• BMB Reports
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.30-38
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• 2022

Cardiovascular disease, especially ischemic heart disease, is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Cardiac repair is one of the most promising strategies to address advanced cardiovascular diseases. Despite moderate improvement in heart function via stem cell therapy, there is no evidence of significant improvement in mortality and morbidity beyond standard therapy. The most salutary effect of stem cell therapy are attributed to the paracrine effects and the stem cell-derived exosomes are known as a major contributor. Hence, exosomes are emerging as a promising therapeutic agent and potent biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, they play a role as cellular cargo and facilitate intercellular communication. However, the clinical use of exosomes is hindered by the absence of a standard operating procedures for exosome isolation and characterization, problems related to yield, and heterogeneity. In addition, the successful clinical application of exosomes requires strategies to optimize cargo, improve targeted delivery, and reduce the elimination of exosomes. In this review, we discuss the basic concept of exosomes and stem cell-derived exosomes in cardiovascular disease, and introduce current efforts to overcome the limitations and maximize the benefit of exosomes including engineered biomimetic exosomes.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.137-142
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• 2014

A tremendous increase in the human population has put poultry industry under an increased pressure to meet steep increase in the demand. Poultry is contributing 25% of the total world's meat production and lesser cost of investment per bird makes it more suitable for the further breeding programmes. Major poultry diseases frequently lead to cardiac damage and cause huge economic losses to poultry industry due to mortality. The in vitro embryonic stem cell (ESC) technology has a futuristic approach for homogeneous populace of differentiated cells, for their further transplantations. During in vitro conditions the differentiated cell populace can be used in grafting and transplantation processes to regenerate damaged tissues. Therefore, the current study targeted the use of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in the poultry production system through cardiac regeneration. The current study will also open new boulevard for the similar kind of research in other livestock species for the management of heart diseases.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.380-384
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• 2006

Sprague-Dawley rats (n=32) were fed a diet containing basal (control), cellulose (5%), or alcohol insoluble residue (AIR) (5%) extracted from the stem and root barks of elm (Ulmus davidiana var. japonica Nakai) for 4 weeks. The effects of the diets, on gastrointestinal functions and morphology were evaluated. The weight gains, food intake, and food efficiencies for the cellulose and AIR diet-fed groups were not significantly different from those of the AIR-free (basal) diet. The gastrointestinal transit times of the stem and root bark AIR diets were significantly reduced (p<0.01) compared to the basal diet, and were slower than those of the cellulose diet. The fecal weights of the stem and root bark AIR diets were significantly increased (p<0.01) up to 4-fold compared to those of the basal diet. The height of the mucosal villi, and mucosal and muscle layer thicknesses of the colon were greater and more developed in the stem and root bark AIR diets (p<0.01) than in the basal diet. The villus heights in the jejunum and the colon mucosal goblet cells were more developed in the order of cellulose > stem bark AIR > root bark AIR diets.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제31권11호
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• pp.941-950
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• 2022

This study was conducted to provide data and stem information to establish a local volume table of Cryptomeria japonica in Jeju Island. Stem analysis was performed on 26 trees by selecting two average trees from each site of the 13 plots of C. japonica stands in 2021 and 2022. During the analysis stage, one outlier tree was rejected, and a total of 260 observations of the specific stem height of 25 trees were used. Of the seven major taper equation models applied for parameter estimation and statistical verification, the Muhairwe 1999 model was found to be the best fit and selected as the optimal model. Stem shape-related estimates were acquired through the selected model, and sectional measurements according to the Smalian formula applied at an interval of 10 cm from the height of the stem were used to develop a volume table. A paired t-test comparison between the C. japonica volume obtained from the present study and those selected from the current yield table by NIFoS(2020), revealed significant differences (p<0.05), highlighting the necessity of a local volume table for C. japonica in Jeju Island.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.321-328
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• 1996

The profile and concentration of monoterpene metabolites in the leaf and stem of Artemisia princeps var. orientalis were quantified, and seasonal variation in monoterpenes of Artemisia plant was investigated. Samples were taken from five sites at the campus of Kyungnam University during maturing season. Monoterpenes in leaf and stem were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major constituents of A. princeps var. orientalis in both the leaf and stem were 21 monoterpenes.$ {\alpha}-pinene,\;{\beta}-pinene,\;{\beta}-myrcene$, dl-limonene, naphthalene and unknown monoterpenes with 5.49 and 16.27 of retenstion time were present in high concentrations of compounds identified on the leaf and stem of A. princeps var. orientalis. The cmounts of total monoterpenes of leaf were from two to five times higher than stem and rapidly decreased with the time, while that of stem was constnat except early spring. Most of the high percentage of monoterpenes in the leaf were those with later retention time. These results indicated that monoterpenes yields are considered to be more variable than monoterpene composition in responding to the time in both the leaf and stem.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2007

Natural killer (NK) cells play a crucial role in innate immune system and tumor surveillance. NK cells are derived from $CD34^+$hematopoietic stem cells and undergo differentiation via precursor NK cells in bone marrow (BM) through sequential acquisition of functional surface receptors. During differentiation of NK cells, many factors are involved including cytokines, membrane factors and transcription factors as well as microenvironment of BM. NK cells express their own repertoire of receptors including activating and inhibitory receptors that bind to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I or class I-related molecules. The balance between activating and inhibitory receptors determines the function of NK cells to kill targets. Binding of NK cell inhibitory receptors to their MHC class I-ligand renders the target cells to be protected from NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Thus, NK cells are able to discriminate self from non-self through MHC class I-binding inhibitory receptor. Using intrinsic properties of NK cells, NK cells are emerging to apply as therapeutic agents against many types of cancers. Recently, NK cell alloactivity has also been exploited in killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor mismatched haploidentical stem cell transplantation to reduce the rate of relapse and graft versus host disease. In this review, we discuss the basic mechanisms of NK cell differentiation, diversity of NK cell receptors, and clinical applications of NK cells for anti-cancer immunotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권11호
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• pp.6549-6556
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• 2013

Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) play important roles in leukemia initiation, progression and relapse, and thus represent a critical target for therapeutic intervention. Hence, it is extremely urgent to explore new therapeutic strategies directly targeting LSCs for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) therapy. We show here that Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP), a major active component in Dong quai (Chinese Angelica sinensis), effectively inhibited human AML $CD34^+CD38^-$ cell proliferation in vitro culture in a dose-dependent manner while sparing normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells at physiologically achievable concentrations. Furthermore, ASP exerted cytotoxic effects on AML K562 cells, especially LSC-enriched $CD34^+CD38^-$ cells. Colony formation assays further showed that ASP significantly suppressed the formation of colonies derived from AML $CD34^+CD38^-$ cells but not those from normal $CD34^+CD38^-$ cells. Examination of the underlying mechanisms revealed that ASP induced $CD34^+CD38^-$ cell senescence, which was strongly associated with a series of characteristic events, including up-regulation of p53, p16, p21, and Rb genes and changes of related cell cycle regulation proteins P16, P21, cyclin E and CDK4, telomere end attrition as well as repression of telomerase activity. On the basis of these findings, we propose that ASP represents a potentially important agent for leukemia stem cell-targeted therapy.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• 제56권4호
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• pp.508-517
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• 2023

In cancer patients, chemo/radio therapy may cause infertility by damaging the spermatogenesis affecting the self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). In vitro differentiation of stem cells especially mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into germ cells has recently been proposed as a new strategy for infertility treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation of SSCs using their co-culture with Sertoli cells and conditioned medium (CM) from adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs). Testicular tissues were separated from 2-7 days old neonate Wistar Rats and after mechanical and enzymatic digestion, the SSCs and Sertoli cells were isolated and cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, 1X antibiotic, basic fibroblast growth factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. The cells were treated with the CM from AD-MSCs for 12 days and then the expression level of differentiation-related genes were measured. Also, the expression level of two major spermatogenic markers of DAZL and DDX4 was calculated. Scp3, Dazl, and Prm1 were significantly increased after treatment compared to the control group, whereas no significant difference was observed in Stra8 expression. The immunocytochemistry images showed that DAZL and DDX4 were positive in experimental group comparing with control. Also, western blotting revealed that both DAZL and DDX4 had higher expression in the treated group than the control group, however, no significant difference was observed. In this study, we concluded that the CM obtained from AD-MSCs can be considered as a suitable biological material to induce the differentiation in SSCs.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.13-22
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• 2007

The stem cell research is emerging as a cutting edge topic for a new treatment for many chronic diseases. Recently, dental stem cell would be possible for regeneration of tooth itself as well as periodontal tissue. However, the study of the cell characterization is scarce. Therefore, we performed the genetic profiling and the characterization of mouse fetus/neonate derived dental tissue and cell to find the identification during dental development. We separated dental arch from mandibles of 14.5 d fetal mice and neonate 0 d under the stereoscope, and isolated dental cells primarily from the tissues. Then, we examined morphology and the gene expression profiles of the primary cells and dental tissues from fetus/neonate and adult with RT-PCR. Primary dental cells showed heterogeneous but the majority was shown as fibroblast-like morphology. The change of population doubling time levels (PDLs) showed that the primary dental cells have growth potential and could be expanded under our culture conditions without reduction of growth rate. Immunocytochemical and flow cytometric analyses were performed to characterize the primary dental cell populations from both of fetus (E14.5) and neonate. Alpha smooth muscle actin (${\alpha}-SMA$), vimentin, and von Willebrand factor showed strong expression, but desmin positive cells were not detected in the primary dental cells. Most of the markers were not uniformly expressed, but found in subsets of cells, indicating that the primary dental cell population is heterogeneous, and characteristics of the populations were changed during culture period. And mesenchymal stem cell markers were highly expressed. Gene expression profile showed Wnt family and its related signaling molecules, growth factors, transcription factors and tooth specific molecules were expressed both fetal and neonatal tissue. The tooth specific genes (enamelin, amelogenin, and DSPP) only expressed in neonate and adult stage. These expression patterns appeared same as primary fetal and neonatal cells. In this study we isolated primary cells from whole mandible of fetal and neonatal mice. And we investigated the characteristics of the primary cells and the profile of gene expressions, which are involved in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during tooth development. Taken together, the primary dental cells in early passages or fetal and neonatal mandibles could be useful stem cell resources.

• 한국과학교육학회지
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.317-324
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• 2016

이 연구는 학생들의 대학 전공 선택과 과학학습동기의 관련성을 분석하였다. 이를 위해 인문계 고등학생들이 연구에 참여하였으며, 예체능계열 학생을 제외한 문과와 이과 학생 중에서 각 집단 별로 무작위적으로 추출된 2012명의 학생을 중심으로 분석하였다. 과학학습동기는 25개의 문항으로 구성되어 있는 Glynn et al. (2011)의 SMQ II로 측정하였다. 연구결과 이과에서 비이공계로 진학한 학생이 전체 이과학생 중 11.5%, 문과에서 이공계로 진학하는 학생들의 비율이 전체 문과학생 중 14.4%로 나타났다. 또한 계열과 다른 진로를 선택하는 비율에서 성차가 나타났다. 이과에서 비이공계로, 문과에서 이공계로 진학학 학생들의 과학학습동기의 세부요인의 차이를 확인한 결과 직업동기에서만 유의미한 차이가 나타났다. 과학학습동기는 진로 선택에 있어 중요한 예측 변인이었으며 그 중에서도 직업동기는 가장 큰 영향력을 가진 변인이었다. 계열과 다른 진로를 선택하는 학생들을 위한 교육적 장치가 필요할 것으로 판단되며, 그 보다 앞서 학생들의 진로를 보다 면밀히 예측할 필요가 있다. 또한 과학학습동기 역시 그런 예측 변수로 판단되며, 학생들의 계열 선택 및 진로와 관련한 교수 학습 및 상담에서 학생들의 과학학습동기를 고려하는 것이 중요하다.