• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.69-75
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• 2006

In the present study, the author tried to investigate whether four oriental medical prescriptions named, jawan-chihyosan (CHS), gwaru-jisiltang (GJT), and several single compounds, kaempferol, coumarin, betaine and ursolic acid significantly affect mucin release from cultured hamster tracheal surface epithelial (HTSE) cells. Confluent HTSE cells were metabolically radiolabeled with 3H-glucosamine for 24 hrs and chased for 30 min in the presence of CHS, GJT, kaempferol, coumarin, betaine and ursolic acid, respectively, to assess the effect of each agent on 3H-mucin release. Possible cytotoxicities of each agent were assessed by measuring lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) release. Additionally, total elution profiles of control spent media and treatment sample (CHS and GJT) through Sepharose CL-4B column were analysed and effect of CHS and GJT on MUC5AC mRNA expression in cultured HTSE cells were investigated. The results were as follows : (1) CHS and GJT significantly stimulated mucin release from cultured HTSE cells, with significant cytotoxicity , (2) CHS and GJT chiefly stimulated the 'mucin' release and did not affect significantly the release of the other releasable glycoproteins with less molecular weight than mucin. This result suggests that the three herbal prescriptions specifically stimulate the release of mucin ; (3) CHS and GJT significantly increased the expression levels of MUC 5AC mRNA. This result suggests that the three herbal prescriptions can affect the synthesis of mucin at gene level in cultured HTSE cells ; (4) Kaempferol and coumarin did not affect mucin release, however, betaine and ursolic acid stimulated mucin release. All the agents did not show significant cytotoxicity. We suggest that the effects of CHS and GJT, betaine and ursolic acid should be further investigated and it is of great value to find, from oriental medical prescriptions, novel agents which have the effective expectorant or mucoregulative effect on mucin secretion from airway goblet cells.