• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.94.2-94.2
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• 2008

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.247-257
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• 2002

Persistent organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used intensively in agriculture or industry for a long time. The occurrence of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in the environment and subsequently in parts of the food chain, resulting in the intake of these compounds by man and animal. The measure of the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in tissues or blood of human populations are good markers in determining the extent of exposure and in the evaluating the hazards. So, most countriess have conducted initial monitoring programs to determine organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in human tissues. But a few report has been presented in Korea. In this study, $\alpha$-BHC, $\beta$-BHC, ${\gamma}$-BHC, $\delta$-BHC, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, endrin, dieldein, aldrin and 7 marker PCBs (28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180) were determined in human blood, adipose tissue and liver tissues collected at autopsy of 10 men and 10 women, 13-79 year of age. Significant differences in the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs between districts where they had lived were found in the following chemicals: total PCB in the blood : $\beta$-BHC, total BHC, p,p'-DDE and total DDT in the adipose tissue : p,p'-DDE, total DDT and PCB 118 in the liver. No significant difference was found in the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs between sexes and ages. Though the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs were relatively lower than that of other countries, we could know that organochlorine pesticides and PCBs have been widely distributed in Korean human body.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.283.2-283.2
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• 2002

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used intensively in agriculture and industry for a long time. They belong to a group of contaminants whose occurrence in the environment is a serious concern to environmental chemists and toxicologists due to their resistance to degradation in the environment as well as their potential toxicity. Also. the lipophilic characteristics of these substances are responsible for their ability to bioaccumulate in tissues and organs rich in lipids of men and animals through food chain. Therefore, the measure of the levels of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in human tissues are good markers in detemining the extent to exposure and evaluating the hazards. This study was preformed to compare concentrations of organochlorine pesticides(${\alpha}-BHC, {\beta}-BHC, {\gamma}-BHC, {\delta}-BHC$, p.p'-DDT,p.p'-DDD,p.p.'-DDE. endrin. dieldrin. aldrin) and seven marker PCBs(PCB nos. 28. 52. 101. 118. 138. 153. 180) in liver. kidney cortex, lung blood and adipose tissue collected at autopsies of 10men and 10 women using gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector to express the data on a lipid adjusted basis. From the results, the significant differences in the levels of organochlorines of PCBs between sexes, districts where they had lived and ages were also investigated.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.327-331
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• 2001

There is a critical developmental period during which brain sexual differentiation proceeds irreversibly under the influence of gonadal hormone. Recently, kinesin superfamily-associated protein 3 (KAP3) gene expressed during the 'critical period' of rat brain differentiation was identified by us (Choi and Lee, 1999). KAP3 functions as a microtubule-based motor that transports membranous organelles anterogradely in cells, including neurons (Yamazaki et al., 1996). mRNA level of KAP3 gene markedly increased before the initiation of puberty. Neonatal treatment of estrogen clearly inhibited the prepubertal increase in KAP3 mRNA level (Choi and Lee, 1999). In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as endocrine disruptors (EDs) on the expression of KAP3 gene during the 'critical period' of rat brain development. In our data, PCBs significantly decreased the expression of KAP3 gene in the fetal (day 17) and the neonatal (day 6 after birth in) male and female rat brains. The body weight and the breeding ability were significantly decreased in the PCBs-exposed rats compared with the control. These results showed that PCBs affect the transcriptional level of brain sexual differentiation related gene, KAP3, in the fetal and the neonatal rat brains. The maternal exposure to the PCBs may lead to toxic response in embryonic brain sexual differentiation and breeding ability after sexual maturation. This study indicates that KAP3 gene may be useful as a gene marker to analyze the molecular mechanism of toxic response in the animal brain development and sexual maturation exposed to PCBs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2012

Objectives: Chronic inflammation is now thought to play a key pathogenetic role in the associations of obesity with insulin resistance and diabetes. Based on our recent findings on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including the lack of an association between obesity and either insulin resistance or diabetes prevalence among subjects with very low concentrations of POPs, we hypothesized that POP concentrations may be associated with inflammation and modify the associations between inflammation and insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. Methods: Cross-sectional associations among serum POPs, C-reactive protein (CRP), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were investigated in 748 non-diabetic participants aged ${\geq}20$ years. Nineteen types of POPs in 5 subclasses were selected because the POPs were detectable in ${\geq}60%$ of the participants. Results: Among the five subclasses of POPs, only organochlorine (OC) pesticides showed positive associations with CRP concentrations, while polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) showed inverse associations with CRP concentrations. There were statistically significant interactions between CRP and OC pesticides and between CRP and PCBs, in estimating HOMA-IR (P for interaction <0.01 and <0.01, respectively). CRP was not associated with HOMA-IR among subjects with low concentrations of OC pesticides or PCBs, while CRP was strongly associated with HOMA-IR among subjects with high concentrations of these POPs. Conclusions: In the current study, OC pesticides were associated with increased levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation, and both OC pesticides and PCBs may also modify the associations between CRP and insulin resistance.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.829-838
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• 2005

In order to investigate the residual amounts of organochlorines and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Korean human tissues (blood, adipose tissue, liver, kidney cortex, and lung), the samples were collected from the autopsied cadavers of 40 men and 40 women (from teens to seventies of age). ${\alpha}-BHC,\;{\beta}-BHC,\;{\gamma}-BHC,\;{\delta}-BHC$, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDE, endrin, dieldein, aldrin, and 7 marker PCBs (28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180) were determined in human tissues. The levels of organochlorines and PCB congeners indicated that they have been widely distributed in Korean human body. Positive correlations in terms of age were observed for the following cases: p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDT, ${\Sigma}-DDT$, PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153, and ${\Sigma}-PCB$ in the adipose tissue, and p,p'-DDE in the lung. Concentration of these compounds showed a significant age-related increase. Accumulation of these compounds in aged people revealed that these compounds were more slowly eliminated in our environment and risk assessment was necessary for further proper action. Significant differences in the levels of PCBs between genders were found for PCB 118 in the adipose tissue and PCB 138 in the liver. Positive correlation coefficients between tissues were detected with p,p'-DDE and ${\beta}-BHC$.