• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2008

Interleukin-23 (IL-23) is a novel pro-inflammatory cytokine which has been implicated to play a pathogenic role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was undertaken to investigate the IL-23 inductive activity of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17, $IL-1{\beta}$ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-${\alpha}$) in RA synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMC). Expression of IL-23p19, IL-17, $IL-1{\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$ in joint was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) of patients with RA and osteoarthritis (OA). The effects of IL-17 and $IL-1{\beta}$ on expression of IL-23p19 in human SFMC from RA patients were determined by reverse transcriptase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). IL-23p19 was expressed in the RA fibroblast like synoviocyte (FLS), but not from OA FLS. Similar to the protein expression, IL-23p19 mRNA could be detected by RT-PCR in RA SFMC. IL-17 and $IL-1{\beta}$ could induce RA SFMC to produce the IL-23p19. The effects of IL-17 were much stronger than $IL-1{\beta}$ or TNF-${\alpha}$. These responses were observed in a doseresponsive manner. In addition, IL-17 or $IL-1{\beta}$ neutralizing antibody down-regulated the expression of IL-23p19 induced by LPS in RA-SFMC. Our results demonstrate that IL-23p19 is overexpressed in RA synovium and IL-17 and $IL-1{\beta}$ appears to upregulate the expression of IL-23p19 in RA-SFMC.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.84-89
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• 2015

We investigated the question of whether 7-oxygenated cholesterol derivatives could affect inflammatory and/or immune responses in atherosclerosis by examining their effects on expression of IL-23 in monocytic cells. $7{\alpha}$-Hydroxycholesterol ($7{\alpha}OHChol$) induced transcription of the TLR6 gene and elevated the level of cell surface TLR6 protein in THP-1 monocytic cells. Addition of an agonist of TLR6, FSL-1, to TLR6-expressing cells by treatment with $7{\alpha}OHChol$ resulted in enhanced production of IL-23 and transcription of genes encoding the IL-23 subunit ${\alpha}$ (p19) and the IL-12 subunit ${\beta}$ (p40). However, treatment with 7-ketocholesterol (7K) and $7{\beta}$-hydroxycholesterol ($7{\beta}OHChol$) did not affect TLR6 expression, and addition of FSL-1 to cells treated with either 7K or $7{\beta}OHChol$ did not influence transcription of the genes. Pharmacological inhibition of ERK, Akt, or PI3K resulted in attenuated transcription of TLR6 induced by $7{\alpha}OHChol$ as well as secretion of IL-23 enhanced by $7{\alpha}OHChol$ plus FSL-1. Inhibition of p38 MAPK or JNK resulted in attenuated secretion of IL-23. These results indicate that a certain type of 7-oxygenated cholesterol like $7{\alpha}OHChol$ can elicit TLR6-mediated expression of IL-23 by monocytic cells via PI3K/Akt and MAPKs pathways.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.136-143
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• 2024

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of obesity and clinical characteristics including interleukin-6 (IL-6) with hospital length of stay (LOS) in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients in Korea. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study design was employed to analyze medical data from a government-designated hospital in a city of Korea. Clinical data were collected from 256 patients with COVID-19 in negative-pressure isolation wards in 2021. The following parameters were analyzed: body mass index (BMI), IL-6 levels, age, sex, comorbidities, healthy habitsat the time ofadmission, and LOS. The statistical package SPSS 26.0 was used for descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, the chi-square test, and partial correlation coefficients. Results: The age of COVID-19 patients was positively correlated with BMI (r = -.16, p = .012), IL-6 levels (r = .14, p = .022) and LOS (r = .26, p < .001). Obesity, non-drinking, hypertension, and older age were associated with longer LOS. Conclusion: These results suggest that age, obesity, and hypertension in COVID-19 patients are related to LOS. Studies investigating other factors that can affect long-term hospitalization in COVID-19 patients are suggested.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2023

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause clinical manifestations of multiple organ damage, including various neurological syndromes. There are currently two oral antiviral drugs-Paxlovid and molnupiravir-that are recognized to treat COVID-19, but there are still no drugs that can specifically fight the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a multimolecular complex that can sense heterogeneous pathogen-associated molecular patterns associated with neurological disorders. The NLRP3 activation stimulates the production of caspase-1-mediated interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, and other cytokines in immune cells. Panax (P.) ginseng is a medicinal plant that has traditionally been widely used to boost immunity and treat various pathological conditions in the nervous system due to its safety and anti-inflammatory/oxidant/viral activities. Several recent reports have indicated that P. ginseng and its active ingredients may regulate NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the nervous system. Therefore, this review article discusses the current knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of neurological disorders related to COVID-19 and NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the possibility of using P. ginseng in a strategy targeting this pathway to treat neurological disorders.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.119-125
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• 2017

Objective: In vitro culture of preimplantation embryos is improved by grouping embryos together in a drop of media. Individually cultured embryos are deprived of paracrine factors; with this in mind, we investigated whether the addition of a single embryo-secreted factor, interleukin-6 (IL-6), could improve the development of individually cultured embryos. Methods: Mouse embryos were cultured individually in $2{\mu}L$ of G1/G2 media in 5% oxygen and supplemented with a range of doses of recombinant mouse or human IL-6. Results: Mouse IL-6 increased hatching at doses of 0.01 and 10 ng/mL compared to the control (93% and 93% vs. 78%, p< 0.05) and increased the total number of cells at a dose of 0.1 ng/mL compared to the control ($101.95{\pm}3.36$ vs. $91.31{\pm}3.33$, p< 0.05). In contrast, the highest dose of 100 ng/mL reduced the total number of cells ($79.86{\pm}3.29$, p< 0.05). Supplementation with human IL-6 had a different effect, with no change in hatching or total cell numbers, but an increase in the percentage of inner cell mass per embryo at doses of 0.1, 1, and 100 ng/mL compared to the control ($22.9%{\pm}1.1%$, $23.3%{\pm}1.1%$, and $23.1%{\pm}1.1%$ vs. $19.5%{\pm}1.0%$, p< 0.05). Conclusion: These data show that IL-6 improved mouse embryo development when cultured individually in complex media; however, an excess of IL-6 may be detrimental. Additionally, these data indicate that there is some cross-species benefit of human IL-6 for mouse embryos, but possibly through a different mechanism than for mouse IL-6.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.214-223
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• 2017

Objective: In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a well-known method for the treatment of infertility. The present study aimed to compare the differences between infertile women with successful and unsuccessful IVF outcomes regarding the expression of T helper (Th) cell transcription factors and a group of related cytokines before and after exposure to their husbands' seminal plasma. Methods: This study was performed on 19 couples with unexplained infertility undergoing IVF treatment. Among the studied group, nine and 10 couples had successful and unsuccessful IVF outcomes, respectively. This study was carried out using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Before seminal plasma exposure, the expression levels of T-bet (p< 0.007), $interferon-{\gamma}$ (p= 0.013), and tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ (p= 0.017) were higher in the infertile women with IVF failure than in those with successful IVF outcomes, while those of GATA3 (p< 0.001), Foxp3 (p= 0.001), and interleukin (IL)-35 (p< 0.003) were lower. After seminal exposure, the expression of T-bet (p= 0.02), Rorc (p< 0.001), $TNF-{\alpha}$ (p= 0.001), Foxp3 (p= 0.02), and $interferon-{\gamma}$ (p= 0.001) increased in the unsuccessful IVF group, while the expression of Foxp3 (p= 0.02), Rorc (p< 0.001), IL-23 (p= 0.04), IL-17 (p= 0.02), IL-6 (p< 0.001), transforming growth $factor-{\beta}$ (p= 0.01), and IL-35 (p< 0.001) increased in the successful IVF group. Conclusion: In summary, IVF failure was associated with imbalanced Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg responses. Moreover, our results show that seminal plasma might have a positive effect on IVF outcomes via changes in peripheral blood T cell subsets.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.293-296
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• 2005

Transferrin ($T_{f}$) has been used as a targeting ligand for delivering liposome/interleukin-12 (IL-12) pDNA complexes to cancer cells mostly due to the greater number of transferrin receptors ($T_{f}R$) found on tumor cells than on normal cells. $T_{f}$ was conjugated to liposomes via the reaction of MPB-PE with thiol groups of $T_{f}$ introduced by a heterobifunctional cross-linking agent, N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP). Four days after C26 inoculation when the tumor volume reached ${\sim}100mm^{3}$, tumor-bearing Balb/c mice were injected intravenously with $T_{f}-liposome/IL-12 pDNA$complexes twice a week for 3 weeks. Significant suppression of tumor growth was achieved in the group treated with the $T_{f}-liposome/IL-12 pDNA$ complexes, with a dose of $10{\mu}g$ of IL-12 pDNA showing the highest suppression effect among the tested doses. Similar results were obtained when the therapy was initiated one day after tumor inoculation, although in this case $30{\mu}g$ IL-12 pDNA/$T_{f}-liposome$ complexes showed a significant suppression of tumor growth between 19 and 23 days after tumor inoculation. This result indicates that the transferrin receptor-targeted liposomal system is an efficient delivery agent of therapeutic genes, such as IL-12, in mice and that its potential clinical use warrants further research investigation.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.95-105
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Bacillus-fermented Scutellariae Radix acupuncture solution (SB) on interleukin(IL) production in mouse macrophage stimulatedby lipopolysaccaride(LPS). Methods : Productions of interleukins were measured y High-throughput Multiplex Bead based Assay with Bio-plex Suspension Array System based on $xMAP^{(R)}$(multi-analyte profiling beads) technology. To begin with, cell culture supernatant was obtained after treatment with LPS(1 ${\mu}g/mL$) and SB for 24 hour. Then, it was incubated with the antibody-conj${\mu}g$ated beads for 30 minutes. And detection antibody was added and incubated for 30 minutes. After incubating for 30 minutes, Strepavidin-conjugated Phycoerythrin(SAPE) was then added. Incubating for another 30 minutes, the level of SAPE fluorescence was analyzed on Bio-plex Suspension Array System. Results : The results of the experiment are as follows. SB significantly inhibited the LPS-induced production of IL-3($9.15{\pm}0.35$ pg/mL) by $6.92{\pm}0.05,\;7.21{\pm}0.11,\;6.96{\pm}0.33,\;and\;7.45{\pm}0.74$ pg/mL at the concentration of 25, 50, 100, and 200 ${\mu}g/mL$ in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells (p<0.05). SB significantly inhibited the LPS-induced production of IL-5($7.30{\pm}0.48$ pg/mL) by $6.50{\pm}0.29,\;6.30{\pm}0.25,\;6.30{\pm}0.25,\;and\;5.80{\pm}0.25$ pg/mL at the concentration of 25, 50 100, and 200 ${\mg}g/mL$ in RAW 264.7 cells (p<0.05). SB significantly inhibited the LPS-induced productiion of IL-9($17.26{\pm}0.19$ pg/mL) by $15.01{\pm}0.43$ pg/mL at the concentration of 25 ${\mu}g/mL$ in RAW 264.7 cells(p<0.05). SB significantly inhibited the LPS-induced productioh of IL-13($187.80{\pm}2.90$ pg/mL) by $152.80{\pm}4.25,\;172.80{\pm}3.97,\;162.10{\pm}6.67,\;and\;165.30{\pm}11.80$ pg/mL at the concentration fo 25, 50, 100, and 200 ${\mu}g/mL$ in RAW 264.7 cells(p<0.05). SB significantly inhibited the LPS-induced production of IL-17($18.30{\pm}0.95$ pg/mL) by $13.30{\pm}1.25,\;13.80{\pm}1.11,\;13.30{\pm}0.75,\;and\;14.00{\pm}1.08$ pg/mL at the concentration of 25, 50 100, and 200 ${\mu}g/mL$ in RAW 264.7 cells(p<0.05). SB significantly inhibited the LPS-induced production of IL-23($43.90{\pm}0.83$ pg/mL by $39.50{\pm}1.26,\;38.00{\pm}1.78,\;and\;39.60{\pm}2.49$ pg/mL at the concentration of 25, 100, and 200 ${\mu}g/mL$ in RAW 264.7 cells(p<0.05). Conclusions : These results suggest that SB has anti-inflammatory activity related with its inhibition of IL-3, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, and IL-23 production in macrophages.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.674-691
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of essential oils extracted from the wood of Chamaecyparis obtusa, Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, and Larix kaempferi. Essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation, and their chemical components were determined by GC/MS. Major chemical components of these essential oils were ${\alpha}$-cadinol (19.25%), ${\tau}$-muurolol (14.20%), and ${\alpha}$-pinene (13.74%) in C. obtusa; ${\alpha}$-pinene (47.16%), longifolene (14.31%), ${\beta}$-phellandrene (11.78%), and ${\beta}$-pinene (11.02%) in P. densiflora; ${\alpha}$-pinene (13.49%) and longifolene (10.79%) in P. koraiensis, and geranyl linalool (23.58%) and ${\alpha}$-pinene (18.57%) in L. kaempferi. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of essential oils, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RBL-2H3 mast cells were treated with these essential oils; then, the changes in the mRNA expression level of the cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 were examined. Further, degranulation was evaluated by measuring ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release. After LPS-induced RBL-2H3 mast cells were exposed to $10^{-7}%$ of all types of essential oils, the gene expression levels of IL-4 and IL-13 within the cells remarkably decreased. The relative mRNA expression level of IL-4 was 69.6% in P. densiflora, 63.2% in P. koraiensis, 55.1% in C. obtusa, and 45.8% in L. kaempferi compared with that in the group treated with LPS. The mRNA expression level of L-13 should a similar trend. The inhibitory rate of IL-13 mRNA expression of P. densiflora, P. koraiensis, C. obtusa, and L. kaempferi was 57.8%, 57.1%, 51.1%, and 34.5%, respectively. ${\beta}$-Hexosaminidase release significantly decreased following the treatment with the four types of essential oils. The rate of ${\beta}$-hexosaminidase release were 38.1% C. obtusa; 33.0% P. densiflora; 27.4% P. koraiensis; and 9.1% L. kaempferi. Among all types of essential oils, that extracted from P. densiflora wood showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity. These results show that the tested essential oils exert an anti-inflammatory effect through the inhibition of degranulation and expression of cytokines.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.407-415
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• 2016

This study was to evaluate the effect on the oral health awareness and oral health education for children, depending on oral health education experience of day care teachers. The survey considering integrated factors was conducted from January 5 to 23, 2015, and was analyzed by SPSS 19. The result of this study, 58.9% of teachers had an experience with oral health education and training for children had 62.3% of them. The education for children was accomplishing once with 42.9%. 49.8% of the teachers said that they teach and supervise tooth brushing(p<0.05). They are aware of the importance of deciduous teeth's health and necessity of maintenance(p<0.01), sealant(p<0.01), the necessity of tooth brushing and education(p<0.01). As a result, it is essential to build up a systematic and continuable program on oral health education for the day care teachers.