• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.331-336
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• 1995

To use cultured mucosa as a graft of full thickness, our laboratory has been involved in the development of techniques to grow epidermis together with connective tissue. Human oral mucosa was obtained at dental surgery. Under sterile conditions the tissues were cut into explants of 0.1 $cm^2$ which were placed in the center of 24 well tissue culture dishes and incubated in a growth medium. The growth medium used for epithelial was MEM(Minimum Essential Medium) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide, glutamine (0.292 g/l), epidermal growth factor (40 ug/ml), cholera toxin (30 ng/ml), hydrocortisone (2 ug/ml), insulin (40 ug/ml) and transferin (5 ug/ml). The medium for stratification of epithelial cells was MEM supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide and glutamine (0.292 g/l). The medium used for fibroblasts was MEM supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum. With the three types of media used alternatively, a mucosa composed of epidermis and connective tissue was obtained after 3 weeks of culture.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.199-201
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• 2008

Eosinophil is an improtant leukocyte in the development of various inflammatory diseases. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) acts as a key regulator on monocyte movement, and activation of T cells and NK cells. However, the role of MCP-1 in eosinophils remains to be solved. In the present study, we examined the effect of MCP-1 on eosinophil migration, using human eosinophilic EoL-1 cells as an in vitro model of eosinophils. The surface expression of CCR2 in EoL-1 cells was little detected but MCP-1 strongly induced EoL-1 cell migration in a dose-dependent manner. Increased chemotactic activity due to MCP-1 was blocked by pertussis toxin, a $G_i/G_o$ protein inhibitor and U73122, a phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor. These results suggest that MCP-1 activates $G_i/G_o$ protein and PLC and this signal pathway is involved in eosinphil movement. This finding supports the elucidation of pathogenic mechanism of eosinophilic inflammation such as asthma and atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.7-17
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• 2004

In this paper, we checked health problems of patients who suffered from arthritis. After assessing each patients condition, in order to alleviate their sufferings, we introduced several methods of aromatherapy as a holistic approach to these health problems. Aromatherapy is used of essential oils, which are obtained from aromatic plants, can be defined as a nature-friendly complementary/alternative method, has its great merit in its each way of application. If the arthritis condition is localized, massage,compress or poultices, and hand or foot baths are most effective. Many of essential oils in the recipe have dual benefits, as anti-inflammative and analgesic agents. The Juniper and carrot seed aid in eliminating fluid and toxin accumulation in the joint and surrounding tissue. There are many different courses available and health professional should choose one that is relevant to clinical practice. Considering the future of nursing as a major contribution in the consumer-centered structure of medical health service, aromatherapy as a complementary/alternative method is expected to contribute not only to establishing more effective health service but also to resolving chronic health problems of arthritis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.161-165
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• 2008

Many neurotoxigenic clostridia are found in soil. Among animals, birds are especially susceptible to botulism, perhaps because they feed on insects, invertebrate carcasses, and decayed feeds contaminated with spores of Clostridium (C.) botulinum. C. botulinum type C is mainly involved in avian botulism. In the summer of 2005, death of a mute swan (cygnus olor) living in the pond of large bird cage was found in Seoul Grand Park Zoo. The birds presented presumptive clinical signs of botulism, such as ruffled hackle feathers, abnormal posture of the head, weakness, and flaccid paralysis. At that time, pond water in the breeding facilities was drained for 7 days, but there were still remained water containing sediment of feed and feces. Therefore, botulism was suspected and an experimentation were made to detect C. botulinum in the dead mute swan. Gross post-mortem findings of a mute swan showed jelly-like hemorrhagic contents in the intestine, sands and vegetations in the stomach. C. botulinum was isolated from the liver, small intestine and large intestine samples. Botulism was also confirmed by mouse inoculation test with the organ samples. With PCR, a gene encoding C. botulinum type C toxin was detected for the several organs of the mute swan died. These results suggested that death of mute swan was caused by C. botulinum type C.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.133-140
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• 2012

A novel cry2Ab gene was cloned and sequenced from the indigenous isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. This gene was designated as cry2Ab25 and its sequence revealed an open reading frame of 1,902 bp encoding a 633 aa protein with calculated molecular mass of 70 kDa and pI value of 8.98. The amino acid sequence of the Cry2Ab25 protein was compared with previously known Cry2Ab toxins, and the phylogenetic relationships among them were determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the Cry2Ab25 protein showed 99% homology to the known Cry2Ab proteins, except for Cry2Ab10 and Cry2Ab12 with 97% homology, and a variation in one amino acid residue in comparison with all known Cry2Ab proteins. The cry2Ab25 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed that the Cry2Ab25 protein is about 70 kDa. The toxin expressed in BL21(DE3) exhibited high toxicity against Malacosoma neustria and Rhagoletis cerasi with 73% and 75% mortality after 5 days of treatment, respectively.

• ALGAE
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.251-255
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• 2008

In Gamak Bay, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) was first detected from seafoods in 2003, however the toxin source is unknown yet. In this study, we report potential PSP producers of toxic dinoflagellates, describing morphology and abundance of cysts isolated from surface sediment of Gamak Bay. The most abundant type in these cysts was characterized with ellipsoidal and transparent wall identical to Alexandrium catenella and/or A. tamarense. Germination experiment of the cysts revealed that all motile cells germinated were morphologically identified as A. tamarense. This result suggests that A. tamarense may relate to PSP contaminations in Gamak Bay. Moreover, bottom water temperature in Gamak Bay is favorable for germination of A. tamarense cysts. Further studies are required to carry out the PSP monitoring for preventing the risk of PSP events that may outbreak in future at Gamak Bay.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.173-186
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• 2003

The transition metal cadmium is a serious occupational and environmental toxin. To inhibit cadmium-induced damage, cells respond by increasing the expression of genes that encode stress-responsive proteins. The metal-regulatory transcription factor 1 (MTF-1) is a key regulator of heavy-metal induced transcription of metallothionein-I and II and other genes in mammals and other metazoans. Transcriptional activation of genes by MTF-1 is mediated through binding to metal-responsive elements in the target gene promoters. Phosphorylation of MTF-1 plays a critical role in the cadmium-inducible transcriptional activation of metallothionein and other responses. Studies using inhibitors indicate that multiple kinases and signal transduction cascades, including those mediated by protein kinase C, tyrosine kinase and casein kinase II, are essential for cadmium-mediated transcriptional activation. In addition, calcium signaling is also involved in regulating metal-activated transcription. In several species, cadmium induces heat shock genes. Recently much progress has been made in elucidating the cellular machinery that regulates this metal-inducible gene expression. This review summarizes these recent advances in understanding the role of some known cadmium-responsive genes and the molecular mechanisms that activate metal-responsive transcription factor, MTF-1.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.555-559
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• 2013

Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 are the major serotypes associated with illness, and some V. cholera non-O1 and non-O139 isolates produce cholera toxin. The present study describes a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for the species-specific detection and quantitation of V. cholera using a primer pair based on an outer membrane lipoprotein lolB gene for the amplification of a 195 bp DNA fragment. The qPCR primer set for the accurate diagnosis of V. cholera was developed from publically available genome sequences. This quantitative PCR-based method will potentially simplify and facilitate the diagnosis of this pathogen and guide disease management.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.630-635
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• 1996

For a survey of the occurrence of aflatoxin M$_{1}$ (AFM$_{1}$) in domestic cow's milk, we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system, and quantitated the toxin in cow's milk. In order to produce specific antibodies AFM, conjugated to bovine serum albumin (AFM$_{1}$-BSA) and Freund's adjuvant were immunized subcutaneously to rabbits. By use of the antiserum showing the highest titer and AFB$_{1}$-HRP conjugate, we established a competitive direct ELISA (cdELISA) for AFM$_{1}$, whose detection limit was 0.003 ppb. The cross-reactivities of the antiserum against aflatoxin M$_{1}$ M$_{2}$, B$_{1}$, B$_{2}$, G$_{1}$, G$_{2}$, B$_{2a}$, and G$_{2a}$, were 100, 29.9, 25.0, 2.7, 13.0, 0.65, 0, and 0%, respectively. When the cdELISA was applied to the cow's milk spiked with AFM$_{1}$ and followed by cleanup with C$_{18}$ cartridge, the mean recovery of the assay was 104% (mean of CV, 6.4%) in the final concentration of 0.01-1 ppb (10-1, 000 ppt). When cow's milk samples gathered from markets and farms were assayed by the cdELISA, the mean concentration and SD of AFM$_{1}$ was 80.4 $\pm$ 55.0 ppt (n=64; range, 5.6-280 ppt).

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2020

Diarrhea is a major public health concern associated with pathogenic Escherichia coli infections. Food-borne pathogenic E. coli can lead to large diarrheal outbreaks and hence, there is a need to estimate the frequency of pathogenic E. coli load in the various types of meat available in markets. In the present study, we classified and characterized diarrheagenic E. coli isolates collected from 399 raw meat samples from retail sources in Korea. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) were detected in 11 (9.7%) samples, including nine strains (8.0%) in beef and two strains (1.8%) in chicken. The frequency of the detected virulence markers were as follows: astA, 28.3%; escV,18.6%; eaeA,17.7%; ent, 7.0%; EHEC-hly, 4.4%; stx1, 3.5%; and stx2, 3.5%. We did not observe any typical EPEC, EIEC, or ETEC virulence determinants in any of the samples. The STEC serotype O26 was detected in one sample, but no other serogroups (O91, O103, O128, O157, O145, O111, and O121) were found. Further research is needed to better understand the virulence mechanism of STEC serotypes, their ecology, and prevalence in animals, food, and the environment. These results will help improve risk assessment and predict the sources of food poisoning outbreaks.