• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.123-132
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• 2018

Ginseng has gained its popularity as an adaptogen since ancient days because of its triterpenoid saponins, known as ginsenosides. These triterpenoid saponins are unique and classified as protopanaxatriol and protopanaxadiol saponins based on their glycosylation patterns. They play many protective roles in humans and are under intense research as various groups continue to study their efficacy at the molecular level in various disorders. Ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 are the most abundant ginsenosides present in ginseng roots, and they confer the pharmacological properties of the plant, whereas ginsenoside Rg3 is abundantly present in Korean Red Ginseng preparation, which is highly known for its anticancer effects. These ginsenosides have a unique mode of action in modulating various signaling cascades and networks in different tissues. Their effect depends on the bioavailability and the physiological status of the cell. Mostly they amplify the response by stimulating phosphotidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway, caspase-3/caspase-9-mediated apoptotic pathway, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells signaling. Furthermore, they trigger receptors such as estrogen receptor, glucocorticoid receptor, and N-methyl-$\text\tiny{D}$-aspartate receptor. This review critically evaluates the signaling pathways attenuated by ginsenosides Rb1, Rg1, and Rg3 in various tissues with emphasis on cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.577-584
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• 2018

Bladder dysfunction is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). However, there have been a few studies evaluating bladder smooth muscle contraction in DM in the presence of pharmacological inhibitors. In the present study, we compared the contractility of bladder smooth muscle from normal rats and DM rats. Furthermore, we utilized pharmacological inhibitors to delineate the mechanisms underlying bladder muscle differences between normal and DM rats. DM was established in 14 days after using a single injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) in Sprague-Dawley rats. Bladder smooth muscle contraction was induced electrically using electrical field stimulation consisting of pulse trains at an amplitude of 40 V and pulse duration of 1 ms at frequencies of 2-10 Hz. In this study, the pharmacological inhibitors atropine (muscarinic receptor antagonist), U73122 (phospholipase C inhibitor), DPCPX (adenosine $A_1$ receptor antagonist), udenafil (PDE5 inhibitor), prazosin (${\alpha}_1$-receptor antagonist), verapamil (calcium channel blocker), and chelerythrine (protein kinase C inhibitor) were used to pretreat bladder smooth muscles. It was found that the contractility of bladder smooth muscles from DM rats was lower than that of normal rats. In addition, there were significant differences in percent change of contractility between normal and DM rats following pretreatment with prazosin, udenafil, verapamil, and U73122. In conclusion, we suggest that the decreased bladder muscle contractility in DM rats was a result of perturbations in $PLC/IP_3$-mediated intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ release and PDE5 activity.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.291-299
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• 2000

Magnesium ($Mg^{2+}$) transport across the plasma membrane of cardiac myocytes appears to be under hormonal control. Repeated stimulations with adrenergic or histaminergic agonist produced a progressive decrease in $Mg^{2+}$ efflux from hearts. Thus we hypothesized that the $Mg^{2+}$ efflux may be resulted from a down-regulation of receptors or from a depletion of $Mg^{2+}$ from intracellular pool(s) in the hearts. In the present study, the regulation of $Mg^{2+}$ homeostasis by receptor stimulation was studied in perfused rat and guinea pig hearts. The successive short addition of norepinephrine (NE) to rat and guinea pig, and of histamine (HT) to perfused guinea pig hearts induced a progressive decrease in $Mg^{2+}$ efflux. These $Mg^{2+}$ effluxes were blocked by propranolol or ranitidine, respectively. These decrease in $Mg^{2+}$ efflux were inhibited by sodium cyanide (NaCN), which increases intracellular $Mg^{2+}$ ($[Mg^{2+}]_i$) levels. When NE (or HT) was added after HT (or NE), this efflux was also decreased in the guinea pig hearts. In the rat hearts and myocytes, HT did not stimulate $Mg^{2+}$ efflux. But NE produced a large $Mg^{2+}$ efflux after stimulation with HT. 8-(4-Chlorophenylthio)-adenosine cAMP (cAMP), like NE and HT, also induced a progressive decrease in $Mg^{2+}$ efflux in guinea pig hearts. This effect was inhibited by NaCN. These data provide evidence that the progressive decrease in receptor-stimulated $Mg^{2+}$ efflux is considered to be due to a decrease in $[Mg^{2+}]_i$ levels rather than receptor down-regulation.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• 제29권11호
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• pp.1032-1041
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• 2006

Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) affects the function of many tissues and cells. To confirm the biological activity of ATP on human myeloid leukemic cells, F-36P and HL-60, cells were treated with a variety of concentrations of ATP. The stimulation with extracellular ATP induced the arrest of cell proliferation and cell death. from the analysis of Annexin-V staining and caspase activity by flow cytometry. The Annexin-V positive cells in both cell lines were dramatically increased following ATP stimulation. The expression of P2 purinergic receptor genes was confirmed, such as P2X1, P2X4, P2X5, P2X7 and P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y5, P2Y6, P2Y11 in both leukemic cell lines. Interestingly, ATP induced intracellular calcium flux in HL-60 cells but not in F-36P cells, as determined by Fluo-3 AM staining. Cell cycle analysis revealed that ATP treatment arrested both F-36P and HL-60 cells at G1/G0. Taken together, these data showed that extracellular ATP via P2 receptor genes was involved in the cell proliferation and survival in human myeloid leukemic cells, HL-60 and F-36P cells by the induction of apoptosis and control of cell cycle. Our data suggest that treatment with extracellular nucleotides may be a novel and powerful therapeutic avenue for myeloid leukemic disease.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.101-106
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• 2019

Most diabetic patients experience diabetic mellitus (DM) urinary bladder dysfunction. A number of studies evaluate bladder smooth muscle contraction in DM. In this study, we evaluated the change of bladder smooth muscle contraction between normal rats and DM rats. Furthermore, we used pharmacological inhibitors to determine the differences in the signaling pathways between normal and DM rats. Rats in the DM group received an intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg streptozotocin and measured blood glucose level after 14 days to confirm DM. Bladder smooth muscle contraction was induced using acetylcholine (ACh, $10^{-4}M$). The materials such as, atropine (a muscarinic receptor antagonist), U73122 (a phospholipase C inhibitor), DPCPX (an adenosine $A_1$ receptor antagonist), udenafil (a PDE5 inhibitor), prazosin (an ${\alpha}_1$-receptor antagonist), papaverine (a smooth muscle relaxant), verapamil (a calcium channel blocker), and chelerythrine (a protein kinase C inhibitor) were pre-treated in bladder smooth muscle. We found that the DM rats had lower bladder smooth muscle contractility than normal rats. When prazosin, udenafil, verapamil, and U73122 were pre-treated, there were significant differences between normal and DM rats. Taken together, it was concluded that the change of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ release mediated by PLC/IP3 and PDE5 activity were responsible for decreased bladder smooth muscle contractility in DM rats.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.306-316
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• 2022

Chronic stress contributes to the risk of developing depression; the habenula, a nucleus in epithalamus, is associated with many neuropsychiatric disorders. Using genome-wide gene expression analysis, we analyzed the transcriptome of the habenula in rats exposed to chronic restraint stress for 14 days. We identified 379 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were affected by chronic stress. These genes were enriched in neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, the cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) signaling pathway, circadian entrainment, and synaptic signaling from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis and responded to corticosteroids, positive regulation of lipid transport, anterograde trans-synaptic signaling, and chemical synapse transmission from the Gene Ontology analysis. Based on protein-protein interaction network analysis of the DEGs, we identified neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, circadian entrainment, and cholinergic synapse-related subclusters. Additionally, cell type and habenular regional expression of DEGs, evaluated using a recently published single-cell RNA sequencing study (GSE137478), strongly suggest that DEGs related to neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and trans-synaptic signaling are highly enriched in medial habenular neurons. Taken together, our findings provide a valuable set of molecular targets that may play important roles in mediating the habenular response to stress and the onset of chronic stress-induced depressive behaviors.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.133-143
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• 2021

In contrast to the human lutropin receptor (hLHR) and rat LHR (rLHR), very few naturally occurring mutants in other mammalian species have been identified. The present study aimed to delineate the mechanism of signal transduction by three constitutively activating mutants (designated M410T, L469R, and D590Y) and two inactivating mutants (D383N and Y546F) of the eel LHR, known to be naturally occurring in human LHR transmembrane domains. The mutants were constructed and measured cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation via homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assays in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cells. The activating mutant cells expressing eel LHR-M410T, L469R, and D590Y exhibited a 4.0-, 19.1-, and 7.8-fold increase in basal cAMP response without agonist treatment, respectively. However, inactivating mutant cells expressing D417N and Y558F did not completely impaired signal transduction. Specifically, signal transduction in the cells expressing activating mutant L469R was not occurred with a further ligand stimulation, showing that the maximal response exhibited approximately 53% of those of wild type receptor. Our results suggested that the constitutively activating mutants of the eel LHR consistently occurred without agonist treatment. These results provide important information of LHR function in fish and regulation with regard to mutations of highly conserved amino acids in glycoprotein hormone receptors.

• 한국독성학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국독성학회 2005년도 춘계 국제심포지엄 및 학술대회
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• pp.118-118
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• 2005

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.57-61
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• 2018

Purpose: Polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN), consisting of a mixture of deoxyribonucleotide polymers, has been suggested to have anti-inflammatory effects and enhance angiogenesis as an adenosine $A_{2A}$ receptor agonist. The aim of this study was to report the effectiveness of PDRN as an adjuvant therapy after surgical debridement in MRONJ (medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw) patients. Materials and Methods: Five patients (1 male, 4 females, age 65~79 years) who were diagnosed with MRONJ stage 2 or 3 underwent surgical debridement and PDRN mucosal injection. After surgical debridement, patients were subject to daily injection with 1 ml of PDRN around the surgical wound for 14 days. Result: The patients' symptoms gradually disappeared. The surgical wound uneventfully healed, and no recurrence was observed during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Although further studies are required, the present study first describes the possibility of PDRN as a useful option for MRONJ treatment.

• 대한약학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한약학회 2003년도 Proceedings of the Convention of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea Vol.2-2
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• pp.178.3-178.3
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• 2003

P2X receptors are ligand gated cation channels activated by the binding of extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and classified into 7 subtype families. $P2X_1$ receptors are abundantly expressed in smooth muscle mediates blood vessel and mediate constriction upon binding of neuronal ATP. The activation of $P2X_3$ receptor by ATP has been known to initiate the pain signaling in the peripheral nervous system, which is involved in chronic inflammatory nociception and neuropathic pain by nerve injury. (omitted)