• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.369-377
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• 2018

Spinal tuberculosis (ST) is the tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections in spinal curds. Isoliquiritigenin (4,2',4'-trihydroxychalcone, ISL) is an anti-inflammatory flavonoid derived from licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis), a Chinese traditional medicine. In this study, we evaluated the potential of ISL in treating ST in New Zealand white rabbit models. In the model, rabbits (n=40) were infected with Mtb strain H37Rv or not in their $6^{th}$ lumbar vertebral bodies. Since the day of infection, rabbits were treated with 20 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg of ISL respectively. After 10 weeks of treatments, the adjacent vertebral bone tissues of rabbits were analyzed through Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. The relative expression of Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), transcription factor ${\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65 in lymphocytes were verified through reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The serum level of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-10 and interferon ${\gamma}$ ($IFN-{\gamma}$) were evaluated through ELISA. The effects of ISL on the phosphorylation of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$, $IKK{\alpha}/{\beta}$ and p65 in $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling pathways were assessed through western blotting. In the results, ISL has been shown to effectively attenuate the granulation inside adjacent vertebral tissues. The relative level of MCP-1, p65 and IL-4 and IL-10 were retrieved. $NF-{\kappa}B$ signaling was inhibited, in which the phosphorylation of p65, $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and $IKK{\alpha}/{\beta}$ were suppressed whereas the level of $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ were elevated. In conclusion, ISL might be an effective drug that inhibited the formation of granulomas through downregulating MCP-1, $NF-{\kappa}B$, IL-4 and IL-10 in treating ST.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.301-309
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• 2014

Nesfatin-1, an anorexic nucleobindin-2 (NUCB2)-derived hypothalamic peptide, controls appetite and energy metabolism. Recent studies show that nesfatin-1/NUCB2 is expressed not only in the brain but also in gastric and adipose tissues. Thus, we investigated the distributions of nesfatin-1/NUCB2 in various tissues of male and female mice by real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining. Real-time PCR analyses showed that NUCB2 mRNA was predominantly expressed in the pituitary and at lower levels in the hypothalamus, spleen, thymus, heart, liver, and muscle of both male and female mice. Expression was much higher in reproductive organs, such as the testis, epididymis, ovary, and uterus, than in the hypothalamus. Western blot analysis of the nesfatin-1 protein level showed similar results to the real-time PCR analyses in both male and female mice. These results suggest that nesfatin-1/NUCB2 have widespread physiological effects in endocrine and non-endocrine organs. In addition, immunohistochemical staining revealed that nesfatin-1 was localized in interstitial cells, including Leydig cells and in the columnar epithelium of the epididymis. Nesfatin-1 was also expressed in theca cells and interstitial cells in the ovary and in epithelial cells of the endometrium and uterine glands in the uterus. These results suggest that nesfatin-1 is a novel potent regulator of steroidogenesis and gonadal function in male and female reproductive organs. Further studies are required to elucidate the functions of nesfatin-1 in various organs of male and female mice.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.88-97
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• 2008

Lipoproteins are complexes of lipids and specific apolipoproteins that are involved in lipid transport and redistribution among various tissues. In this study, we isolated full-length apolipoprotein cDNA sequences encoding apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), apoE, apoC-II, and apo-14 kDa in barred knifejaw, Oplegnathus fasciatus. In addition, we reconstructed phylogenetic trees and investigated mRNA tissue distributions. Alignment analyses of amino acid sequences revealed that secondary structures of the polypeptides apoA-I, apoE, and apoC-II in barred knifejaw are well conserved with their teleostean and mammalian counterparts in terms of characteristic tandem repetitive units forming amphipathic ${\alpha}$-helices. Both the sequence alignment data and cleavage sites of apo-14 kDa indicated a clear differentiation between Percomorpha and Cypriniformes. Meanwhile, the phylogenetic trees of apolipoprotein sub-families suggested that the common ancestor prior to the split of the Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and Sarcopterygii (tetrapods) would have possessed the primordial protein-encoding genes. Tissue distribution of each apolipoprotein transcript determined by semi-quantitative RTPCR showed that barred knifejaw apoA-I transcripts were more or less ubiquitously expressed in the liver, intestines, brain, muscle, spleen, and kidney. The most striking difference from previous observations on barred knifejaw was the ubiquitous expression of apoE across all somatic tissues. Barred knifejaw apoC-II showed tissue-specific expression in the liver and intestines, while the liver and brain were the major sites of apo-14kDa mRNA synthesis.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.71-82
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• 2008

Survivin is a member of the inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) family that have been known to inhibit activated caspases in apoptosis. In contrast to most IAP family members, survivin mRNA is expressed during fetal development, is not found in normal adult tissues and is overexpressed again in the cancer. Though survivin expression has been documented in most human cancers, little is known about its expression in OSCC and its potential value as a predictor of cancer survival. The purpose of this study was to investigate survivin expression in OSCC and to evaluate its value as a prognostic marker. We evaluated survivin expressions in cancer lines and OSCC samples and investigated the relationships between survivin expressions and clini-co-pathological parameters including stage, differentiation, proliferation, lymph node metastasis, blood vessel density, and gelatinolytic activity. With immunohistochemistry, we analyzed survivin expression in 38 OSCCs. Patients' clinico-pathological parameters and their survival rate were analyzed to reveal their correlations with Survivin expressions. We cultured oral cancer cell lines and evaluated the correlation between gelatinolytic activities and survivin expressions of them. Survivin protein was observed both in nuclei and cytoplasm of tumor specimens while little or not observed in normal gingival mucosal tissues. Additionally, survivin expressions were correlated with lymph node metastasis, tumor proliferation and survival rate. Survivin expression was observed in 100% of 38 samples of OSCC and its expression levels are statistically associated with the proliferative activity of the tumors, lymph node metastasis and the survival of the patients. Based on these results, survivin is commonly expressed in OSCC and may thus provide valuable prognostic information related with lymph node metastasis, proliferation and survival rate as well as a potential therapeutic target in OSCC.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2005

To evaluate the effects of ingestion of alcoholic drinks on the toxicities of industrial compounds, cyclohexane (CH) was intraperitoneally administrated to rats (1.56 g/kg body weght), which had been ingested 15% ethanol for up to 6 weeks, 4 times by once a day and every other day. Following the last treatment of ethanol or CH, blood and lung tissues were collected during 24 hours prior to sacrifice of animals. Comparing with the control group, the lung weight per body weight (%) and the protein content in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were increased in the ethanol-pretreated group, and the glucose-6-phosphatase activity in lung tissues was decreased in the CH-treated group. In a morphological observations, pulmonary embolus were found in the CH-treated group, whereas a partial pulmonary atelectasis and a much increase in pulmonary embolus were shown in the CH-treated group after pretreated with ethanol for 6 weeks. In conclusion, these results indicate that ethanol pretreatment could enhance CH metabolism and that CH treatment with ethanol pretreatment could induce lung injury due to the increased CH metabolism.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.615-623
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• 2015

This study investigated the effects of dissolved cement powder on Zacco koreanus by analyzing morphophysiological changes. The gills exposed to dissolved cement powder developed abnormal shapes in their secondary lamellae and increased numbers of mucous cells after long-term exposure. Additionally, clubbing, edema, and exfoliation of the epithelial cells were observed in the secondary lamellae. In the kidney tissue, the space in Bowman’s capsule was widened, and in the integument tissue the arrangement of the dermis was irregular due to the thinned epidermis. These results suggest that long-term exposure to cement powder can significantly affect morphological change, resulting death. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and LDH tended to increase commensurately with the duration of cement exposure. It was concluded that up-regulated proteins were the stress proteins involved in myofibrillar-protein production and down-regulated proteins were involved in glycolysis and energy metabolism after the integument’s exposure to cement. According to these results dissolved cement powder is a serious threat to the survival of fish because it causes morphological changes and weakens physiological activity in Z. koreanus tissues.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1989

Axenic tissue culture of a marine red algae Porphyra yezoensis foma narawaensis was established for the vegetative propagation of tissues as a seed stock and for the development of a low salinity-tolerant cell line. Callus tissues have been induced from the vegetative area of blade away from the hold fast when grown on PES-agar medium. The brownish red fragile callus was maintained under fluorescent light of ca. 2000 lux with 12 : 12 hr L : D at $16^{\circ}C$. Amounts of carbohydrate and protein was determined against the weight of callus. Optimum temperature of the callus growth was $14^{\circ}C\~18^{\circ}C$. Optimun concentration of sodium chloride was $2.0\%$ for the callus growth in PES-agar medium.

• Proceedings of the SCSK Conference
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• 2003.09b
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• pp.87-107
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• 2003

It was demonstrated that Transactivating transcriptional activator(TAT) protein from HIV-1 shown to enter cells when added to the surrounding media. TAT peptide chemically attached to various proteins was able to deliver these proteins to various cell and even in tissues in mice with high levels in heart and spleen. In this study, the tripeptide GKH(Glycine-Lysine-Histidine) derived from Parathyroid hormone (PTH), which was known as lipolytic peptide, is attached to 9-poly Lysine(TAT) to be used as a cosmetic ingredient for slimming products. When Glycerol release, expressed as extracellular glycerol concentration, is lipolysis index, TAT-GKH at $10^{-5}$mo1/L induces approximately 41.5% maximal lipolytic effects in epididymal adipocytes isolated from rats, compared with basal lipolysis. Epididymal adipose tissues of male rats is assessed ex vivo by microdialysis. Probes are perfused with Ringer solution in which increasing concentrations of TAT-GKH. The perfusion of TAT-GKH induces lipolytic effect. Penetration study showed that TAT-GKH efficiently elevates 36 times higher penetration into the excised hairless mice skin than GKH. in vivo study showed that TAT-GKH had a better effect upon the relative volume of eye bag after 28 days of application on twenty(+2) healthy female volunteers. It was identified that TAT-GKH increases penetration enhancement and lipolytic effects in both in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.235-248
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• 2018

Ursolic acid (UA) is a natural triterpene compound found in various fruits and vegetables. There is a growing interest in UA because of its beneficial effects, which include anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-carcinogenic effects. It exerts these effects in various tissues and organs: by suppressing nuclear factor-kappa B signaling in cancer cells, improving insulin signaling in adipose tissues, reducing the expression of markers of cardiac damage in the heart, decreasing inflammation and increasing the level of anti-oxidants in the brain, reducing apoptotic signaling and the level of oxidants in the liver, and reducing atrophy and increasing the expression levels of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase and irisin in skeletal muscles. Moreover, UA can be used as an alternative medicine for the treatment and prevention of cancer, obesity/diabetes, cardiovascular disease, brain disease, liver disease, and muscle wasting (sarcopenia). In this review, we have summarized recent data on the beneficial effects and possible uses of UA in health and disease managements.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.417-422
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• 2009

Lipoxygenase (LO) metabolites are generated in inflamed tissues. However, it is unclear whether the inhibition of the LO activity regulates the expression of c-Fos protein, a pain marker in the spinal cord. Here we used a carrageenan-induced inflammation model to examine the role of LO in the development of c-Fos expression. Intradermally injected carrageenan caused elevated number of cells exhibiting Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) in the spinal dorsal horn, and decreased the thermal and mechanical threshold in Hargreaves and von Frey tests. Pretreatment with an inhibitor of phospholipase A2, that generates the LO substrate, prior to the carrageenan injection significantly reduced the number of Fos-(+) cells. A general LO inhibitor NDGA, a 5-LO inhibitor AA-861 and a 12-LO inhibitor baicalein also exhibited the similar effects. Moreover, the LO inhibitors suppressed carrageenan-induced thermal and mechanical hyperalgesic behaviors, which inidcates that the changes in Fos expression correlates with those in the nociceptive behaviors in the inflamed rats. LO products are endogenous TRPV1 activators and pretreatment with BCTC, a TRPV1 antagonist inhibited the thermal but not the mechanical hypersensitivity. Overall, our results from the Fos-LI and behavior tests suggest that LO products released from inflamed tissues contribute to nociception during carrageenan-induced inflammation, indicating that the LO pathway is a possible target for modulating inflammatory pain.