• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.12.1-12.14
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• 2018

Osteoporosis develops with high prevalence in both postmenopausal women and hypogonadal men. Osteoporosis results in significant morbidity, but no cure has been established. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) critically contribute to bone homeostasis and possess potent immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory capability. Here, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of using an infusion of MSCs to treat sex hormone-deficient bone loss and its underlying mechanisms. In particular, we compared the impacts of MSC cytotherapy in the two genders with the aim of examining potential gender differences. Using the gonadectomy (GNX) model, we confirmed that the osteoporotic phenotypes were substantially consistent between female and male mice. Importantly, systemic MSC transplantation (MSCT) not only rescued trabecular bone loss in GNX mice but also restored cortical bone mass and bone quality. Unexpectedly, no differences were detected between the genders. Furthermore, MSCT demonstrated an equal efficiency in rectifying the bone remodeling balance in both genders of GNX animals, as proven by the comparable recovery of bone formation and parallel normalization of bone resorption. Mechanistically, using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based cell-tracing, we demonstrated rapid engraftment but poor inhabitation of donor MSCs in the GNX recipient bone marrow of each gender. Alternatively, MSCT uniformly reduced the $CD3^+T$-cell population and suppressed the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in reversing female and male GNX osteoporosis, which was attributed to the ability of the MSC to induce T-cell apoptosis. Immunosuppression in the microenvironment eventually led to functional recovery of endogenous MSCs, which resulted in restored osteogenesis and normalized behavior to modulate osteoclastogenesis. Collectively, these data revealed recipient sexually monomorphic responses to MSC therapy in gonadal steroid deficiency-induced osteoporosis via immunosuppression/anti-inflammation and resident stem cell recovery.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2018

The study about maturity and spawning of Korean Mandarin fish, Siniperca scherzeri collected using the set net and gill net in Soyangho Lake from April to November 2014 was conducted. The number of individuals was 401 (female: 204, male: 197). The total length of females ranged from 113 mm to 365 mm and that of males was from 140 mm to 342 mm. The water temperature in May which is the start of spawning season indicated about $15^{\circ}C$ and gradually increased to July ($26^{\circ}C$). Gonadosomatic index (GSI) of females indicated 2.3%, 4.6% and 3.1%, respectively, in May to July. Males' value showed the similar pattern recording 8.0%, 6.6% and 4.5% in the same time. According to histological observations of gonadal tissue, the most of female in May had the gonadal tissue of maturing and mature stage. And the ovary of June was mostly in the stage of ripe and spawning and a number of individuals in July was recovery stage. In the case of male, a number of males in May showed in the stage of mature. The testis of June showed that mature sperm was releasing. And the testis of July was mostly in recovery stage. The total length at 50% group maturity was estimated 245.16 mm. As shown in the above, the main spawning period of S. scherzeri was May to June.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 1997

Gonadal maturation and annual reproductive cycle of the cultured scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis from eastern waters near of Kangwon-do province, Korea were studied on the basis of monthly variation of gonadosomatic indices (GSI) and histological observations of gonadal tissue. During the experimental period, water temperature at the depth of 20m and sunshine duration per day were ranged from $5.3^{\circ}C\;to\;18.0^{\circ}C$ and 9.4 to 14.6 hours, respectively. GSI values of femal were in a wide range from $2.8\pm0.37(August)\;to\;22.66\pm4.38(April)$. GSI values began to increase in March and reached the maxium in April, then decreased repidly. GSI values of male were in a range from $2.04\pm0.80(August)\;to\;20.46\pm1.49(April)$ and were same tendency with female's. Digestive diverticula indices (DDI) of both sex reached the maximum values in December, then deceased gradually until September. Contrary to GSI, adductor muscle indices (AMI) of both sex were the minium values in April, but began to increase rapidly until July and reached $47.71\pm3.17(female)\;and\;48.70\pm3.55(male)$. In the scallp collected hermaphroditic gonads were found. Monthly changes of oocyte diameter were in a range from 11.3 um(October) to 73.3um (April) and nuclear diameters were in a range from 8.3um (September) to 35.3um (April), similar tendency with each other. The changes in number of ovarian tubules were reciprocal tendency with those of oocyte diameter and monthly number of ovarian tubules per $\textrm{mm}^2$ in the tissue perpatation was in a range from 51 (April) to 175 (August). As the results, the annual reproductive cycle of the cultured scallolp from eastern waters of Korea could be classified into five successive stages : multiplicative (October), growing (November to February), mature (March and April), spawning (April to June) and recovery (July to September) in female ; multiplicative (October and November), growing (December and January), mature (February to April), spawning (April to June) and recovery (July to September) in male.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.313-322
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• 2019

The epididymal fat pad is a male gonadal adipocyte tissue and is histochemically separated into distal and proximal parts. The development of epididymal fat during postnatal period has not been examined in detail. A previous research showed that expression of adipocyte-associated molecules in the distal epididymal fat of mouse is generally increased as postnatally aged. In the present study, expressional patterns of same adipocyte-associated molecules in the mouse proximal epididymal fat at 2, 5, 8, and 12 months of age were studied by quantitative real-time PCR analysis and were compared with those in the distal epididymal fat. The expressional levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (Pparg), lipoprotein lipase (Lpl), and fatty acid synthase (Fasn) at 5 months of age were significantly lower than those at 2 months of age, while transcript level of leptin (Lep) at 5 months was higher than that at 2 months of age. The transcript levels of all molecules at 8 months of age were significantly increased, compared with those at 2 and 5 months of age. At 12 months of age, expression of delta like non-canonical Notch ligand 1 (Dlk1) was further significantly increased, while there was no change on the transcript level of Pparg and significant decreases of Fabp4, Retn, Lpl, Lep, Fasn, and adiponectin (Adipoq) transcript levels. The current findings show that expressional patterns of molecules associated with adipocyte in the proximal epididymal fat is somewhat different with those of the distal epididymal fat, suggesting the existence of regional variance in the epididymal fat.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Seaweeds have been reported to have various health beneficial effects. In this study, we investigated the potential anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory effects of four types of domestic brown seaweeds in a high-fat diet-induced obese mouse model and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). MATERIALS/METHODS: Male C57BL/6N mice were fed low-fat diet (LFD), high-fat diet (HFD) or HFD containing Undaria Pinnatifida, HFD containing Laminaria Japonica (LJ), HFD containing Sargassum Fulvellum, or HFD containing Hizikia Fusiforme (HF) for 16 weeks. RESULTS: Brown seaweed supplementation did not affect long-term HFD-associated changes in body weight or adiposity, although mice fed HFD + LJ or HFD + HF gained slightly less body weight compared with those fed HFD at the beginning of feeding. Despite being obese, mice fed HFD + LJ appeared to show improved insulin sensitivity compared to mice fed HFD. Consistently, we observed significantly reduced blood glucose concentrations in mice fed HFD + LJ compared with those of mice fed HFD. Although no significant differences in adipocyte size were detected among the HFD-fed groups, consumption of seaweeds decreased formation of HFD-induced crown-like structures in gonadal adipose tissue as well as plasma inflammatory cytokines. BMDM from mice fed HFDs with seaweeds showed differential regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 compared with BMDM from mice fed HFD by LPS stimulation. CONCLUSION: Although seaweed consumption did not prevent long-term HFD-induced obesity in C57BL/6N mice, it reduced insulin resistance (IR) and circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, seaweeds may ameliorate systemic inflammation and IR in obesity partially due to inhibition of inflammatory signaling in adipose tissue cells as well as bone marrow-derived immune cells.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.416-421
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• 1998

The objective of this study was to investigate the responsiveness of hypophysis and gonads to synthetic GnRH among noncycling Murrah buffalo heifers at 24 months of age. The plasma FSH, LH, estradiol and progesterone levels were measured in blood samples collected at 1 hour before and upto 18th day subsequent to the administration of GnRH ($(200 {\mu}g)$) or saline (2 ml). The pretreatment levels of plasma FSH, LH estradiol and progesterone among GnRH treated heifers (N = 6) were $11.55{\pm}0.57ng/ml$, $0.68{\pm}0.06ng/ml$, $19.84{\pm}0.82pg/ml$ and $0.45{\pm}0.07ng/ml$ respectively. A quick elevation of FSH (p < 0.01) and LH (p < 0.05) within 5 min of GnRH administration was observed in all the heifers. The peak FSH ($74.97{\pm}18.63ng/ml$) and LH ($3.09{\pm}0.54ng/ml$) level was obtained at 30 min of GnRH administration. The elevated level of plasma estradiol on 5th to 18th day, FSH on 7th to 9th day (n = 3) and the progesterone on 13th to 18th day (n = 2) of GnRH injection was obtained. The study indicates that gonads of buffalo heifers at 24 months of age are responsive of GnRH induced gonadotropin release for folliculogenesis and luteal tissue formation

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.201-209
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• 2001

Annual reproductive cycle of seabass, Lateolabrax japonicus, was histologically investigated based on samples captured on the coast of the Tongyoung, South Korea. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) of females began to increase in October and reached its maximum in February. The GSI of males reached its maximum in December. The change of GSI and gonadal tissue showed that the annual reproductive cycle was classified into the following successive four stages: (1) the degenerative and resting stage from March to August, (2) the growth stage from September to November, (3) the mature stage from November to December, and (4) the ripe and spawning stage from December to March.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2013

This study histologically describes the intersexuality of Scomberomorus niphonius collected from the coastal area near Jeju Island. A total of 126 S. niphonius, collected from March to July 2012 with a total length of 62.4 cm (${\pm}17.5$) and a total weight of 1,701.9 g (${\pm}1,528.9$) were used for analyses. From a histological perspective, two types of intersex were confirmed. One type had scattered germ cells from the opposite sex within the gonad. The second type developed germ cells from the opposite sex in the connective tissue of the outer gonadal membrane. The intersexuality was 14.3% (n=18/126), with females (21.3%; n=16/75) exhibiting a higher rate than males (3.9%; n=2/51). There was no displayed correlation between intersexuality and the total length and weight.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.246-251
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• 2023

Obesity increases the risk of mortality and morbidity because it results in hypertension, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, there is an urgent need for pharmacotherapeutic drugs to treat obesity. We performed a screening assay using natural products with anti-adipogenic properties in 3T3-L1 cells and determined that tschimganidine, a terpenoid from the Umbelliferae family, inhibited adipogenesis. To evaluate the anti-obesity effects of tschimganidine in vivo. Mice were fed either a normal chow diet (NFD) or a high-fat chow diet (HFD) with or without tschimganidine for 12 weeks. Treatment with tschimganidine decreased lipid accumulation and adipogenesis, accompanied by reduced expression of adipogenesis and lipid accumulation-related factors. Tschimganidine significantly increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and decreased that of AKT. Depletion of AMPK relieved the reduction in lipid accumulation resulting from tschimganidine treatment. Moreover, tschimganidine administration drastically reduced the weight and size of both gonadal white adipose tissue (WAT) and blood glucose levels in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. We suggest that tschimganidine is a potent anti-obesity agent, which impedes adipogenesis and improves glucose homeostasis. Tschimganidine can then be evaluated for clinical application as a therapeutic agent.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.61-65
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• 2023

Globally, esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer, and the male-to-female ratio in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is significantly imbalanced at 4:1 to 8:1. Obesity, reflux, and smoking are known risk factors for this sex difference; however, fully explaining this remains challenging. Studies have investigated the link between exogenous sex hormones and esophageal cancer occurrence. A meta-analysis revealed a lower risk of EAC in female who had undergone hormone replacement therapy. Androgen-deprivation therapy in patients with prostate cancer was associated with a decreased risk of EAC. Tissue-based studies have reported varied results regarding the relationship between estrogen receptor expression and survival in female patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Circulating hormone studies have suggested that higher testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels decreased EAC risk in men, and free testosterone was inversely correlated in female with ESCC. However, a high androgen-estrogen ratio in male patients with EAC was linked to increased odds of EAC. Sex hormones influence carcinogenesis, affecting cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, inflammation, and cell death. The studies were limited by the small sample size and varying hormone measurement methods; thus, future studies with definitive conclusions on the association between esophageal cancer and sex hormones are warranted.