• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.411-418
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• 2004

Mercury, one of the most diffused and hazardous organ-specific environmental contaminants, exists in a wide variety of physical and chemical states. The murcury with the nature which evaporates easily can cause an acute or chronic mercury poisoning to workers at mercury-handling workplaces. Although many studies indicate that mercury induces a deleterious damage, little has been reported from the investigations of mercury effects at surrounding levels in living things. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biological effects of mercury chloride and ionizing radiation. Prepubertal male F344 rats were administered mercury chloride in drinking water throughout the experimental period or were given wholebody irradiation with a dose of 6.5 Gy. The amount changed of body weight during the experimental period showed a 4.9% rise in the mercury-treated group and 14.4% decline in the irradiated group compared with the level of the control group. The results of hematological analysis (red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit) indicated the differential effects of mercury chloride and ionizing radiation. However the concentration of cortisol as assessed by radioimmunoassay increased in both of the groups. Relative expressions of mRNA related to mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis were investigated using semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on gonad and urinary organs of the experimental groups. While the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA exhibited different patterns depending on the organs or the experimental groups, both of the experimental groups showed a conspicuous expressions of Bax mRNA. In conclusion, the target organ of mercury chloride seems to be a urinary organ and the pattern of damage induced by mercury chloride differs from that by ionizing radiation.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.397-405
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• 1994

Minocline Strip(MS), a local drug delivery developed as a controlling means for microoragnisms in gingival wound and periodontitis, was implanted in the gingiva of experimental animals. The toxic effects and biodegradation of MS were studied in respect to pathological changes induced in gingival tissue. The experimental animals treated with MS had not showed significant difference in symptom, body weights, feed and water intake, and blood analysis throughout 150 days of experimental period, but revealed significantly increased values of total WBC counts and AST (SGOT) on the 7th day, compared with controls. The treated animals revealed petechial hemorrhage and severe edema accompanying degeneration and necrosis of damaged muscle fibers around the surgical wound, but no local inflammatory reaction and concerned lesions were found. The implanted MS became encapsulated by thin connective tissue, and its size and color diminished gradually according to the experimental term. The MS-like material appeared in the nearby lymphatics on the 110th day. The implated MS remained as fine granular particles or disappeared on the 130th day, and the decrease of its volume and density were variable depending on each individual. These results indicate that long-term implantation of MS may not produce inflammation or toxic effects, and eventually lead to complete biodegradation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2001

Cilostazol has both antithrombotic and cerebral vasodilating effects, and one of the mechanism is the selective inhibition of platalet cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. Bioequivalence of two cilostazol tablets, the $Pletaal^{TM}$ (Korea Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.) and the LG $Cilostazol^{TM}$ (LG Chemical Co.), was evaluated according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Sixteen normal male volunteers ($20\sim29$ years old) were randomly divided into two groups and a randomized $2\times2$ cross-over study was employed. After oral administration of $Pletaal^{TM}$ or LG $Cilostazol^{TM}$ tablet (100 mg cilostazol), blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals and the serum cilostazol concentrations were determined using an HPLC method with UV/VIS detector. The pharmacokinetic parameters $(AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max})$ were calculated and ANOVA was utilized for the statistical analysis. The results showed that the differences in AUCt, C_{max} and Tmax between two tablets based on the $Pletaal^{TM}$ tablet were $-5.39\%,\;2.32\%\;and\;4.26\%$, respectively. The powers (1-${\beta}$) for $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}\;were\;83.81\%,\;96.02\%\;and\;91.04%$, respectively. Minimum detectable differences ($\Delta$) and $90\%$ confidence intervals were all less than $\pm20\%$. All these parameters met the criteria of KFDA for bioequivalence, indicating that LG $Cilostazol^{TM}$ tablet is bioequivalent to $Pletaal^{TM}$ tablet.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 1990

This study was carried out to investigate Mg status and the relationship between dietary Mg the blood pressure in 30 healthy women, 26 to 57 year of age, living in rural area of Korea. Dietary intake of the subjects on self-selected diet were recorded. Duplicated food sample and 24-hour urine samples were collected for 3 days. Mean daily dietary Mg intake levels were determined by chemical analysis of duplicated food samples and mean daily urinary Mg excretion was measured from urine samples. Fasting serum Mg levels of each subjects was measured on the 3rd day of the survey. The results were as following: 1) The mean daily intakes of energy, protein were 1770.36㎉ and 55.55g, respectively. Carbohydrare, fat and protein supplied 77.1%, 10.4% and 12.5% of total energy intake. 2) The dietary Mg showed positive correlations with carbohydrate(P<0.05), vitamin A and vitamin B2(P<0.01), energy, Ca, P, fiber, vitamin B1 and niacin(P<0.001), but negative correlation with SBP(P<0.05). 3) The daily mean intake of Mg was 259.07$\pm$74.54mg and the urinary excretion of Mg was 75.48$\pm$33.14mg which was 29.5% of the dietary intake of Mg. And there was no significance between the dietary intake and the urinary excretion of Mg. 4) The dietary fiber showed negative correlations with SBP and DBP(P<0.05). 5) The serum and urinary concentrations of Mg were normal range and the serum Mg showed negative correlation with dietary vitamin C(P<0.05, r=-0.3655). It was concluded that the dietary Mg level of Korean rural women consuming self-selected diets was lower than that of RDA of American women but higher than that of RDA of Canadian. And the dietary intake levels of Mg and fiber, which are contained mostly in cereals and vegetables are useful to prevent hypertention.

• ALGAE
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.247-252
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• 2007

Crude fucoidan was extracted from the sporophyll of Korean Undaria pinnatifida collected at a coastal area ofWando, Korea, mainly by dilute acid extraction, ethanol precipitation, CaCU Precipitation, with an yield of approxi-mately 3.9% in mass. It was further purified by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography and its chemical composi-don and in vitro anticoagulant activity was determined. The average molecular mass of the purified fucoidan wasestimated about 2.1 x 103 kDa by size-fractionation HPLC and it consisted of neutral sugar (52.34% in mass), uronicacid (26.2%), and sulfate esters (7.4%). From the HPAEC-PAD analysis, the monosaccharide composition of thepurified fucoidan was shown to be fucose, galactose, xylose, and mannose, with a molar ratio of 1, 0.2, 0.02, 0.15,respectively, demonstrating that major monosacd-iande was fucose (72.3% in mol percentage) and other sugars,xylose (1.5%), galactose (14.6%), and mannose (10.9%) were present as minor component. The results suggested thatthis fucoidan is a sulfated, U-type fucoidan. The activated partial thrombloplastin time (APTT) assay of the purifiedfucoidan showed that the purified fucoidan elicited anticoagulant activity in a dose-dependent manner. Five jUg ofsporophyll fucoidan delayed the blood clotting time up to 5 times than untreated control and also up to 1.5 timesthan the same amount of the commercial fucoidan, respectively. Although it is preliminary, these results suggestthat the fucoidan of Korean Undaria vinnatifida sporophyll would be promising candidates for the development ofan anticoaeulant.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.202-207
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of CD36, a class B scavenger receptor, rs6969989 polymorphism with the serum lipid profiles in Korean women, together with their modulation by oily fish consumption. Subjects were participants from the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study (KoGES), which was initiated in 2001 as a large-scale. A total of 4,210 women aged 39 to 70 were included in this study. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and blood chemical analysis. Dietary intake was analyzed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The minor allele frequency for rs6969989 was found in 12% of this population. Homozygotes minor G allele at the rs6868989 exhibited significantly higher high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) concentrations (P-trend=0.043) and lower fasting glucose (P-trend=0.013) than major allele A carriers. The risk of low HDL-C was significantly lower in homozygotes for the G allele than the A allele carriers (P-trend=0.032). Gene-diet interaction effects between rs6969989 and oily fish intake were significantly associated with the risk of dyslipidemia (P-interaction=0.004). Subjects with homozygotes minor G allele and high oily fish intake generally had a lower risk of dyslipidemia than did those with major allele homozygotes and low oily fish intake. These findings supported that oily fish consumption may modulate the contributions of CD36 rs6969989 on genetic predisposition to the risk of dyslipidemia.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of bisphenol A (BPA), which is known to have estrogenic activity, on the early development of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes). The fertilized eggs of medaka were treated with BPA at different concentrations for 3 weeks. Embryonic growth, deformation, hatching success, and gonadal differentiation were determined to observe the effects of this chemical. Also we tried to measure the estrogenic activity of bisphenol A using ELISA and RT-PCR methods. By using this techniques, we evaluated the induction of vitellogenin, an estrogen-regulated gene from the whole body-homogenates of larvae. At results, a reduced blood circulation was seen in embryos and peritoneal edema and hindrance of yolk-sac absorption were observed in larvae of treated group. However, BPA at the concentrations tested (2～200 ㎍/L) did not have severe adverse effects on the early life-stages. According to the observation of gonadal histology, inter-sex or sex -reversal was not found in all test fish. After the exposure was ended, vitellogenin mRNA and protein levels were measured in larvae and then their levels were found to be increased in treated group with 200㎍/L. These results indicate that BPA can induce the expression of vitellogenin in early life-stages as well as in adult male fish.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.235-240
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• 1999

Bioequivalence of two clarithromycin tablets, the $Klaricid^{TM}$ (Ciba-Geigy Korea Ltd., Seoul, Korea) and the LG clarithromycin (LG Chemical Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea), was evaluated according to the Korean Guidelines for Bioequivalence Test (KGBT 1998). Sixteen normal male volunteers $(20{\sim}26\;years\;old)$ were randomly divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After one tablet containing 250 mg of clarithromycin was orally administered, blood sample was taken at predetennined time intervals, and the concentrations of clarithromycin in serum were detennined using HPLC method with electrochemical detector. The pharmacokinetic parameters $(AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\; T_{max})$ were calculated and ANOVA was utilized for the statistical analysis of parameters. The results showed that the differences in $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ between two tablets based on $Klaricid^{TM}$ tablet were 4.06%,2.67% and -9.70%, respectively. The powers $(1-{\beta})$ for $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ were 83.53%, 92.34% and 96.64%, respectively. Detectable differences $({\Delta})$ and 90 % confidence intervals $(a=0.05) $were all less than ${\pm}20%$. All the parameters above met the criteria of KGBT 1998, indicating that LG clarithromycin tablet is bioequivalent to $Klaricid^{TM}$ tablet.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2015

Hypoxia is an important adverse prognostic factor for tumor progression and is a major cause of failure of radiation therapy. In case of short-term hypoxia, the metabolism can recover to normal, but if hypoxia persists, it causes irreversible cell damage and finally leads to death. So a hypoxia marker would be very useful in oncology. In particular, 2-nitroimidazole can be reduced to form a reactive chemical species, which can bind irreversibly to cell components in the absence of sufficient oxygen, thus, the development of radiolabeled nitroimidazole derivatives for the imaging of hypoxia remains an active field of research to improve cancer therapy result. 2-nitroimidazole based hypoxia marker, [$^{18}F$]FMISO holds promise for the evaluation of tumor hypoxia by Positron emission tomography (PET), at both global and local levels. In the present study, [$^{18}F$]FMISO was synthesized using an automatic synthesis module with high radiochemical purity (>99%) in 60 min. Immunohistochemical analysis using pimonidazole confirmed the presence of hypoxia in xenografted CT-26 tumor tissue. A biodistribution study in CT-26 xenografted mice showed that the increased tumor-to-muscle ratio and tumor-to-blood ratios from 10 to 120 min post-injection. In the PET study, [$^{18}F$]FMISO also showed increased tumor-to-muscle ratios from 10 to 120 min post-injection. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of [$^{18}F$]FMISO for imaging hypoxiain mouse colon cancer model using small animal PET.

• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.1079-1087
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• 2018

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are independent risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and their coexistence is known as overlap syndrome (OS). Endothelial dysfunction is the initial stage of CVD; however, underlying mechanisms linking OS and CVD are not well understood. The aim of this study was to explore whether OS can lead to more severe inflammation and endothelial apoptosis by promoting endothelial dysfunction, and to assess the intervention effects of antioxidant tempol. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats (n=66) were exposed to normal oxygen [normal control (NC) group], intermittent hypoxia (IH group), cigarette smoke (CH group), as well as cigarette smoke and IH (OS group). Tempol intervention was assessed in OS group treated with tempol (OST group) or NaCl (OSN group). After an 8-week challenge, lung tissues, serum, and fresh blood were harvested for analysis of endothelial markers and apoptosis. Results: The levels of intracellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1, and apoptosis in circulating epithelial cells were the highest in OS group and the lowest in NC group. These levels were all greater in IH group than in CH group, and were lower in OST group than in OS and OSN groups (all p<0.001). Conclusion: Synergistic effects of IH with cigarette smoke-induced emphysema produce a greater inflammatory status and endothelial apoptosis. OS-related inflammation and endothelial cell apoptosis may play important roles in promoting cardiovascular dysfunction, and antioxidant tempol could achieve a partial protective effect.