• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2002

The role of the kidney in initiating hypertension has been much debated. The SA gene is expressed in the kidney and is association with hypertension in man and in experimental animal models. Also, increased plasma concentrations of homocysteine have been found in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension. The genetic variation of methlene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene is related to its enzyme activity and to the plasma homocysteine concentration. In view of the effect of SA and MTHFR as risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, we investigated the Pst I RFLP of the SA gene and C667T mutation of the MTHFR gene in the Korean patients with hypertension. There were no significant differences in the allele and genotype frequencies of these polymorphisms between normotensive and hypertensive subjects. Therefore, our results do not support a possible role of these genes on hypertension in Korean population.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.217-223
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• 1998

Oxygen-derived free radicals have been implicated in many important functions in the biological system. Electrical field stimulation (EFS) causes arterial relaxation in animal models. We found that EFS applied to neither muscle nor nerve but to Krebs solution caused a relaxation of rat aorta that had been contracted with phenylephrine. In the present study, therefore, we investigated the characteristics of this EIRF (electrolysis-induced relaxing factor) using rat isolated aorta. Results indicated that EIRF acts irrespective of the presence of endothelium. EIRF shows positive Griess reaction and is diffusible and quite stable. EIRF-induced relaxation was stronger on PE-contracted aorta than on KCl-contracted one, and inhibited by the pretreatment with methylene blue. Zaprinast, a cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor, potentiated the EIRF-induced relaxation. $N^G-nitro-L-arginine$, NO synthase inhibitor, did not inhibit the EIRF-induced relaxation. Deferroxamine, but not ascorbic acid, DMSO potentiated the EIRF-induced relaxation. These results indicate that electrolysis of Krebs solution produces a factor that relaxes vascular smooth muscle via cGMP-mediated mechanism.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.177-185
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• 2015

Although rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, diagnosis of RA is currently based on clinical manifestations, and there is no simple, practical assessment tool in the clinical field to assess disease activity and severity. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the discovery of new diagnostic RA biomarkers that can assist in evaluating disease activity, severity, and treatment response. Proteomics, the large-scale study of the proteome, has emerged as a powerful technique for protein identification and characterization. For the past 10 years, proteomic techniques have been applied to different biological samples (synovial tissue/fluid, blood, and urine) from RA patients and experimental animal models. In this review, we summarize the current state of the application of proteomics in RA and its importance in identifying biomarkers and treatment targets.

• CELLMED
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.22.1-22.9
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• 2012

The aim of this study is to collate all available data on experiments reporting the antiproliferative, cytotoxic effects of plants and natural products in Morocco in the last two decades. A bibliographic investigation was carried out by analyzing recognized books and peer-reviewed papers, consulting worldwide accepted scientific databases (Scirus, Embase, HighWire, MEDLINE/PubMed, LILACS, Ovid, ScienceDirect, SciELO, Google Scholar). We used medical subject heading terms and the words 'anticancer', 'antiproliferative', 'antineoplastic', 'antitumoral', 'cytotoxic', 'Morocco', to identify relevant articles. Moroccan plants with attributed anti-cancer properties studied as plant extracts that have been evaluated for cytotoxic effects, antitumoral effects, plants with active compounds tested on cancer cell lines, and plants with active compounds that have been assayed on animal models were chosen for this research. In the present study, interest is focused on experimental research conducted on medicinal plants, particularly those which show antiproliferative or cytotoxic activities alongside bioactive components. A total of 20 plant species belonging to 12 families have been identified as active or promising sources of phytochemicals with antiproliferative properties. The plant families, which cover all the species studied in this field, are Lamiaceae (7 species) and Asteraceae (4 species); the most studied species being Argania spinosa (Sapotaceae) and Arisarum vulgare (Araceae), Thymus Genus (Labiateae) and Peganum harmala (Zygophyllaceae). Based on the search results, it is recommended to increase the number of experimental studies and to begin conducting clinical trials with Moroccan plants and their active compounds selected by in vitro and in vivo activities.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.66-77
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• 2003

Tea is one of the most popular beverages consumed in the world and has been demonstrated to have anti-cancer activity in animal models. Research findings suggest that the polyphenolic compounds, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, found primarily in green tea, and theaflavin-3,3'-digallate, a major component of black tea, are the two most effective anti-cancer factors found in tea. Several mechanisms to explain the chemopreventive effects of tea have been presented but others and we suggest that tea components target specific cell-signaling pathways responsible for regulating cellular proliferation or apoptosis. These pathways include signal transduction pathways leading to activator protein-1 (AP-1) and/or nuclear factor kappa B(NF-${\kappa}B$ ). AP-1 and NF-${\kappa}B$ are transcription factors that are known to be extremely important in tumor promoter-induced cell transformation and tumor promotion, and both are influenced differentially by the MAP kinase pathways. The purpose of this brief review is to present recent research data from other and our laboratory focusing on the tea-induced cellular signal transduction events associated with the MAP kinase, AP-1, and NF-${\kappa}B$ pathways.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2013

Chrysanthemum boreale(CB) is an oriental medicinal herb which has been used traditionally for the treatment of various brain disease including headache, dizziness and sedation. In order to examine the mechanism of anti-parkinsonism effect, water extract of CB(100 mg and 200 mg/kg of b.w.) were administered orally during 28 days in MPTP-induced parkisonism mice model. Water extract of CB increased the motor activities. CB did not affect total MAO and MAO-B activity in the brain of MPTP-induced mice. CB significantly increased the concentration of lipid peroxidation in the mid brain. Also, CB significantly increased antioxidant enzyme including were SOD, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the mid brain activity. CB significantly increased the concentration of dopamine and homovanillic acid in the brain. These results suggest that the anti-parkinsonism effect of CB is possibly due to the antioxidative effects at mid brain in MPTP-induced animal model.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.55-58
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• 2004

The fruit and seeds of Butea monosperma (Lam) Kuntze (Fabaceae) are useful in piles, anthelmintic, eye diseases, and inflammation in the Indian system of medicine. Hence, we have evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of the fixed oil, mixed fatty acids, and unsaponifiable matter of B. monosperma against carrageenan-induced paw oedema and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats. The fixed oil, mixed fatty acids, and unsaponifiable matter of the oil exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity on the tested experimental animal models. The unsaponifiable matter of the oil produced higher protection compared to fixed oil and mixed fatty acids. Phytochemical analysis of the fixed oil revealed the presence of steroids and terpenoids while unsaponifiable matter of the oil showed the presence of ${\beta}-sitosterol$. Also, four fatty acids were identified in the fixed oil by gas liquid chromatography. The anti-inflammatory activity of the fixed oil may be due to unsaponifiable matter or combination of unsaponifiable matter and mixed fatty acids.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.150-157
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• 1997

Capsaicin cream has been used to attenuate the pain associated with diabetic neuropathy, rheum-atoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and postherpetic neuralgia. But its common side effect, local irritation, limits the use of it and there is still a need for a new analgesic devoid of this side effect. This study was conducted to compare the local irritant effect of DA-5018, a new capsaicin derivative, with that of capsaicin in various animal models and human beings. Capsaicin, applied topically to the mouse ear, produced dose-dependent increase of ear volume and the frequency of ear scratching behavior in mice. Neither ear volume nor scratching behavior was affected by DA-5018. In eye wiping test of rat, DA-5018 was 10 times less irritant than capsaicin. Capsaicin administered intradermally into the rat paw elicited paw lick/lift response with a potency which was three times that of DA-5018. Zostrix-HP (0.075% capsaicin cream), but not DA-50180.3% cream, increased ear volume of rat and induced thermal hyperalgesia in normal and carrageenan inflamed paws. Six day-treatment of Zostrix-HP failed to develop tolerance against this thermal hyperalgesia. In human beings, Zostrix-HP produced burning sensation and itching in more than 90% of volunteers involved and its maximum irritant effect was significantly higher than that of DA-5018 cream. These results suggest that local irritation and burning sensation produced by DA-5018 is much less than capsaicin.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.267-270
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• 2000

This study was designed to predict the risk of a hazard chemical, vinyl chloride, by applying dose-response assessment that are one of the major process in practicing risk assessment. After extrapolating from the high dose exposure of vinyl chloride based upon animal carcinogenic data to the low dose exposed to human using several mathematical models, we calculated the cancer potency factors as well as virtually safe dose and the resulted values were compared. This process will provide the new insight to assess the risk of a chemical accurately imposed to human in the future.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.153-159
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• 2010

The 34 potently pig pheromonal odorants (1-32, 5755 & 7113) through structure-based virtual screening and ligand-based virtual screening method were selected and their ADMET and pharmacokinetics characters were evaluated and discussed quantitatively. The pheromonal odorants were projected on the following pre-calculated models, Caco-2 cell permeability, blood-brain barrier permeation, hERG inhibition and volume-distribution. From the results of in silico study, it is found that an optimal compound (31) either penetrating or have a little ($P_{caco2}$=-8.143) for Caco-2 cell permeability, moderate penetrating ability ($P_{BBB}$=0.082) for blood-brain barrier permeation, the low QT prolongation ($P_{hERG}$=1.137) for the hERG $K^+$ channel inhibition, and low distribution into tissues ($P_{VD}$=-5.468) for volume-distribution. Therefore, it is predicted that the compound (31) a topical application may be preferable from these based foundings.