• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.417-425
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• 2019

Cadmium (Cd) generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn cause the apoptosis of various cell types including developing germ cells in rodent testis. Ascorbic acids (AA), one of the ROS scavengers, had been reported to protect against Cd-induced apoptosis. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), another ROS scavenger, is known to remove ROS and alleviate the Cd-induced apoptosis in various cell types. In this study we tried to elucidate how NAC affected on Cd-induced cell apoptosis in rat testis. Rats were administered with NAC before and after Cd treatment and then testicular cell apoptosis was examined. NAC treatment resulted in the reduction of Cd-induced chromosomal DNA fragmentation in agarose gel electrophoresis. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay showed that treatment of NAC reduced the Cd-induced apoptosis of germ cells. The administration of NAC showed that the translocation of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) from mitochondria to nucleus was prevented, which indicated that the mechanism of Cd-induced testicular apoptosis is mediated through the release of AIF in caspase-independent manner. Taken together, the NAC may remove Cd-induced ROS and protect ROS-induced cell apoptosis in rat testis.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.258-264
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• 2011

Glutathione (GSH) has important roles in cellular defense against oxidative stress, 1) direct scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and 2) coenzyme of ROS scavenging enzyme like glutathione peroxidases (GPx). GSH peroxidase reduces free hydrogen peroxide to water using 2GSH. $N$-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), one of the antioxidants, is used as a precursor for intracellular GSH. In this study, relation of GSH, NAC, and GSH peroxidase was investigated through transcriptional expression of $GPX1$ and $GPX2$, which are GSH peroxidase encoding genes, in yeast cells treated with 0 mM to 20 mM of NAC or in combination with 100 Gy gamma-rays. The transcriptional expression of $GPX1$ and $GPX2$ was induced by NAC and 100 Gy gamma-rays. The gene expression of both GSH peroxidases was decreased with increasing concentrations of NAC in irradiated yeast cells. These results suggest that elevation of intracellular GSH by NAC and oxidative stress and ROS generated from gamma-rays induces expression of GSH peroxidase genes, and that NAC can protect the yeast cells against ROS generated from gamma-rays through direct scavenging of ROS and transcriptional activation of GSH peroxidase.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.239-247
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• 2010

This study was conducted to increase the keeping quality of the minimally processed pear slices during the cold storage. Korean pears, 'Shin-go (Niitaka)', 'Chu-hwang' and 'Won-hwang’ were immersed in 1% ascorbic acid, 0.1% calcium propionate, 1% citric acid, 0.2% N-acetyl cysteine and 0.5 M 4-hexylresorcinol solution for 3 three minutes and then stored at $1{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$ for 10 days. We have also examined into the firmness and the color difference of pears slices as affected by the application of the anti-browning agents. The firmness of pears slices which that were immersed in 0.1% calcium propionate and 0.2% N-acetyl cysteine solution were not significant at did not differ significantly after 10 days after of cold storage. However, the ${\Delta}E^*$ values of 'Shin-go' slices which that were treated with 0.1% calcium propionate and 0.2% N-acetyl cysteine solution and stored for 10 days decreased by 3.18 and 3.83, when compared with that in of the control, which decreased by 6.36. The ${\Delta}E^*$ values of 'Chu-hwang' slices which that were treated with 0.2% N-acetyl cysteine and 0.1% calcium propionate solution had the slight difference by differed by only 2.09 and 2.14, when compared with that in of the control, which differed by 3.04. The ${\Delta}E^*$ values of 'Won-hwang' slices which that were treated with 1% citric acid and 0.5 M 4-hexylresorcinol were 4.49 and 5.83, respectively, while that in of the control decreased by 8.95. It was assumed that the anti-browning agent treatment had the different activities among varieties of the pear varieties slices, however, application of 0.2% N-acetyl cysteine and 0.1% calcium propionate application had greater the higher antibrowning activity.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.636-641
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• 2015

There are controversial findings regarding the roles of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway on bone metabolism under oxidative stress. We investigated how Nrf2/HO-1 pathway affects osteoblast differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells in response to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), or both. Exposing the cells to H₂O₂ decreased the alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium accumulation, and expression of osteoblast markers, such as osteocalcin and runt-related transcription factor-2. In contrast, H₂O₂ treatment increased the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in the cells. Treatment with hemin, a chemical HO-1 inducer, mimicked the inhibitory effect of H₂O₂ on osteoblast differentiation by increasing the HO-1 expression and decreasing the osteogenic marker genes. Pretreatment with NAC restored all changes induced by H₂O₂ to near normal levels in the cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that H₂O₂-mediated activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway negatively regulates the osteoblast differentiation, which is inhibited by NAC.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2011

N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) having a thiol, a precursor for glutathione (GSH), is known as one of the antioxidants. NAC used as a radioprotector against ionizing radiation (IR)-induced injury and damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the radioprotective effects of NAC against IR-induced cell damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the antioxidative effect of NAC on transcriptional level of yeast antioxidant enzyme genes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. In the present study, yeast cells were pretreated with various concentrations of NAC and/or irradiated with various doses of gamma rays. The cell viability was measured by counting the cell forming unit (CFU). The quantitative real-time PCR was performed for analysis of gene expression of SOD and catalase. The viability of irradiated cells was not improved by pretreatment with NAC. Ionizing radiation with 100 Gy highly induced the gene expression of antioxidant enzymes. In the irradiated group with NAC pretreatment, the gene expression of SOD and catalase was gradually reduced with the increased concentrations of NAC. These results indicate that NAC can act as a useful antioxidant to scavenge reactive oxygen species in vivo, but does not protect cells against IR-induced cell death in S. cerevisiae.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.229-235
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• 2002

Thimerosal, a widely used preservative, has been well known to induce intracellular calcium mobilization in various cell types. However, the mechanism of its calcium mobilization is not clearly understood yet. For studying the mechanism of thimerosal-mediated calcium release, we have used HL60 cells in calcium-free Lockes solution that has no extracellular calcium. Thimerosal significantly reduced the lag period of initial calcium release whereas it enhanced the rate and magnitude of the calcium release in a dose-dependent manner. At the same time, we found that thimerosal generated superoxide anion by activating NADPH oxidase in dose- and time-dependent manner. Interestingly, the kinetics and the dosedependency of superoxide anion generation were very similar to those of intracellular calcium mobilization. In inhibitors study, the thimerosal-induced superoxide anion generation was significantly suppressed by DMSO as well as superoxide dismutase but not by genistein or EGTA. Surprisingly, the pretreatment with N-Acetyl-$_{L}$-Cysteine blocked almost completely the thimerosal-induced calcium increase, indicating that ROS playa key role in the calcium mobilization. The present results suggest that thimerosal-induced calcium mobilization is possibly mediated by the activation of NADPH oxidase and subsequent ROS generation.n.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.201-207
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• 2017

To increase the productivity of in vitro development, the antioxidants have been used for culture system of bovine oocytes and embryos. However, comparative studies on these molecules are rare and direct beneficial effects on blastocyst production cannot be discriminated for best results. The study was conducted to determine the influence of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), N-acetyl-L-cysteine amide (NACA), glutathione (GSH) and cysteamime (CYS) on maturation competence of COCs from GV to MII stage and productivity of blastocyst formation during in vitro fertilization and culture. There was no difference among maturation rates of oocytes to metaphase II with polar body with antioxidants for any of the treatment groups (p>0.05). However, the significant improvement on the rate of blastocysts ($32.3{\pm}5.0%$) was found in 0.1 mM CYS treatment than 0.3 mM NAC, 0.2 mM NACA or 0.5mM GSH (p<0.05). The addition of NAC ($18.8{\pm}3.7%$) or NACA ($21.2{\pm}3.9%$) did not improve development competence to morula and blastocysts than control ($24.4{\pm}4.1%$) and GSH ($26.5{\pm}5.0%$) (p>0.05). Our study showed that medium supplementation with CYS during IVM and IVC improved the rate of bovine embryo development but not with NAC, NACA and GSH addition.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2020

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) loading on the bone formation surrounding sandblasted, large-grit and acid-etched (SLA) implants. Materials and methods: Implantation of NAC loaded SLA implants (NSI group) and SLA implants (SI group) was performed bilaterally in the mandible of 4 adult beagle dogs (each group, n = 8). The animals were sacrificed after a healing period of 3 and 6 weeks, respectively (n = 2 animal each). Dissected blocks were processed for histomorphometrical analysis. Bone to implant contact percentage (BIC%) and bone volume (BV%) were assessed histomorphometrically. Results: BIC% of NAC loaded SLA implants were about 50% higher than that of SLA implants at 3 weeks of bone healing, but not significantly (51.79 vs 35.43%; P=.185). BV% of NAC loaded SLA implants were significantly higher than that of SLA implants at 3 weeks of bone healing (45.09 vs 37.57 %; P=.044). At 6 weeks of bone healing, BIC% and BV% of two experimental groups were similar (P>.05). Conclusion: Within the limits of the present study, NAC loading have a positive effects on the early bone formation surrounding SLA implants. So, it might be concluded that NAC loading enhance the osseointegration and shorten the healing time after implantation of the SLA implants.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.65-65
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• 2004

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2017

This study was performed to evaluate whether microRNAs (miRNAs) in circulating exosomes may serve as biomarkers of drug-induced liver, kidney, or muscle-injury. Quantitative PCR analyses were performed to measure the amounts of liver-specific miRNAs (miR-122, miR-192, and miR-155), kidney-specific miR-146a, or muscle-specific miR-206 in plasma and exosomes from mice treated with liver, kidney or muscle toxicants. The levels of liver-specific miRNAs in circulating plasma and exosomes were elevated in acetaminophen-induced liver injury and returned to basal levels by treatment with antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine. Circulating miR-146a and miR-206 were increased in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and bupivacaine-induced myotoxicity, respectively. Taken together, these results indicate that circulating plasma and exosomal miRNAs can be used as potential biomarkers specific for drug-induced liver, kidney or muscle injury.