent anilidopiperidine analgesic, was synthesized from a simple thiophenylethylamine via six sequence. The key parts of this synthesis involved an efficient construction of thiophenylethylpiperidone by aminomethano desilylation-cyclization followed by Swern oxidation and a direct regioselective N-nucleophilic spiral epoxide cleavage with aniline promoted by Lewis acids.

In continued studies on cultivated Korean rhubarb rhizomes (Rheum undulatum), three known stillbenes (desoxyrhapontigenin, rhapontigenin, piceatannol) have been screened for activity on blood platelet aggregation. Both rhapontigenin and desoxyrhapontigenin exhibited strong inhibition on the aggregation induced by arachidonic acid collagen. However, piceatannol did not show inhibition. These inhibitory effects may partially contribute to anti-blood stagnancy activity of rhubarb.

The inhibitory effects of the constituents of Gastrodia elata Bl. (GE) on glutamate-induced apoptosis in human neuronal cells were investigated using IMR32 human neuroblastoma cells. Glutamate (GLU) induced DNA fragmentation, a hallmark of apoptosis, in a dose-dependent manner. GLU also induced a slow and sustained increase in intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. Treatment with EGTA, an extracellular $Ca^{2+}$ chelator, in a nominal $Ca^{2+}$ -free buffer solution abolished the GLU-induced intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ increase, indicating that GLU stimulated Ca2+ influx pathway in the IMR32 cells. BAPTA, an intracellualr $Ca^{2+}$ chelator, significantly inhibited the GLU-induced apoptosis assessed by the flow cytometry measuring hypodiploid DNA content indicative of apoptosis, implying that intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ rise may mediate the apoptotic action of GLU. Vanillin (VAN) and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde(p-HB), known constituents of GE, significantly inhibited both intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ rise and apoptosis induced by GLU. These results suggest that the apoptosis-inhibitory actions of the constituents of GE may account, at least in part, for the basis of their antiepileptic activities. These results further suggest that intracelluarl $Ca^{2+}$ signaling pathway may be a molecular target of the constituents of GE.

In bioassay-guided search for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitory compounds from higher plants of South Korea, two $\beta$-carboline (2) have been isolated form the cortex of Melia azedarach var. japonica. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 to 2 showed marked inhibitory activity of iNOS on LPS-and interferon-${\gamma}$-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.

A shkionin derivative was isolated from the roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon with silica gel column chromatography and preparative TLC. The structure of the isolated pigment was identified as propionylshikonin by NMR and mass spectrometric analysis. The isolation of propionylshiknin was for the first time in the nature.

Two new furanolignans (3, 5), together with three known lignans (1, 2, 4,), were isolated from the stem of Lindera obtusiloba (Lauraceae). The structures of the compounds were determined as actifolin (1), pluviatilol (2), 5,6-dihydroxymatairesinol (3), (+)-syringaresinol (4), and $(+)-9^{l}$-O-trans-feruloyl-5,51-dimethoxylariciresinol (5) on the basis of physicochemical and spectroscopic evidences. Compounds 1, 2, 3, and 5 showed cytotoxicity against a small panel of human tumor cell lines with values of $3.40{\sim}19.27 {\mu}g/ml$.

A study was carried out to evaluate flavonol glycosides in leaves of Symplocarpus renifolius (Araceae). From the water fraction of the MeOH extract, three new flavonol glycosides were isolated along with three known compounds, Kaempferol-3-O-$\beta$-glucopyranosyl-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosy-1-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside, and caffeic acid. The structures of the new flavonol glycosides were elucidated by chemical and spectral analyses a quercetin-3-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 2)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-7-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosdie, and quercetin-3-O$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-($1{\rightarrow}2$)-$\beta$-D-glycopyranosyl-7-O-($6^{IIII}$-trans-caffeoyl)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranoside.

Seven known oleanolic acid glycosides (1-7) were isolated form the MeOH extract of Tiarella polyphylla. The structures were identified to be 3-O-($\beta$-glucopyranosyl) oleanolic acid (1), 3-O-[$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 3)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl] oleanolic acid (2), 3-O-D-[$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 2)-$\beta$-D-glycopyranosyl] oleanolic acid (3), 3-O-[$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 3)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl] oleanolic acid 28-O-$\beta$D-glucopyranosyl ester (4), 3-O-[$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 2)-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl] oleanolic acid 28-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl ester (5), 3-O-[a-L-rahmnopyranosyl-(1 3)-$\beta$-D-glucururonopyranosyl] oleanolic acid (6), and 3-O-[$\alpha$-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 3)-$\alpha$-D-glucuronopyranosyl] oleanolic acid 28-O-$\alpha$-D-glucopyranosyl ester (7) on the basis of physicochemical and spectral data. These triterpene glycosides were tested for the anti-complement activity and hemolytic activity. Bisdesmosidic saponins, 4, 5, and 7, showed anti-complement activity; in contrast, monodesmosidic saponins, 1-3, and 6, showed direct hemolytic activity. Methyl esterified monodesmosidic saponins showed anti-complement activity at a low concentration and hemolytic activity at a high concentration.

Total synthesis of ($\pm$)-homoepibatidine (2), which contains the 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1] octane ring system, was achieved by using palladium-catalyzed Heck-type coupling reaction from 3.