• Applied Microscopy
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.165-172
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• 2006

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) involves tissue protection against the destructive action of neutrophil elastase at the site of inflammation. Several studies on new functions of SLPI have demonstrated that SLPI may play a primary role in innate immunity than protease inhibitor, To identify the function of SLPI by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in the embryonic fibroblast (NIH3T3) cells. we studied the expression of SLPI compared to other growth factors involving the LPS treatment. To address this, we performed the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blots for the detection of mRNA and protein expression of the SLPI and some growth factors such as VEGF. bFGF, and PDGF-BB after LPS stimulation. NIH3T3 cells were exposed 100 ng/mL Escherichia coli LPS for 30min, 60min, 90min, 24h, and 48h, respectively. The result of RT-PCR showed that SLPI and VEGF mRNA was expressed strongly in NIH3T3 without related to LPS stimulation. mRNA of bFGF was weakly expressed such as the expression of the control. PDGF mRNA expression gradually increased follows at time course. However, SLPI protein level was increased in lysates and culture medium by LPS stimulation. Phase contrast microscopic and scanning electron microscopic observation showed that the increased cell number and cytoplasmic enlargement of the NIH3T3 cells. Therefore, it suggests that the LPS upregulates SLPI expression in NIH3T3 cells. Moreover, secreted SLPI may stimulate cell proliferation and migration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1026-1038
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• 1995

Although aloe lost a lot of its previous popularity in modern clinical uses as medicine numerous scientific researches still have claimed the beneficial properties(curing and general tonic effect) of aloe gel. Whereas considerable contradictory reports have helped to confuse the aloe gel issue and continually aroused controversy about aloe gel efficacy. However health food, cosmetic and medicinal products made from aloe gel are widely available in the world market especially in U.S.A. so the growing of Aloe plant and the processing of A. vera gel have become big industries in some countries. In some previous papers the salicylic acid, one of the common trace gel components, was thought to have an analgetic and antinflammatory effect. Large amount of Mg ion in the gel was suggested to act as anesthetic, Mg-lactate as antihistamic, and Aloctin A(a glycoprotein) as wound healer by promoting the cell growth. The carboxypeptidase and bradykinase activity in the gel were proposed to have the pain relieving and antiinflammatory effect. But any of thes etheories concerining the physiological action of the trace gel components has not been demonstrated by modern pharmacology, and failed to be supported by clinical research. It was suggested by some research workers that trace amount of anthraquinone compounds in the gel play an important role to act as false substrate inhibitors for PG and TX production(antiprostanoid effect), by which, they believed, inflammation, burn and frostbite, and infected wound could be healed. This hypothesis has not been substantiated. Butthe suggested antimicrobial action, antidiabetic, and antidotic effect of aloe gel are likely to be attributed to the trace anthraquinone compounds. In a lot of recent experimental reports it has been claimed that aloe gel polysaccharides(acetylglucomannan, acetylmannan, and glycoprotein) have the antimicrobial, antinflammatory, antitumour, and infected wound healing effect by immunoenhancement. It is hoped that these effects will be soon documented in clinical studies, then the controversy on aloe gel beneficial effect will cease. In the 30 days subchronic toxicity test the lowest observed adverse effect level of acemannan(acetylmannan) on dog was 5.0 mg/kg, IP. But the aloe gel is generally agreed to be harmless and non toxic even for the internal use such as health food. In the case of idiosynrasy one must keep the delayed type hypersensitivity reaction of aloe gel in mind. In conclusion it seem to be impossible to simply refuse a lot of evidences made by research workers who have claimed aloe gel's beneficial effects and to deny the fact that there had been long therapeutic histories of Aloe plants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1772-1776
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• 2010

Transcription factors Nrf2 and NF-${\kappa}B$ are important regulators of the innate immune response, and their cross-talks in inflammation have been reported. Previously, we demonstrated that gold(I)-compound auranofin, an inhibitor of NF-${\kappa}B$ signal, induced Nrf2 activation in human synovial cells and monocytic cells. To investigate whether the Nrf2 activation is involved in the mechanism of the auranofin-attenuated NF-${\kappa}B$ signaling, we examined the effects of Nrf2 knockdown on NF-${\kappa}B$ activation using rheumatic synovial cells. When the cells were transfected with a specific siRNA for Nrf2, the gene expression was perfectly blocked. However, the Nrf2 knockdown did not cancel the suppressive effect of auranofin on TNF-$\alpha$-induced $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$ degradation. Treatment with a specific siRNA for HO-1, which is a target of Nrf2 and plays a role in anti-inflammation, also did not affect the blocking activity of auranofin on $I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$ degradation. In addition, auranofin-inhibited ICAM-1 expression was not restored by Nrf2 knockdown. These findings indicate that the activated Nrf2 and HO-1 are not associated with the suppressive action of auranofin on the pro-inflammatory cytokines-stimulated NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. This suggests that Nrf2/HO-1 and NF-${\kappa}B$ signals, which are regulated by auranofin, participate in the anti-inflammatory action of auranofin via independent pathways in rheumatic synovial cells.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.111-125
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• 2001

An estuary is semi-inclosed inlets, located between terrestrial and marine environment. Since many estuaries along south-western coasts of Korean peninsula were affected by human settlements and activities, significant changes in sedimentation environments have been observed. The research area is divided into three distinct morpho-stratigraphic units: fluvial dominated area(Area1), mixed area(Area 2), tide-dominated area(Area3). The landform of this area has been changed by reclamation and river channel change. Temporal variations affected by dam construction, periodic freshet was iterrupted. Sediments began to continuously accmulate on estuary banks by tide. Meanwhile, because of the continuous but reduced discharge of fresh water, the salinity of estuarine sediments was declined. That processes made vegetated area( Phregmites lonivalvis and Suaeda japonica) to be expanded. It indicates that the magnitude and frequency of geomorphic processes has been significantly changed.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to investigate the sterilization effect of Er:YAG laser against the intraoral acid producing bacterium, S. mutans, by irradiating the culture solution containing S. mutans KCTC 3065 with Er:YAG laser having a $650{\mu}m$ diameter beam through the non-contact method. We obtained the following results after examining the temperature changes of the culture solution, numbers of bacterial colonies, and acid-producing ability and attaching ability on teeth by measuring the amount of extracellular polysaccharide produced by S. mutans. The number of bacterial colony was decreased in $10{\mu}l$ culture solution irradiated with laser in overall compared to the control solution. The number decreased as the irradiation intensity and pulse repetition rate were larger and as the exposure time was increased. However, it did not change significantly in $100{\mu}l$ culture solution compared to the control solution. Although the acid-producing ability of S. mutans was inhibited for a certain duration after laser irradiation in 10r1 bacterial culture solution, it did not change in $100{\mu}m$ solution compared with the control solution. The amount of extracellular polysaccharide synthesized by S. mutans was partially decreased through laser irradiation in $10{\mu}m$ culture solution but did not change in $100{\mu}m$ culture solution. Based on these findings, we concluded that Er:YAG laser has an sterilization effect on S. mutans in which we presume that the mechanism is through the heat effect rather than the mechanical effect from development of ultrasound.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 1993

Background: Since an important component of carcinogenesis is unregulated growth, many investigators have reported the methods to detect cell proliferation in tissues including PCNA. PCNA is a 36 Kd intranuclear polypeptide and plays a critical role in cell proliferation. Thus progressive dysregulation of proliferation during carcinogenesis can be directly visualized in the paraffin embedded tissue using immunohistochemistry for PCNA which has an advantage of simplicity and maintenance of tissue architecture. The heterogeneity of PCNA expression is known to be related with proliferating fraction, histologic grade, DNA ploidy, and susceptibility of anticancer drugs, etc. We analyzed the biologic significance of the expression of PCNA in lung cancer tissues. Method: 43 lung cancer tissues, which were resected by surgery and were embedded in paraffin, were stained immunohistochemically by one hour MicroProbe System and the results were corelated with cell type, stage, site and survival. Result: 1) Suamous cell type showed high positivity (89%) than in adenocarcinoma (54%). 2) No significant difference related to tumor stage was noticed. 3) No significant difference between primary site and metastatic site was noticed. 4) No significant difference in 12-month survival between positive group and negative group was noticed. Conclusion: From this study, we concluded that imunohistochemistry for PCNA expression of routinely processed tissue is a simple technique for the assessment of proliferation in non-small cell lung cancer. Whether the labelling index has an independent prognostic value and deserves special attention in pathobiological evaluation in lung cancer remains to be investigated from large series with longer follow-up and to be correlated with multiple biological markers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.8 s.88
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• pp.1090-1099
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• 2007

Myristicin, l-allyl-3,4-methylenedioxy-5-methoxybenzene, was one of the major essential oils of nutmeg. However, its anti-allergic effect in the Th1/Th2 immune response was poorly understood. Recently, it was shown that T-bet and GATA-3 was master Th1 and Th2 regulatory transcription factors. In this study, we have attempted to determine whether myristicin regulates Th1/Th2 cytokine production, T-bet and GATA-3 gene expression in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model mice. Myristicin reduced levels of IL-4, Th2 cytokine production in OVA-sensitized and challenged mice. In the other side, it increased $IFN-{\gamma}$, Th1 cytokine production in myristicin administrated mice. We also examined to ascertain whether myristicin could influence eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) activity. After being sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) showed typical asthmatic reactions. These reactions included an increase in the number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, an increase in inflammatory cell infiltration into the lung tissue around blood vessels and airways, and the development of airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR). The administration of myristicin before the last airway OVA challenge resulted in a significant inhibition of all asthmatic reactions. Accordingly, these findings provide new insight into the immunopharmacological role of myristicin in terms of its effects in a murine model of asthma.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.999-1006
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• 2020

The suppression of neuroinflammatory responses in microglial cells, well known as the main immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS), are considered a key target for improving the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Teleogryllus emma is widely consumed around the world for its broad-spectrum therapeutic effect. In a previous work, we performed transcriptome analysis on T. emma in order to obtain the diversity and activity of its antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). AMPs are found in a variety of species, from microorganisms to mammals. They have received much attention as candidates oftherapeutic drugs for the treatment of inflammation-associated diseases. In this study, we investigated the anti-neuroinflammatory effect of Teleogryllusine (VKWKRLNNNKVLQKIYFVKI-NH₂) derived from T. emma on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced BV-2 microglia cells. Teleogryllusine significantly inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production without cytotoxicity, and reducing pro-inflammatory enzymes expression such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). In addition, Telegryllusine also inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) through down-regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. These results suggest that T. emma-derived Teleogryllusine could be a good source of functional substances that prevent neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2006

Topical fluoride application for children is a widely peformed procedure in the field of pediatric dentistry to prevent dental caries. However, it is recently recognized as having some unwanted effects on several esthetic restorative materials as it roughens the surface of the restorative materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface changes in composite resins to topical fluoride. Composite resins(Z $250^{(R)}$, Ultraseal $XT^{(R)}$ Filtek $flow^{(R)}$ $Revolution^{(R)}$, $Denfil^{(R)}$) in topical fluoride agents were immersed and their surface roughness, weight loss and SEM were evaluated. The results were as follows : 1. The 4 minutes-immersion groups showed more roughened surface than 1 minute-immersion groups and the control groups showed the smoothest surface among all the materials, and there was statistically significant difference except the revolution between the groups. 2. There was no significant difference between the 1 minute-immersion groups and 4 minutes-immersion groups in weight loss. 3. The experimental group treated with topical fluoride gel showed the generally mere roughened surface than control group in the SEM findings.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.181-190
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• 2007

Compound K (CK), a protopanaxadiol ginsenoside metabolite, was previously shown to have immunomodulatory effects. In this study, we isolated the CK rich fractions (CKRF) from Korean Red Ginseng and investigated the regulation of CKRF-mediated inflammatory signaling during Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated cellular activation. Among various TLR ligands, CKRF considerably abrogated TLR4- or TLR9-induced inflammatory signaling. Both LPS and CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) stimulation rapidly activates mitogen-activated protein kinases [MAPKs; extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 and p38], NF-${\kappa}B$, and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interleukin-6 in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Of interest, pre-treatment of CKRF in either LPS/TLR4- or CpG-ODN/TLR9-stimulated macrophages substantially attenuated the LPS-induced inflammatory cytokine production and mRNA expressions, as well as MAPK and NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the inhibitory roles for CKRF in TLR4- or TLR9-associated signaling in BMDMs. Collectively, these results demonstrate that CKRF specifically modulates distinct TLR4 and TLR9-mediated inflammatory responses, and further studies are urgently needed for their in vivo roles for potential therapeutic uses, such as in systemic inflammatory syndromes.