• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.128-134
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• 2017

Der p 1 and Der p 2 are essential allergens of house dust mite associated with the development of asthma. In the present study, we examined whether Der p 1 and Der p 2 induce a release of S100A8 and S100A9 in monocytes, which are involved in the regulatory mechanism of neutrophil apoptosis. We found that Der p 1 and Der p 2 significantly increased the secretion of S100A8 and S100A9 in normal monocytes. Moreover, S100A8 and S100A9 strongly suppressed the spontaneous apoptosis of normal and asthmatic neutrophils. The inhibitory effect of S100A9 was stronger than that of S100A8, and asthmatic neutrophils showed a higher inhibitory effect than normal neutrophils. S100A8 and S100A9 induced activation of Lyn, Akt, and ERK in a time-dependent manner. These findings elucidate the roles of Der p 1 and Der p 2 in the interaction between monocytes and neutrophils, as well as contributing to our knowledge of the pathogenesis of allergic diseases.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.459-465
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• 2008

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of in vivo administration of neem oil intra-peritoneally (i.p.) to mice bearing a progressively growing transplantable T cell lymphoma of spontaneous origin, designated as Daltons lymphoma (DL), on the tumor growth. Mice were administered various doses of neem oil mixed in groundnut oil, which was used as a diluting vehicle or for administration to control DL-bearing mice. Administration of neem oil resulted in an acceleration of tumor growth along with a reduction in the survival time of the tumor-bearing host. Neem oil administered DL-bearing mice showed an augmented apoptosis in splenocytes, bone marrow cells and thymocytes along with an inhibition in the anti-tumor functions of tumor-associated macrophages. Thus this study gives an altogether a novel information that neem oil instead of the popular belief of being anti-tumor and immunoaugmentary may in some tumor-bearing conditions, behave in an opposite way leading to an accelarated tumor progression along with a collapse of the host's anti-tumor machinery. These observations will thus have long lasting clinical significance, suggesting caution in use of neem oil for treatment of cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.7 s.87
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• pp.948-955
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• 2007

Neutrophils play a key role as a first line of defense and are known to acquire the characteristics of dendritic cells (DCs) under the appropriate conditions. The spontaneous apoptosis of neutrophils was delayed by treatment with 4-(2-aminoethyl) benzensulfonylfluoride (AEBSF), a serine protease inhibitor. AEBSF inhibited both caspase-3 and serine protease activities, whereas ZVAD-fmk, a pancaspase inhibitor, inhibited only caspase-3 activity. The life span of neutrophils was prolonged up to 5 days by AEBSF in the presence or absence of granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor(CM-CSF). DC surface markers, such as CD80, CD83, and MHC class ll were not expressed on neutrophils treated with AEBSF alone. CM-CSF failed to prolong the survival time of neutrophils up to3 days but increased the expression levels of DC markers on neutrophils in the presence of AEBSF. Expression levels of DC markers were the highest on neutrophils treated with CM-CSF and AEBSF for 3 days. AEBSF and CM-CSF-treated neutrophils stimulated proliferation of T cells in the presence of a superantigen, Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) but produced $interferon-{\gamma}$ ($IFN{\gamma}$) in the absence of SEB. These results suggest that the inhibition of serine protease activity prolonged the life span of human neutrophils and combined treatment of neukophils with CM-CSF and serine protease inhibitor induced differentiation of neutrophils into DC-like cells.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 2003

Cordyceps has a reputation for its broad biological activities and as a tonic which replenishs vital function in Chinese traditional medicines. As an attempt to obtain fundamental data for the development of new type Cordyceps, the effects of the fruiting bodies of cultivated fungus of Paecilomyces japonica grown on silkworm larvae on radiationinduced damages were investigated. We performed this study to determine the effect of Dongchongxiacao (Paecilomyces japonica) on jejunal crypt survival, endogenous spleen colony formation, and apoptosis in jejunal crypt cells and hair follicles of mice irradiated with high and low dose of gamma-radiation. Treatment with Dongchongxiacao showed no significant modifying effects on the jejunal crypt survival and endogenous spleen colony formation. The frequency of radiationinduced apoptosis was reduced by pretreatment of Dongchongxiacao (i.p.: 50 mg/kg of body weight, at 12 and 36 hours before irradiation, p<0.01). The spontaneous levels of apoptotic cells are $0.082{\pm}0.041$ in intestinal crypts and $0.231{\pm}0.084$ per hair follicle section of skin. Pretreatment of Dongchongxiacao was associated with decreases of 26.86% in intestinal crypt and 66.36% in hair follicle decrease in the number of cells with nuclei positively stained for apoptosis compared with the irradiation control group. We demonstrated for the first time that Dongchongxiacao administration could reduce the extent of apoptosis produced by radiation in the hair follicle. The results presented herein that Dongchongxiacao given before irradiation is capable of reducing the severity of cell loss as a result of apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3239-3245
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• 2012

Gliomas are a group of heterogeneous primary central nervous system tumors. Hyperthermia has proven to be a potential therapeutic tool for cancers in the clinic. However, the molecular mechanisms of hyperthermia remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hyperthermia on the invasiveness in C6 glioma cells and related molecular pathways. Here our data show hyperthermia stimulated the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) and decreased C6 glioma cell migration and invasive capability at 30, 60, 120 and 180 min; with increased spontaneous apoptosis in C6 glioma cells at 120 min. We also found mitogen-activated protein kinase (P38 MAPK) protein expression to be increased and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) protein expression decreased. Based on the results, we conclude that hyperthermia alone reduced invasion of C6 glioma cells through stimulating TNF-${\alpha}$ signaling to activate apoptosis, enhancing P38 MAPK expression and inhibiting the NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway, a first report in C6 rat glioma cells.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

A disrupted immune system during pregnancy is involved in pregnancy complications, such as spontaneous abortion, preeclampsia, and recurrent pregnancy loss. This study examined the role of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD [c-terminal caspase recruitment domain]) in pregnancy complications using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced miscarriage mice model. Incidences of miscarriage and embryonic resorption were examined at 9.5 days of pregnancy in wild-type (WT), ASC knockout (KO), and TLR4 KO mice after injecting them with LPS. The fetuses and placenta were obtained after sacrifice at 15.5 days of pregnancy. A significantly lower frequency of fetus absorption was found in TLR4 KO mice, whereas corresponding absorption outcomes were strongly induced in the WT and ASC KO mice upon an LPS injection. As expected, TLR4 KO mice were resistant to LPS-induced abortion. A histological analysis of the miscarried placenta showed increasing levels of the eosin staining of spongiotrophoblast cells without any obvious difference between WT and ASC KO mice. These results suggest that TLR4 KO mice are resistant to LPS, which affects pregnancy persistence, whereas WT and ASC KO mice show high miscarriage rates due to LPS. Moreover, the ASC adaptor is not directly involved in LPS-induced miscarriages, and the NLRP3 inflammasome can be activated by other proteins in the absence of ASC.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2013

CD8+T cells are key factors mediating hepatitis B virus (HBV) clearance. However, these cells are killed through HBV-induced apoptosis during the antigen-presenting period in HBV-induced chronic liver disease (CLD) patients. Interferon-inducible protein 6 (IFI6) delays type I interferon-induced apoptosis in cells. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IFI6 could affect the chronicity of CLD. The present study included a discovery stage, in which 195 CLD patients, including chronic hepatitis B (HEP) and cirrhosis patients and 107 spontaneous recovery (SR) controls, were analyzed. The genotype distributions of rs2808426 (C > T) and rs10902662 (C > T) were significantly different between the SR and HEP groups (odds ratio [OR], 6.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64 to 26.52, p = 0.008 for both SNPs) and between the SR and CLD groups (OR, 4.38; 95% CI, 1.25 to 15.26; p = 0.021 and OR, 4.12; 95% CI, 1.18 to 14.44; p = 0.027, respectively). The distribution of diplotypes that contained these SNPs was significantly different between the SR and HEP groups (OR, 6.58; 95% CI, 1.63 to 25.59; p = 0.008 and OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.61; p = 0.008, respectively) and between the SR and CLD groups (OR, 4.38; 95% CI, 1.25 to 15.26; p = 0.021 and OR, 4.12; 95% CI, 1.18 to 14.44; p = 0.027, respectively). We were unable to replicate the association shown by secondary enrolled samples. A large-scale validation study should be performed to confirm the association between IFI6 and HBV clearance.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.138-144
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• 2006

Background: There are at least two different subsets of B cells, B-1 and B-2. The characteristic features and function of B-2 cells in addition to the effect of steroids on B-2 cells are well-known. Although B-1 cells have different features and functions from B-2 cells, the effect of steroids on B-1 cells is not completely understood. Therefore, this study examined the effects of dexamethasone on peritoneal (or B-1 cells) and splenic B cells (or B-2 cells). Methods: Purified B cells were obtained from the peritoneal fluid and the spleens of mice. The isolated B cells were cultured in a medium and after adding different concentrations of dexamaethasone. The cell survival rate was measured by flow cytometry using propidium iodide. The expression level of the B cell surface marker was analyzed by flow cytometry. During the culture of these cells, immunoglobulin secreted into the culture supernatants was evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The survival rate of peritoneal and splenic B cells decreased with increasing dexamethasone concentration. However, the rate of peritofieal B cell apoptosis was lower than that of splenic B cells. CDS and B7.1 expression in peritoneal B cells and CD23 and sIgM expression in splenic B cells after the dexamethasone treatment were reduced. When B cells were treated with dexamethasone, the spontaneous IgM secretion decreased with increasing dexamethasone concentration. Conclusion: Dexamethasone induces apoptosis in peritoneal and splenic B cells. However, peritoneal B cells are less sensitive to dexamethasone. The dexamethasone suppressed expression of the surface markers in peritoneal B cells is different from those in splenic B cells.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.152-159
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• 2015

Der p 2, which is a major allergen of house dust mite, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic disease. There is controversy regarding whether Der p 2 binds to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and its inflammatory effect has not yet been elucidated. In the current study, we examined the interaction of Der p 2 with TLR4 and the effect of Der p 2 on cytokine release in THP-1 cells and lymphocytes. Among house dust mite extracts, recombinant TLR4 protein interacted with Der p 2. The overall structure of Der p 2 is characteristic of the immunoglobulin superfamily and contains ten ${\beta}-strands$, forming a ${\beta}-cup$ fold with two anti-parallel ${\beta}-sheets$, and a short 310 helix. The two sheets can be separated, further allowing the formation of a large internal pocket, which is narrow and suitable for binding large flat molecules such as lipid-like molecules. Der p 2 caused increased secretion of IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1, which are neutrophil survival factors, in human monocytic THP-1 cells in a time-dependent manner. Der p 2 also induces the release of cytokines in normal and allergic lymphocytes. Supernatant after treatment with Der p 2 inhibited neutrophil apoptosis. In coculture of lymphocytes with neutrophils, Der p 2 inhibited spontaneous apoptosis of allergic neutrophils. In summary, Der p 2 binds to TLR4 and induces an inflammatory response such as cytokine secretion in immune cells. These findings may enable elucidation of allergy pathogenesis by specific allergen of house dust mite.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2011

Regulation of B cell receptor (BCR)-induced $Ca^{2+}$ signaling by CD40 co-stimulation was compared in long-term BCR-stimulated immature (WEHI-231) and mature (Bal-17) B cells. In response to long-term pre-stimulation of immature WEHI-231 cells to ${\alpha}$-IgM antibody (0.5~48 hr), the initial transient decrease in BCR-induced $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ was followed by spontaneous recovery to control level within 24 hr. The recovery of $Ca^{2+}$ signaling in WEHI-231 cells was not due to restoration of internalized receptor but instead to an increase in the levels of $PLC{\gamma}2$ and $IP_3R-3$. CD40 co-stimulation of WEHI-231 cells prevented BCR-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and it strongly inhibited the recovery of BCR-induced $Ca^{2+}$ signaling. CD40 co-stimulation also enhanced BCR internalization and reduced expression of $PLC{\gamma}2$ and $IP_3R-3$. Pre-treatment of WEHI-231 cells with the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) strongly inhibited CD40-mediated prevention of the recovery of $Ca^{2+}$ signaling. In contrast to immature WEHI-231 cells, identical long-term ${\alpha}$-IgM pre-stimulation of mature Bal-17 cells abolished the increase in BCR-induced $[Ca^{2+}]_i$, regardless of CD40 co-stimulation. These results suggest that CD40-mediated signaling prevents antigen-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of immature B cells through inhibition of sustained BCR-induced $Ca^{2+}$ signaling.