• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.211-222
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• 1996

The conceptus which are resulted by mating between two genetically non-identical partners can be considered to be an allograft to the mother science which is not rejected by the mother's immunological attack. The present studies have been, therefore, attempted in order to elucidate the mechanism by which protection of the fete-placental allograft, between the C3H/HeJ female mouse and DBA/2 male mouse occurred. For this purpose, firstly systemic immunity was investigated by measuring T and B lymphocytes subsets. Natural killer cell activity in maternal splenic tissue and by observing the effects of pregnancy serums, progesterone and hCG on immune systems. Secondly, local immunity also investigated by measuring T lymphocytes subsets, natural killer cell activity in lymph nodes draining the uterus. The subsets of Thy-1.2$^+$ cells and L 3T4$^+$ cells decreased slightly while the subsets of Ly2$^+$ cell increased significantly compared with those of the control group beyond the mid-gestational stage. The subsets of B cell gradually in-creased from the mid-gestational stage untill delivery. The natural killer cell activity in the maternal splenic tissue significantly increased during the period of 5th to 8th day of gestation. The natural killer cell activity was significantly suppressed by the pregnancy serums and non-pregnant serums compared with those of serum-free group. The treatment of hCG significantly suppressed natural killer cell activity in the dose dependent manner (1 unit/ml-1000 unit/ml) while pro-gesterone increased the natural killer cell activity at phamarcological dose only. In the lymph nodes draining the uterus, the subsets of Thy-1.2$^+$ cells significantly increased during the period of implantation and L3T4$^+$ cell subsets slightly increased during the mid-gestational stage. The subsets of Ly2$^+$ cell increased significantly during the mid-gestational stage, but decreasing slightly be-fore delivery. The natural killer cell activity was significantly elevated after the implantation period in the lymph nodes draining the uterus. The natural killer cell activity of the lymph nodes draining the uterus was higher than those of splenic tissue during the same periods of gestation. It is therefore, concluded that during the pregnancy, the phenomena which the fete-placental allograft has not been rejected and rather protected from the maternal immunological attack might be due to local immune suppression in fete-maternal interface tissues rather than systemic immune suppression. And the subsets of Thy-1.2$^+$ cells and L3T4$^+$ cells mainly contribute to accepting allograft in early stage of pregnancy, while the subsets of Ly2$^+$ cell and the subsets of B cell increased significantly compared with those of the control group beyond the mid-gestational stage, so their role in systemic immunity and local immunity gradually increased from the mid-gestational stage until delivery.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.11
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• pp.1629-1636
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• 2015

The edible mushroom Agaricus blazei Murill is known to have many physiological functions, including antitumor, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects. Aqueous extracts were obtained by extracting A. blazei in water at $90^{\circ}C$ for 15 h, followed by spray-drying with dextran at a 70:30 ratio. In this study, we examined the immunomodulatory effect of A. blazei Murill water extract (ABM) in BALB/c mice. Mice were administered orally with 4, 20, and 100 mg/kg of ABM for 21 days. ABM-treated mice did not show significant differences in body and organ weights compare to saline-treated control mice. Splenocytes isolated from ABM-administered mice revealed similar levels of cellularity and proliferation compared to control mice, whereas they showed increased natural killer (NK) cell activity and decreased IL-4 and IL-12 production. Different from in vivo results, splenocytes isolated from normal mice showed increased proliferation and $INF-{\gamma}$ production following ABM treatment in vitro. In addition, ABM treatment enhanced macrophage proliferation and nitric oxide (NO) production in a dose-dependent manner. However, ABM had no effect on LPS-induced NO production. These results suggest that A. blazei modulates immune function by increasing NK cell activity and macrophage function.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.307-313
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• 2015

The present study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts on natural killer (NK) cells and T cells. We treated Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts at concentrations of 20, 50, 100, and $150{\mu}g/mL$ to murine NK cells co-incubated with YAC-1 cells. Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts resulted in increased NK cell activity compared to the control group at all concentrations. In the groups treated with Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts, CD69 and IFN-${\gamma}$ expression levels significantly increased compared to the control group at 100 and $150{\mu}g/mL$. In addition, Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts induced significant elevation of CD8+ T cell numbers in a dose-dependent manner. However, Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts also led to reduction of CD4+ T cell and MHCII numbers. The findings of this study suggest that Curcuma longa L. ethanol extracts could enhance the immune response through activation of NK and cytotoxic T cells due to a proliferative shift of antigen presentation from MHCII to MHCI, presumably.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1564-1570
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• 2016

The present study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan on macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, and T cell-mediated factors. Effect of high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan on cytotoxicity in macrophages was investigated. Using macrophages, cytotoxicity of high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan was evaluated by MTT assay. We treated high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan at concentrations of 10, 50, 100, 150, 200, and $250{\mu}g/mL$ in macrophages. High-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan did not affect macrophage viability. Phagocytic activity was assessed using zymosan. Activity of high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan on macrophages significantly increased as compared with zymosan. We treated high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan to murine NK cells co-incubated with YAC-1 cells. High-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan resulted in significantly increased activity of NK cells as compared with the control. In addition, treatment of macrophages with high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan resulted in significantly increased activity of T cell-mediated cytokine (IL-2, IL-12, $IFN-{\gamma}$, and $TNF-{\alpha}$) levels and CD4+/CD8+ T cells as compared with the control. In conclusion, high-purity ${\beta}$-1.3/1.6-glucan could enhance the immune response through activation of macrophages, NK cells, and T cell-mediated factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.257-262
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• 1998

Benzo(a)pyrene(B(a)P), an extensively studied polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon(PAH), is a common contaminant produced through the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal, and from the exhaust products of internal combustion engines. It produces a wide range of toxicities, including carcinogenicity in experimental animals. B(a)P has been shown to suppress systemic immunity in experimental animals, which may contribute to the growth of the chemical-induced tumors. Using colorimetric MTT assay natural killer(NK) cell-mediated growth inhibition of tomor cell was measured in normal and B(a)P-exposed C57BL/6 mice. Non-adherent splenocytes of normal or B(a)P-exposed mice were cultured with Yac-1 cells at four different effector/target(E/T) cell ratios ranging from 200/1, 100/1, 50/1, and 25/1 in an assay volume of 0.1 ml. After the optical density of culture wells containing MTT solution was measured at a wavelength of 540 nm, the percentage of dead cells relative to the control target cell number was calculated. The NK activity of B(a)P-exposed mice was markedly lower than that of non-exposed mice group at all E/T ratios. These results indicated that suppression of NK cell activity may play a role in allowing for the growth of tumors.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship of symptom distress and natural killer cell cytotoxicity in breast cancer patients who had been radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy after surgery. Symptom distress measured by modified Lee's(1994) physical symptom questionnaire. For measuring the natural killer cell cytotoxic activity. 8ml to 10ml blood was collected from the subjects. Mononuclear cell was isolated by centrifuge of the blood and cultured by putting $Cr^{51}$, and reacted with target cell, K562 cell. Amount of $Cr^{51}$ was measured, and %lysis was calculated. The results were as follows. 1) Symptom distress score was 42.18, which is moderate symptom distress. 2) Natural killer cell cytotoxic activities were 42.18%lysis(effector : target cell ratio=100 : 1) and 28.05%lysis(effector : target cell ratio=50 : 1). 3) Correlation coefficients of symptom distress and natural killer cell cytotoxic activity were $-.134{\sim}-.461$. Though significant correlation was not found between total score of symptom distress and natural killer cell cytotoxic activity, 3('pain' 'feel hot on radiation site' and 'difficulty in breathing') of 19 symptom distress items and natural killer cell cytotoxic activity showed significant negative correlation(p<.05). These findings suggest that 1) breast cancer patients who had been radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy after surgery have moderate symptom distress and decreased natural killer cell cytotoxic activity. 2) The symptom distress was not related to natural killer cell cytotoxic activity.

• The Journal of Dong Guk Oriental Medicine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 1998

Cyclosporin A(CsA) is a selective immunosuppressive agent that has been credited with improved survival of solid organ allografts. Lymph node of BALB/C mouse administered CsA immunohistochemically observed to understand immunosuppressive effects of CsA on T lymphocytes, IL-2 receptors, and natural killer NK cells in lymph node. CsA orally administered daily for 10days at the dose 45mg/kg/day/. The lymph node were obtained at day 3, 7, and 14 after CsA administration and embedded with paraffin, and then stained by following ABC method that used monoclonal antibody including L3T4(CD4), Ly2(CD8), IL-2R(CD25), and NK-1.1(CD56). There were little changes of reactive degree and number of helper T lymphocytes, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, IL-2 receptors, and NK cells at day 3 after CsA administration, but they began to decrease at day 7. These decrease were greatest at day 14. The helper T lymphocytes. cytotoxic T lymphocytes, IL-2 receptors, and NK cells distributed in paracortex and medullary sinus. These results indicated that the secretion of IL-2 began to decrease at day 7 after CsA administration and subsequently to suppress T lymphocytes and NK cell as components of cell-mediated immunity.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.59-68
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of exercise program on natural killer cell cytotoxic activity(NKCA) in breast cancer patients who had been radiation therapy after surgery. The subjects in the experimental group consisted of 11 breast cancer patients, while the subjects in the control group consisted of 15. Subjects in the experimental group participated in exercise program for 8 weeks. Exercise program consisted of shoulder stretching, arm weight training and treadmill walking exercise. They started to exercise on treadmill for 20 minutes per day, 3 times a week at 40% of maximum heart rate, and increased intensity and duration of exercise so that they were running 30 minutes/day at 60% of maximum heart rate from the 3rd week to the 8th week. Natural killer cell cytotoxic activity were determined before and after the exercise program. For measuring the natural killer cell cytotoxic activity, 8ml to 10ml blood was collected from the subjects. Mononuclear cell was isolated by centrifuge of the blood and cultured by putting $Cr^{51}$, and reacted with target cell, K562 cell. Baseline demographic and medical data were compared between groups with the Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test. For effects of the exercise program, repeated measures ANOVA was used. The result was as follows; Natural killer cell cytotoxic activity(NKCA) in experimental group comparing with control group significantly increased after the exercise program in case of effector cell : target cell ratio is 100 : 1(p<0.05). The above result suggest that the exercise program for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy after breast surgery may increase the natural killer cell cytotoxic activity.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2010

Objective: To testify whether the increased peripheral blood natural killer (pbNK) cells fraction and their cytolytic activity could coincide with patient's history of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and to evaluate these factors are can be valuable diagnostic markers in RSA. Methods: Women with a history of RSA comprised the patient group (n=35). Normal fertile women, who were experienced at least one healthy term birth without history of infertility or recurrent miscarriage, were included as the healthy control group (n=15). The pbNK cells of $CD3^-/CD56^+/CD16^+$ and their cytolytic activities against K562 cells were measured by flow cytometry and the values were compared between study and control groups. Results: Proportions of pbNK cells among peripheral blood monocytes (PBMC) ($14.2{\pm}5.2$ vs. $9.4{\pm}3.7%$, p=0.002, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 7.8) was significantly higher in the patient group. The odds ratio of having RSA history was increased as 8.4 folds (59% of sensitivity, 80% of specificity, and 95% CI: 2.0 to 35.8) in patients who showed pbNK cells fraction above 12.1% which was determined as cut-off value by using ROC curve analysis. The cytolytic activities of pbNK cells which measured by three different ratio of effecter pbNK cells to target K562 cells and calculated by the percent of cytolytic K562 cells, were significantly higher in study group than that of control group (in 50:1 ratio, $48.3{\pm}19.0$ vs. $31.3{\pm}11.9%$, p=0.002; in 25:1 ratio, $37.0{\pm}18.1$ vs. $20.2{\pm}9.2%$, p<0.001; in 12.5:1 ratio, $23.5{\pm}12.7$ vs. $12.4{\pm}7.3%$, p=0.001). With the cut-off values of cytolytic activity of pbNK cells as 43.1% (50:1), 26.9% (25:1), and 17.4% (12.5:1) each, the risk of having RSA history was increased by 10.0, 11.4, and 15.0 folds in patients who had increased in each effector of pbNK to target of K562 cells ratio. Conclusion: The analysis of pbNK cells fraction and their cytolytic activity can be valuable diagnostic markers for RSA. We are going to planning the large scaled studies which include the data of obstetric outcomes in subsequent pregnancies to clarify our results of this study.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.469-474
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• 1989

The changes of plasma prostaglandin $E_2$ level, natural killer cell activity and tumor cell growth were assayed after transplantation of EL-4 leukemia cells in C57BL/6 mice. The results were summarized as follows; 1. Plasma prostaglandin $E_2$ level was increased in EL-4 bearing mice, but indomethacin treated mice group showed low level. 2. The tumor-derived prostaglandin $E_2$ inhibited the post-target binding cytolytic process of natural killer activity. 3. Indomethacin inhibited the growth of prostaglandin secreting EL-4 solid tumor.