• International Journal of Oral Biology
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.129-135
• /
• 2017

The present study investigated the role of spinal glutamate recycling in the development of orofacial inflammatory pain or trigeminal neuropathic pain. Experiments were carried out on male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 230 and 280 g. Under anesthesia, a polyethylene tube was implanted in the atlanto-occipital membrane for intracisternal administration. IL-$1{\beta}$-induced inflammation was employed as an orofacial acute inflammatory pain model. IL-$1{\beta}$ (10 ng) was injected subcutaneously into one vibrissal pad. We used the trigeminal neuropathic pain animal model produced by chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve. DL-threo-${\beta}$-benzyloxyaspartate (TBOA) or methionine sulfoximine (MSO) was administered intracisternally to block the spinal glutamate transporter and the glutamine synthetase activity in astroglia. Intracisternal administration of TBOA produced mechanical allodynia in naïve rats, but it significantly attenuated mechanical allodynia in rats with interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$-induced inflammatory pain or trigeminal neuropathic pain. In contrast, intracisternal injection of MSO produced anti-allodynic effects in rats treated with IL-$1{\beta}$ or with infraorbital nerve injury. Intracisternal administration of MSO did not produce mechanical allodynia in naive rats. These results suggest that blockade of glutamate recycling induced pro-nociception in na?ve rats, but it paradoxically resulted in anti-nociception in rats experiencing inflammatory or neuropathic pain. Moreover, blockade of glutamate reuptake could represent a new therapeutic target for the treatment of chronic pain conditions.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.8-16
• /
• 2019

Mutations in the ${\beta}-catenin$ gene (CTNNB1) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of some cancers. The recent development of cancer genome databases has facilitated comprehensive and focused analyses on the mutation status of cancer-related genes. We have used these databases to analyze the CTNNB1 mutations assembled from different tumor types. High incidences of CTNNB1 mutations were detected in endometrial, liver, and colorectal cancers. This finding agrees with the oncogenic role of aberrantly activated ${\beta}-catenin$ in epithelial cells. Elevated frequencies of missense mutations were found in the exon 3 of CTNNB1, which is responsible for encoding the regulatory amino acids at the N-terminal region of the protein. In the case of metastatic colorectal cancers, in-frame deletions were revealed in the region spanning exon 3. Thus, exon 3 of CTNNB1 can be considered to be a mutation hotspot in these cancers. Since the N-terminal region of the ${\beta}-catenin$ protein forms a flexible structure, many questions arise regarding the structural and functional impacts of hotspot mutations. Clinical identification of hotspot mutations could provide the mechanistic basis for an oncogenic role of mutant ${\beta}-catenin$ proteins in cancer cells. Furthermore, a systematic understanding of tumor-driving hotspot mutations could open new avenues for precision oncology.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.163-171
• /
• 2016

Steroid hormone, glucocorticoid (GC) has strong anti-inflammatory effects by binding to glucocorticoid receptor (GR) inhibiting the expression of inflammatory genes. Therefore, agents that activate the GR have been used for the treatment of dermatitis. However, the agents have side effects such as skin barrier dysfunction and dermal atrophy, inducing skin damage as well as skin aging. It has been reported that GC is activated by 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 ($11{\beta}$-HSD1) to increase the activity of the GR. This study aimed to identify natural materials that can effectively inhibit dexamethasone. We found that alpinetin isolated from Alpinia katsumadai extract has a significant effect on this. Alpinetin not only inhibited $11{\beta}$-HSD1 expression, but also suppressed the increase of phosphorylated GR and cortisol concentration. Alpinetin also recovered collagen expression in dexamethasone-treated dermal fibroblasts, and the reduction of dermal thickness in dexamethasnone-treated 3D skin model. These results suggest that alpinetin prevents skin aging induced by the increase of $11{\beta}$-HSD1 expression.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the protective factors that influence suicide probability in religious male high school students. Methods: The data was collected from Nov. 5 to Dec. 10, 2009. Data were collected by self-report questionnaire from 255 students selected from 2 religious male high schools in B city. The instruments for this study were the Suicide Probability Scale for Adolescence (SPS-A), Inventory Parents Peer Attachment-Revision (IPPA-R), Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWBS), and Ego-identity Scale. The data were analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe test, Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS 14.0 program. Results: The protective factors of suicide probability in religious male high school students were identified as existential spiritual well-being (${\beta}$= -.46, p<.001), self-identity (${\beta}$= -.30, p<.001), and mother attachment (${\beta}$= -.21, p<.001). These three factors explained 61.5% of the variance in suicide probability. Conclusions: The results suggest that improvement in spirituality, ego-identity, and mother attachment for religious male high school students is important to reduce the probability of suicide.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.403-409
• /
• 1997

To obtain information on the accumulation of (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucans during kernel maturation, (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucan contents and (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucanase activities were determined in developing kernels of the two Korean cooking barley varieties, Neulssalbori and Saessalbori. (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-Glucan contents in kernels at 5 and 10 days after anthesis(DAA) were very low and the contents increased rapidly in kernels at 15 to 25 DAA. (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-Glucan content in kernels at harvest was about 3.5 to 4% of kernel dry matter. (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-Glucanase activities were relatively higher in younger kernels but the levels of the activity were very low compared with those in germinating kernels. A significant negative correlation was observed between (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucan contents and (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucanase activities. Low levels of (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucanase activites in kernels at 15 to 30 DAA, however, may indicate that (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucanases have little effect on the final content of (1-3, 1-4)-$\beta$-glucans in barley kernels. Starch contents and $\alpha$-amylase activities were also determined in developing barley kernels. Starch contents increased rapidly as kernels matured and the content at harvest was about 60% of kernel dry matter. Relativley higher levels of $\alpha$-amylase activities in kernels at the earlier developmental stage decreased rapidly as kernels matured.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.422-426
• /
• 2014

Depending on the acquisition of developmental competence, the expression of genes for ${\beta}$-1,3-glucan synthase and chitin synthase was affected in different ways by Aspergillus nidulans LAMMER kinase. LAMMER kinase deletion, ${\Delta}lkhA$, led to decrease in ${\beta}$-1,3-glucan, but increase in chitin content. The ${\Delta}lkhA$ strain was also resistant to nikkomycin Z.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.61-67
• /
• 1985

One hundred and twenty seven strains of Gram-negative rods (72 E. coli, 45 Klebsieila pneumoniae, 8 Enterobacter spp. and 2 Pseudomonas aeruginosa) isolated from bovine mastitis were examined for resistance to ampicilin, carbenicillin and cefazolin, ${\beta}$-lactamase activity and transferable ${\beta}$-lactamase plasmids. Stains resistant to ampicillin were 13.9% in E. coli, 93.3% in Klebsiella pneumoniae, 87.5% in Enterobacter. spp. and all in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Resistance of E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. to ampicillin was due to the ${\beta}$-lactamases, but all Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited a high level of the non-enzymic resistance. Transferable plasmid-mediated ${\beta}$-lactamase synthesis was demonstrated in 61.9% of Klebsiella pneumoniae, 50% of E. coli and 42.9% of Enterobacter spp. The same ${\beta}$-lactamase plasmids specified different resistance levels to various ${\beta}$-lactam antibiotics in different recipients.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.42 no.8
• /
• pp.750-758
• /
• 2009

Smoking is associated with an increased incidence of numerous cancers and other degenerative diseases. It has been suggested that high consumption of fruits and vegetables may give some protection. Especially carrot is the most important source of dietary ${\beta}$-carotene. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate whether carrot juice supplementation to smokers have different or superior effect of compared to the effect supplementing purified ${\beta}$-carotene. The study was conducted in a randomized and placebo-controlled design, after a depletion period of 14 days, 48 smokers were supplemented either carrot juice (n = 18), purified ${\beta}$-carotene (n = 16) or placebo (n = 14). Each group was supplemented for 8 weeks with approximately 20.49 mg of ${\beta}$-carotene/day and 1.2 mg of vitamin C/day, as carrot juice (300 mL/day) or purified ${\beta}$-carotene (1 capsule/day). Plasma vitamin C, vitamin E and ${\beta}$-carotene level were significantly increased after carrot juice and ${\beta}$-carotene supplementation. These results suggest that carrot juice containing ${\beta}$-carotene or ${\beta}$-carotene itself have similar antioxidative potentials by increasing the antioxidant potential in smokers. Therefore, we suggest moderate dose of vitamin supplementation (amount of two servings of vegetable intake) may help to replenish the decreased oxidative stress levels in smokers.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.44 no.11
• /
• pp.730-734
• /
• 2011

Amyloid ${\beta}$-peptide ($A{\beta}$-peptide)-induced oxidative stress is thought to be a critical component of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). New chalcone derivatives, the Chana series, were recently synthesized from the retrochalcones of licorice. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of the Chana series against neurodegenerative changes in vitro and in vivo. Among the Chana series, Chana 30 showed the highest free radical scavenging activity (90.7%) in the 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl assay. Chana 30 also protected against $A{\beta}$-induced neural cell injury in vitro. Furthermore, Chana 30 reduced the learning and memory deficits of $A{\beta}_{1-42}$-peptide injected mice. Taken together, these results suggest that Chana 30 may be a promising candidate as a potent therapeutic agent against neurodegenerative diseases.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.20-27
• /
• 2015

Background Hypertrophic scars and keloids are associated with abnormal levels of growth factors. Silicone gel sheets are effective in treating and preventing hypertrophic scars and keloids. There has been no report on the change in growth factors in the scar tissue following the use of silicone gel sheeting for scar prevention. A prospective controlled trial was performed to evaluate whether growth factors are altered by the application of a silicone gel sheet on a fresh surgical scar. Methods Four of seven enrolled patients completed the study. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}1$, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were investigated immunohistochemically in biopsies taken from five scars at 4 months following surgery. Results In both the epidermis and the dermis, the expression of TGF-${\beta}1$ (P=0.042 and P=0.042) and PDGF (P=0.043 and P=0.042) was significantly lower in the case of silicone gel sheet-treated scars than in the case of untreated scars. The expression of bFGF in the dermis was significantly higher in the case of silicone gel sheet-treated scars than in the case of untreated scars (P=0.042), but in the epidermis, the expression of bFGF showed no significant difference between the groups (P=0.655). Conclusions The levels of TGF-${\beta}1$, PDGF, and bFGF are altered by the silicone gel sheet treatment, which might be one of the mechanisms of action in scar prevention.