• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.175-179
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• 2003

Coptis chinensis (CC) is one of the traditional herbs used in Oriental medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, anxiety, and insomnia. In this study, neurotrophic and neuritogenic effects of CC on rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells were evaluated. Pretreatment of PC12 cells with water extracts of CC $(120{\mu}g/ml)$ produced considerable outgrowth of neurites that is comparable to the effect of nerve growth factor (NGF). Therefore, neurite outgrowth was quantified and expression of NGF mRNA was examined. Furthermore, characteristics of neurites were immunocytochemically confirmed using axon and dendrite-specific antibodies. These results suggest that water extracts of CC contain components that have neurotrophic and neuritogenic properties.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2033-2041
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• 2007

For many years, it has been demonstrated that neurotrophins regulate the adult nervous system, implicating their potential as therapeutic agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We generated adenoviral vectors encoding brain-derived neutotrophin factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) and tested either separately or together for the ability to induce differentiation of neuronal precursor cells with two different origins. Separate transduction of adenovirus delivering BDNF (BDNF-Ad) or NT3 (NT3-Ad) induced the neuronal differentiation in hippocampal and cortical precursor cells. NT3-Ad infected cells extended short neurites, whereas BDNF-Ad infected cells had longer neurites. In the early differentiation of hippocampal precursor cells, simultaneous infection of BDNF-Ad and NT3-Ad promoted further differentiation and neurite elongation compared with the separate infection of each virus. In contrast, simultaneous infection did not show the synergistic effect in the cortical precursor cells, suggesting that the neurotrophins play distinct roles in different regions of the brain. However, the numbers of neurites and spines per differentiated cells were markedly increased in cortical as well as hippocampal precursor cells, indicating the promotion of efficient neurite elongation and formation of dendritic spine, when BDNF-Ad and NT3-Ad were co-infected. These results suggest more studies in the effect of a combinatorial use of neurotrophins on different sites of brain need to be carried out to develop gene therapy protocols for neurodegenerative diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.160-172
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• 2022

Background: The authors established an in vitro model of diabetic neuropathy based on the culture system of primary neurons and Schwann cells (SCs) to mimic similar symptoms observed in in vivo models of this complication, such as impaired neurite extension and impaired myelination. The model was then utilized to investigate the effects of insulin on enhancing neurite extension and myelination of diabetic neurons. Methods: SCs and primary neurons were cultured under conditions mimicking hyperglycemia prepared by adding glucose to the basal culture medium. In a single culture, the proliferation and maturation of SCs and the neurite extension of neurons were evaluated. In a co-culture, the percentage of myelination of diabetic neurons was investigated. Insulin at different concentrations was supplemented to culture media to examine its effects on neurite extension and myelination. Results: The cells showed similar symptoms observed in in vivo models of this complication. In a single culture, hyperglycemia attenuated the proliferation and maturation of SCs, induced apoptosis, and impaired neurite extension of both sensory and motor neurons. In a co-culture of SCs and neurons, the percentage of myelinated neurites in the hyperglycemia-treated group was significantly lower than that in the control group. This impaired neurite extension and myelination was reversed by the introduction of insulin to the hyperglycemic culture media. Conclusions: Insulin may be a potential candidate for improving diabetic neuropathy. Insulin can function as a neurotrophic factor to support both neurons and SCs. Further research is needed to discover the potential of insulin in improving diabetic neuropathy.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.207-215
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• 1993

Lead is an environmental toxicant that causes a marked deficit in cognative development in infants and children. Damage to the hippocampus has been linked to the lead-induced deficit in the learning process. The present study examined the effects of lead on the development of hippocampal neurons in vitro. Hippocampal neurons were incubated with various concentrations in lead acetate (1nM to 30 nM) for 72 hrs from 4 h after plating, and the percentage of living neurons bearing neurites, neurite outgrowth and migration of multipolar neurons in culture were determined.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.323-327
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• 1999

It was shown that brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNFs) secreted from human neuroblastoma cells can significantly improve the growth of the neurites of PC12 nerve cells. The addition of purified BDNFs elongated the neurites of PC 12 nerve cells two to three times more than the case where the addition was not made. The perfusion rate strongly affected the change of the size of human neuroblastoma cells because the cell size decreased as the perfusion rate increased. This could also influence the productivity of BDNF from the cells. It is also important to note that the BDNF production was decreased when the cell size was reduced. BDNF production rate also decreased at a fast perfusion rate in a smaller cell size. At the relatively fast perfusion rate of 18 ml/h, the ratio of apoptotic to necrotic cells dramatically decreased, which possibly caused the decrease of BDNF production. It has been proven that the secretion of BDNF from human neuroblastoma cells was a partially growth-related process by yielding 6.2$\times l0^{-8}/g$ of BDNF/cell/h of growth related parameter and $0.48{\times}l0^{-9}/g$ of BDNF/cell/h of nongrowth-related parameter in a growth kinetic model. In addition, it was also found that the perfusion rate played a very important role in controlling the cell death mechanism.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.285-296
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• 1997

Injury to brain transforms resting astrocytes to their reactive form, the hallmark of which is an increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the major intermediate filament protein of their cell type. The overall glial response after brain injury is referred to as reactive gliosis. Glial-neuronal interaction is important for neuronal migration, neurite outgrowth and axonal guidance during ontogenic development. Although much attention has been given to glial regulation of neuronal development and regeneration, evidences also suggest a neuronal influence on glial cell differentiation, maturation and function. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of glial-hippocampal neuronal co-culture on GFAP expression in the co-cultured astrocytes. The following antibodies were used for double immunostaining chemistry; mouse monoclonal antibodies for confirm neuronal cells, rabbit anti GFAP antibodies for confirm astrocytes. Primary cultured astrocytes showed the typical flat polygonal morphology in culture and expressed strong GFAP and vimentin. Co-cultured hippocampal neurons on astrocytes had phase bright cell body and well branched neurites. About half of co-cultured astrocytes expressed negative or weak GFAP and vimentin. After 2 hour glutamate (0.5 mM) exposure of glial-neuronal co-culture, neuronal cells lost their neurites and most of astrocytes expressed strong CFAE and vimentin. In Western blot analysis, total GFAP and vimentin contents in co-cultured astrocytes were lower than those of primary cultured astrocytes. After glutamate exposure of glial-neuronal co-culture, GFAP and vimentin contents in astrocytes were increased to the level of primary cultured astrocytes. These results suggest that neuronal cell decrease GFAP expression in co-cultured astrocytes and hippocampal neuronal-glial co-culture can be used as a reactive gliosis model in vitro for studying GFAP expression of astrocytes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.99-99
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• 2003

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) induced a significant neurite extension of antennal lobe (AL) neurons from the silk moth Bombyx mori in culture on lamini/ concanavalin A-coated dishes, in comparison with smaller effect of 20-hydroxyecdy-sone (20-HE). But the effect fur neurite extension by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) could not be found. A significant increase in the number of new primary branches from the principal neurites of AL neurons was also shown in culture with BDNF and 5-HT, but not with 20-HE. (omitted)

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.102-105
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• 1997

In cultivating human neuroblastoma cells maximum number of neurites per cell and length of the neurite were estimated as 5.5 and 2.2 (nm), respectively It was found that there was correlation between growth and differentiation of nerve cells. Maximum specific BDNF production rate was also calculated as 2.5$\times $10$^{-5}$(ng/cell/day) at 7$\times $ 10$^{5}$ (viable cells/ml) of maximum cell density, corresponding to 100 (ng/mL) of BDNF. The secretion of BDNF was occurred most in the later peroids of the cultivation, yielding 75 (ng/mL) of BDNF. The production of rate of BDNF was elongated in adding 1 ($\mu $g/mL) of BDNF as well as 40% increase of the length of the BDNF. It proves that BDNF can be used as one of biopharmaceuticals to treat age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Prakinson's disease. It can also provide the information of scaling-up mammalian cell cuture system to economically produce BDNF.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.264-268
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• 1998

Dopamine (DA) acts on swimming motor neurons (SMNs) of Polyorchis penicillatus as an inhibitory neurotransmitter by hyperpolarizing their membrane potentials, which results from the activation of voltagesensitive potassium channels mediated through a $D_2-type$ receptor. In addition, DA, and not the hyperpolarized membrane potential, directly decreased the input resistance of SMNs by ca. 50% from 1.42 to 0.68 $G{\Omega}$. It strongly indicates that DA can shunt other excitatory synaptic signals onto SMNs where DA usually elicited much greater responses in their neurites than soma. All these evidences suggest that DA may operate in this primitive nervous system in dual modes as an inhibitory neurotransmitter and neuromodulator as well.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.185-187
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• 2013

Neurofibromas are benign tumors that originate from the peripheral nerves, including neurites and fibroblasts. Generally, a solitary neurofibroma is located in the skin and rarely in other places. A 72-year-old female suffered from epigastric discomfort for 2 months. Endoscopic findings showed an early gastric cancer type IIc at the antrum. Abdominal computed tomography revealed early gastric cancer with a 1.6 cm-sized metastatic node posterior to the duodenum. Laparoscopic assisted distal gastrectomy and retro-pancreatic dissection were performed uneventfully. Histological examination revealed gastric adenocarcinoma, invading the mucosa without nodal metastasis, and a neurofibroma. Herein, we present a case of a gastric cancer patient with a solitary retroperitoneal neurofibroma which mimicked a distant metastatic node.