• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제28권10호
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• pp.1723-1729
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• 2018

The aim of this work is to investigate the protective efficacy of emodin, an active, naturally-occurring anthraquinone derivative of several traditional Chinese herbs, against Brucella abortus infection in macrophages. Brucella were incubated with different concentrations of emodin and showed that bacterial survival rates were markedly reduced in a dose-dependent manner at increasing incubation time points. Through bacterial infection assay, the highest non-cytotoxic concentration of emodin demonstrated attenuated invasion of Brucella into macrophages, however it did not inhibit the growth of these pathogens within the host cells. On the other hand, emodin effectively decreased the number of bacteria that adhered to host cells, which indicated its potential as an anti-adhesin agent. Furthermore, using immunoblotting and FACS assay for detecting MAPK signaling proteins and F-actin polymerization, respectively, the results showed that the emodin-incubated cells displayed modest reduction in the phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 and inhibition of F-actin polymerization as compared to control cells. These findings indicate the potential use of emodin as a naturally-occurring alternative method for the prevention of animal brucellosis although this requires confirmation of safe clinical doses.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.175-183
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• 2021

This study investigated the status and analyzed of stray dogs, stray cats admitted to the Jeju Animal Shelter during the year of 2015 to 2019, and the infection rates of specific diseases for abandoned dogs. In addition, in 2017 to 2019, the collected intake and outcome data were reviewed to analyze shelter capacity in terms of housing capacity (monthly daily average intake, required holding capacity, and adoption-driven capacity), staff capacity (staff hours required for daily care). Out of 24,557 dogs admitted to the shelter, owners of 1,808 dogs (7.4%) visited the shelter and found their lost dogs, while 3,612 dogs (14.7%) were adopted to new families. However, the number of puppies that were euthanized was the highest at 12,266 (49.9%), and 6,876 (28%) died either death from disease or natural causes because they were detained in shelters. The monthly daily average (MDA), which is one of the indicators for efficient population management of Jeju Animal Shelter, was found to be 17.4 for abandoned dogs and 1.7 for abandoned cats. Seasonal variations were observed for MDA, RHC, MDA adoptions, ADC, and RSDC, indicating that various strategies are needed for shelter management. This study was performed to analyze and interpret meaningful statistics for improving the efficiency of animal shelters in Jeju. However, inconsistent collection of animal statistics limited data compilation. Creation of a basic animal statistics matrix with reference to well-designed matrices from recognized professional animal shelters is essential.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.153-156
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• 1991

The study on leptospiral infection among cows was carried out to find out possible role of this domestic animal as an infection source for humans, and the magnitude of economic loss due to abortions caused by leptospiral infections among the domestic animal. Bood samples of 459 cows in May and 446 heads in November 1989 were collected from 19 villages of Kyunggi Province. These samples were cultured and serologically tested. Only one strain of leptospires, most strongly reactive to Pomona antibody, was isolated from duplicated cultures of 985 cow blood samples in EMJH medium. Serological test by MAT with seven reference strains and three locally isolated strains was positive in 12% of the sample in May and 26% in November ; positive rate increased slightly as the age of cows increased and male cows had higher positive rate, however, there was on difference in positive rate by type of cow and area. There was no statistically significant association between abortion history among cows(one yearperiod) and positive MAT. Thus it was concluded that the leptospiral infection of cows may play a role for human infection, and the leptospiral infection of cow may not be the major cause of abortion although further study is necessary for definite conclusion.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.348-355
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• 2021

Hantaan virus(HTNV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) with a case fatality rate ranging from <1 to 15 % in human. Hantavax^Ⓡ is a vaccine against the Hantavirus, which has been conditionally approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety(MFDS). However, only 50 % of volunteers had neutralizing antibodies 1 year following the boost. Effective antiviral treatments against HTNV infection are limited. Hantaviruses generally cause asymptomatic infection in adult mice. On the other hand, infection of suckling and newborn mice with hantaviruses causes lethal neurological diesease or persistant infection, which is different from the disease in humans. The development of vaccines and antiviral strategies for HTNV has been partly hampered by the lack of an efficient lethal mouse model to evaluate the efficacy of the candidate vaccines or antivirals. In this report, we established a lethal mouse model for HTNV, which may facilitate in vivo studies on the evaluation of candidate drugs against HTNV. The median lethal dose value of HTNV was calculated by probit analysis of deaths occurring within two weeks. Five groups of ten ICR mice were injected intracranially with serial 2-fold dilutions (from 50 to 3.125 PFU/head) of HTNV. Mice injected with HTNV began to die at 8 days post-infection. The lethal dose required to kill 50 % of the mice (LD₅₀) was calculated to be 2.365 PFU/head.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.48.1-48.13
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• 2022

With the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, which are randomly mutated, the dominant strains in regions are changing globally. The development of preclinical animal models is imperative to validate vaccines and therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 variants. The objective of this study was to develop a non-human primate (NHP) model for SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection. Cynomolgus macaques infected with Delta variants showed infectious viruses and viral RNA in the upper (nasal and throat) and lower respiratory (lung) tracts during the acute phase of infection. After 3 days of infection, lesions consistent with diffuse alveolar damage were observed in the lungs. For cellular immune responses, all macaques displayed transient lymphopenia and neutrophilia in the early stages of infection. SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant spike protein-specific IgM, IgG, and IgA levels were significantly increased in the plasma of these animals 14 days after infection. This new NHP Delta variant infection model can be used for comparative analysis of the difference in severity between SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and may be useful in the efficacy evaluation of vaccines and universal therapeutic drugs for mutations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.149-156
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• 2016

In this experiment, we proposed and implemented a disease forecasting system using a received signal strength indication ZigBee-based wireless network with a 3-axis acceleration sensor to detect illness at an early stage by monitoring movement of experimentally infected weaned piglets. Twenty seven piglets were divided into control, Salmonella enteritidis (SE) infection, and Escherichia coli (EC) infection group, and their movements were monitored for five days using wireless sensor nodes on their backs. Data generated showed the 3-axis movement of piglets (X-axis: left and right direction, Y-axis: anteroposterior direction, and Z-axis: up and down direction) at five different time periods. Piglets in both infected groups had lower weight gain and feed intake, as well as higher feed conversion ratios than the control group (p<0.05). Infection with SE and EC resulted in reduced body temperature of the piglets at day 2, 4, and 5 (p<0.05). The early morning X-axis movement did not differ between groups; however, the Y-axis movement was higher in the EC group (day 1 and 2), and the Z-axis movement was higher in the EC (day 1) and SE group (day 4) during different experimental periods (p<0.05). The morning X and Y-axis movement did not differ between treatment groups. However, the Z-axis movement was higher in both infected groups at day 1 and lower at day 4 compared to the control (p<0.05). The midday X-axis movement was significantly lower in both infected groups (day 4 and 5) compared to the control (p<0.05), whereas the Y-axis movement did not differ. The Z-axis movement was highest in the SE group at day 1 and 2 and lower at day 4 and 5 (p<0.05). Evening X-axis movement was highest in the control group throughout the experimental period. During day 1 and 2, the Z-axis movement was higher in both of the infected groups; whereas it was lower in the SE group during day 3 and 4 (p<0.05). During day 1 and 2, the night X-axis movement was lower and the Z-axis movement was higher in the infected piglets (p<0.05). Overall, the movement of infected piglets was altered, and the acceleration sensor could be successfully employed for monitoring pig activity.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is etiologically associated with a variety of diseases including lymphoproliferative diseases, lymphomas, carcinomas, and autoimmune diseases. Humans are the only natural host of EBV and limited species of new-world monkeys can be infected with the virus in experimental conditions. Small animal models of EBV infection, required for evaluation of novel therapies and vaccines for EBV-associated diseases, have not been available. Recently the development of severely immunodeficient mouse strains enabled production of humanized mice in which human immune system components are reconstituted and express their normal functions. Humanized mice can serve as infection models for human-specific viruses such as EBV that target cells of the immune system. This review summarizes recent studies by the author's group addressing reproduction of EBV infection and pathogenesis in humanized mice.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.377-383
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• 2021

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To understand the identity, functional characteristics and therapeutic targets of the virus and the diseases, appropriate infection models that recapitulate the in vivo pathophysiology of the viral infection are necessary. This article reviews the various infection models, including Vero cells, human cell lines, organoids, and animal models, and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. This knowledge will be helpful for establishing an efficient system for defense against emerging infectious diseases.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.259-262
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• 2012

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious disease among swine that has an important economic impact on worldwide. One clinical symptom of CSF is leukopenia, in particular lymphopenia, which is a characteristic event that occurs early in the course of CSF. Though lymphopenia associated with apoptosis, the pathogenic mechanism underlying the lymphopenia has not been well studied. To understand these mechanisms, we investigated the response of porcine B cell lines to infection with SW03, virulent strain isolated from swine tissue in Korea. This study demonstrated that SW03-infected L35 cell were induced apoptosis through the detection of activated caspase-3. In addition, SW03 infection leaded to alterations in pro-apoptotic, Bax, and anti-apoptotic, Bcl-xL proteins of Bcl-2 family. Our results would suggest that SW03-infected L35 cells induced apoptosis via intrinsic mitochondrial pathway.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.93-99
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• 2013

In 2009, a systemic megalocytivirus infection associated with high mortality was detected for the first time in cultured starry flounder Platichthys stellatus in Korea. Diseased starry flounder had pale bodies and gill coloring and enlarged spleens. Histopathological examinations revealed basophilic enlarged cells in various organs of diseased starry flounder. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on tissue samples using three published primer sets developed for the red sea bream iridovirus. PCR products were detected for all primer sets, except 1-F/1-R, which are registered by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The part of the gene corresponding to the full open reading frame encoding the viral major capsid protein (MCP) was amplified by PCR. PCR products of approximately 1,581 bp were cloned, and the nucleotide sequences were analyzed phylogenetically. The MCP gene of the starry flounder iridovirus, designated SFIV0909, was identical to that of the turbot reddish body iridovirus (AB166788).