• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.799-804
• /
• 2009

Kamikaekyuk-tang(KMKKT), a formula of ten Oriental herbs, was orientally designed to promote vital energy, to remove blood stasis, and to decrease inflammation for treating cancers. KMKKT and its component had potent antiandrogen and androgen receptor activities in prostate cancer and also inhibited angiogenesis induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and suppressed the tumor growth in LLC-bearing mice, and liver metastasis of colon 26-L5 cancer cells, suggesting a potent cancer preventive agent. Nevertheless, there is no safety study of KMKKT before clinical trial so far. Thus, in the current study, we investigated the toxicity about ethanol-extracted KMKKT. Male and female Spraque Dawley (SD) rats were given orally by KMKKT at 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg for 4 weeks. Mortality, clinical signs and measured change of body weight, food consumption and water consumption were observed. In addition, we performed ophthalmologic, urinary, hematological, blood serum biochemical and histopathological examination. Any general toxicity was not found in KMKKT treated group. Also, there were no significant differences in the parameters such as body weight, food consumption and water consumption, a lot of urine and blood factor levels except WBC, MCHC and Ca level compared with control group. Although WBC and MCHC were elevated in female rats and Ca level was decreased in male rats, these were within normal ranges. Finally, we determined that maximum tolerated dose (MTD) was 1000 mg/kg and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) was 500 mg/kg. Taken together, these results demonstrated that KMKKT is very safe to SD rats.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.10-21
• /
• 2001

Objective : To investigate the effect between Fructus Immaturus Ponciri (FIP, the immature fruit of Poncirus trifoliata) and Fructus Ponciri (FP, the ripe fruit of Poncirus trifoliata) on mast cell-mediated immediate-type allergic reactions. Methods : We performed anaphylactic reaction, histamine release, cAMP, $TNF-{\alpha}$, IgE. Results : The aqueous extract of FIP dose-dependently inhibited systemic and local allergic reaction was induced by compound 48/80 or anti-dinitrophenyl (DNP) IgE in a murine model. FIP also significantly inhibited mast cell-dependent ear swelling response induced by topical application of compound 48/80. When mice were orally pretreated with FIP, the plasma histamine levels were reduced in a dose-dependent manner. FIP dose-dependently inhibited histamine release from the rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMCs) was activated by compound 48/80 or anti-DNP IgE. The level of cAMP in RPMCs, when FIP was added, increased compared with that of a normal or control. In addition, FIP had a significant inhibitory effect on anti-DNP IgE-induced tumor necrosis factor-a ($TNF-{\alpha}$) production from the RPMCs and IgE produced by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated murine whole spleen cells or U266B1 as human IgE-bearing B cells. However, FP showed the lower inhibition rate than those of FIP in above all allergic reactions. Conclusion : These data have important implications for our understanding of the clinical effects of FIP and FP on allergic diseases, and FIP is more effective than FP on the allergic reaction.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.68-76
• /
• 2019

Background: In colorectal cancer (CRC), 40-60% of patients develop metastasis. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a pivotal and intricate process that increases the metastatic potential of CRC. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Korean Red Ginseng extract (RGE) on colorectal metastasis through inhibition of EMT and the metastatic abilities of CRC cells. Methods: To investigate the effect of RGE on the metastatic phenotypes of CRC cells, CT26 and HT29 cells were evaluated by using an adhesion assay, a wound-healing assay, an invasion assay, zymography, and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Western-blot analysis was conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of RGE, which showed an inhibitory effect on the transforming growth factor-${\beta}1$ ($TGF-{\beta}1$)-induced EMT in HT29 cells. Additionally, the antimetastatic effect of RGE was evaluated in a mouse model of lung metastasis injected with CT26 cells. Results: RGE decreased the adhesion and migration ability of the CT26 cells and TGF-${\beta}1$-treated HT29 cells. The invasion ability was also reduced by RGE treatment through the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression and activity. Moreover, RGE suppressed the TGF-${\beta}1$-induced EMT via TGF-${\beta}1$/Smad-signaling-mediated Snail/E-cadherin expression in HT29 cells and lung tissue in CT26 tumor-bearing mice. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that RGE inhibited colorectal lung metastasis through a reduction in metastatic phenotypes, such as migration, invasion, and the EMT of CRC cells.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.81-88
• /
• 1998

The purpose of this study was to examine the radiolabeling and biodistribution of $^{188}Re(V)$-DMSA as a therapeutic cancer radiopharmaceutical. We made a DMSA kit($NaHCO_3$ 1.5 mg, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid 1.0 mg, L(+)-ascorbic acid 0.7 mg, $SnCl_2{\cdot}2H_2O$ 0.34 mg, pH 2.9) for labeling with $^{188}Re$. In this kit, $^{188}ReO_4{^-}$ 5 mCi/2 ml added and boiled at $100^{\circ}C$ for 3 hr in water bath. The final pH adjusted to 7.5 with 7% $NaHCO_3$ solution. We checked the labelling efficacy with TLC-SG(n-butanol : acetic acid : $H_2O$ = 3 : 2 : 3) and examined the stability both in room temperature and in serum at $37^{\circ}C$. Biodistribution(1, 3, 13, 24, 48 hr) of $^{188}Re(V)$-DMSA compound was evaluated in Sarcoma 180 tumor-bearing mice. Each labeling efficiency and stability at room temperature for 48 hours was over 98% and 95%, respectively. The stability in serum were 82%(6 hr) and 85%(48 hr). Tumor uptake of $^{188}Re(V)$-DMSA in Sarcoma 180-bearing mice were $0.66{\pm}0.15%$(1 hr), $0.51{\pm}0.10%$(3 hr), $0.19{\pm}0.05%$(24 hr) and $0.13{\pm}0.02%$(48 hr). These result are consistent with those of $^{99m}Tc(V)$-DMSA which were reported previously. In conclusion, $^{188}Re(V)$-DMSA may be a useful therapeutic radiopharmaceutical for treating some cancers and metastatic bone lesion.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.65-72
• /
• 2018

Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a cell surface membrane protein, which is overexpressed in most prostate cancer. Recently, PET imaging with $[^{68}Ga]$PSMA-HBED-CC has been widely used for the diagnosis of recurrent prostate cancer and the studies on the diagnostic potential of $^{64}Cu$-labeled PSMA ligands reported actively. In this study, we monitored with biological evaluation in vivo and PET imaging of $^{64}Cu$-labeled PSMA ligand ($[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617). The radiolabelling efficiency and stability of $[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617 were confirmed by radio-thin layer chromatography. The radiolabeling efficiency of $[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617 showed over 95%, and stabilities of intact remained over 98% in both human and mouse serum for 48 h. In normal male mice, in vivo uptake of $[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617 in several organs was measured at 2, 4, 6, 24, 48 h after injection. Rapid blood clearance was observed for $[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617. The high uptake was observed in the lung, liver, intestines and kidneys at 2 h postinjection, but was low in the other organs (1-2 %ID/g) at 4 h. The dynamic PET/CT images of 22RV1 tumor-bearing nude mice were acquired during 60 min and additionally acquired 24 h and 48 h after injection. In dynamic PET images, $[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617 uptake ratio in tumors versus muscle was increased as time elaplsed until 60 minutes and remained in tumors at 48 h. In these results, the PET/CT imaging using $[^{64}Cu]$PSMA-617 in prostate cancer is expected to be useful for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.516-523
• /
• 2015

This study investigated the antimutagenic and anticancer effects of Platycodon grandiflorum extract (PGE) and its fractions against carcinogenic N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and genotoxicity. The Ames Salmonella mutagenicity test employing histidine mutants of Salmonella Typhimurium TA98 and TA100 was used to examine the mutagenicity of PGE and its fractions. Bacterial reversion assay with S. Typhimurium TA98 and TA100 did not show a significantly increased number of revertant colonies. The same test was used to examine the ability of PGE and its fractions to prevent acquisition of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine- and 4-introquino-line-1-oxide-induced mutations. PGE and its fractions inhibited mutagenesis in a dose-dependent manner. Among the fractions, ethyl acetate fraction from PGE (PGEA) exhibited a higher antimutagenic effect than other fractions. PGE and its fractions suppressed the growth of cancer cell lines, including human cervical adenocarcinoma, human hepatocellular carcinoma, human breast adenocarcinoma, human lung carcinoma, and transformed primary human embryonic kidney cells. In addition, we evaluated the antitumor activity of PGEA and its fractions in sacorma-180 solid tumor-bearing mice. In vivo anticancer activity results showed that PGE and its fractions could more effectively suppress tumor growth than the control. PGEA showed higher in vitro and in vivo anticancer effects than PGE and other fractions, and PGEA inhibited NDMA formation. Thus, we showed that PGEA has antimutagenic and anticancer activities, making it a candidate anticancer material under these experimental conditions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.10
• /
• pp.5291-5298
• /
• 2012

Beta-asarone is one of the main bioactive constituents in traditional Chinese medicine Acorus calamu. Previous studies have shown that it has antifungal and anthelmintic activities. However, little is known about its anticancer effects. This study aimed to determine inhibitory effects on LoVo colon cancer cell proliferation and to clarify the underlying mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. Dose-response and time-course anti-proliferation effects were examined by MTT assay. Our results demonstrated that LoVo cell viability showed dose- and time-dependence on ${\beta}$-asarone. We further assessed anti-proliferation effects as ${\beta}$-asarone-induced apoptosis by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide assay usinga flow cytometer and observed characteristic nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation of apoptosis by microscopy. Moreover, we found the apoptosis to be induced through the mitochondrial/caspase pathway by decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and reducing the Bcl-2-to-Bax ratio, in addition to activating the caspase-9 and caspase-3 cascades. Additionally, the apoptosis could be inhibited by a pan-caspase inhibitor, carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK). When nude mice bearing LoVo tumor xenografts were treated with ${\beta}$-asarone, tumor volumes were reduced and terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays of excised tissue also demonstrated apoptotic changes. Taken together, these findings for the first time provide evidence that ${\beta}$-asarone can suppress the growth of colon cancer and the induced apoptosis is possibly mediated through mitochondria/caspase pathways.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.317-324
• /
• 1990

Liposome was labelled with $^{99m}Tc$ after negative charged liposome was formed with combination of a few lipid components. $^{99m}Tc$ liposome was injected through the tail vein of C3H mice bearing fibrosarcoma and biodistribution of $^{99m}Tc$ liposome was evaluated. The results were as follows: 1) We confirmed formation of liposome which was small unillamellar and multilamellar vesicles. 2) In this experiment the optimal concentration of $SnCl_2$ was $156{\mu}g/ml$ to label liposome with $^{99m}Tc$ and labelling efficiency was 95%. 3) The labelled liposome was stable when it was incubated with human serum for 24 hours. Mean labelling efficiency was 94% at 24 hour. 4) The main uptake sites of Tc-99m liposome were liver and spleen. It showed significantly higher uptake than $^{99m}Tc$ HSA (p < 0.001). 5) $^{99m}Tc$ liposome uptake in tumor tissue was not significantly higher than $^{99m}Tc$ HSA uptake. In conclusion, $^{99m}Tc$ liposome disclosed high labelling efficiency and was highly stable. Liver and spleen were main uptake sites of $^{99m}Tc$ liposome. The uptake mechanism of $^{99m}Tc$ liposome also seemed to be different from that of $^{99m}Tc$ HSA. We conclude that $^{99m}Tc$ liposome would be a promising agents for the imaging of some tumor.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.105-111
• /
• 2021

⁸⁹Zr is a positron-emitting radioisotope, which has known as well-suited radioisotope for use in a monoclonal antibody-based imaging agent for immuno-PET. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the diagnostic ability of general trastuzumab and thio-trastuzumab as HER2 positive receptors based on Df hexadentate iron chelator. Desferrioxamine-p-SCN (Df-Bz-NCS) and desferroixamine-maleimide (Df-Mal) were purchased from Macrocyclics (Dallas, TX, USA). The trastuzumab was purchased from Roche (Schweiz), and thio-trastuzumab was obtained from professor Hyo-Jeong Hong group (Kangwon National University). The radioisotope ⁸⁹Zr was produced by domestic purification system and KIRAMS using medical cyclotron (50 MeV, Scantronix). The conjugates of Df-trastuzumab and Df-thio-trastuzumab were prepared with Df-Bz-NCS and Df-Mal under basic aqueous solution (pH 8-9) at room temperature, respectively. The conjugates purified by PD-10 column were mixed with dried ⁸⁹Zr chloride. ⁸⁹Zr-labeled conjugates were purified and concentrated by Amicon ultra centrifugal filter. The preparation step and time of ⁸⁹Zr-labeled conjugates was shorted as 4 steps within 2 hours. ⁸⁹Zr-labeled conjugates showed the highly radiochemical purity of over 98%, and were very stable until 7 days by the analysis of radio-ITLC method. Each radio-labeled conjugates were also exhibited the highly stability in both PBS buffer and mouse serum. Immuno-PET imaging of ⁸⁹Zr-labeled conjugates in mice bearing gastric cancer xenograft tumors with HER2 expression showed high tumor uptake in the NCI-N87 HER2-expressing. However, ⁸⁹Zr-Df-Mal-thio-trastuzumab showed a relatively lower tumor-to-background ratio than ⁸⁹Zr-Df-Bz-trastuzumab, as well as whole-body distribution. In the results, ⁸⁹Zr-Df-Bz-trastuzumab was evaluated to have a relatively higher HER2 diagnostic ability than ⁸⁹Zr-Df-Mal-thio-trastuzumab.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.247-266
• /
• 2017

Cordyceps is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb well-known in China, Korea and Japan since B.C. 2,000. The original entomopathogenic fungus, Cordyceps sinensis belonging to the genus Cordyceps could not be found inside Korean peninsula due to the absence of the host insect for the corresponding entomogenous fungus. The development of artificial production methods of Korean type Cordyceps using the silkworm Bombyx mori as in vivo culture medium for the the entomopathogenic fungus Paecilomyces tenuipes is the first, and wonderful occasion in the research history of insect industry of this global world. The aim of this article is to review the historical research background, mass-production methods, and pharmacological effects of the silkworm-dongchunghacho (Paecilomyces tenuipes) which is a newly developed Korean medicinal insect-borne mushroom, and another non-insect-borne medicinal mushroom (Cordyceps militaris and Cordyceps pruinosa). Their biological actions include anti-tumor, immunostimulating, anti-fatigue, anti-stress, anti-oxidant, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombosis, hypolipidaemic and insecticidal effects. The bioactive principles are protein-bound polysaccharides (hexose, hexosamin), cordycepin, D-manitol, acidic polysaccharide etc. Protein-bound polysaccharides and n-butanol fractions were demonstrated to show a significant anti-tumor activities but did not show a cytotoxicities. D-mannitol exhibited a significant prolongation of the life span in tumor bearing mice. Ergosterol did not show an efficient anti-tumor activity, but showed a significant phagocytosis enhancing activity. Anti-tumor activity of silkworm-dongchunghacho might be attributed to immuno-stimulating activities rather than cytotoxic effects [164]. Also this review comprises the breeding of Dongchunghacho varieties, optimization of culture conditions, improvement of learning and memory by Dongchunghacho, application of them as foods and chemical constituents.