• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.121-136
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• 1986

Recently there have been some reports on human infections of Echinostoma hortense in Korea. It was found that a few species of freshwater fishes were playing the role of the second intermediate host of E. hortense. However, molluscan intermediate host has not been identified yet in Korea. The present study aimed to establish the life cycle of E. hortense in laboratory. Experimental studies such as egg production from the rat, development of the eggs in vitro, exposure of miracidia to freshwater snails, shedding pattern of cercariae from infected snails, morphology of cercariae, cercarial infection to the second intermediate host and infection of metacercariae to the definitive hosts were done. In addition, epidemiological surveys on the infection status in inhabitants and house rats, and on the natural infection of larval echinostomes in the snails and fishes were carried out along the South Hangang-river. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The eggs deposited from adults in physiological saline were cultivated at room temperature($20{\sim}24^{\circ}C$). The miracidia were firstly observed on 8 days after cultivation, and 85.5% of the eggs contained the mature miracidia on 11 days after cultivation. More than 90% formed the miracidia when cultivated at temperature $22{\sim}27^{\circ}C$. Hatching of the miracidia began on 12 days after cultivation and continued for a week. The size of the miracidia was $103.0{{\times}}51.4{\mu}m$ in average. The motility of the miracidia were active up to 8 hours after shedding, but they were all dead within 10 hours after shedding. 2. A freshwater snail, Radix auricularia coreana was cultivated in aquaria. A hatched $F_1$ snails from the egg masses were exposed to 20 miracidia respectively. Escape of cercariae started on 15 days after infecton. Radix auricularia coreana was experimentally identified as the first intermediate host of E. hortense in Korea. 3. Cercarial shedding started on $15{\sim}20$ days after infection by snail, continued for about 10 days (8.8 days in average). Infected snails were dead within 32 days after the miracidial infection. About 1,335 cercariae($328{\sim}1,994$) per snail were shed in its life, and 119 cercariae in average per snail per day were shed. The cercariae were motile for more than 24 hours, and then squirming at the bottom until death. The body and tail sizes of cercariae were $356{\times}186{\mu}m$ and $510{\times}68{\mu}m$ in average, respectively. The rediae parasitized in the snail hosts were found mainly around the pericardial regions, and their size was $1,575{\times}258{\mu}m$ in average. The numbers of developing cercariae in a mature redia were 14 in average ($7{\sim}20$ in range). The numbers of rediae in a snail were 102 in average on 15 days after miracidial infection and 221 in average on 28 days. 4. Three uninfected Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, less than 6.5cm long were used in for the cercarial infection. They were all exposed with 755 cercariae, and examined at 5-day intervals starting from 10 days after infection. All the fishes were infected with metacercariae of E. hortense and a total of 275 was found infected(36.4%). The metacercariae were fed to rats and the adult worms were obtained on 15 days after infection. 5. The infected rats began to deposit the eggs on 11 days after infection. The number of eggs deposited per day per worm (EPD/worm) was $400{\sim}500$ on 3 weeks after infection and was increased to $1,000{\sim}1,500$ on 4 to 17 weeks, then decreased to 800 on 21 weeks after infection. 6. A total of 745 stool specimens collected from 576 male and 169 female residents of 8 different villages along South Hangang basin was examined. Out of 745 specimens, the eggs of Echinostoma sp. were found in 2 cases (0.3%). Of 34 house rats one showed egg-positive (2.9%). 7. Total 971 Radix auricularia coreana collected from 7 sampling stations were examined for shedding of cercariae. Three snails (0.3%) shed the cercariae of E. hortense. A total of 119 out of 542 freshwater fishes (22.0%) had the metacercariae of E. hortense. The fishes parasitized with the metacercariae were 4 out of 14 examined species. The infection rates of 4 species were 34.1% (106 out of 311) in Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, 30.4% (7 out of 23) in Misgurnus mizolepis, 4.3% (2 out of 46) in Moroco oxycephalus and 22.2% (4 out of 18) in Odontobutis obscura interrupta. In summarizing the above results, the first intermediate host of E. hortense was found as Radix auricularia coreana in Korea. Also, it took about 46 days for the shortest completion of a life cycle of E. hortense in summer; that is, 10 days for miracidial development in eggs, 15 days for cercarial development in the snail, about 10 days for metacercarial development in the second intermediate hosts, and 11 days for the maturation as the adults in the definitive hosts. The natural infection rates of E. hortense in the intermediate hosts were relatively high but those in the definitive hosts were low in the middle areas of South Hangang basin.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.385-393
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• 2007

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities were studied after a small dam removal from the mid-section of the Gyeongan stream in Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Quantitative sampling was conducted at immediately upstream (upper) and downstream (lower) sites from the dam as well as at the site where the dam was located (dam site: middle) using a Surber sampler (50$\times$50 cm, mesh 0.25 mm), four times (November 2004, May 2005, January 2006, and May 2006) after the dam removal. As a result, 46 species of benthic macroinvertebtates, belonged in 35 genera, 27 families, 11 orders, 5 classes, and 4 phyla, were sampled from the stream sites, but the number of species that occurred at each sampling trial was different (ranged 3$\sim$17 spp.) according to the seasons and sites. Approximately one year after the dam removal, the species number has in-creased and taxa composition has changed as the microhabitat became more heterogeneously due to a riffle formation in the upstream site. Chironomid larvae and tubificid worms, which are common in Korean urban streams, were the dominant species, while Hydropsyche kozhantschikovi was the 2nd dominant species at some sampling trials. In general, McNaughton's dominance indices decreased and Shannon species diversity indices increased approximately one year after the dam removal. Compositions of collector-filterers, clingers, and swimmers increased as hydropsychid caddisflies, heptageniid mayflies, and baetid mayflies increased, respectively, in the upstream site. The group pollution index and the ecological score using benthic macroinvertebrates both indicated that water environment has been improved in the upstream site after the dam removal.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.175-178
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• 1988

In an attempt to analyze the clonorchicidal activity of linoleic acid and ethyl linoleate in vitro, the wormicidal effects on Clonorchis sinensis were chronologically monitored in dose titration experiments. Encysted metacercariae were killed within a period of 31, $0{\pm}4.0$ min, 149.3k4. 1 min and $207.0{\pm}13.5$ min with 100.0 mg, 0.1 mg and 0.001 mg linoleic acid, respectively. The time required for the linoleic acid to kill adult worms was 167, $0{\pm}0.8$ min with 100.0mg, $253.0{\pm}0.8$ min with 0.1mg, and $277.0{\pm}0.8$ min at 0.001mg titration. Clonorchicidal activity of ethyl linoleate was relatively delayed as death was observed within $263.3{\pm}2.9$ min, $286.0{\pm}0.5$ min, and $318.0{\pm}0.8$ min for 100.0 mg/ml, 0.1 mg/ml and 0.001 mg/ml concentrations, respectively. The wormicidal effects observed with these pure anti-clonorchal substances were found to be similar to the biological activity of native products derived from the mucus of the fresh water fish.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.133-144
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• 1986

This study was undertaken to assess the effect of ginseng administration on T lymphocyte induced local xenogenic graft-versus-host(GVM) reactions which were induced with thymocyte, spleen cell and lymph node cell of ICR mice. Mice received daily 10mg of 70% alcohol ginseng extract oral1y for 100days and control mice remained untreated for the same period of time. The cells from donor mice were injected intradermally into the closely shaven abdominal skin of Sprague-Dawley rats for GVH tests. The thymocyte from control(ginseng-untreated) mice showed a negative local GVH reaction, whereas thymocyte from experimental(ginseng-treated) mice showed a positive reaction with the rate of 17.4%. When spleen cells were injected, the incidence of positive local GVH reaction was 66.7% among ginseng-treated mice, as opposed to incidence of 45.5% of positive local GVH reaction among control mice. The incidence of positive local GVH reaction of the lymph node cells when injected into a recipient was 71.4% among ginseng-treated mice as compared with that of 18.9% among control mice. The relationship between spleen cell inoculum and intensity of the local GVH reaction was assessed in ginseng-untreated mice. The intensity of GVH reaction clearly appears to be dose related. In ginseng-treated mice, a minimum of $1{\times}10^7$ spleen cell was required for production of positive local GVH reaction with almost linear relationship up to an inoculum of $5{\times}10^8$ cells. In control mice, however, a minimum of $1{\times}10^8$ spleen cells was required for positive GVH reaction. These results strongly suggest that the ginseng administration augments significantly the local xenogenic GVH reaction which was used to assess T lymphocyte function and immunocompetence of mice and in addition to this, these results appear to support previous suggestions that the local GVH reaction consitutes a qualitative test of the functional activity of T lymphocytes. These results may be the first to induce local GVH reaction, employing rats as recipient and mice as donor. This study was also desingned to investigate some of the effects of ginseng extract on lymphocyte-macrophage interactions. This was accomplished by in vitro quantification of 1) migratory inhibitory factor(MIF) synthetic capacity of splenic lymphocytes in mice previously primed with ginseng 2) MIF responsiveness of mouse peritoneal macrophages or chicken peripheral leucocytes under the presence of ginseng extract 3) migration ability of chicken peripheral leucocytes by direct stimulation of ginseng extract or ginseng saponin and 4) immunosuppressive effects of immunosuppressants such as cyclophosphamide, cyclosporin A or dexamethasone. Mice divided equally into the ginseng and the saline groups, which received intraperitoneally daily 0.2ml of ginseng absolute alcohol-extract(5mg/ml) and same amount of saline for 15 days, respectively. The cellular immune responsiveness of these mice was assayed 15 days after ginseng pretreatment. Splenic lymphocytes of mice treated with ginseng, when stimulated with sensitized specific-antigen such as sheep red blood cells or toxoplasmin, or with polyclonal activator concanavalin A, produced significantly more MIF than those of control saline group. MIF responsiveness of normal mouse macrophages was significantly augmented when assayed under the presence of ginseng extract (1mg/ml). The migratory ability of normal chicken leucocytes in the absence of MIF was significantly decreased by the stimulation of ginseng extract alone. MIF response was significantly decreased by immunosuppressants and this impaired response was not restored by ginseng pretreatment. This study was additionally performed to evaluate the effect of ginseng on the expulsion of adult Trichinella spiralis in mice. ICR mice were infected experimentally by esophageal incubation of 300 T. spiralis infective muscle larvae prepared by acid-pepsin digestion of infected mice. and received oral administration of 70% alcohol ginseng extract(10mg/mouse/day) for the indicated days plus 4 days before infection. At various times after infection, the number of adult T. spiralis worms in small intestines was determined. Interestingly, ginseng-treatment was accompanied by accelerated expulson of T. spiralis. These results led to the conclusion that Panax ginseng caused some enhancing effect on GVH reaction, macrophage migration inhibition reaction and expulsion of T. spiralis. In addition these results suggested that the mechanisms responsible for this enhancement of ginseng may be chiefly or partially due to nonspecific stimulation of cell-mediated immune response.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2012

This study investigates the effect of ${\beta}$-glucans on the growth of Caenorhabditis elegans. Comparison was made among lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and ${\beta}$-glucans extracted from Phellinus baumii, in the presence of peptidoglycans which is available as the major carbon source from OP50, a non-pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli. When the three sources of carbohydrate were added singularly or in mixture to the culture media, a significant level of variation was observed with respect to fecundity. Addition of ${\beta}$-glucans appeared to increase the fecundity. When ${\beta}$-glucans was reinforced in the culture media, the fecundity increased at least 20 percent compared to the OP50-only media which exclusively contains peptidoglycans. In terms of life span, C. elegans showed a modest reduction when treated especially with ${\beta}$-glucans. C. elegans accumulated less fat in the ${\beta}$-glucans containing media different from the OP50 media. Based on the Sudan black staining, fat deposition significantly decreased corresponding to the ${\beta}$-glucans content in the media. On LPS-supplemented media, no difference was observed in fat deposition compared to the normal OP50 media. At the level of motility, ${\beta}$-glucans-treated worms moved more distance as well as LPS-treated worm. They also showed a comparable degree of motility under similar treatment with each source of carbohydrate. In conclusion, LPS and ${\beta}$-glucans, extracted from P. baumii, may not entirely replace the food required for C. elegans; however, it might be utilized as valuable alternative food source which C. elegans use as forms of carbohydrates in stead of peptidoglycan of OP50.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.720-728
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• 2001

Cercaria yamagutii Ito, 1957 (C. yamagutii) was found in Lunatia fortuni (L. fortuni) and Neverita didyma (N. didyma) collected from the tideland of Sim-po located at the estuary of the Mankyong River, Chonbuk. It was finally confirmed that the parasite is Acanthoparyphium tyosenense Yamaguti, 1939 (A. tyosenense) and its life history was clarified in this study. Mactra veneriformis (M. veneriformis) was artificially infected with C. yamagutii isolated from L. fortuni and N. didyma. It began to intrude into M. veneriformis through the inhalent canal. Five hours after infection, the tails of the cercaria began to be separated from the main body and the cercaria started to form cysts. Mature cysts were formed 340 hours (14 days) after infection. The cysts were $300\sim360{\mu}m$ in diameter and the encysted metacercarias were $790\sim800\times300\sim310{\mu}m$ in size. The metacercarias were administered orally to Larus crassiostris (L. crassiostris), and adult worms of $84.5\sim112.5\times55\sim65{\mu}m$ were found full of eggs with $2.20\~3.70$ mm long and $0.40\~0.59$ mm wide after 10 days. In a field study, it was observed that the infection rate of A. tyosenense is $99.5\%$ in M. venerifomis, $76.3\%$ Solen strictus (S. strictus), and $37\%$ Ruditapes philippinarum (R. philippinarum), No difference was found among different host sizes, It was concluded that the first intermediate hosts of A. tyosenense Yamaguti were L. fortuni, N. didyma, Tympanotonus microptera, Cerithidea (Cerithidea) largillierti, Cerithidea (Cerideopsilloa) cingulata, the second intermediate hosts M. venerifomis, S. strictus and R. philippinamn, and the final hosts L. crassiostris and Melanitta fusca stejnegeri.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.52-64
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• 1970

Fingerlings hatched from the eggs of the puffer, Fugu rubripes, which were spawned on May 21, 1969, and were cultivated. The results of their growth during 150 days, until October 25th, are summarized as follows: 1. The eggs began to hatch after 163 hours, at a water temperature of 15.9 to $17.4^{\circ}C$, and the hatching rate was $61.56\%$. 2. They reached the post-larval stage 6 to 7 days after hatching, and at this time a high mortality occurred. The mortality rate was 57.26 to $68.0\%$. 3. Sixteen days after hatching some of the larger fingerlings (6.7mm in total length) began attacking some of the smaller ones (4.6mm in to total length). 4. Twenty five to twenty eight days after hatching, the fish changed their food, and at this time a second high mortality occured. The total mortality rate amounted to 90.7 to $90.9\%$ of the total hatch. 5. After the fingerling stage. cannibalism occurs. The fish usually attack the caudal part of other fingerlings. It occurs regardless of body length and when the food supply is short. 6. The food coeffiicient at the age of 46 days (when body length is 53 to 68 mm) was 5.5 for short-necked clams, 8.5 for earth-worms, and 8.7 for fishes. 7. A third hish mortality occurred 53 to 63 days after hatching, the total mortality amounting to 95.76 to $97.34\%$, and the main cause of the mortality was found to be rickets resulting from nutritional deficiency 8. The growth rates were as follows: 2.68mm just after hatching, 3.84mm at the age of 10 days; 7.96mm after 25 days; 20.96mm or 130mg after 40 days; 73.68mm or 9.06g after 80 days: and 123mm or 31.8g after 150 days. 9. The water temperature during the above period was 15.7 to $28.4^{\circ}C$ with an average of $22.10^{\circ}C$ and the salinity was 25.53 to $34.50\%$ with an average of $32.07\%$, 10. The young of this species could endure well a wide range and sudden rise in salinity, and could survive easily when the salinity suddenly fell to $5\%$, but a considerable mortality occured when it fell to $3\%$. 11. When the fish were tranferred directly to fresh water from normal sea water they died out in 9 hours and 40minutes. However, when transferred from water of $5\%$ salinity at which they were reared for 54 days, they survived for 60 hours and 40 mimutes longer than in the former case.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.257-267
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• 2017

Background: Heat-processed ginseng, sun ginseng (SG), has been reported to have improved therapeutic properties compared with raw forms, such as increased antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antihyperglycemic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the antiobesity effects of SG through the suppression of cell differentiation and proliferation of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells and the lipid accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods: To investigate the effect of SG on adipocyte differentiation, levels of stained intracellular lipid droplets were quantified by measuring the oil red O signal in the lipid extracts of cells on differentiation Day 7. To study the effect of SG on fat accumulation in C. elegans, L4 stage worms were cultured on an Escherichia coli OP50 diet supplemented with $10{\mu}g/mL$ of SG, followed by Nile red staining. To determine the effect of SG on gene expression of lipid and glucose metabolism-regulation molecules, messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of genes were analyzed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. In addition, the phosphorylation of Akt was examined by Western blotting. Results: SG suppressed the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells stimulated by a mixture of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin (MDI), and inhibited the proliferation of adipocytes during differentiation. Treatment of C. elegans with SG showed reductions in lipid accumulation by Nile red staining, thus directly demonstrating an antiobesity effect for SG. Furthermore, SG treatment down-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor subtype ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha ($C/EBP{\alpha}$) and decreased the mRNA level of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c in MDI-treated adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. In differentiated 3T3-L1 cells, mRNA expression levels of lipid metabolism-regulating factors, such as amplifying mouse fatty acid-binding protein 2, leptin, lipoprotein lipase, fatty acid transporter protein 1, fatty acid synthase, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, were increased, whereas that of the lipolytic enzyme carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 was decreased. Our data demonstrate that SG inversely regulated the expression of these genes in differentiated adipocytes. SG induced increases in the mRNA expression of glycolytic enzymes such as glucokinase and pyruvate kinase, and a decrease in the mRNA level of the glycogenic enzyme phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase. In addition, mRNA levels of the glucose transporters GLUT1, GLUT4, and insulin receptor substrate-1 were elevated by MDI stimulation, whereas SG dose-dependently inhibited the expression of these genes in differentiated adipocytes. SG also inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473) at an early phase of MDI stimulation. Intracellular nitric oxide (NO) production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA levels were markedly decreased by MDI stimulation and recovered by SG treatment of adipocytes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SG effectively inhibits adipocyte proliferation and differentiation through the downregulation of $PPAR{\gamma}$ and $C/EBP{\alpha}$, by suppressing Akt (Ser473) phosphorylation and enhancing NO production. These results provide strong evidence to support the development of SG for antiobesity treatment.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.69-82
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• 1987

The prevalences of the cuke belonging to genus Metagonimus hove been reported along the upper stream of inhabitants by several workers since 1980, however the taxonomical problems of the fluke was not yet settled. The larval flukes; cercaria and metacercaria as well as their intermediate hosts, and adult were studied in order to identify the Mepagonimus in the areas. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. The snails, Semisulcospira globus were collected (rom the three different localities along the upper stream of the River. The cercariae were found from 125(7.2%) out of 1,730 snails by natural emerging method, and were identified into 5 species including Metagenimus sp. (3.7%), Pseudexorchis major(1.4%), Cercaria nipponensis (0.9%), Cercaria incerpa(0.6%), and Cercaria yoshidae(0.6%). Cercariae of Metagonimus species had four to dye oral spines on its anterior of the first line. 2. The cercariae of Metagonimus were experimentally exposed to goldfish. nfection rate was 22.9% out of 105 goldfish, and the encysted metacercariae were found in fins(86.7%) and on scales (13.7%) of the fishes, but not in their muscle, head or visceral organs. 3. Seven species of ask were caught in the Daecheong Reservoir and the upper stream. Infestations with metacercaria of Metagonimus were found 100% in Opsariichtys widens and the parasitized numbers of the metacercariae were observed from 250 to 2,400 per fish. In the upper stream, Zacco termmincki, Z. platypus and Pseudogobio esocinus were infected 100% with the metacercaria, on the other hand, the fishes caught in the reservoir showed the lower infestation rates, and a few metacercariae found in the fishes Carassius carassius and Cyprinus carpio in the reservoir and the stream. The majority of metacercariae was detected only on the scales of fishes. 4. In order to know the infectivity and the distribution patterns in the intestine of hosts, rats and dogs were infected with the metacercariae obtained from O. bidens and Z. platypus. In addition the metacercariae obtained from Z. temmincki, P. esocinus and goldfish were given to the rats. The recovery rates of the worms in the small intestine of dogs were higher (63.3~65.8%) than those of the rats (3.5~31.6%). The flukes were found mostly in the middle and the lower part of small intestine of the rats and the dogs, but no worm was collected in the upper part of the intestine of rats. 5. The sixte of adult flukes varied by the hosts. In the adult cukes, oral sucker was smaller than ventral sucker, and the right and left testes were located diagonally, the uterine tubules circled around the upper left testis. The average egg sixte was $29.1{\times}1.7{\mu\textrm{m}}$. According to the above results, the cukes belonging to genus Metagonimus distributed along the Geum River was concluded to be identical with Miyata type of M. yokogawai as that Saito had proposed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.245-258
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• 1991

In order to determine the antigenic localization in the tissues of the adult Metagonimus yokegawai, immunogoldlabeling method was applied using serum immunoglobulins (IgG) of cats which were infected with isolated metacercariae from Plecoglossus altivelis. The sectioned worm tissue was embedded in Lowicryl HM 20 medium and stained with infected serum IgG and protein A gold complex (particle size: 12 nm) , It was observed by electron microscopy at each tissue of the worm. The gold particles were observed on the tegumental syncytium as well as cytoplasm of tegumental cells and epithelial lamella of the caecum. The gold particles were not observed on the basal lamina of the tegument, interstitial matrix of the parenchyma, the muscle tissue and mitochondria of the tegument. The gold particles were specifically labeled in the secretory granules in the vitelline cells. They were also labeled on the lumen of bladder and egg shell. The above findings showed that antigenic materials in the tissue of adult worms were specifically concentrated on the tegumental syncytium as well as cytoplasm of tegumental cells and epithelial lamella of the caecum.