• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1639-1645
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aflatoxin $B_1$ ($AFB_1$) on the ultracellular morphology alteration, apoptosis induction and reactive nitrogen and oxygen intermediates production of peritoneal macrophages (DPM) from mule ducks. The ducklings were purchased from a commercial hatchery, and were fed a corn-soybean based diet. As the ducklings were grown up to 3 wk of age, the Sephadex-elicited peritoneal exudative cells (PEC) were used as the source for duck peritoneal macrophages. The ultracellular morphology study showed that significant number of cells shifted from category I (normal cell with ruffled membrane) and II (cell membrane blebbing) to category III (cell membrane blebbing and even rupture) after DPM were incubated with $AFB_1$ ($20{\mu}g/ml$) for 12 to 48 h. When DPM were exposed to $AFB_1$ in vitro, the production of NO, $H_2O_2$ and $O_2{^-}$ in macrophages was reduced after 12-48 h incubation with previous LPS stimulation. There was a DNA laddering pattern observed in DPM incubated with $AFB_1$ 5, 10, 20, 50 or $100{\mu}g/ml$ for 12 h. Evidence also revealed that the percentage of apoptotic cells was increased along with the elevation of $AFB_1$ concentration. The results suggest that $AFB_1$ exposure causes duck macrophages going on apoptotic pathway through evidence of ultracellular morphology alteration and DNA laddering in agarose electrophoresis. The production of reactive nitrogen and oxygen intermediates of duck macrophages also depressed after $AFB_1$ exposure, and this implied that $AFB_1$ could cause deteriorated functions of bacteriocidal and tumoricidal activity in duck macrophages.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.201-206
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• 2006

Numerous investigators have studied various activities of natural products and have found that they have not only nutritional effects, but also beneficial properties to cure various diseases and to maintain good health. Job's Tear(Yul-Moo) is a grass crop that has long been used in traditional medicine and as a nourishing food. Although its mechanism of action remains unclear, Job's Tear has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, stomachic, anti-allergic, and anti-spastic effects and has been used in China for the treatment of warts, rheumatism, and neuralgia. Previous results in our laboratory demonstrated that the ethanol extract and the water extract of Job's Tear exerted an immune regulatory function on mice cells in vitro. The present study was performed to investigate the ex vivo effect of Job's Tear on immune function. Seven to eight weeks old mice(Balb/c) were fed chow diet ad libitum and water extract of Job's Tear was administered orally every other day for four weeks at two different concentrations(50 and 500mg/kg B.W.). Splenocytes proliferation with mitogen stimulation with Con A and LPS was enhanced at 50 mg/kg B.W. of Job's Tear compared to those of the control group. The results of this ex vivo study showed that proliferation of splenocytes and macrophage activation were seen in the mice orally administrated 50 mg/kg B.W. of Job's Tear water extracts. In conclusion, this study suggests that Job's Tear extracts may enhance immune function by regulating splenocyte proliferation and the cytokine prodution capacity of activated macrophages in mice.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.686-695
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• 2006

Interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) was reported to regulate transcription of interleukin-2 (IL-2), a central cytokine in the regulation of T-cell responses. This property of ILF2 was well characterized in human and mammals, but little is known in bony fish. In this paper, an ILF2 homologue was cloned and well characterized from Tetraodon nigrovirid is for the further investigation of the function of ILF2 in bony fish. The full-length Tetraodon ILF2 cDNA was 1380 bp in size and contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 1164 bp that translates into a 387 amino-acid peptide with a molecular weight of 42.9 kDa, a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 57 bp, and a 3' UTR of 159 bp containing a poly A tail. The deduced peptide of Tetraodon ILF2 shared an overall identity of 58%~93% with other known ILF2 sequences, and contained two N-glycosylation sites, two N-myristoylation sites, one RGD cell attachment sequence, six protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, one amino-terminal RGG-rich single-stranded RNA-binding domain, and a DZF zinc-finger nucleic acid binding domain, most of which were highly conserved through species compared. Constitutive expression of Tetraodon ILF2 was observed in all tissues examined, including gill, gut, head kidney, spleen, liver, brain and heart. The highest expression was detected in heart, followed by liver, head kidney and brain. Stimulation with LPS did not significantly alter the expression of Tetraodon ILF2. Gene organization analysis showed that the Tetraodon ILF2 gene have fifteen exons, one more than other known ILF2 genes in human and mouse. Genes up- and down-stream from the Tetraodon ILF2 were Rpa12, Peroxin-11b, Smad4, Snapap and Txnip homologue, which were different from that in human and mouse.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.734-741
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• 2016

Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has a role in inducing emergency hematopoiesis upon exposure to inflammatory stimuli. Although GM-CSF generated murine bone marrow derived cells have been widely used as macrophages or dendritic cells in research, the exact characteristics of each cell population have not yet been defined. Here we discriminated GM-CSF grown bone marrow derived macrophages (GM-BMMs) from dendritic cells (GM-BMDCs) in several criteria. After C57BL/6J mice bone marrow cell culture for 7 days with GM-CSF supplementation, two main populations were observed in the attached cells based on MHCII and F4/80 marker expressions. GM-BMMs had $MHCII^{low}F4/80^{high}$ as well as $CD11c^+CD11b^{high}CD80^-CD64^+MerTK^+$ phenotypes. In contrast, GM-BMDCs had $MHCII^{high}F4/80^{low}$ and $CD11c^{high}CD8{\alpha}^-CD11b^+CD80^+CD64^-MerTK^{low}$ phenotypes. Interestingly, the GM-BMM population increased but GM-BMDCs decreased in a GM-CSF dose-dependent manner. Functionally, GM-BMMs showed extremely high phagocytic abilities and produced higher IL-10 upon LPS stimulation. GM-BMDCs, however, could not phagocytose as well, but were efficient at producing $TNF{\alpha}$, $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-12p70 and IL-6 as well as inducing T cell proliferation. Finally, whole transcriptome analysis revealed that GM-BMMs and GM-BMDCs are overlap with in vivo resident macrophages and dendritic cells, respectively. Taken together, our study shows the heterogeneicity of GM-CSF derived cell populations, and specifically characterizes GM-CSF derived macrophages compared to dendritic cells.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.250-256
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• 2005

To investigate the effect of bovine colostral whey fractions on in vitro proliferation of mouse splenocytes, polypeptide fractions were separated from acid whey into 3 fractions depending on molecular weight by ultrafiltration: Fraction I, which contains the polypeptide larger than 10,000 Da, Fraction n, which contains the polypeptide ranging from 1,000 Da to 10,000 Da and Fraction III, which contains the polypeptide smaller than 1,000 Da. Fraction II showed the highest proliferative effect of mouse splenocytes among the colostral whey fractions and this proliferative activity increased in dose dependent manner. Unheated Fraction II and Fraction III showed significantly (p<0.01) higher proliferative effects than others but heated Fraction II showed the highest enhancing effect of mouse splenocyte among heated whey fractions (p<0.01). The supplementation of Fraction II and Fraction m showed greater proliferative effect of mouse splenocytes stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A) than that of whole whey or Fraction L Proliferative effect of mouse splenocytes stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was the highest when Fraction II was supplemented Proliferative effect of the colostral whey fractions on mouse splenocytes by stimulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was markedly enhanced by supplementation of Fraction II and Fraction m compared with whole whey and Fraction L It was estimated that colostral whey fraction containing IGF-I positively affected proliferation of mouse splenocyte.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.346-353
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• 2015

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are steroid hormones regulated through responses to stress to maintain diverse metabolic and homeostatic functions. GCs act on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a member of the nuclear receptor family. This study identified and characterized the GR gene from the big-belly seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis designating it HaGR. The open reading frame of the HaGR cDNA was 2,346 bp in length, encoding a 782-amino-acid polypeptide with a theoretical isoelectric point of 6.26 and predicted molecular mass of 86.8 kDa. Nuclear receptors share a common structural organization, comprising an N-terminal transactivation domain, DNA-binding domain, and C-terminal ligand-binding domain. The tissue-specific mRNA expression profile of HaGR was analyzed in healthy seahorses using a qPCR technique. HaGR mRNA was expressed ubiquitously in all of the tissues examined, with the highest expression levels in kidney, intestine, stomach, and gill tissues. The mRNA expression in response to immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), Edwardsiella tarda, and Streptococcus iniae revealed that it is inducible in response to pathogen infection. These results suggest that HaGR is involved in the immune response of the big-belly seahorse.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.357-363
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• 2014

Euonymus alatus (EAE) and Euonymus alatus for. ciliatodentatus (Franch. & Sav.) Hiyama (EACHE) belong to the Celastraceae family and are one of the medicinal herbs used in traditional medicine as a therapeutic agent for blood circulation diseases. In this study, we prepared leaves methanolic extract of EAE (L-EAE), twigs methanolic extract of EAE (T-EAE), leaves methanolic extract of EACHE (L-EACHE) and twigs methanolic extract of EACHE (T-EACHE), and compared their anti-inflammatory activities. To analyze the anti-inflammatory activities, Raw 264.7 cells were used, since they are immature-macrophages and easily matured by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. All extracts showed anti-inflammatory activities in the activated Raw 264.7 cells. That is, we showed that L-EACHE and T-EACHE are potent inhibitors of the production of nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results are expected to serve as a guide for future studies on the ability of Celastraceae family to inhibit acute and chronic inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 2006

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of Sorghum bicolor L. Moench(Sorghum, su-su) extracts on mouse immune cell activation. As ex vivo experiment, different concentrations(0, 50, 500mg/kg B.W.) of Sorghum bicolor L. Moench water extracts were orally administrated into mouse every other day for four weeks. The proliferation of mouse splenocytes, the number of plaque forming cells(PFC) and the cytokine IL-1β production by activated macrophage were used as indices for immunocompetence. Splenocyte proliferation was enhanced in mouse orally administrated with 50mg/kg B.W./day concentration compared to that of control group. Especially, the highest proliferation of spleoncyte was seen in the mouse orally administrated at the concentration of 50mg/kg B.W./day. The number of plaque forming cells(PFC) to SRBC were significantly enhanced when compared with control group. Also, the mouse of Sorghum bicolor L. Moench water extracts 50mg/kg B.W./day supplementation group with LPS stimulation enhanced level of IL-1$\beta$ cytokine production. This study suggest that supplementation of Sorghum bicolor L. Moench water extracts may enhance the immune function by regulating the splenocytes proliferation, increasing the number of PFC and enhancing the cytokine production by activated macrophage.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Seaweeds have been reported to have various health beneficial effects. In this study, we investigated the potential anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects of four types of domestic brown seaweeds in a high-fat diet-induced obese mouse model and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). MATERIALS/METHODS: Male C57BL/6N mice were fed low-fat diet (LFD), high-fat diet (HFD) or HFD containing Undaria Pinnatifida, HFD containing Laminaria Japonica (LJ), HFD containing Sargassum Fulvellum, or HFD containing Hizikia Fusiforme (HF) for 16 weeks. RESULTS: Brown seaweed supplementation did not affect long-term HFD-associated changes in body weight or adiposity, although mice fed HFD + LJ or HFD + HF gained slightly less body weight compared with those fed HFD at the beginning of feeding. Despite being obese, mice fed HFD + LJ appeared to show improved insulin sensitivity compared to mice fed HFD. Consistently, we observed significantly reduced blood glucose concentrations in mice fed HFD + LJ compared with those of mice fed HFD. Although no significant differences in adipocyte size were detected among the HFD-fed groups, consumption of seaweeds decreased formation of HFD-induced crown-like structures in gonadal adipose tissue as well as plasma inflammatory cytokines. BMDM from mice fed HFDs with seaweeds showed differential regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 compared with BMDM from mice fed HFD by LPS stimulation. CONCLUSION: Although seaweed consumption did not prevent long-term HFD-induced obesity in C57BL/6N mice, it reduced insulin resistance (IR) and circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, seaweeds may ameliorate systemic inflammation and IR in obesity partially due to inhibition of inflammatory signaling in adipose tissue cells as well as bone marrow-derived immune cells.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.349-361
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• 2018

Socheongryong-tang (SCRT) was one of the major traditional herbal medicines wildly used in the treatment of respiratory disease. SCRT is being commercially produced in the form of mix extracts powder and soft dry extract by different extract methods in the Korean Herbal Pharmacopeia (KHP). In this study, the contents of marker components and biological activities of the SCRT mix extract powder were compared with those of the SCRT decoction. To analyze the marker components of SCRT, nine marker from eight herbal preparations were chosen. And the method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detector method was established for the simultaneous analysis. Method validation was accomplished by linearity, precision test, and recovery test. The contents of nine marker components in this extract was ascertained by ratio. The biological activities were examined the effect of SCRT on anti-oxidation and pro-inflammation mediated by LPS-stimulation. We confirmed that both of SCRT mix extrct powder and decoction have the similar contents on total polyphenol and flavonoid and inhibited the secretion of nitric oxide (NO), $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ and the expression of iNOS, COX-2, $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, $TNF-{\alpha}$. These results suggest that SCRT mix extract powder and decoction have a significant correlation.