• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.50 no.4
• /
• pp.501-510
• /
• 2018

This study examined the neurotoxicity induced by lead acetate (LA) on cultured C6 glioma cells and the protective effects of Euphorbiae humifusae L. (EH) extract against LA-induced cytotoxicity. In this study, LA exhibited neurotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control, and was determined to be highly-toxic according to the toxic criteria. The $XTT_{50}$ value of LA was calculated at a concentration of $38.6{\mu}M$ after C6 glioma cells were incubated for 72 hours in the media containing $30{\sim}50{\mu}M$ of LA, respectively. In addition, LA-induced neurotoxicity was suggested to correlate with the level of oxidative stress because vitamin E, an antioxidant, increased the cell viability damaged by LA-induced cytotoxicity. The EH extract effectively prevented cell injury from LA-induced cytotoxicity via its antioxidative effects, such as inhibitory ability of lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase-like activity and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-radical scavenging activity. These antioxidative effects may result in components, such as polyphenol or flavonoids including gallic acid or quercetin. In conclusion, natural resources, such as EH extracts, may be a useful putative agent for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as lead neurotoxicity.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.548-555
• /
• 2018

Objectives: We conducted ecological risk assessment for cadmium, a heavy metal and carcinogen, to identify safety standards by environmental media and to determine its impact on ecosystems by estimating and evaluating exposure levels. Methods: Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were generated using ECOTOX DB. A hazardous concentration of 5% (HC5) protective of most species (95%) in the environment was estimated. Using this estimate, predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) were calculated for aquatic organisms. Based on the calculated PNECs for aquatic organisms, PNEC values for soil and sediment were calculated using the partition coefficient. Predicted exposure concentrations (PECs) were also calculated from environmental monitoring data with hazard quotients (HQs) calculated using PNECs for environmental media. Results: Chronic toxicity data were categorized into four groups and 11 species. In species sensitivity distribution (SSD) analysis, HC5 was $0.340{\mu}g/L$. Based on this value, the PNEC value for aquatic organisms was calculated as $0.113{\mu}g/L$. PNEC values for soil and sediments using a partition coefficient were calculated as 15.02 mg/kg and 90.61 mg/kg, respectively. In an analysis of environmental monitoring data, PEC values were calculated as $0.017{\mu}g/L$ for water, 1.01 mg/kg for soil, and 0.521 mg/kg for sediment. Conclusions: HQs were 0.150, 0.067 and 0.006 for water, soil and sediment, respectively. HQs of secondary toxicity were 0.365 for birds and 0.024 for mammals. In principle, it is judged that an HQ above 1 indicates a high level of risk concern while an HQ less than 1 indicates an extremely low level of risk concern. Therefore, with HQs of cadmium in the environment being <1, its risk levels can be considered low for each media.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.34
• /
• pp.222-267
• /
• 2001

The purpose of this document is to explain the revisions of the Protection of Cultural Properties Act and its sub-laws which have been mad from Jan. 1999 to Sep. 2001. The Protection of Cultural Properties Act and its sub-laws have been revised three times from 1999 to 2001, before and after the Office of Cultural Properties was raised to Cultural Properties Administration on May 24, 1999. The main points of the revisions are as follows. First of all, the role of the local autonomous entities has been increased. The governor of the local autonomous entities is entitled to announce administrative orders related to the preservation of State-designated Cultural Properties. Also, the local autonomous entities has the authorities to examine whether the construction work which will be made in the outer boundaries, which is provided by regulations, of the protected area of the cultural properties might have any effect on preservation of cultural properties or not. Second, preventive actions to protect the cultural properties have been strengthened. If the scale of construction work is more than some scale, the preliminary survey of the surface of the earth to confirm the existence of buried cultural properties and their distribution is obligated. One who is promoting the development plan more than some scale must discuss the plan with the Administrator of Cultural Properties Administration in the process of planning. These actions would be effective to prevent the cultural properties from being damaged because of the development. Third, relaxation of the restrictions has been proceeded. On the basis of regulations which specify the actions to affect the preservation of cultural properties, negative system that does not limit the actions which are not specified in the regulations is introduced. The appropriateness of both protected structure and area should be regularly reviewed and adjusted. Also, most of the restrictions which was made only for administrative convenience and over-regulated the people's living have been revised. Finally, the number of cultural properties to be protected has been increased. Besides the State-designated Cultural Properties, the other cultural properties which are worthy to be protected as City-or-Province-designated Cultural Properties can be designated provisionally and protected. The system of registration and maintenance of the buildings and facilities which are not designated as the Modern Cultural Heritages is established. The penalty for damaging and stealing the cultural Properties which are not designated to be protected was strengthened. Even a dead natural monument can be acknowledged as an natural monument and it is limited to make a specimen or stuffing of the dead natural monument. All of these actions are fit to the high level of understanding of the public about the cultural properties and as the result of these actions, the number of cultural properties to be preserved has been increased. To sum up, the directions of revisions of the Protection of Cultural Properties Act and its sub­laws which have been made from Jan. 1999 to Sep. 2001. are the localization of the protection of the cultural properties, the strengthening of protective actions, the relaxation of various regulations and the increasing of the number fo the protected cultural properties. Also, various problems raised in the processes of implementations of the laws have been reviewed and revised.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.191-197
• /
• 2019

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects motor system with clinical features such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor and abnormal posture. PD is characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, which is associated with accumulation of oxidative stress and dysregulation of intracellular signaling pathway. Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (Q3GA), a major metabolite of quercetin, has been reported to have neuroprotective effects. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effect of Q3GA against 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium ($MPP^+$)-induced neurotoxicity of PD and the underlying molecular mechanisms in SH-SY5Y cells. MTT and LDH assay showed that Q3GA significantly decreased $MPP^+$-induced cell death, which is accompanied by a reduction in poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Furthermore, it attenuated $MPP^+$-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the reduction of Bax/ Bcl-2 ratio. Moreover, Q3GA significantly increased the phosphorylation of Akt and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), but it has no effects on the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Taken together, these results demonstrate that Q3GA significantly attenuates $MPP^+$-induced neurotoxicity through ROS reduction and Akt/CREB signaling pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. Our findings suggest that Q3GA might be one of the potential candidates for the prevention and/or treatment of PD.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.685-696
• /
• 2021

In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a heme precursor, on inflammatory and oxidative stress activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages by estimating nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). We also evaluated the molecular mechanisms through analysis of the expression of their regulatory genes, and further evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of ALA against LPS in the zebrafish model. Our results indicated that ALA treatment significantly attenuated the LPS-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators including NO and PGE2, which was associated with decreased inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. ALA also inhibited the LPS-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, reducing their extracellular secretion. Additionally, ALA abolished ROS generation, improved the mitochondrial mass, and enhanced the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and the activation of nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. However, zinc protoporphyrin, a specific inhibitor of HO-1, reversed the ALA-mediated inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines production and activation of mitochondrial function in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, ALA significantly abolished the expression of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines, and showed strong protective effects against NO and ROS production in zebrafish larvae. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ALA exerts LPS-induced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, and that ALA can be a potential functional agent to prevent inflammatory and oxidative damage.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.459-466
• /
• 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Because of the side effects and incomplete recovery from current therapy, stem cell therapy emerges as a potential therapy for CVD treatment, and endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) is one of the key stem cells used for therapeutic applications. The effect of this therapy required the expansion of EPC function. To enhance the EPC activation, proliferation, and angiogenesis using dronedarone hydrochloride (DH) is the purpose of this study. DH received approval for atrial fibrillation treatment and its cardiovascular protective effects were already reported. In this study, DH significantly increased EPC proliferation, tube formation, migration, and maintained EPCs surface marker expression. In addition, DH treatment up-regulated the phosphorylation of AKT and reduced the reactive oxygen species production. In summary, the cell priming by DH considerably improved the functional activity of EPCs, and the use of which might be a novel strategy for CVD treatment.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.63 no.4
• /
• pp.413-420
• /
• 2020

We studied the effects of the extract of aerial parts of hydroponically cultured ginseng (HGE) on alcohol-induced liver damage (AILD) in mice. AILD was induced by the oral administration of ethanol (EtOH) (25%; 5 g/kg body weight) for seven days in the study as well as EtOH-only groups. However, HGE (4 and 12 mg/kg) was orally administered (once daily for ten consecutive days) only to the study group, three days prior to the EtOH treatment. The HGE-treated group showed significantly lower levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase than the EtOH-only group. In addition, HGE administration decreased the level of serum lactate dehydrogenase, a known marker of liver damage. The effect of HGE on AILD was found to be dose dependent, and the consecutive administration of HGE showed no side effects in mice. Our study indicates that HGE treatment can potentially reduce oxidative stress and toxicity in the liver of alcohol-treated mice and that HGE can be a useful therapeutic agent for alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity. Additionally, a simple and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection method was developed for determining the contents of four major ginsenosides in HGE. The aerial parts of hydroponically cultured ginseng were extracted using 70% fermented ethanol, and the contents of ginsenosides F5, F3, F1, and F2 in HGE were found to be 2.5, 4.4, 1.4, and 23.3 mg/g, respectively.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.64 no.2
• /
• pp.165-170
• /
• 2021

In this study, the antioxidant effects of mineral-containing deep sea water (DSW) on kidney function was confirmed using a cell model. DSW samples were prepared with different mineral concentrations including calcium and magnesium-the main minerals found in DSW-to derive the following sample groups: trace minerals (TM), high magnesium (HM), high magnesium, low salt (HMLS) and high magnesium, high calcium (HMHC). The purpose of this preparation was to determine the optimal calcium/magnesium ratio in DSW. Human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells were exposed to sodium chloride (NaCl) for 2 h to induce release of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thereafter, the cells were treated with the respective DSW samples before ROS concentrations, as well as antioxidant enzyme activity and protein levels, were measured. Among the water samples, HMLS showed the most protective effect against ROS, whereas the intracellular glutathione content was highest in cells from the HMLS- and HMHC-treated groups. However, TM- and HMHC-treated cells showed similar tendencies to the control group, in terms of mRNA expression of antioxidant genes. These results suggested that DSW may aid in preventing renal oxidative stress caused by excessive sodium intake. Furthermore, it was determined that HMLS and HMHC water samples displayed good antioxidant effects in the kidney cell model, based on the combined results of ROS concentration and antioxidant marker measurements.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.408-419
• /
• 2021

Background: The decreased renal function is known to be associated with biological aging, of which the main pathological features are chronic inflammation and renal interstitial fibrosis. In previous studies, we reported that total saponins from Panax japonicus (SPJs) can availably protect acute myocardial ischemia. We proposed that SPJs might have similar protective effects for aging-associated renal interstitial fibrosis. Thus, in the present study, we evaluated the overall effect of SPJs on renal fibrosis. Methods: Sprague-Dawley (SD) aging rats were given SPJs by gavage beginning from 18 months old, at 10 mg/kg/d and 60 mg/kg/d, up to 24 months old. After the experiment, changes in morphology, function and fibrosis of their kidneys were detected. The levels of serum uric acid (UA), β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) and cystatin C (Cys C) were assayed with ELISA kits. The levels of extracellular matrix (ECM), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), inflammatory factors and changes of oxidative stress parameters were examined. Results: After SPJs treatment, SD rats showed significantly histopathological changes in kidneys accompanied by decreased renal fibrosis and increased renal function; As compared with those in 3-month group, the levels of serum UA, Cys C and β2-MG in 24-month group were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Compared with those in the 24-month group, the levels of serum UA, Cys C and β2-MG in the SPJ-H group were significantly decreased. While ECM was reduced and the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were increased, the levels of TIMP-1, TIMP-2 and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smad signaling were decreased; the expression level of phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) was down-regulated with reduced inflammatory factors; meanwhile, the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-antioxidant response element (Nrf2-ARE) signaling was aggrandized. Conclusion: These results suggest that SPJs treatment can improve age-associated renal fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-β1/Smad, NFκB signaling pathways and activating Nrf2-ARE signaling pathways and that SPJs can be a potentially valuable anti-renal fibrosis drug.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.63 no.2
• /
• pp.319-331
• /
• 2021

Heat stress (HS) causes adverse impacts on pig production and health. A potential biomarker of HS is required to predict its occurrence and thereby better manage pigs under HS. Information about the saliva metabolome in heat-stressed pigs is limited. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the effects of acute HS on the saliva metabolome and identify metabolites that could be used as potential biomarkers. Growing pigs (n = 6, 3 boars, and 3 gilts) were raised in a thermal neutral (TN; 25℃) environment for a 5-d adaptation period (CON). After adaptation, the pigs were first exposed to HS (30℃; HS30) and then exposed to higher HS (33℃; HS33) for 24 h. Saliva was collected after adaptation, first HS, and second HS, respectively, for metabolomic analysis using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Four metabolites had significantly variable importance in the projection (VIP > 1; p < 0.05) different levels in TN compared to HS groups from all genders (boars and gilts). However, sex-specific characteristics affected metabolites (glutamate and leucine) by showing the opposite results, indicating that HS was less severe in females than in males. A decrease in creatine levels in males and an increase in creatine phosphate levels in females would have contributed to a protective effect from protein degradation by muscle damage. The results showed that HS led to an alteration in metabolites related to energy and protein. Protection from muscle damage may be attributed to the alteration in protein-related metabolites. However, energy-related metabolites showed opposing results according to sex-specific characteristics, such as sex hormone levels and subcutaneous fat layer. This study had shown that saliva samples could be used as a noninvasive method to evaluate heat-stressed pigs. And the results in this study could be contributed to the development of a diagnostic tool as a noninvasive biomarker for managing heat-stressed pigs.