• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.391-402
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• 2022

Background: The mechanism of peripheral axon transport in neuropathic pain is still unclear. Chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) and its receptor (C-X-C chemokine receptor type 5, CXCR5) as well as GABA transporter 1 (GAT-1) play an important role in the development of pain. The aim of this study was to explore the axonal transport of CXCL13/CXCR5 and GAT-1 with the aid of the analgesic effect of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) in rats. Methods: Chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat models were established. BTX-A was administered to rats through subcutaneous injection in the hind paw. The pain behaviors in CCI rats were measured by paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latencies. The levels of CXCL13/CXCR5 and GAT-1 were measured by western blots. Results: The subcutaneous injection of BTX-A relieved the mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia induced by CCI surgery and reversed the overexpression of CXCL13/CXCR5 and GAT-1 in the spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia (DRG), sciatic nerve, and plantar skin in CCI rats. After 10 mmol/L colchicine blocked the axon transport of sciatic nerve, the inhibitory effect of BTX-A disappeared, and the levels of CXCL13/CXCR5 and GAT-1 in the spinal cord and DRG were reduced in CCI rats. Conclusions: BTX-A regulated the levels of CXCL13/CXCR5 and GAT-1 in the spine and DRG through axonal transport. Chemokines (such as CXCL13) may be transported from the injury site to the spine or DRG through axonal transport. Axon molecular transport may be a target to enhance pain management in neuropathic pain.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.33-42
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• 2011

Zinc plays a key role in genetic expression, cell division, and cell growth and is essential for the functions of more than 450 metalloenzyme. There are high concentrations of zinc in pigment epithelium in bullfrog eye. Zinc deficiency causes night blindness and abnormal dark adaptation. The purpose of this study was to identify ERG (electroretinogram) b-wave sensitivity during light and dark adaptation in bullfrog retina after zinc and zinc chelators treatment such as histidine and TSQ (N-(6-methoxy-8-qunolyl)-p-toluenesulfon amide). Especially, we focused whether histidine act as a zinc chelator in the Muller cell. The results of our study are summarized as follows: 1) Both zinc and histidine elevated ERG b-wave amplitude and threshold in Muller cells by accelerating rhodopsin regeneration time and increased a-peak absorbance during light adaptation. 2) TSQ reduced those by prolonging rhodopsin regeneration time and decrement of a-peak absorbance during light adaptation. 3) Zinc shortened rhodopsin regeneration time and prolonged a-peak absorbance. These results suggested that histidine may act as a zinc-mediated transporter in presynaptic Muller cell membrane rather than zinc chelator and acts as a GABA-receptor inhibitor which blocks $Cl^-$ influx to the postsynapse.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.102-102
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• 2001

Taurine (2-ethaneaminosulfonic acid) is one of the major intracellular ${\beta}$ -amino acids in mammals and is required for a number of biological processes including membrane stabilization, osmoregulation, antioxidation, detoxification, modulation of calcium flux and neurornodulation. The taurine transporter (TAUT) which contains 12 hydrophobic membrane-spanning domains has been cloned from dog kidney, rat brain, mouse brain, human thyroid, placenta and retina. In this study, The TAUT cDNA from the human intestinal epithelial cell, HT-29 was cloned and sequenced. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to amplify partial cDNA encoding human intestinal TAUT. The coding region of the PCR product was 732 bp long. The primers were designed to encode highly conserved amino acid sequences near the transmembrane domains III (IPYFIFLF) and Ⅵ (KYKYNSYR) both in human and mouse. The TAUT cDNA amplified was ligated into the pGEX 4T-1 expression vector. The resulting sequence of human intestinal TAUT cDNA (Accession number of NCBI Genebank is AF346763) was identical to the sequences of the TAUTs previously determined in the human placenta and retina except 3 base pairs from that of the reported human thyroid. TAUT specific antibodies were generated to use them as biological tools in the studies of the biological role of TAUT. Peptides of 149-162 amino acid residue (14 amino acids) of the TAUT were synthesized. The synthetic peptide used in this study was LFQSFQKELPWAHC. This region was chosen not only to avoid putative glycosylation sites but also to exclude regions of known homology with GABA transporters in the extracellular hydrophilic domains. The synthetic peptide, TAUT-1 was conjugated with carrier protein, kehole lympet hemocyanin (KLH) to use as an antigen. When used for immunization on a rabbit to produce polyclonal antiserum, the conjugates elicited high -titered specific anti-TAUT-1 antibodies, which reacted well with the ovalbumin (OVA) conjugated peptides in ELISA. The KLH-conjugated peptide was also used as immunizing antigen in BALB/c mice to produce TAUT specific monoclonal antibodies. From the culture supernatant of the hybridoma, the specificity of anti-TAUT-1 monoclonal antibodies was confirmed by ELISA. Further applications of more tools in TAUT expression analysis will be performed such as western blotting and flow cytometry.