• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.75-89
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• 2008

목적 : 후박(厚朴)(Magnolia obovata)에서 추출한 낮은 농도의 obovatol 약침액의 RAW264.7 세포에서 LPS로 유발된 염증, $TNF-{\alpha}$로 유발된 human colon carcinoma SW620 및 HCT116 세포의 세포증식에 대한 영향과 그 기전을 살펴보고자 하였다. 방법 : RAW264.7 세포에서 LPS로 염증을 유발하고 낮은 농도의 obovatol 약침액을 처리한 후 cell viability, NO 생성량, iNOS와 COX-2의 발현, $NF-{\kappa}B$활성, 전사능력을 관찰하기 위해 WST-1 assay, NO determination assay, western blot analysis, EMSA, luciferase activity assay를 시행하였고, HCT116, SW620 세포에 $TNF-{\alpha}$로 증식을 유도하고 낮은 농도의 obovatol 약침액을 처리한 후 cell growth, apoptosis 및 apoptosis와 연관된 $NF-{\kappa}B$의 활성 변화를 관찰하기 위해 WST-1, Cell morphogy test, DAPI staining and TUNEL assay, EMSA, luciferase activity assay를 시행하였다. 결과 : 1. RAW264.7 세포에서 낮은 농도의 obovatol 약침액 처리는 $NF-{\kappa}B$의 활성 및 전사능력을 낮추고 iNOS와 COX-2의 발현과 NO 생성을 감소시켜 LPS로 유발된 염증을 억제하였다. 2. HCT116, SW620 세포에서 낮은 농도의 obovatol 약침액 처리는 $NF-{\kappa}B$의 활성을 낮추어 세포자멸사를 촉진함으로써 $TNF-{\alpha}$로 유발된 암세포의 성장을 억제하였다. 결론 : 이상의 결과는 낮은 농도의 obovatol 약침액이 항염 및 인간 전립선암세포주인 SW620, HCT116에 대한 증식억제 효과가 있음을 입증한 것이며, 향후 이를 바탕으로 한 생체 연구에서의 긍정적인 결과는 obovatol 약침액이 만성염증성 질환 및 대장암의 예방과 치료에 대한 효과적인 치료제 개발에 초석이 될 것으로 기대된다.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2003

Cancer, which is expressed in various forms, is one of the leading causes of human death, Soamsan (SAS) is composed of ten medicinal herb, the prescription was made according to the principles of Oriental traditional medicine based on the concept of synergic effects and interaction of among the components. SAS has been used for the cancer therapy, but the mechanism of it's effect is not well known. In the present study, the cytotoxic effect of the SAS water extract on cancer cell lines was investigated by the method of MTT in A549 cell lines and the anti-angiogenic effect was shown in the assay of chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and in the cornea of rat administerd orally with SAS water extraction. The viability of A549 cell lines was not affected by the whole extract of SAS but the n-Hexan fraction of SAS water extract showed strong cytotoxicity which was not seemed to be done by the apoptotic mechanism. SAS water extract showed inhibition effects of angiogenesis induced in the cornea of rat and CAM assay. As the above results, it is suggested that SAS can be a candidate for new prescription for cancer therapy.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.13 no.1_2
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• pp.39-48
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• 1997

Cyclophosphamide(25, 50 or 100 mg/kg), orally administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats, caused a time- and dose-dependent thymic atrophy. In the light microscopic examination of the atrophic thymus, thymocytes with condensed or fragmented nucleus were multifocally observed in the cortical region, started to increase 8 hr after CPA treatment and reached to the maximal level at 16 hr, although such cells were not seen after 48 hr when the severe depletion of thymocytes were marked. In agarose gel electrophoresis to analyze the DNA changes, DNA extracted from atrophic thymus showed a oligonucleosomal laddering at the corresponding time to morphological changes. In an additional supportive experiment, thymocytes showing morphological changes, nuclear condensation or apoptotic body, exhibited a positive reaction to immunoperoxidase staining using in situ apoptosis detection kit. Separately, agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA from bone .marrow cells was performed to investigate the involvement of bone marrow cells in the process of thymocyte apoptosis. Although DNA laddering was slightly increased 2 and 4 hr after treatment, no clear correlation was inferred. Taken togather, it is concluded that thymocytes showing morphological changes in thymic atrophy induced by cyclophosphamide administration represent an apoptosis having biochemical nature of programmed cell death.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.774-782
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• 2004

The water extract of Dancheonhwan (DCH) has been used to treat ischemic brain and heart damage in oriental medicine. However, little is known about the mechanism by which the water extract of DCH rescues cells from ischemic damage. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the protective mechanisms of DCH on the H₂O₂-induced toxicity in H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells. Treatment of H₂O₂ markedly decreased the viability of H9c2 cardiomyoblast in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. The nature of H₂O₂-induced toxicity of H9c2 cells resulted from apoptotic death confirmed with genomic DNA fragmentation. DCH increased the viability of H₂O₂-treated H9c2 cells by about 23%, and partially suppressed the genomic DNA fragmentation and PARP cleavage. H₂O₂ also activated caspase-3 protease and -9 protease, but not both caspase-6 protease and -8 protease. H₂O₂ induced the mitochondria dysfunction, including mitochondria membrane permeability transition (MPT) and cytosolic release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, which was prevented in part by pretreatment of DCH. N-acetylcystein (NAC), a free-radical scavenger, alone increased the viability of H₂O₂-treated H9c2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the combination of NAC with DCH significantly increased the viability of the H₂O₂-treated H9c2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. These data indicate that DCH has the protective effect on ROS-induced apoptosis of cadiomyoblast H9c2 cells.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2012

An extract of Alnus japonica (Betulaceae) cortex has been traditionally used for purifying blood, and curing feces containing blood, enteritis, diarrhea, alcoholism and cut wounds. In the present study, we demonstrated that the ethanol extract of Alnus japonica (EAJ) exhibited significantly cytotoxicity in human colon adenocarcinoma HT-29 cells. The results showed that the induction of apoptosis in HT-29 cells by EAJ was characterized by chromatin condensation and activation of caspase-3. EAJ-induced activation of caspase-9 and -3 caused the cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and the release of cytochrome c. The expressions of Bcl-2 and Bid were reduced by EAJ in HT-29 cells, whereas pro-apoptotic protein Bak was increased in the cells. EAJ-induced, dose-dependent induction of apoptosis was accompanied by sustained phosphorylation of MAP kinases (JNK and p38 MAPK), ASK1, and p53. NAC administration, a scavenger of ROS, reversed EAJ-induced cell death. In conclusion, these results indicated that EAJ can cause apoptosis through a ROS-mitochondria-caspases-dependent pathway in human HT-29 cells.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.7-17
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• 2014

Objectives: Condurango is widely used in various systems of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) against oesophageal and stomach ailments including certain types of cancer. However, until now no systematic study has been conducted to verify its efficacy and dose with proper experimental support. Therefore, we examined if ethanolic extract of Condurango could ameliorate benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-induced lung cancer in rats, in vivo to validate its use as traditional medicine. Methods: Fifteen male and 15 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with 0.28 mg/kg of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV) (high-dosage group) and the same numbers of male and female SD rats were treated with 0.2 mL/kg of normal saline (control group) for 13 weeks. We selected five male and five female SD rats from the high-dosage group and the same numbers of male and female SD rats from the control group, and we observed these rats for four weeks. We conducted body-weight measurements, ophthalmic examinations, urinalyses and hematology, biochemistry, histology tests. Results: A histological study revealed gradual progress in lung tissue-repair activity in Condurango-fed cancer-bearing rats, showing gradual tissue recovery after three months of drug administration. Condurango has the capacity to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may contribute to a reduction in anti-oxidative activity and to an induction of oxidative stress-mediated cancer cell-death. Condurango-activated pro-apoptotic genes (Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, p53, cytochrome-c, apaf-1, ICAD and PARP) and down-regulated antiapoptotic-Bcl-2 expression were noted both at mRNA and protein levels. Studies on caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage by western blot analysis revealed that Condurango induced apoptosis through a caspase-3-dependent pathway. Conclusion: The anticancer efficacy of an ethanolic extract of Condurango for treating BaP-induced lung cancer in rats lends support for its use in various traditional systems of medicine.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.1060-1065
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• 2003

To determine whether dietary fatty acids affect pancreatic $\beta$-cell function, the INS-1 $\beta$-cells and the pancreatic islets isolated from Zucker obese (fa/fa) rats were cultured with stearic acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). As a result, DNA fragmentation laddering was substantially decreased in the INS-1 $\beta$-cells and the isolated pancreatic islets cultured with 2 mM CLA compared to those cultured with stearic acid. To investigate the mechanism by which CLA alleviates cell apoptosis under DNA fragmentation assay, we examined mRNA expressions of apoptosis-related proteins including Bax and Bcl-2 associated with cell death agonist and antagonist, respectively, in both INS-1 cells and islets cultured with 2 mM fatty acids. Bax mRNA expression was not altered by either stearic acid or CLA, whereas Bcl-2 mRNA expression was enhanced by CLA when compared to the stearic acid cultures. However, there were no changes in cell apoptosis and apoptotic-regulating gene products in either INS-1 cells or isolated islets treated with or without 2 mM CLA. It is concluded that CLA maintains $\beta$-cell viability via increased Bcl-2 expression compared to the stearic acid cultures, which may help to alleviate, at least somewhat, the onset of NIDDM in the physiological status. More detailed study is still needed to elucidate the effect of CLA on the prevention of fatty acid-induced $\beta$-cell apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5887-5895
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• 2012

Background: To determine the effect of essential oil obtained from a traditionally used medicinal plant Tridax procumbens L, on lung metastasis developed by B16F-10 melanoma cells in C57BL/6 mice. Materials and Methods: Parameters studied were toxicity, lung tumor nodule count, histopathological features, tumor directed capillary vessel formation, apoptosis and expression levels of $P^{53}$ and caspase-3 proteins. Results: In vitro the MTT assay showed cytotoxicity was found to be high as 70.2% of cancer cell death within 24hrs for $50{\mu}g$. In vivo oil treatment significantly inhibited tumor nodule formation by 71.7% when compared with untreated mice. Formation of tumor directed new blood vessels was also found to be inhibited to about 39.5%. TUNEL assays also demonstrated a significant increase in the number of apoptotic positive cells after the treatment. $P^{53}$ and caspase-3 expression was also found to be greater in the essential oil treated group than the normal and cancer group. Conclusions: The present investigation showed significant effects of the essential oil of Tridax procumbens L in preventing lung metastasis by B16F-10 cell line in C57BL/6 mice. Its specific preventive effect on tumor directed angiogenesis and inducing effect on apoptosis warrant further studies at the molecular level to validate the significance of Tridax procumbens L for anticancer therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.19
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• pp.8251-8257
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• 2014

Apoptosis is one of main types of neural cell death and is reversible and is a major target of therapeutic interventions. However, detailed apoptotic cascades still need to be recognized. In present study, we determined the promotion of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and survivin in brain samples of a mouse model of hypoxic-ischemia and in neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells post hypoxia treatment. Then gain-of-function and loss-of-function strategies were adopted to manipulate the HIF-$1{\alpha}$ in SH-SY5Y cells, and hypoxia-induced survivin upregulation and cell apoptosis were determined. Results demonstrated that the HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and survivin were significantly promoted in a mouse model of hypoxic-ischemia or in SH-SY5Y cells post hypoxia in vitro. Manually upregulated HIF-$1{\alpha}$ could promote the hypoxia-induced survivin upregulation and improve the hypoxia-induced SH-SY5Y cell apoptosis. On the other hand, the HIF-$1{\alpha}$ knockdown by RNAi reduced the hypoxia-induced survivin upregulation and cell apoptosis. Therefore, the present study confirmed the protective role of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and survivin in the hypoxia-induced SH-SY5Y cell apoptosis, and the survivin upregulation by hypoxia is HIF-$1{\alpha}$-dependent. Promotion of HIF-$1{\alpha}$ and survivin might be a valuable stragegy for therapeutic intervention for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.4499-4505
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• 2014

Glioblastoma, the most aggressive and malignant form of glioma, appears to be resistant to various chemotherapeutic agents. Hence, approaches have been intensively investigated to targeti specific molecular pathways involved in glioblastoma development and progression. Aloe emodin is believed to modulate the expression of several genes in cancer cells. We aimed to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of Aloe emodin on gene expression profiles in the human U87 glioblastoma cell line utilizing microarray technology. The gene expression analysis revealed that a total of 8,226 gene alterations out of 28,869 genes were detected after treatment with $58.6{\mu}g/ml$ for 24 hours. Out of this total, 34 genes demonstrated statistically significant change (p<0.05) ranging from 1.07 to 1.87 fold. The results revealed that 22 genes were up-regulated and 12 genes were down-regulated in response to Aloe emodin treatment. These genes were then grouped into several clusters based on their biological functions, revealing induction of expression of genes involved in apoptosis (programmed cell death) and tissue remodelling in U87 cells (p<0.01). Several genes with significant changes of the expression level e.g. SHARPIN, BCAP31, FIS1, RAC1 and TGM2 from the apoptotic cluster were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). These results could serve as guidance for further studies in order to discover molecular targets for the cancer therapy based on Aloe emodin treatment.