• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.69-81
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• 2013

Objectives In this study, effects of Macmundongtang (MMT) on ATP or TNF-${\alpha}$ or PMA or EGF induced MUC5AC mucin production and gene expression from human airway epithelial cells and the increase in airway epithelial mucosubstances of rats were investigated. Materials and Methods Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated for 30min in the presence of MMT and treated with ATP ($200{\mu}M$) or PMA (10 ng/ml) or EGF (25 ng/ml) or TNF-${\alpha}$ (0.2 nM) for 24hrs, to assess the effect of MMT both on ATP- or PMA- or EGF- or TNF-${\alpha}$-induced MUC5AC mucin production using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and on gene expression by the same inducers using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). At the same time, hypersecretion of airway mucus was induced by exposure of rats to SO2 during 3 weeks. Effect of orally-administered MMT during 2 weeks on increase in airway epithelial mucosubstances from tracheal goblet cells of rats was assesed using histopathological analysis after staining the epithelial tissue with PAS-alcian blue. Possible cytotoxicity of MMT was assessed by investigating the potential damage of kidney and liver functions by measuring serum GOT/GPT activities and serum BUN concentration of rats and the body weight gain during experiment, after administering MMT orally. Results (1) MMT did not only inhibit but also increased MUC5AC mucin productions and expression levels of MUC5AC gene from NCI-H292 cells. (2) MMT did not decrease the amount of intraepithelial mucosubstances of trachea of rats. (3) MMT did not show renal and hepatic toxicities and did not affect body weight gain of rats during experiment. Conclusions The result from the present study suggests that MMT might normalize the production and gene expression of airway mucin observed in various respiratory diseases accompanied by yin-deficiency, without in vivo toxicity to liver and kidney functions after oral administration.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.95-106
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• 1998

The prevalence of primary liver carcinoma (PLC) is relatively high in Clonorchis sinensis (CS) endemic areas in Korea. PLC is a malignant tumor which can be subclassified into hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma(CC). CC has been associated with clonorchiasis, but it is unclear whether clonorchiasis is associated with hepatocarcinogenesis. This experiment was designed to investigate relationships between clonorchiasis and early changes of hepatocarcinogenesis. Sixteen Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 150g were divided into two groups of 8 rats in each. All rats were fed choline-devoid(CD) diet for 4 weeks. Group 1 was given 0.015-0.020% diethylnitrosamine(DEN) as drinking water for 1 week. After one week, the rats were treated orally with 1% N-acetylaminofluorene(AAF) (5 times per week for 2 weeks). Group 2 was treated equally to group 1 except for CS infection during AAF treatment. Two rats in each group were sacrificed at 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th week of the experiment. Livers were stained with OV -6, proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) and GST-p. Results were as follows: Group 2 livers showed more oval cell proliferation in parenchyma and portal areas at the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th weeks than did livers of group 1 (p＜0.01). PCNA was mostly localized in oval cell populations, rather than hepatocytes and biliary cells. The ratio of oval cells to hepatocytes was much higher in group 2 than in group l(p＜0.01 The ratio of hepatocytes to biliary cells is higher in group 2 than in group 1 (p＜0.05), More group 2 acidophilic foci reacted to GST-p monoclonal antibody than in the noninfected group. It appeared that CS infection promoted potentially precancerous acidophilic foci and oval cell proliferation.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.259-265
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• 2012

In this study, we determined total polyphenol content(TPC) and total flavonoid content(TFC) of extracts from Korean cabbage and cabbage using a spectrophotometric method as well as glucosinolates concentration by HPLC. TPCs of Korean cabbage and cabbage extracts were 308.48 ${\mu}g$ GAE/g dry weight and 344.75 ${\mu}g$ GAE/g dry weight, respectively. TFCs of Korean cabbage and cabbage extracts were 5.33 ${\mu}g$ QE/g dry weight and 5.95 ${\mu}g$ QE/g dry weight, respectively. We found six different glucosinolates, namely progoitrin, glucoalyssin, gluconapin, glucobrassicanapin, glucobrassicin and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin in the Korean cabbage extract. In the cabbage extract, there was four glucosinolates, namely glucoraphanin, sinigrin, glucobrassicin and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin. We determined the cytotoxic effect of Korean cabbage and cabbage extracts in AGS human stomach cancer cells, HepG2 human hepatic cancer cells and LNCaP human prostate cancer cells by MTT assay. Dose-dependent relationships were found between the extract concentrations and cancer cell growth inhibition. The overall results support that both Korean cabbage and cabbage, the major vegetables in Korea, contain bioactive compounds such as polypheol, flavonoids as well as glucosinolates and they may play a positive role in cancer prevention.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.964-971
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• 2019

Hepatic lipid accumulation and insulin resistance increases in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Piperine is a major compound found in black pepper (Piper nigrum) and long pepper (P. longum). Piperine has been used in fine chemical for its anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. However, the signaling-based mechanism of piperine and its role as an inhibitor of lipogenesis and insulin resistance in human hepatocyte cells remains ill-defined. In the present study, we explored the effects of piperine on lipid accumulation and insulin resistance, and explored the potential underlying molecular mechanisms in palmitate-treated HepG2 cells. Piperine treatment resulted in a significant reduction of triglyceride content. Furthermore, piperine treatment decreased palmitate-treated intracellular lipid deposition by inhibiting the lipogenic target genes, sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) and fatty acid synthase (FAS); whereas the expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase (CPT-1) and phosphorylation of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC) gene involved in fatty acid oxidation was increased. Moreover, piperine also inhibited the phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 (Ser307). Piperine treatment modulated palmitate-treated lipid accumulation and insulin resistance in HepG2 cells with concomitant reduction of lipogenic target genes, such as SREBP-1 and FAS, and induction of CPT-1-ACC and phosphorylation of IRS-1 (Tyr632)-Akt pathways. Therefore, piperine represents a promising treatment for the prevention of lipid accumulation and insulin resistance.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2010

This study was conducted to determine the effects of vitamin C on the activity of liver function enzymes and electromicrographic changes in white rats treated with aflatoxin $B_1(AFB_1)$ or X-ray and $AFB_1$. Six week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: a control group, $AFB_1$ treated group, $AFB_1$ treated group with vitamin C, X-ray and $AFB_1$ co-treated group, X-ray and $AFB_1$ co-treated group with vitamin C. On the first day of the experiment, only one dose of X-rays was exposed to the entire liver at 1,500 cGy. Next, vitamin C was injected at 10 mg/kg body weight by intraperitoneal injection, followed 1 hr later by the administration of 0.4 mg/kg of $AFB_1$ by intraperitoneal injection. These treatments were then administered every three days over a period of 15 days. On the 16th day of treatments, the animals were sacrificed. Analysis of the activity of the liver function enzymes, GOT, ALK phatase and LDH, in the sera of rats revealed that they were somewhat increased by $AFB_1$ treatment, X-ray and $AFB_1$ co-treatment when compared to the control group. Furthermore, the activity of these enzymes decreased in response to administration of vitamin C. Especially, the levels of GOT were remarkably decreased in the $AFB_1$ treated group treated with vitamin C when compared to the group treated with $AFB_1$ alone(p<0.001). Electromicrographic analysis revealed cloudy swelling, necrosis, vesicular degeneration and fat accumulation of hepatocytes in response to treatment with $AFB_1$ or co-treatment with X-ray and $AFB_1$. However, the destruction of hepatic cells was considerably lower in the vitamin C-treated group. These results indicate that vitamin C had ameliorating effects on the hepatic cell damage.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 1991

Fischer 344 rats aged six weeks were diYided into four groups and group 1, 2, and 3 of rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of diethylnitrosamine at 200 mg/kg body weight and group 4 was given saline alone. Two weeks after beginning of the experiment, group 1 and 2 of rats were begun to feed on diets containing 0.02% 2-acetylaminofluorene as a promoter for four weeks. Three weeks after beginning of the experiment, all groups were performed partial hepatectomy. During the last two weeks, group 1 and 3 of rats were received subcutaneously 3 consecutive weekly doses of iron dextran at 0.125 ml/100 g body weight. Subcutaneous injection of iron dextran resulted in hepatic siderosis in group 1 and 3 of rats. Pre neoplastic nodules were identified histopathologically by two markers, resistance to exogenous iron accumulation and glutathione S-transeferase placental form (GST-P) activity, while early carcinogen induced foci were hardly resistant to iron accumulation and though a few lesions were identified, it could hardly be distincted from normal hepatocytes of surroundings. However, GST-P positive nodules as well as foci were clearly distincted from normal hepatic cells of surroundings. In the quantitative analysis of carcinogen-induced nodules and foci, more lesions were detected by immunohistochemical method for GST-P than by prussian blue staining for resistant to iron accumulation. It is concluded that immunohistochemical marker for GST-P is more sensitive and reliable than iron-resistance marker, and that iron-resistance is not useful marker for early detection of carcinogen-induced hepatic lesions.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.815-822
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• 2020

Background: Recently, beneficial roles of ginsenoside F2 (GF2), a minor constituent of Panax ginseng, have been demonstrated in diverse inflammatory diseases. However, its roles in alcoholic liver inflammation and injury have not been clearly understood. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanism by which GF2 ameliorated alcoholic liver injury. Methods: To induce alcoholic liver injury, C57BL/6J wild type (WT) or interleukin (IL)-10 knockout (KO) mice were orally administered with ethanol (3 g/kg) or ethanol-containing GF2 (50 mg/kg) for 2 wk. Liver injury and infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils were evaluated by serum biochemistry and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The changes of hepatic immune cells were assessed by flow cytometry and polymerase chain reaction analysis. In vitro differentiation of naïve T cells was performed. Results: GF2 treatment significantly attenuated alcoholic liver injury, in which infiltrations of inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils were decreased. Moreover, the frequencies of Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells (Tregs) increased but IL-17-producing T (Th17) cells decreased in GF2-treated mice compared to controls. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of IL-10 and Foxp3 was significantly increased, whereas IL-17 mRNA expression was suppressed in GF2-treated mice. However, these beneficial roles of GF2 were not observed in GF2-treated IL-10 KO mice, suggesting a critical role of IL-10. Similarly, GF2 treatment suppressed differentiation of naïve T cells into Th17 cells by inhibiting RORgt expression and stimulating Foxp3 expression. Conclusion: The present study suggests that GF2 treatment attenuates alcoholic liver injury by increasing IL-10 expression and Tregs and decreasing IL-17 expression and Th17 cells.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2008

We have fabricated polystyrene (PS) nanofibrous scaffold for hepatocyte culture by electrospinning method and subsequently coated with specific ligand of Poly[N-p-vinylbenzyl-O-$\beta$-D-galactopyranocyl-($1{\rightarrow}4$)-D-gluconamide](PVLA) to enhance hepatocytes attachment. Rat hepatocytes behavior on the PVLA-coated and non-coated PS nanofibrous matrices have been investigated. Electrospun PS nanofiber structures revealed randomly aligned fibers with average diameter of 500 nm. It is observed that PS nanofibrous matrix could incorporate many cells into the interior of the matrix probably due to the suitable pore size. Cell viabilities cultured on PVLA-coated PS nanofibrous mats were maintained for 3 weeks, while it was decreased rapidly on PVLA-coated PS dishes. High hepatic functions especially for albumin secretion and ammonia removal were maintained at least for 2 weeks on nanofibrous mats but rapidly decreased on flat PS dishes. These results indicate that nanofibrous structure enabled 3-D culture with high level of cell-cell contact results in providing cell-cell communications and subsequent long-term maintenance of specific cell functions.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 2007

This study examined the effects of green tea extract supplementation (500 or 1,000 mg/kg b.w. per day) in conjunction with an atherogenic diet (10% coconut oil (w/w), 0.1% cholesterol) on plasma lipid composition, regression of pre-existing foam cells, and on the mRNA levels of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase and LDL receptor. Compared to groups fed only with the atherogenic diet, the addition of green tea extract to atherogenic diet-fed groups significantly down-regulated plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, dose-dependently. Supplementation of 1,000 mg/kg b.w. of green tea extract with the atherogenic diet induced significant up-regulation of both HMG-CoA reductase and LDL receptor messenger RNA levels in liver as compared to the group receiving green tea extract supplementation at 500 mg/kg b.w. The F1B hamsters fed the atherogenic diet had greater foam cell accumulation compared to those fed a normal diet, or the atherogenic diet supplemented with green tea extract. Regression of fatty streak lesions was achieved by atherosclerosis in fat- and cholesterol-fed hamsters and this effect was associated with down-regulation of plasma cholesterol and up-regulation of hepatic LDL receptor expression.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2010

Our previous study demonstrated that methanolic extract of Chrysanthemum zawadskii Herbich var. latilobum Kitamura (Compositae) has the potential to induce detoxifying enzymes such as NAD(P)H:(quinone acceptor) oxidoreductase 1 (EC 1.6.99.2) (NQO1, QR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST). In this study we further fractionated methanolic extract of Chrysanthemum zawadskii and investigated the detoxifying enzyme-inducing potential of each fraction. The fraction (CZ-6) shown the highest QR-inducing activity was found to contain (+)-(3S,4S,5R,8S)-(E)-8-acetoxy-4-hydroxy-3-isovaleroyloxy-2-(hexa-2,4-diynyliden)-1,6-dioxaspiro [4,5] decane and increased QR enzyme activity in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, CZ-6 fraction caused a dose-dependent enhancement of luciferase activity in HepG2-C8 cells generated by stably transfecting antioxidant response element-luciferase gene construct, suggesting that it induces antioxidant/detoxifying enzymes through antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated transcriptional activation of the relevant genes. Although CZ-6 fraction failed to induce hepatic QR in mice over the control, it restored QR activity suppressed by $CCl_4$ treatment to the control level. Hepatic injury induced by $CCl_4$ was also slightly protected by pretreatment with CZ-6. In conclusion, although CZ-6 fractionated from methanolic extract of Chrysanthemum zawadskii did not cause a significant QR induction in mice organs such as liver, kidney, and stomach, it showed protective effect from liver damage caused by $CCl_4$.