• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.6
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• pp.681-690
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• 1997

Loss of synaptic transmission and accumulation of extracellular $K^+([K^+]_O)$ are the key features in ischemic brain damage. Here, we examined the effects of several $K^+$channel modulators on the early ischemic changes in population spike (PS) and $[K^+]_o$ in the CA1 pyramidal layer of the rat hippocampal slice using electrophysiological techniques. After onset of anoxic aglycemia (AA), orthodromic field potentials decreased and disappeared in $3.3{\pm}0.22\;min$ $(mean{\pm}SEM,\;n=40)$. The hypoxic injury potential (HIP), a transient recovery of PS appeared at $6.0{\pm}0.25\;min$ (n=40) in most slices during AA and lasted for $3.3{\pm}0.43\;min$. $[K^+]_o$ increased initially at a rate of 0.43 mM/min (Phase 1) and later at a much faster rate (12.45 mM/min, Phase 2). The beginning of Phase 2 was invariably coincided with the disappearance of HIP. Among $K^+$ channel modulators tested such as 4-aminopyridine (0.03, 0.3 mM), tetraethylammonium (0.1 mM), NS1619 $(0.3{\sim}10\;{\mu}M)$, niflumic acid (0.1 mM), glibenclamide $(40\;{\mu}M)$, tolbutamide $(300\;{\mu}M)$ and pinacidil $(100\;{\mu}M)$, only 4-aminopyridine (0.3 mM) induced slight increase of $[K^+]_o$ during Phase 1. However, none of the above agents modulated the pattern of Phase 2 in $[K^+]_o$ in response to AA. Taken together, the experimental data suggest that 4-aminopyridine-sensitive $K^+$channels, large conductance $Ca^{2+}-activated$ $K^+$ channels and ATP-sensitive $K^+$ channels may not be the major contributors to the sudden increase of $[K^+]_o$ during the early stage of brain ischemia, suggesting the presence of other routes of $K^+$ efflux during brain ischemia.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 1996

Activation of $K^+$ channels induces relaxation of smooth muscles by reducing electrical excitability and cytosolic free $Ca^{2+}$ level. ${\beta}$-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol is known to induce relaxation of the uterine smooth muscle by membrane hyperpolarization and $K^+$ efflux. Recently it is suggested that the activity of $Ca^{2+}$-activated $K^+$ channel was increased by isoproterenol in the uterine myocytes isolated from myometrium of the pregnant rat. However, the type of $K^+$ channel mediating the relaxant effect of isopreterenol in the tissue level has not yet studied. In this work, we investigated the type of $K^+$ channels involved in the isoproterenol-induced relaxation of uterine smooth muscle by measuring the integrated insometric tension of the estrogen-treated isolated nonpregnant rat uterus. Contraction of uterine tissue was induced by oxytocin (0.2nM, 2~3 contractions/min) or high KCl(20~80mM). The result are as follows : 1. Isoproterenol($10^{-10}{\sim}10^{-4}M$) inhibited oxytocin-induced contraction of isolated rat uterus($EC_{50}=1.17{\times}10^{-10}M$). 2. Isoproterenol($10^{-10}{\sim}10^{-4}M$) effectively inhibited uterine contraction induced by low KCl(20~40mM) but little those induced by high KCl(60~80mM). 3. Relaxant effect of isoproterenol($10^{-10}{\sim}10^{-4}M$) on 0.2nM oxytocin-induced contraction was effectively reduced by 4-aminopyridine(3, 10mM) but little by TEA(10~30mM), $Ba^{2+}$($1{\sim}30{\mu}M$) and glibenclamide($100{\mu}M$). Our data suggest that the relaxant effect of isoproterenol is mediated by the $K^+$ channel(s) which can be blocked by 4-aminopyridine.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2014

Programmed cell death or apoptosis is associated with changes in $K^+$ concentration in many cell types. Recent studies have demonstrated that two-pore domain $K^+$ ($K_{2P}$) channels are involved in mouse embryonic development and apoptotic volume decrease of mammalian cells. In cerebellar granule neurons that normally undergo apoptosis during the early developmental stage, TASK-1 and TASK-3, members of $K_{2P}$ channels, were found to be critical for cell death. This study was performed to identify the role of $K^+$ channels in the $H_2O_2$-induced or cryo-induced cell death of mouse and bovine embryos. Mouse and bovine two-cell stage embryos (2-cells) exposed to $H_2O_2$ for 4 h suffered from apoptosis. The 2-cells showed positive TUNEL staining. Treatment with high concentration of KCl (25mM) inhibited $H_2O_2$-induced apoptosis of 2-cells by 19%. Cryo-induced death in bovine blastocysts showed positive TUNEL staining only in the cells near the plasma membrane. Cryoprotectant supplemented with 25 mM KCl reduced apoptosis slightly compared to cryoprotectant supplemented with 5 mM KCl. However, the combination of antioxidants (${\beta}$-mercaptoethanol) with 25 mM KCl significantly decreased the rate of $H_2O_2$-induced and cryo-induced apoptosis compared to treatments with only antioxidants or 25 mM KCl. These results show that blockage of $K^+$ channel efflux for a short-time reduces $H_2O_2$- and cryo-induced apoptosis in mouse and bovine embryos. Our findings suggest that apoptosis in mouse and bovine embryos might be controlled by modulation of $K^+$ channels which are highly expressed in a given cell type.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.305-309
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• 2002

There are some evidences that $K^+$ efflux evoked by muscarinic stimulation is not mainly mediated by large conductance $K^+$ (BK) channels in salivary gland. In this experiment, we therefore characterised non BK channels in rat submandibular gland acinar cells and examined the possibility of agonist effect on this channel using a patch clamp technique. Two types of $K^+$ channels were observed in these cells. BK channels were observed in 3 cells from total 6 cells and its average conductance was $152{\pm}7$ pS (n=3). The conductance of the another types of $K^+$ channel was estimated as $71{\pm}7$ pS (n=6). On the basis of the conductance of this channel, we defined this channel as intermediate conductance $K^+$ (IK) channels, which were observed from all 6 cells we studied. When we increased $Ca^{2+}$ concentration of the bath solution in inside-out mode, the IK channel activity was greatly increased, suggesting this channel is $Ca^{2+}$ sensitive. We next examined the effect of carbachol (CCh) and isoproterenol on the activity of the IK channels. $10^{-5}$ M isoproterenol significantly increased the open probability (Po) from $0.08{\pm}0.02$ to $0.21{\pm}0.03$ (n=4, P<0.05). Application of $10^{-5}$ M CCh also increased Po from $0.048{\pm}0.03$ to $0.55{\pm}0.33$ (n=5, P<0.05) at the maximum channel activity. The degree of BK channel activation induced by the same concentration of CCh was lower than that of IK channels; Po value was $0.011{\pm}0.003$ and $0.027{\pm}0.005$ in control and during CCh stimulation (n=3), respectively. The result suggests that IK channels exist in salivary acinar cells and its channel activity is regulated by muscaricinic and ${\beta}-adrenergic$ agonist. We conclude that IK channels also play a putative role in secretion as well as the BK channels in rat submandibular gland acinar cells.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2002

It has been well known that Korea red ginseng has an antihypertensive effect. The antihypertensive effect may be due to its ability to change the peripheral resistance. Change of vascular tone in the resistance-sized artery contribute to the peripheral resistance, thereby regulate the blood pressure. Therefore, we investigated to clarify the vasorelaxing mechanism induced by crude saponin of Korea red ginseng in the resistance-sized mesenteric artery of rats. The resistance-sized mesenteric artery was isolated and cut into a ring. The ring segment was immersed in HEPES-buffered solution and its isometric tension was measured using myograph force-displacement transducer. Crude saponin of ginseng relaxed the mesenmetric arterial rings precontracted with norepinephrine (3$\mu$M) in dose-dependent manner (0.01 mg/㎖ -1 mg/㎖. The relaxation by crude saponin was smaller in endothelium-intact preparation than that in endothelium-denuded preparation. The contraction induced by A23187 or phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate was not affected by crude saponin of ginseng. The vasorelaxing effect of crude saponin of ginseng was significantly attenuated by the increase of the extracellular K$\^$+/ concentration. Crude saponin-induced vasorelaxation was not affected by tetraethylammonium (1 mM), glybenclamide (10$\mu$M), and 4-aminopyridine (0.1 mM) in these preparations. Ba$\^$2+/(10$\mu$M ∼100$\mu$M) markedly reduced the crude saponin-induced vasorelakation dose-dependently. From the above results, we suggest that crude saponin of ginseng may stimulate K$\^$+/ efflux and hyperpolarize the membrane, thereby cause the vasorelaxation in the resistance-sized mesenteric artery of rats.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.114-120
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• 2002

A 1,989-bp genomic region encoding nickel resistance genes was isolated from Legionella pneumophila, a pathogen for legionellosis. From a sequencing and computer analysis, the region was found to harbor two structural genes, a nreB-like protein gene (1,149 bp) and a nreA-like protein gene (270 bp), in a row. Both genes exhibited a significant degree of similarity to the corresponding genes from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 ($54\%$ amino acid sequence identity) and Achromobacter xylosoxidans 31A ($76\%$). The gene was successfully expressed in E. coli MG1655 and conferred a nickel resistance of up to 5 mM in an LB medium and 3 mM in a TMS medium including gluconate as the sole carbon source. E. coli harboring the nickel resistance gene also exhibited a substantial resistance to cobalt, yet no resistance to cadmium or zinc. Since the extracellular concentration of nickel remained constant during the whole period of cultivation, it was confirmed that the nickel resistance was provided by an efflux system like the $Ni^2＋$permease (nrsD) of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. Since polyphosphate (poly-P) is known as a global regulator for gene expression as well as a potential virulence factor in E. coli, the nickel resistance of a ppk mutant of E. coli MG 1655 harboring the nickel resistance gene from L. pneumophila was compared with that of its parental strain. The nickel resistance was significantly attenuated by ppk inactivation, which was more pronounced in an LB medium than in a TMS medium.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.262-267
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• 2010

Magnesium ($Mg^{2+}$) is an essential co-factor for over 325 physiological and biochemical processes so that plays a central role of neuronal activity, cardiac excitability, neuromuscular transmission, muscular contraction, vasomotor tone, and blood pressure significantly related to physical performance. However, only limited information on blood ionized $Mg^{2+}$ ($iMg^{2+}$) regarding to physical exercise is available and the data from blood total $Mg^{2+}$ detection are inconsistent. This present study investigated the changes of blood $iMg^{2+}$ correlated with metabolic demands during acute high-intensive exhaustive physical exercise in rats. After exhausted swimming (3-4 hours), blood pH, glucose, $HCO_3{^-}$, oxygen and ionized $Ca^{2+}$ ($iCa^{2+}$) were significantly decreased, whereas lactate, carbon dioxide, $iMg^{2+}$, ionized $Na^+$ and ionized $K^+$ were significantly increased. During the exhausted swimming, the changes in $iMg^{2+}$ showed a significant negative correlation with changes in pH, glucose, $HCO_3^-$ and $iCa^{2+}$, however a significant negative correlation with changes in lactate and anionic gap. It is concluded that the acute high-intensive exhaustive physical exercise could produced hypermagnesemia, an increase in blood $iMg^{2+}$ via stimulation of $iMg^{2+}$ efflux following increase in intracellular $iMg^{2+}$ from muscle induced by metabolic and respiratory acidosis.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.866-873
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• 2006

When patients with cancers are treated with chemotherapeutic agents a long time, some of the cancer cells develop the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype. MDR cancer cells are characterized by the overexpression of multidrug resistance1 (MDR1) gene which encodes P-glycoprotein (Pgp), a surface protein of tumor cells that functions to produce an excessive efflux and thereby an insufficient intracellular concentration of chemotherapeutic agents. A variety of studies have sought potent MDR modulators to decrease MDR1 gene expression in cancer cells. Our previous study has shown that curcumin exhibits characteristics of a MDR modulator in KB-V1 multidrug-resistant cells. The aim of this study was to further investigate the effect of curcumin on MDR1 gene expression in patient leukemic cells. The leukemic cells were collected from 78 childhood leukemia patients admitted at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand, in the period from July 2003 to February 2005. There were 61 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 14 cases of acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), and 3 cases of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML). There were 47 males and 31 females ranging from 1 to 15 years old. Bone marrows were collected. The leukemic cells were separated and cultured in the presence or absence of $10{\mu}M$ curcumin for 48 hours. MDR1 mRNA levels were determined by RT-PCR. It was found that curcumin reduced MDR1 gene expression in the cells from 33 patients (42%). Curcumin affected the MDR1 gene expression in 5 of 11 relapsed cases (45%), 10 of 26 cases of drug maintenance (38%), 7 of 18 cases of completed treatment (39%), and 11 of 23 cases of new patients (48%). The expression levels of MDR1 gene in leukemic patient cells as compared to that of KB-V1 cells were classified as low level (1-20%) in 5 of 20 cases (25%), medium level (21-60%) in 14 of 32 cases (44%), and high level (61-100%) in 14 of 20 cases (70%). In summary, curcumin decreased MDR1 mRNA level in patient leukemic cells, especially in high level of MDR1 gene groups. Thus, curcumin treatment may provide a lead for clinical treatment of leukemia patients in the future.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.185-191
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• 2005

The absorption of a P-gp substrate, rhodamine 123, from a liposomal dosage form was investigated across Caco-2 cell monolayers, rat intestines and rat intestinal Peyer's patches in Ussing chamber, Rhodamine 123 was incorporated into liposomes according to the standard evaporation method, which led to a production of liposomes with a mean diameter of 71.3 nm. The permeability (Papp of rhodamine 123 from a water solution across the monolayer was $2.45{\times}10^{-6}$ cm/s for $A{\leftrightarrow}B$ (apical to basal) and $14.0{\times}10^{-6}$ cm/s for $B{\leftrightarrow}A$ (basal to apical) directions, consistent with the fact that rhodamine 123 is one of the P-gp substrates. The transport of rhodamine 123 from the liposomal dosage form was much lower for both directions compared to the solution of rhodamine 123. The transport of rhodamine 123 across the rat intestine was also significantly decreased for both directions, I.e., influx and efflux, by the liposomal incorporation of the compound. The transport of rhodamine 123 across the Peyer's patch was substantially reduced by liposomal incorporation. No difference was found in the transport between the Peyer's patch and non-Peyer's patch. These observations suggest that the contribution of transport via Peyer's patches in the uptake of liposomes may be minimal, especially for rapidly absorbed compounds like rhodamine 123. Therefore, the increased absorption of P-gp substrates does not appear to be feasible by incorporating the compounds in liposomes, due to negligible involvement of Peyer's patches in the uptake of particulate dosage forms like liposomes. Liposomes may rather represent a sustained release dosage form of incorporated compounds.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 1998

This study has been designed in order to examine a physiological role of $Ca^{2+}$ which has been known as an essential factor for capacitation, to confirm whether the enzyme activity of $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase on capacitation is important or not, and to clarify relationship between various levels of the $Ca^{2+}$ concentration and $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase which has been known to be an important factor of the plasma membranes. In the present study applying quercetin, a $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase inhibitor, the enzymatic effect of $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase on capacitation was found to be remarkable: a significant increase of the transition from the original type (type A) to the type B and the type AR of the spermatozoa. This finding suggests that $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase plays an important role in the efflux and the influx of the $Ca^{2+}$ which has been known to be an essential factor the capacitation and acrosome reaction, and that the inhibitory action of the $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase might be a prerequsite step toward the acrosome reaction. The conclusion reached can be deduced as follows: increment of the intracelluar $Ca^{2+}$ concentration occurred by controlling the slope of $Ca^{2+}$ concentration through $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase activities in both the intra- and extracelluar fluid may be an important procedure for capacitation and acrosome reaction, and ultimately for fertilization of the spermatozoa and the ova.