• 한국응용약물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국응용약물학회 1997년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.119-119
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• 1997

Valacyclovir is a L-valyl ester prodrug of acyclovir which is a highly effective and selective antiviral agent in the treatment of herpes virus diseases. Valacyclovir is rapidly and almost completely converted to acyclovir and increases the oral bioavailability of acyclovir three to five fold. However, the intestinal absorption mechanism of valacyclovir is not clear. If the improved absorption mechanism of valacyclovir is fully understood, it will provide a rationale of designing the amino acid ester prodrugs of polar drugs containing hydroxyl group. The main objective of our present study is to characterize the membrane transport mechanism of valacyclovir. Methods : Intestinal absorption of valacyclovir was investigated by using in-situ rat perfusion study and its wall permeability was estimated by modified boundary layer model. The membrane transport mechanism was also investigated through the uptake study in Caco-2 cells and in CHO-hPepTl cells. Results : In the rat perfusion study, the wall permeability of valacyclovir was ten times higher than acyclovir and showed concentration dependency, Valacyclovir also demonstrated a D,L stereo-selectivity with L-isomer having an approximately five-fold higher permeability than D-isomer. Mixed dipeptides and cephalexin, which are transported by dipeptide carriers, strongly competed with valacyclovir for the intestinal absorption, while L-valine did not show any competition with valacyclovir. This indicated that the intestinal absorption of valacyclovir could be dipeptide carrier-mediated. In addition, the competitive uptake study in Caco-2 cells presented that dipeptides reduced the valacyclovir uptake but valine did not. Also, in IC$\sub$50/ study, valacyclovir showed strong inhibition on the $^3$H-gly-sar uptake in CHO-hPepTl cells over-expressing a human intestinal peptide transporter. Taken together, the result from our present study indicated that valacyclovir utilized the peptide transporter for the intestinal absorption.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.391-396
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• 2018

It is well known that Korean red ginseng has various biological activities. However, there is little knowledge about the antiviral activity of Korean red ginseng and its ginsenosides. In this study, we addressed whether oral administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 and -Rg3 is able to protect against rotavirus (RV) infection. The protective effect of ginsenosides against RV infection was examined using an in vivo experiment model in which newborn mice (10-day-old) were inoculated perorally (p.o.) with $1.5{\times}10^6$ plaque-forming units/mouse of RV strain SA11. When various dosages of ginsenoside-Rb2 (25-250 mg/kg) were administered 3days, 2 days, or 1 day before virus challenge, treatment with this ginsenoside at the dosage of 75 mg/kg 3days before virus infection most effectively reduced RV-induced diarrhea. In addition, consecutive administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 (75 mg/kg) at 3 days, 2 days, and 1 day before virus infection was more effective than single administration on day -3. The consecutive administration of ginsenoside-Rb2 also reduced virus titers in the bowels of RV-infected mice. In an experiment to compare the protective activity between ginsenoside-Rb2 and its two hydrolytic products (20(S)- and 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg3), 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3, but not 20(R)-ginsenoside-Rg3, prevented RV infection. These results suggest that ginsenoside-Rb2 and its hydrolytic product, 20(S)-ginsenoside-Rg3, are promising candidates as an antiviral agent to protect against RV infection.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.114-121
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• 2016

Objectives: Lung cancer remains a deadly disease with unsatisfactory overall survival. Cisplatin, a standard platinum (Pt)-based chemotherapeutic agent, has the potential to inhibit the growth of lung cancer. Its use, however, is occasionally limited by severe organ toxicity. However, until now, no systematic study has been conducted to verify its efficacy with proper experimental support in vivo. Therefore, we examined whether biosynthesized Pt nanoparticles (NPs) inhibited human lung cancer in vitro and in vivo to validate their use in alternative and complementary medicine. Methods: We evaluated the in vitro and the in vivo anticancer efficiencies of biosynthesized Pt NPs in a subcutaneous xenograft model with A549 cells. Severe combined immune deficient mice (SCID) were divided into four groups: group 1 being the vehicle control group and groups 2, 3 and 4 being the experimental groups. Once the tumor volume had reached $70-75mm^3$, the progression profile of the tumor growth kinetics and the body weights of the mice were measured every week for 6 weeks after oral administration of Pt NPs. Doses of Pt NPs of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg of body weight were administered to the experimental groups and a dose of honey was administered to the vehicle control group. The efficacy was quantified by using the delay in tumor growth following the administration of Pt NPs of A549 human-lung-cancer xenografts growing in SCID mice. Results: The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation indicated that Pt NPs, in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the growth of A549 cells, and the in vivo evaluation showed that Pt NPs at the mid and high doses effectively inhibited and delayed the growth of lung cancer in SCID mice. Conclusion: These findings confirm the antitumor properties of biosynthesized Pt NPs and suggest that they may be a cost-effective alternative for the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

• 한국자동차공학회논문집
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.125-132
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• 2012

Urea-SCR system, which converts nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and water in the presence of a reducing agent, usually AdBlue urea solution, is known as one of the powerful NOx reduction systems for mobile as well as stationary applications. For its consistent and reliable operation in mobile applications, such various problems as transient injection, ammonia slip, and freezing in cold weather have to be resolved. In this work, therefore, numerical study on three-dimensional unsteady heating problems were analyzed to understand the melting and heat transfer characteristics such as urea liquid volume fraction, temperature profiles and generated natural convection behavior in urea solution by using the commercial software Fluent 6.3. After validating by comparing numerical and experimental data with pure gallium melting phenomena, numerical experiment for urea melting is conducted with three different coolant heating models named CH1, 2, and 3, respectively. Finally, it can be found that the CH3 model, in which more coolant is concentrated on the lower part of the urea tank, has relatively better melting capability than others in terms of urea quantity of $1{\ell}$ for start-up schedule.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.69-76
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• 1998

Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II (cisplatin), an effective antitumor agent, induces acute renal failure by unknown mechanisms. To investigate direct toxic effects of cisplatin in the renal proximal tubular transport system, OK cell line was selected as a cell model and $Na^+/H^+$ antiport activity was evaluated during a course of cisplatin treatment. The cells grown to confluence were treated with cisplatin for 1 hour, washed, and incubated for up to 48 hours. At appropriate intervals, cells were examined for $Na^+/H^+$ antiport activity by measuring the recovery of intracellular pH (pHi) after acid loading. Cisplatin of less than 50 ${\mu}M$ induced no significant changes in cell viability in 24 hours, but it decreased the viability markedly after 48 hours. In cells exposed to 50 ${\mu}M$ cisplatin for 24 hours, the $Na^+-dependent$ pHi recovery (i.e., $Na^+/H^+$ antiport) was drastically inhibited with no changes in the $Na^+-independent$ recovery. Kinetic analysis of the $Na^+-dependent$ pHi recovery indicated that the Vmax was reduced, but the apparent Km was not altered. The cellular $Na^+$ and $K^+$ contents determined immediately before the transport measurement appeared to be similar in the control and cisplatin group, thus, the driving force for $Na^+-coupled$ transport was not different. These results indicate that cisplatin exposure impairs the $Na^+/H^+$ antiport capacity in OK cells. It is, therefore, possible that in patients treated with a high dose of cisplatin, proximal tubular mechanism for proton secretion (hence $HCO_3^-$ reabsorption) could be attenuated, leading to a metabolic acidosis (proximal renal tubular acidosis).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권8호
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• pp.1142-1148
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• 2020

Mitochondria play a vital role in iron uptake and metabolism in pathogenic fungi, and also influence virulence and drug tolerance. However, the regulation of iron transport within the mitochondria of Cryptococcus neoformans, a causative agent of fungal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals, remains largely uncharacterized. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized Mrs3/4, a homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial iron transporter, in C. neoformans var. grubii. A strain expressing an Mrs3/4-GFP fusion protein was generated, and the mitochondrial localization of the fusion protein was confirmed. Moreover, a mutant lacking the MRS3/4 gene was constructed; this mutant displayed significantly reduced mitochondrial iron and cellular heme accumulation. In addition, impaired mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster metabolism and altered expression of genes required for iron uptake at the plasma membrane were observed in the mrs3/4 mutant, suggesting that Mrs3/4 is involved in iron import and metabolism in the mitochondria of C. neoformans. Using a murine model of cryptococcosis, we demonstrated that an mrs3/4 mutant is defective in survival and virulence. Taken together, our study suggests that Mrs3/4 is responsible for iron import in mitochondria and reveals a link between mitochondrial iron metabolism and the virulence of C. neoformans.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제30권8호
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• pp.1184-1194
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• 2020

Melanin is a major factor that darkens skin color as one of the defense systems to prevent the harmful effects of UV light. However, darkened skin from the localized or systemic accumulation of melanin is viewed in many cultures as an esthetic problem. Consequentially, searching for anti-melanogenic agents from natural sources is very popular worldwide. Previous screening of fermented rice products, obtained from various rice cultivars fermented with different sources of loog-pang (Thai traditional fermentation starter), revealed that the highest ability to reduce the melanin content in B16F10 melanoma cells was from unpolished black rice fermented with a defined starter mixture of microbes isolated from loog-pang E11. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of the fermented unpolished black rice (FUBR) on the inhibition of melanogenesis in B16F10 melanoma cells. The strongest reduction of cellular melanin content was found in the FUBR sap (FUBRS). The melanin reduction activity was consistent with the significant decrease in the intracellular tyrosinase activity. The FUBRS showed no cytotoxic effect to B16F10 melanoma or Hs68 human fibroblast cell lines. It also significantly reduced the transcript and protein expression levels of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP-1), TYRP-2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor. Furthermore, it induced a significantly increased level of phosphorylated ERK, p38 and Akt signaling pathways, which likely contributed to the negative regulation of melanogenesis. From these results, a model for the mechanism of FUBRS on melanogenesis inhibition was proposed. Moreover, these results strongly suggested that FUBRS possesses anti-melanogenesis activity with high potential for cosmeceutical application as a skin depigmenting agent.

• 대한환경공학회지
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• 제33권7호
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• pp.492-500
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• 2011

육상양식장에서 항생제에 대한 내성을 가진 균을 분리하여 다양한 항생제에 대한 내성특성을 확인하고, 전자빔의 조사에 따른 내성균의 항생제 내성 특성변화와 살균효능에 관한 연구를 수행하였다. 메기, 송어, 뱀장어, 미꾸라지양식장의 배출수에서 분리된 균주 중 Aeromonas sp., Citrobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Marinobacter sp., Pantoea sp., Pseudomonas sp., Enterobacter sp.가 다제내성균으로 확인되었다. 양식장 배출수에서 분리한 균주 중 한가지의 항생제 내성을 가지고 있는 균은 41.7%이며, 2가지 이상의 항생제 내성을 가지고 있는 균은 58.3%로 나타났다. Quantitative Structure Analysis Relationship (QSAR) model에 의한 평가는 실험값과 매우 유사하여 독성 평가의 간접적인 지표로 이용될 수 있음을 알 수 있었다. 항생제 내성균에 대해 전자빔을 조사한 결과 1 kGy 이내의 선량에서 살균효율이 99.9%로 강한 살균력을 확인할 수 있었다.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.139-144
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• 1993

Microencapsulation of acyclovir, an effective antiviral agent which acts as a specific inhibitor of herpes DNA polymerase, by carbopol-gelatin complex coacervation has been carried out to develop an oral controlled release preparation, which could improve the absorption characteristics in GI tract. After dissolving carbopol and gelatin separately in distilled water at $40^{\circ}C$, gelatin solution was mixed with carbopol solution while stirring at the same temperature. The pH of the mixture was lowered gradually by dropwise addition of 10% HCI with continuous stirring, and then, at pH 3.5, positively charged gelatin molecules were attracted to negatively charged carbopol. These coacervation processes were observed by optical microscopy during preparation. Plasma concentrations of acyclovir in rats after an oral administration of microcapsule suspension were assayed by HPLC, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated based on the model-independent analyses. Two standard formulations, oral solution and intravenous bolus injection, were used as references to compare the bioavailability. It has been revealed that $C_{max}$, $T_{max}$, and MRT of microcapsule suspension were greater than those of oral solution, which results in about two-fold increases in bioavailability. Therefore, in conclusion, the carbopol-gelatin microcapsule of acyclovir might be evaluated as an effective oral controlled release preparation which could increase the bioavailability of acyclovir.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.185-190
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• 2001

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is known to cause cervical cancers. Human papillomavirus-like particles (VLP) have been studied as preventive vaccines of cervical cancers. To develop VLP as a therapeutic gene carrier, we studied the method to encapsulate cytokine genes in virus-like particles. HPV type 16 capsid L1 genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and cloned into T vector. L1 gene was then inserted into baculovirus transfer vector. The clone of baculovirus encoding L1 gene was isolated and used to express L1 protein in Sf 21 insect cells. VLP were purified by CsCl density gradient and ultracentrifugation. VLP were disassembled to capsomer units by treatment of a reducing agent. Given that interleukin-2 (IL-2) genes have been used in anticancer gene therapy and as a molecular adjuvant, IL-2 cytokine plasmids were chosen as a model gene. IL-2 plasmids were incubated with the disassembled capsomer suspension. To reassemble the particles, the mixture of capsomers and cytokine plasmids was dialyzed. The disassembly and reassembly of VLP were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The entrapment of cytokine plasmids in reassembled VLP was tested by the stability of plasmids against DNase I. After treatment of reassembled virus-like particles with DNase I, discrete IL-2 DNA band was observed. Our results indicate that IL-2 cytokine plasmid (3.5 kb size) can be encapsulated in the virus-like particles, suggesting the potential of VLP as a gene delivery system. Moreover, VLP containing the adjuvant cytokine plasmids might function as more effective subunit vaccines.