• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.431-437
• /
• 2008

Sengmaek-san(Shengmai-san; SMS) is used in oriental medicine as one of the key herbal medicine for treating diverse symptoms including cardiovascular and neurological disorders. In the present study, the effects of SMS on axonal regeneration were investigated in the rat model given sciatic nerve injury. SMS treatment enhanced axonal regrowth into and the number of non-neuronal cells in the distal area after crush injury. GAP-43 protein levels were increased in the injured sciatic nerve compared to intact nerve and further upreguated by SMS treatment. GAP-43 protein was increased similarly in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) at lumbar 4 - 6 by nerve injury and SMS treatment, suggesting GAP-43 induction at gene expression level. SMS-mediated increase in phospho-Erk1/2 protein was observed in the DRG as well as in the injured nerve implying its retrograde transport into the cell body as the process of lesion signal transmission. The present findings suggest that SMS may be involved in enhanced axonal regeneration via dynamic regulation of regeneration-associated proteins.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.285-302
• /
• 1992

Human and rat hepatocytes were isolated by nonperfusion method and cultured for longer than 5 days. Human liver biopsy sample and rat liver were used as hepatocyte source. Several physical and chemical factors which were influencing on hepatocyte isolation procedure were examined and a batch isolation procedure was established for small size sample of rat liver. Isolated hepatocytes showed normal morphlologica characteristics in microscopy and electron microscopical examinations and a morphologica response to phalloidin. Isolated cells were cultured as a monolayer and proven to have intact morphological characteristics for longer than 15 days. Because human liver sample is harder and tighter compared with rat liver, a standard procedure for rat hepatocytes was slightly modified to reduce mechanical damage. Similarly with rat hepatocytes, isolated human hepatocytes showed a normal morphological characteristics and could be cultured for longer than 15days. Human and rat hepatocytes were examined on their functional integrities including cytochrome-P450 related enzyme activity and it's inducibility, hormonal inducibility of AIB uptake and TAT activity, albumin synthesis, DNA synthesis, cellular protein maintenance. In all parameters used in the present study, human and rat hepatocytes showed normal functional characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.275-280
• /
• 1997

This study was carried out to investigate on the survival and in vitro developmental rates of bisected bovine embryos by microblade, micropipette and pronase methods. Bisected embryos cultured for 1∼7 days in TCM-199 media with 10 FCS＋hormones. Survival and in vitro developmental rates was defined on in vitro culture or FDA-test. The results are summarized as follows ; 1. The survival and in vitro developmental rates of bisected bovine embryos by microblade, micropipette and pronase methods were 22.2, 16.7, 15.0% and 22.2, 23.3, 18.8%, respectively. In vitro developmental rate of bisected bovine embryos was significantly lower than that of non-bisection embryos(27.8% and 25.0%). 2. In vitro developmental rates of bovine embryos bisected for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 cells stages during in vitro culture in 10% FCS＋TCM-199 media were 25.0, 20.0, 20.0, 15.0 and 6.7%, respectively. 3. In vitro developmental rates of intact and free-zona pellucida of bisected demi-embryos during in vitro culture in 10% FCS＋TCM-199 media were 25.6, 16.7%, respectively. 4. In vitro developmental rates of biopsied embryos and biopsied blastomeres during in vitro culture in 10% FCS＋TCM-199 media were 20.0, 11.1%, respectively.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.49-55
• /
• 2003

This study was undertaken to define the effect of ChungSangSaWhaTang on the norepinephrine-induced arterial contraction and the mechanism of ChungSangSaWhaTang-induced relaxation. In order to investigate the effect of ChungSangSaWhaTang on contracted rabbit carotid arterial strips, transverse strips with intact or damaged endothelium were used for the experiment using organ bath. To analyze the mechanism of ChungSangSaWhaTang-induced relaxation, ChungSangSaWhaTang extract infused into contracted arterial strips induced by norepinephrine after treatment of indomethacin, $N_{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine, or tetraethylammonium chloride. ChungSangSaWhaTang relax arterial strip with endothelium contracted by norepinephrine, but in the strips without endothelium, ChungSangSaWhaTang-induced relaxation was significantly inhibited. The endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by ChungSangSaWhaTang was decreased by the pretreatment of $N_{\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine, but it was not observed in the strips pretreated with indomethacin or tetraethylammonium chloride. We suggest that ChungSangSaWhaTang may inhibit agonist-induced contraction through the formation of nitric oxide in the vascular endothelial cells.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.87-91
• /
• 1997

Effects of divalent cations such as $Mg^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Zn^2$ on splicing activity of phage T4 thymidylate synthase intron RNA have been investigated. At the concentration of 0.5 mM, $Mn^{2+}$ in the absence of $Mg^{2+}$, a very small amount of pre-RNA was cleaved into ligation products (El-E2) but no circular or linear intron was produced. As the concentration of $Mn^{2+}$ was increased from 1 to 5 mM the pre-RNA was completely hydrolyzed. In the presence of 5 mM $Mg^{2+}$, both the linear intron and circular intron were produced but no El-E2 ligation product was produced. At both 3 and 5 mM $Mn^{2+}$ the RNA was hydrolyzed completely as observed with no $Mg^2+$ being present. In the case of $Zn^{2+}$, even at 0.5 mM concentration, the pre-RNA was completely hydrolyzed. This observation suggested that $Zn^{2+}$ facilitates RNA hydrolysis more rapidly than $Mn^{2+}$ does. at 5mM $Ca^{2+}$, the RNA was not hydrolyzed and remained intact as a primary transcript.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.227-231
• /
• 2001

A 8-year-old, intact male Yorkshire Terrier Dog was presented with dark-black mass on the third digits of the left forelimb. Three months earlier, the dog had experienced an episode of digit amputation because of growing mass with ulcerated nodule of the same area. According to the owner, the recurrence of the mass appeared suddenly and was growing rapidly from the amputation site. The mass was more infiltrative than the first one and measured 1.5 cm in diameter. The clinical signs were anorexia, coughing, respiratory distress, exercise intolerance, cardiac murmurs, and cyanosis on the oral mucous membrane. Plain radiographic findings revealed multiple, various-sized(0.5 to 7 cm in diameter), slightly firm-nodules on the thoracic region but digital bone lysis was not seen. These lesions on the thoracic cavity were considered likely to be metastatic from the digit and the dog was naturally died after 3 weeks from the time. Histologically, the digital mass confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma that was composed of round melanocytic neoplastic, anaplastic, and melanin-containing cells. This report records clinical information and gross and light microscopic features of metastatic malignant melanoma in a dog.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.103-106
• /
• 2002

Direct PCR from intact fungal cells is not readily suitable to all fungi mainly because of difficulties in rupturing the cell walls. Microwave irradiation has been proven to be useful in fungal DNA extraction protocol. Here we describe a fast template preparation method for PCR amplification from Aspefillus nidulans conidiospores using microwave irradiation. We optimized the duration far microwave irradiation, and the amount of template DNA for PCR. Amplification from samples prepared in this manner was so efficient that we could get PCR products with size enough to identify transformants. We believe that this is a time-saving procedure for screening true transformants of A. nidulans.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.205-209
• /
• 2005

A rapid, simple and efficient method to extract RNA from the adult polyps of a soft coral, marine cnidarian, Scleronephthya gracillimum $(K\ddot{u}kenthal)$; was developed in this study. The highest yield and purity of RNA was obtained with the lysis solution containing 35 mM EDTA, 0.7 M LiCl, 7.0% SDS, and 200 mM Tris-Cl (pH 9.0). Approximately $40{\mu}g$ of total RNA was extracted from 200 mg of liquid nitrogen-pulverized polyp tissue. The ratio of absorbance at 260 nm and 280 nm ranged from 1.8 to 2.0. The results of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) with ${\beta}-actin$ gene specific primers and Northern blot analysis using the same gene probe revealed that the RNA extracted by our method had high quality, and was sufficient for subsequent molecular biological analyses. This method was effective for RNA extraction from other soft coral species which belong to the genus Dendronephthya.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.1467-1472
• /
• 2013

Metabolomics is a field that studies systematic dynamics and secretion of metabolites from cells to understand biological pathways based on metabolite changes. The metabolic profiling of intact human colorectal tissues was performed using high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy, which was unnecessary to extract metabolites from tissues. We used two different groups of samples, which were defined as normal and cancer, from 9 patients with colorectal cancer and investigated the samples in NMR experiments with a water suppression pulse sequence. We applied target profiling and multivariative statistical analysis to the analyzed 1D NMR spectra to identify the metabolites and discriminate between normal and cancer tissues. Cancer tissue showed higher levels of arginine, betaine, glutamate, lysine, taurine and lower levels of glutamine, hypoxanthine, isoleucine, lactate, methionine, pyruvate, tyrosine relative to normal tissue. In the OPLS-DA (orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis), the score plot showed good separation between the normal and cancer groups. These results suggest that metabolic profiling of colorectal cancer could provide new biomarkers.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.178-183
• /
• 1995

The recombinant plasmid of pCU103 constructed by cloning pcbCD genes in pBluescript SK(+) was studied for the effect of temperature on its persistence in different waters by the methods of electrophoresis, Southern hybridization, quantification, and transformation. The plasmid was very rapidly degraded out in non-sterile FW water without regards to water temperature, probably due to the effect of biochemical factor such as nucleases. The pCU103 was most persistent at 4$^{\circ}C$ in any water environments, moderately persistant at 15$^{\circ}C$ but least stable at 3$0^{\circ}C$ such results could be explained by the facts that hydrogen bonds in double-stranded plasmid DNAs become unstable and that nucleases are activated by increasing temperature. The intact structure of pCU1-3 was generally observed by gel electrophoresis under the conditions which the plasmid should be 2.0 ng/$\mu\textrm{l}$ or higher in concentration and that about 10$^2$ CFU/ml or more transformant cells should be recovered.