• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.799-821
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• 1996

The ultimate goal of periodontal treatment has been to facilitate regeneration of diseased periodontal tissues, destroyed by inflammatory periodontal disease. For regeneration of the periodontium to occur, all of component tissues must be restored to their original position and architecture. Growth factors which were known to promote the cellular processes, ie, proliferation, migration and matrix synthesis, have been in the spotlight of current periodontics. Platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF) stimulates collagen and non collagen protein synthesis, migration and proliferation of periodontal ligament cells. Insulin-like growth factor(IGF) has potentials to induce collagen and bone matrix synthesis so that it regulates normal bone remodeling. Application of the combination have been known to facilitate formation of bone and cementum, and to synergistically interact to promote coronal migration and proliferation of periodontal ligament cells. These two growth factors have been reported to exhibit positive effect in the periodontally diseased teeth or class m furcation defects. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that PDGF-BB alone or the combination of PDGF-BB and IGF-I can predictably enhance regeneration of the periodontium in the dehiscence defect. Following the resection of premolars, roots were embedded. After 12 weeks of healing period, standardized experimental $4{\times}4mm$ dehiscence defects were created on the mid-facial of the premolar roots in each of 4 young adult dogs. In control group, only methylcellulose gel was inserted in the defects. In experimental group I and II, gel with $2{\mu}g$ of PDGF-BB or $2{\mu}g$ of PDGF-BB and $1{\mu}g$ of IGF-I was inserted in the defects, respectively. At 8 weeks postsurgery, the dogs were sacrificed. The results were observed histologically and analyzed histomorphometrically.The results of this study were as follws. 1. The new cementum formation was $1.26{\pm}0.69mm$ in the control group, $1.80{\pm}0.84mm$ in the experimental group I, $1.93{\pm}0.51mm$ in the experimental group II. The experimental group III, the experimental group I, the control group were in the order of cementum formation without statistically significant differences between control and all experimental groups. 2. The new bone formation was $1.00{\pm}0.53mm$ in the control group, $1.53{\pm}0.63mm$ in the experimental group I, $l.33{\pm}0.45mm$ in the experimental group II. The experimental group I, the experimental group II, the control group were in the order of bone formation without statistically significant differences between control and all experimental groups. 3. The root resorption was $1.12{\pm}0.64mm$ in the control group, $1.34{\pm}0.73mm$ in the experimental group I, $0.79{\pm}0.59mm$ in the experimental group II without statistically significant differences between control and all experimental groups. These results suggested that the use of PDGF-BB alone or PDGF-BB and IGF-I in the dehiscence defects might facilitate periodontal regeneration in some degree, but has not shown statistically significant results.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.561-566
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• 2013

We examined the ways in which fenobam could promote not only the transduction of PEP-1-FK506BP into cells and tissues but also the neuroprotective effect of PEP-1-FK506BP against ischemic damage. Fenobam strongly enhanced the protective effect of PEP-1-FK506BP against $H_2O_2$-induced toxicity and DNA fragmentation in C6 cells. In addition, combinational treatment of fenobam with PEP-1-FK506BP significantly inhibited the activation of Akt and MAPK induced by $H_2O_2$, compared to treatment with PEP-1-FK506BP alone. Interestingly, our results showed that fenobam significantly increased the transduction of PEP-1-FK506BP into both C6 cells and the hippocampus of gerbil brains. Subsequently, a transient ischemic gerbil model study demonstrated that fenobam pretreatment led to the increased neuroprotection of PEP-1-FK506BP in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Therefore, these results suggest that fenobam can be a useful agent to enhance the transduction of therapeutic PEP-1-fusion proteins into cells and tissues, thereby promoting their neuroprotective effects.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.954-965
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• 2017

Mammalian genomes are well established, and highly conserved regions within odorant receptors that are unique from other G-protein coupled receptors have been identified. Numerous functional studies have focused on specific conserved amino acids motifs; however, not all conserved motifs have been sufficiently characterized. Here, we identified a highly conserved 18 amino acid sequence motif within transmembrane domain seven (CAS-TM7) which was identified by aligning odorant receptor sequences. Next, we investigated the expression pattern and distribution of this conserved amino acid motif among a broad range of odorant receptors. To examine the localization of odorant receptor proteins, we used a sequence-specific peptide antibody against CAS-TM7 which is specific to odorant receptors across species. The specificity of this peptide antibody in recognizing odorant receptors has been confirmed in a heterologous in vitro system and a rat-based in vivo system. The CAS-TM7 odorant receptors localized with distinct patterns at each region of the olfactory epithelium; septum, endoturbinate and ectoturbinate. To our great interests, we found that the CAS-TM7 odorant receptors are primarily localized to the dorsal region of the olfactory bulb, coinciding with olfactory epithelium-based patterns. Also, these odorant receptors were ectopically expressed in the various non-olfactory tissues in an evolutionary constrained manner between human and rats. This study has characterized the expression patterns of odorant receptors containing particular amino acid motif in transmembrane domain 7, and which led to an intriguing possibility that the conserved motif of odorant receptors can play critical roles in other physiological functions as well as olfaction.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.529-536
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• 2009

Genome sequencing of the pig is being accelerated because of its importance as an evolutionary and biomedical model animal as well as a major livestock animal. However, information on expressed porcine genes is insufficient to allow annotation and use of the genomic information. A series of expressed sequence tags of 5' ends of five full-length enriched cDNA libraries (SUSFLECKs) were functionally characterized. SUSFLECKs were constructed from porcine abdominal fat, induced fat cells, loin muscle, liver, and pituitary gland, and were composed of non-normalized and normalized libraries. A total of 55,658 ESTs that were sequenced once from the 5′ ends of clones were produced and assembled into 17,684 unique sequences with 7,736 contigs and 9,948 singletons. In Gene Ontology analysis, two significant biological process leaf nodes were found: gluconeogenesis and translation elongation. In functional domain analysis based on the Pfam database, the beta transducin repeat domain of WD40 protein was the most frequently occurring domain. Twelve genes, including SLC25A6, EEF1G, EEF1A1, COX1, ACTA1, SLA, and ANXA2, were significantly more abundant in fat tissues than in loin muscle, liver, and pituitary gland in the SUSFLECKs. These characteristics of SUSFLECKs determined by EST analysis can provide important insight to discover the functional pathways in gene networks and to expand our understanding of energy metabolism in the pig.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.160-168
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• 2016

Background: Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) is a well-characterized medicinal herb listed in the classic oriental herbal dictionary as "Shin-nong-bon-cho-kyung." Ginseng has diverse pharmacologic and therapeutic properties. Black ginseng (BG, Ginseng Radix nigra) is produced by repeatedly steaming fresh ginseng nine times. Studies of BG have shown that prolonged heat treatment enhances the antioxidant activity with increased radical scavenging activity. Several recent studies have showed the effects of BG on increased lipid profiles in mice. In this study report the effects of water and ethanol extracts of BG on hypercholesterolemia in rats. To our knowledge, this is the first time such an effect has been reported. Methods: Experiments were conducted on male Sprague Dawley rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet supplemented with the water and ethanol extracts of BG (200 mg/kg). Their blood cholesterol levels, serum white blood cell levels, and cholesterol-metabolizing marker genes messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were determined. Liver and adipose tissues were histologically analyzed. Results: We found that BG extracts efficiently reduced the total serum cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels with increased food efficiency ratio and increased number of neutrophil cells. It also attenuated the key genes responsible for lipogenesis, that is, acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) acetyltransferase 2, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase, and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2, at the mRNA level inside liver cells. Furthermore, the BG extract also reduced the accumulation of fat in adipose tissues, and inhibited the neutral fat content in liver cells stained with hematoxylin and eosin and oil red O. Conclusion: Administration of BG extracts to Sprague Dawley rats fed with high-cholesterol diet ameliorated hypercholesterolemia, which was mediated via modulation of cholesterol-metabolizing marker genes. This data throw a light on BG's cardioprotective effects.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3299-3304
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• 2014

Background: The aim of the present study was to analyze whether Homer1 is a potential prognostic marker for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Materials and Methods: The expression of Homer1 in ICC tissue was detected with immunohistochemistry and levels of protein in ICC and paratumor tissues were evaluated by Western blotting. Survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier method was performed to assess prognostic significance. Results: Homer1 expression was high in 67.4% (58/86) of ICC samples, and there was significant difference between ICC and adjacent noncancerous tissues (p<0.001); high expression was associated with poor histologic differentiation (p=0.019), TNM stage (p=0.014), lymph node metastasis (p=0.040), and lymphatic invasion (p=0.025). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, a comparison of survival curves of low versus high expressors of Homer1 revealed a highly significant difference in OS (p=0.001) and DFS (p=0.006), indicating that high expression of Homer1 was linked with a worse prognosis. Multivariate analyses showed that Homer1 expression was an independent risk factor predicting overall survival[Hazard ratio(HR), 7.52; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.63-21.47; p=0.002] and disease-free survival (HR, 11.56; 95%CI, 5.17-25.96; p<0.001) in ICC. Conclusions: Homer1 promotes lymphatic invasion and associates with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis of ICC. The current study shows that Homer1 may be an independent prognostic factor for ICC patients after curative resection, and it provides an important basis for screening/treating high-risk patients.

• BMB Reports
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.334-341
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• 2001

Even though three isotypes of thioredoxins (-f, -m and -h types) have been identified in a variety of plant cells, there are only a few reports on thioredoxin-h that were recently identified. In this study, a cDNA encoding a h-type of thioredoxin was isolated from a cDNA library of Chinese cabbage, and named here CTrx-h. An open reading frame of the gene contained a polypeptide of 133 amino acids with a conserved active center, WCGPC, which appeared in all of the thioredoxin proteins. A deduced amino acid sequence of the CTrx-h showed the highest sequence identity with those of Arabidopsis thioredoxin-h2 (75.2%) and thioredoxin-h5 (46.6%) proteins, but it shared a low sequence homology to other isotypes of plant thioredoxinm and thioredoxin-f. The CTrx-h protein that is expressed in E. coli represented not only an insulin reduction activity, but also electron transferring activity from NADPH to thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase. A genomic Southern blot analysis using the cDNA insert of CTrx-h revealed that the gene consisted of a small multigene family in Chinese cabbage genome. On the contrary to other thioredoxin-h proteins that were widely distributed in most tissues of the plant, the CTrx-h was predominantly expressed in flowers. The expression was very low in other tissues. The data of the Northern blot analysis suggests that the CTrx-h may have other functions in flower development or differentiation, in addition to its defensive role.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.869-879
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• 2012

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lipid source and level on growth performance, blood parameters, fatty acid composition and flesh quality of sub-adult olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Eight experimental diets were formulated to contain 5% squid liver oil (SLO), 5% linseed oil (LO), 5% soybean oil (SO), a mixture of 1% squid liver oil, 2% linseed oil and 2% soybean oil (MIX), no lipid supplementation with high protein level (LL-HP), 10% squid liver oil (HL-SLO), a mixture of 1% squid liver oil, 4.5% linseed oil and 4.5% soybean oil (HL-VO), and 1% squid liver oil with high starch level (LL-HC), respectively. Two replicate groups of fish (average initial weight of 296 g) were fed the diets for 17 wks. After 5 wks, 11 wks and the end of the feeding trial, five fish from each tank were randomly sampled for analysis of body composition. At the end of the feeding trial, final mean weight of fish fed the LL-HP diet was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of fish fed the HL-VO diet, but did not differ significantly from those of fish fed the SLO, LO, SO, MIX, HL-SLO and LL-HC diets. Fish fed the LL-HP diet showed significantly higher feed efficiency than fish fed the LO, HL-SLO and HL-VO diets. Feed efficiency of fish fed the LO, SO and MIX diets were similar to those of fish fed the SLO and HL-SLO diets. Fish fed the HL-SLO diet showed significantly higher total cholesterol content in plasma compared with other diets. Fatty acid composition of tissues was reflected by dietary fatty acid composition. The highest linoleic (LA) and linolenic acid (LNA) contents in the dorsal muscle were observed in fish fed the SO and LO diets, respectively, regardless of feeding period. The highest eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content in the dorsal muscle was observed in fish fed the LL-HP and LL-HC diets after 11 and 17 weeks of feeding, respectively. Fish fed the SLO and HL-SLO diets showed higher docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content than that of other treatments after 11 and 17 weeks of feeding, respectively. Dietary inclusion of vegetable oils reduced n-3 HUFA contents in the dorsal muscle and liver of fish. The n-3 HUFA contents in tissues of fish fed the SLO and HL-SLO diets were higher than those of fish fed other diets, except for the LL-HP and LL-HC diets. Hardness, gel strength, chewiness and cohesiveness values of dorsal muscle in fish were significantly affected by dietary lipid source. The results of this study indicate that fish oil in fish meal based diets for sub-adult olive flounder could be replaced by soybean oil and linseed oil without negative effects on growth and feed utilization.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4177-4183
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• 2015

Background: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in Asia, and the majority type is gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). Most GAC patients die of recurrence and metastasis. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been thought to be responsible for the initiation, development, metastasis, and ultimately recurrence of cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate expression and clinical significance of CSCs markers, CD133 and Lgr5, and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in primary GAC. Materials and Methods: Specimens from 261 Chinese patients with follow-up were analyzed for CD133, Lgr5 protein expression and VM by immunohistochemical and histochemical staining. The Pearson Chi's square test was used to assess the associations among the positive staining of these markers and clinicopathological characteristics. Postoperative overall survival time was were studied by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: In GAC tissues, positive rates of 49.0%, 38.7%, and 26.8% were obtained for CD133, Lgr5, and VM, respectively. The mean score of microvessel density (MVD) was $21.7{\pm}11.1$ in GAC tissues. There was a significantly difference between the positive and negative groups. There was a positive relationship between the VM, the expression of CD133 and Lgr5, and the score of MVD and the grades of tumor, lymph node metastasis, TNM stages (all p<0.05). The overall mean survival time of the patients with CD133, Lgr5, VM, and MVD (${\geq}22$) positive expression was lower than that of patients with negative expression. The score of MVD, positive expression of CD133 and VM were independent prognostic factors of GAC (p<0.05). Conclusions: VM, and expression of CD133, Lgr5, and the score of MVD are related to grades of tumor, lymph node metastasis, TNM stages, and overall mean survival time. It is suggested that CSCs and VM could play an important role in the evolution of GAC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1471-1477
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• 2017

Objective: Since athletic performance is a most importance trait in horses, most research focused on physiological and physical studies of horse athletic abilities. In contrast, the molecular analysis as well as the regulatory pathway studies remain insufficient for evaluation and prediction of horse athletic abilities. In our previous study, we identified AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL) gene which was expressed as alternative spliced isoforms in skeletal muscle during exercise. In the present study, we validated two AXL alternative splicing transcripts (named as AXLa for long form and AXLb for short form) in equine skeletal muscle to gain insight(s) into the role of each alternative transcript during exercise. Methods: We validated two isoforms of AXL transcripts in horse tissues by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and then cloned the transcripts to confirm the alternative locus and its sequences. Additionally, we examined the expression patterns of AXLa and AXLb transcripts in horse tissues by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: Both of AXLa and AXLb transcripts were expressed in horse skeletal muscle and the expression levels were significantly increased after exercise. The sequencing analysis showed that there was an alternative splicing event at exon 11 between AXLa and AXLb transcripts. 3-dimentional (3D) prediction of the alternative protein structures revealed that the structural distance of the connective region between fibronectin type 3 (FN3) and immunoglobin (Ig) domain was different between two alternative isoforms. Conclusion: It is assumed that the expression patterns of AXLa and AXLb transcripts would be involved in regulation of exercise-induced stress in horse muscle possibly through an $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling pathway. Further study is necessary to uncover biological function(s) and significance of the alternative splicing isoforms in race horse skeletal muscle.