• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of supplementation of mulberry powder, mulberry extract and silkworm powder during the 8 weeks of resistance exercise on Androgen receptor(AR) mRNA and Myogenic regulatory factors(MRFs) expression of rats muscle. Fifty males, Sprague-Dawley rat, were randomly divided into 5 groups: CON(control group, n = 10), REG(resistance exercise group, n = 10), MP REG(mulberry powder intake and resistance exercise group, n = 10), ME REG(mulberry extract intake and resistance exercise group, n = 10) and SP REG(silkworm powder intake and resistance exercise group, n = 10). After climbing the ladder without weights during the 1 week of adaptation period, the rats in the resistance exercise group were trained to climb a 0.98-m vertical(80 degree incline) ladder with weights in their tail during 7 weeks(10 times each day, 2 days per week). After exercise, the skeletal muscle was extracted from the flexor hallucis longus. After separating the total ribonucleic acid (RNA) of each group, quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze RNA quantitatively. AR mRNA and MRFs expression revealed that all of the treated groups had significantly difference. AR mRNA expression increased in ME REG $6.24{\pm}1.85$ and SP REG $9.68{\pm}0.28$ fold compared to CON. Myod mRNA expression increased in MP REG $6.04{\pm}0.47$, ME REG $4.31{\pm}1.58$ and SP REG $8.11{\pm}0.57$ fold compared to CON. And myogenin mRNA expression increased in MP REG $4.11{\pm}0.42$, ME REG $4.12{\pm}0.45$ and SP REG $6.50{\pm}0.61$ fold compared to CON. In conclusion, during the resistance exercise, providing mulberry and silkworm gives positive effect on AR mRNA and MRFs expression increase.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2005

Background : Even though it has been suggested that low-colony, scotochromogen nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are usually contaminants and not true pathogens, evidence for this hypothesis has not been provided. This study investigated the colony characteristics, organism identification, and clinical significance of low-colony scotochromogen. Methods : The laboratory cultured 6,898 respiratory clinical specimens for an examination of mycobacteria over a three-month period. A low-colony count was arbitrarily defined as ${\leq}20$ colonies. This study analyzed the recovery rate of the mycobacteria, the number of colonies and their gross characteristics, and their clinical significance. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was carried out to identify the NTM species. NTM pulmonary disease was defined according to the American Thoracic Society. Results : A total of 6,898 respiratory specimens for mycobacterium were cultured. Of these, 263 (3.8%) grew NTM, and 382 (5.5%) grew M. tuberculosis. Of the 263 cultured NTM specimens, 124 (47.1%) were scotochromogens. The smear-positive rate was significantly lower in these scotochromogens (4.8%) than in the non-scotochromogens (23.7%) (p<0.05). The most common isolates were M. gordonae (83/102, 81.4%) in the scotochromogens, and MAC (52/121, 43.0%) in the non-scotochromogens. Even though three out of 113 patients with a low-colony scotochromogen has been diagnosed with NTM pulmonary disease, the isolated scotochromogen was not considered to be the cause of the NTM disease but was just a contaminant. Conclusion : In this study, the most common isolate of a low-colony count scotochromogen was M. gordonae, which appeared to be contaminants and not true pathogens. Greater efforts in the quality control of a mycobacterium laboratory are needed in cases where there is a high recovery rate of low-colony count scotochromogen.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.1477-1483
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• 2014

This study investigated the anti-obesity effects of African mango (Irvingia gabonesis, IGOB $131^{TM}$) extract in leptin-deficient obese mice. Experimental groups were treated with two different doses of IGOB $131^{TM}$ (1% and 2% in each AIN93G supplement) for 8 weeks. Treatment of obese mice with both low and high dose of IGOB $131^{TM}$ significantly reduced body weight gain by 10.9% and 13.3%, respectively, compared to control obese mice. Subcutaneous adipose tissue weight of mice was significantly reduced by 18% by low-dose and 23% by high-dose supplementation. This result was supported by micro-CT analysis around the abdominal regions of mice, indicating that the adipose tissue area and volume were significantly reduced by treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$. Serum levels of triglycerides in the low- and high-dose groups were reduced by 36.5% and 43.8%, respectively, upon treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$, whereas total cholesterol levels were reduced by 31.8% and 35.4%. Interestingly, the serum LDL level decreased upon treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$ while the serum level of HDL dramatically increased upon high-dose treatment with IGOB $131^{TM}$, resulting in a significant reduction in the LDL to HDL ratio of 59.2%. These results were supported by the expression levels of enzymes and proteins related to lipid metabolism assessed by real-time PCR. There was a significant increase of in adiponectin expression as well as significant decreases in the expression of FAS, LPL, and lipid regulatory transcription factors such as PPAR-${\gamma}$, C/EBP, and SREBP upon both low- and high-dose IGOB $131^{TM}$ treatment. However, there was no statistical difference between low- and high-dose treatments. These results suggest that IGOB $131^{TM}$ is able to regulate the serum lipid profiles by reducing triglyceride and increasing HDL levels as well as regulate expression of lipid metabolic factors, resulting in reduction of a weight gain in leptin-deficient obese mice.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2000

Backgrounds : Recent cytogenetic studies indicated that long of the long arm of chromosome 5 is a frequent event in small cell lung canær (SCLC), suggesting the presence of a tumor suppressor gene in its place. To map the precise tumor-suppressor loci on the chromosome arm for further positional cloning efforts, we tested 15 primary SCLCs. Methods : The DNAs extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue blocks with primary tumor and corresponding control tissue were investigated. Nineteen polymorphic microsatellite markers located in the long arm of chromosome 5 were used in the microsatellite analysis. Results : We found that ten (66.7%) of 15 tumors exhibited LOH in at least one of tested microsatellite markers. Two (13%) of 10 tumors exhibiting LOH lost a larger area in chromosome 5q. LOH was observed in five common deleted regions at 5q. Among those areas, LOH between 5q34-qter and 5q35.2-35.3 was most frequent (75%). LOH was also observed in more than 50% of the tumors at four other regions, between 5q14-15 and 5q23-31, 5q31.1, 5q31.3-33.3, and 5q34-35. Three of 15 tumors exhibited shifted bands in at least one of the tested microsatellite markers. Shifted bands occurred in 2.5% (7 of 285) of the loci tested. Conclusion : Our data demonstrated that at least five tumor-suppressor loci exist in the long arm of chromosome 5 and that they may play an important role in small cell lung cancer tumorigenesis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.490-497
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• 2005

Background : The paraoxonase enzyme plays a significant role in the detoxification of various organophosphorous compounds in mammals, and paraoxonase (PON) 1 is one of the endogenous free-radical scavenging systems in the human body. In this study, we investigated the interaction between cigarette smoking and the genetic polymorphism of PON1 with lung cancer in Korean males. Methods : Three hundred thirty five patients with lung cancer and an equal number of age-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Every subject was asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their smoking habits and alcohol drinking habits. A 5' exonuclease assay (TaqMan) was used to genotype the PON1 Q192R polymorphism. The effects of smoking habits and drinking habits, the PON1 Q192R polymorphism and their interactions were statistically analyzed. Results : Cigarette smoking and the Q/Q genotype of PON1 were significant risk factors for lung cancer. Individuals carrying the Q/Q genotype of PON1 were at a higher risk for lung cancer as compared with those individuals carrying the Q/R or R/R genotype (odds ratio, 2.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.69 - 4.79). When the groups were further stratified by the smoking status, the Q/Q PON1 was associated with lung cancer among the current or ex-smokers (odds ratio, 2.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.52 - 4.31). Current smokers or ex-smokers who had the Q/Q genotype showed an elevated risk for lung cancer (odds ratio: 15.50, 95% confidence interval: 6.76 - 35.54) as compared with the group of subjects who never smoked, and had the Q/R or R/R genotype. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of smokers with the PON1 Q/Q type compared to the nonsmokers with the PON1 Q/R or R/R type were 53.77 (6.55 - 441.14) for squamous cell carcinoma, 6.25 (1.38 - 28.32) for adenocarcinoma, and 59.94 (4.66 - 770.39) for small cell carcinoma, and these results were statistically significant. Conclusion : These results suggest that cigarette smoking and the PON1 Q/Q genotype are risk factors for lung cancer. The combination of cigarette smoking and the PON1 Q/Q genotype significantly increased the lung cancer risk irrespective of the histologic type of cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.886-895
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• 2020

The development of novel peptide antibiotics with potent antimicrobial activity and anti-inflammatory activity is urgently needed. In a previous work, we performed an in-silico analysis of the Papilio xuthus transcriptome to identify putative antimicrobial peptides and identified several candidates. In this study, we investigated the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities of papiliocin 3, which was selected bioinformatically based on its physicochemical properties against bacteria and mouse macrophage Raw264.7 cells. Papiliocin 3 showed antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus without inducing hemolysis and decreased the nitric oxide production of the lipopolysaccharide-induced Raw264.7 cells. Moreover, ELISA and Western blot analysis revealed that papiliocin 3 reduced the expression levels of pro-inflammatory enzymes, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂). In addition, we examined whether papiliocin 3 could inhibit the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 and interleukin-1β) in LPS-induced Raw264.7 cells. We found that papiliocin 3 markedly reduced the expression level of cytokines through the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling. We also confirmed that papiliocin 3 binds to bacterial cell membranes via a specific interaction with lipopolysaccharides. Collectively, these findings suggest that papiliocin 3 could be a promising molecule for development as a novel peptide antibiotic.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.109-120
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• 2014

In this study, the extracts of Inula britannica var. chinensis (I. britannica) flower were extracted at three different temperatures (room temperature, $45^{\circ}C$, and $65^{\circ}C$) and their anti-aging effects were studied. Before investigating anti-aging effects of the extracts, their cytotoxicity was tested on B16F10, Hs683, and HaCaT cells. All extracts showed no cytotoxicity at the concentration less than 0.1% (v/v). Melanin synthesis inhibitory activities in B16F10 cells and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in Hs683 and HaCaT cells were used to see their anti-aging effects. The room temperature extract at 0.1% showed 24.5% melanin synthesis inhibition, which was better than the $45^{\circ}C$ and $65^{\circ}C$ extracts. In addition, expression rates of the room temperature extract at 0.1% on HAS-1, HAS-2, and HAS-3 related to hyaluronan synthase genes were 123.3%, 137.8%, 133.2%, respectively. which were higher than reference material of L-ascorbic acid. Expression rates of the $45^{\circ}C$ extract at 0.1% on TNF-${\alpha}$, COX-2, and IL-$1{\alpha}$, which are inflammatory related genes, was suppressed to 30.3%, 12.8%, 25.7%, respectively. It was better in anti-in flammatory effect than the room temperature and $65^{\circ}C$ extracts. As results, we showed that I. britannica var. chinensis flower extarcts decreased melanin production and expression of inflammatory related genes and increased the expression rate of hyaluronan synthase genes. Thus, it is believed that the extracts affect anti-aging effects of skin through whitening, moisturizing, and anti-inflammatory processes and could be applicable to cosmetics as a functional cosmetic ingredient.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2007

The Function of the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) is to control calcium levels by altering PTH (parathyroid hormone) secretion and renal calcium resorption. The influence of calcium on the basal and stimulated release of several hormones from chicken pituitary glands has been determined in vitro. The objective of this study was to identify SNP in chicken CaSR gene and to investigate the effect of the SNP on economic traits. The sequencing analysis method was used to identify nucleotide polymorphisms within chicken CaSR gene. This study identified SNP at position 1949 bp(Genebank accession No : XM_416491) in the exon 1. The SNP changed the amino acid to alanine(GCC) from serine(TCC). This SNP showed three genotypes, AA, AS and SS by digestion with the restriction enzyme NcoⅠ using the PCR-RFLP method. The A963S showed significant effect only on the first lay day (P<0.05) in Leghorn population. Leghorn with the genotype AA had significantly faster the first lay day(137.6) than the genotype AS(143.0, P<0.05). Also, the A963S showed significant effect only on the first lay day(P<0.05) and mean of egg weight(P<0.05) in KNC population. KNC with the genotypes AA ans AS had significantly faster the first lay day (151.0 and 152.6, respectively) than the genotype SS(159.4, P<0.05). And the genotypes SS had significantly heavier the mean of egg weight(50.4 kg, P<0.05) than the genotype AA ans AS (47.5 and 47.8 kg, respectively). According to result of this study, an a allele of the A963S was found to have a significant effect on the first lay day. It will be possible to use this SNP marker on selecting chicken to improve the first lay day.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.284-295
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• 2020

In December 2019, the first coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) patient was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then, the number of patients who suffered severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV) has increased dramatically in Korea. This new variant virus induces pulmonary diseases, including cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, dyspnea, and pneumonia. Because SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR has been used widely to diagnose COVID-19. As the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (KCDC) and Ministry of Food & Drug Safety (MFDS) approved emergency use authorization, clinical specimens collected from COVID-19 patients and even healthy people have been clinically diagnosed by laboratory medicine. Based on a literature search, this paper reviews the epidemiology, symptoms, molecular diagnostics approved by KCDC, a current diagnosis of COVID-19 in the laboratories, the difference between molecular and serological diagnosis, and guidelines for clinical specimens. In addition, the Korean guidelines of biosafety for clinical laboratory scientists are evaluated to prevent healthcare-associated infection. The author's experience and lessons as clinical laboratory scientists will provide valuable insights to protect the domestic and international health community in this COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.492-498
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• 2007

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that a host's genetic factors influence the outcome of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether polymorphism in NRAMP1 (natural resistance associated macrophage protein 1) gene is associated with the susceptibility or resistance to tuberculosis infection for patients with drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis (DS-TB) and multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Methods: Eight genetic polymorphisms of the NRAMP1 gene were investigated in patients suffering with DS-TB (n=100) or MDR-TB (n=102), and in healthy normal controls (NC, n=96). The genetic polymorphisms of NRAMP1 were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: The frequency of D543N A/G heterogygotes was significantly higher in the DS-TB subjects than the NCs (OR=2.10, 95% CI: 1.00 to 4.41, p=0.049). The frequency of 823C/T T/C heterozygotes was significantly higher in the DS-TB subjects (OR=2.79, 95% CI: 1.11 to 7.04, p=0.029) and the MDR-TB subject (OR=3.30, 95% CI 1.33 to 8.18, p=0.010) than in the NCs. However, the frequency of these genotypes was not different between the DS-TB and MDR-TB subjects. Conclusion: A significant association was found between NRAMP1 823 C/T polymorphism and pulmonary tuberculosis. This result suggests that NRAMP1 polymorphism may be involved in the development of pulmonary tuberculosis in Koreans.