• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.20-28
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• 2000

The purpose of this research is to investigate the synergistic effect of herb medicines with hydrocortisone and the regulation effect on the immune system of Onbitang and Dangguijakyaksan at the supernatant of PHA-P stimulated PBMC in the patients with minimal change nephrotic syndrome(MCNS). From the measurement of the concentration rate of IL-4, sCD23 and IL-13, the experiment yielded the following results : The Onbitang group showed a greater tendency to suppress IL-4 and IL-13 levels in MCNS group with no statistical significance. It showed very strong suppression in soluble CD23 compared with control group in MCNS group. The Dangguijakyaksan group, though not statistically significant, was inclined to suppress IL-4 level in MCNS group. It shows stronger suppression in sCD23 and IL-13 levels than these of control group in MCNS group. As for the synergistic effect, the group of hydrocortisone with herb medicines(Onbitang or Danguijakyaksan) produced more suppressive effect to IL-13 level in MCNS group than that of hydrocortisone-only group. They also tended to suppress sCD23 and IL-4 levels, though no statistical significance can be given. As to the suppressive effect of 1L-13 level, the group of Onbitang with hydrocortisone showed an increase of 22.6%, while the group of Dangguijakyaksan with hydrocortisone showed 14.7%. So Onbitang is more effective than Dangguijakyaksan. From the above results, a combinative treatment(herb medicines with hydrocortisone) can be an alternative method to substitute for steroid therapy. It can be a more effective therapy than steroid-only therapy because it is expected to reduce side effects and it shows more special effect to suppress IL-13 level. Based on the present results, further investigation concerning the serum IgE elevation is needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.866-874
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• 2006

Atopic dermitiis(AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, which requires safe and effective medicinal therapy. Over production of Th2 cytokines and chemokines as well as IgE, which are mediated by highly activated immune cells, have been considered as pathologic factors in this disease. We found that Gamipaidok-san(GPDS), which is a traditional herbal medicine clinically prescribing for atopic dermitis patients in the hospital, has suppressive effects on the development of DNC8 induced dermatitis in Nc/Nga atopic model. Oral administration of GPDS at the concentration of 250 mg/Kg for 12 weeks significantly suppressed the clinical severity of the dermatitis including pruities, edema, eczematous and dryness. Histological examination revealed that thickness of dermis and epidermis were considerably reduced, and the number of infiltrated inflammatory immune cells including mast cells, CCR3+, and CD4+ T cells were decreased in the affected skin and ear, and consistantly, the number of CD3+/CCR3+ cells in Iymph nodes were decreased. The levels of Th2 cytokines produced by activated splenocyte from atopic mice were also down-regulated by GPDS. Furthermore, the serum levels of IgE were considerably reduced, which accompanied by a decrease in the number of B220+IgE+ B cells in the Iymph nodes. Taken together, these results suggested that oral administration of GPDS, a traditional herbal medicine, has suppressive effects on atopic dermitis of Nc/Nga mouse by the modulation of the immune system, therefore GPDS has potential as a natural therapeutic for treatment of atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.212-215
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• 2009

The inhibitory effects of Curcuma longa rhizome-derived materials against nitric oxide (NO) production were assessed. The inhibitory effect (57%) on NO production was evidenced by the methanol extract of C. longa at $1\;{\mu}g/mL$. In the fractionation of the methanol extract, the ethyl acetate fraction evidenced an inhibitory effect greater than 62.1% at $1\;{\mu}g/mL$. The active constituent was identified as curcumin. Curcumin exerted potent inhibitory effects of 78.7 and 65.7% at concentrations of 1 and $0.5\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of ar-turmerone was measured as 31.3 and 15.8% at 1 and $0.5\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The iNOS expression-suppressive effects of curcumin were assessed via western blot analysis. Our results suggest that curcumin and ar-turmerone may prove useful in the development of new types of NO inhibitors.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1391-1398
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• 2009

In this study, we investigated the suppressive effects of ore minerals on the allergic cell damages and oxidative cell damages. The ore minerals significantly reduced the productions of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in rat basophilic leukemia cells challenged with 2,4-dinitrophenol-bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA). Lipoxygenase activity was also reduced by the ore minerals. Moreover, the ore minerals showed weak protective effects on the oxidative damage induced by hydrogen peroxide in pig kidney cells and retinal ganglion cells. Photohemolysis of erythrocytes in the presence of rose-bengal as a sensitizer was also inhibited by ore minerals. These results suggest that the ore minerals may be useful as the protectant for allergic and oxidative cell damages.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1716-1722
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• 2018

Immunosuppressive drugs are used to make the body less likely to reject transplanted organs or to treat autoimmune diseases. In this study, five immunosuppressive drugs including two glucocorticoids (dexamethasone and prednisolone), one calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporin A), one non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (aspirin), and one antimetabolite (methotrexate) were tested for their effects on viral proliferation using feline foamy virus (FFV). The five drugs had different cytotoxic effects on the Crandell-Ress feline kidney (CRFK) cells, the natural host cell of FFV. Dexamethasone-pretreated CRFK cells were susceptible to FFV infection, but pretreatment with prednisolone, cyclosporin A, aspirin, and methotrexate showed obvious inhibitory effects on FFV proliferation, by reducing viral production to 29.8-83.8% of that of an untreated control. These results were supported by western blot, which detected viral Gag structural protein in the infected cell lysate. As our results showed a correlation between immunosuppressive drugs and susceptibility to viral infections, it is proposed that immune-compromised individuals who are using immune-suppressive drugs may be especially vulnerable to viral infection originated from pets.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.120-123
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• 2002

In order to investigate the effects of chitosan on the normal and cyclophosphamide (CY)-suppressed primary humoral immune response in mice, chitosan was orally administered alone (single dose of 62.5, 250 mg/kg) or with CY (20 mg/kg, i.p.) to female ICR mice on the 2nd day before or after immunization with SRBC-antigen. When chitosan alone was administered before antigenic challenge, splenic IgM plaque forming cells (PFC) and splenic cellularity were slightly increased and serum IgM was not changed when compared with control group. However, chitosan significantly enhanced PFC, serum IgM and splenic cellularity when administered after antigenic challenge. The PFC numbers, serum IgM and splenic cellularity were significantly decreased by the treatment of CY, whereas those values were slightly increased by the concomitant treament of CY and chitosan when compared with CY alone-administration. These results indicate that chitosan is able to increase normal humoral immunity (HI) and to slightly inhibit the suppressive effects of CY on HI.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.157-173
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• 1993

In order to investigate experimentally the clinical effects of Soeuminsohaphyangwon that was prescribed to cure the Wisunanrihanbyung of Soeum-In, the author experimented various activities of mixed extract from the Soeuminsohaphyangwon by the method prescribed in the experimental part. The results of the studies were summerized as follows : 1. Suppressive action was not shown on the convulsion induced by strychnine but significant effect was noted on the convulsion induced by picrotoxin and caffeine. 2. In acetic acid method experiment analgesic effect was noted. 3. A prolongation of anesthetic time by Pentobarbital sodium and antipyretic effect was observed. 4. Relaxing action was noted on the ileums of mice, also same effect was recognized on contraction of the ileums due to acetylcholine, barium chloride and histamine 2 HCl. 5. The expansion of blood vessels by relaxation of smooth muscle and fall of blood pressure were noted. According to the above results, effects based on oriental medical references were approximate to the actual experimental results.

• Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.187-192
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• 2008

The effects of some coumarins(coumarin, 7-hydroxycoumarin, scopoletin and esculetin) were investigated on pumpkin(Cucurbita maxima Duch.) seedlings and on pumpkin glutathione S-transferases(GSTs). Coumarin and esculetin suppressed the growth of seedlings, especially the elongation of roots as well as hypocotyls. Among the compounds tested, only esculetin inhibited the activity of a particular pumpkin GST by 50%, CmGSTU3 toward 1-chloro-2, 4- dinitrobenzene(CDNB) and at a concentration of 22 ${\mu}M$. Both ethylacetae(EtOAc) and water fractions in pumpkin seedlings and different organs of one-month-old pumpkin plants contained esculetin or similar hydrophobic fluorescent substances as well as hydrophilic substances, which showed different degrees of inhibitory effects on CmGSTU3 activity.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.209-212
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• 2005

In the present study, we have tested the effects of 21 salt marsh plants on cell proliferation of mouse immune cells (spleen and thymus) using MTT assay in culture. The methanolic extracts of six salt marsh plants (Rosa rugosa, Ixeris tamagawaensis, Artemisia capillaris, Tetragonia tetragonoides, Erigeron annus, and Glehnia littoralis) showed very powerful suppressive effects of mouse immune cell death and significant activities of cell proliferation in vitro. Especially, the methanolic extract of Rosa rugosa was found to have fifteen times compared to the control treatment, demonstrating that Rosa rugosa may have a potent stimulation effect on immune cell proliferation. These results suggest that several salt marsh plants including Rosa rugosa could be useful for further study as an immunomodulating agent.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6605-6611
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• 2013

Background: WEE1 is a G2/M checkpoint regulator protein. Various studies have indicated that WEE1 could be a good target for cancer therapy. The main aim of this study was to asssess the tumor suppressive potential of WEE1 silencing in two different breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 which carries the wild-type p53 and MDA-MB468 which contains a mutant type. Materials and Methods: After WEE1 knockdown with specific shRNAs downstream effects on cell viability and cell cycle progression were determined using MTT and flow cytometry analyses, respectively. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were conducted to assess the effect of WEE1 inhibition on the expression of apoptotic (p53) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl2) factors and also a growth marker (VEGF). Results: The results showed that WEE1 inhibition could cause a significant decrease in the viability of both MCF7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell lines by more than 50%. Interestingly, DNA content assays showed a significant increase in apoptotic cells following WEE1 silencing. WEE1 inhibition also induced upregulation of the apoptotic marker, p53, in breast cancer cells. A significant decrease in the expression of VEGF and Bcl-2 was observed following WEE1 inhibition in both cell lines. Conclusions: In concordance with previous studies, our data showed that WEE1 inhibition could induce G2 arrest abrogation and consequent cell death in breast cancer cells. Moreover, in this study, the observed interactions between the pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins and decrease in the angiogenesis marker expression confirm the susceptibility to apoptosis and validate the tumor suppressive effect of WEE1 inhibition in breast cancer cells. Interestingly, the levels of the sensitivity to WEE1 silencing in breast cancer cells, MCF7 and MDA-MB468, seem to be in concordance with the level of p53 expression.