• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.191-201
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• 2020

As society develops rapidly, environmental pollution is becoming a greater risk factor threatening human health. One of the major causes of air pollution that affects human health is particulate matter (PM), which contains a heterogeneous mixture of different particle sizes and chemical compositions. PM is classified by size into general PM (PM₁₀; diameter below 10 ㎛) and fine PM (PM_2.5; diameter below 2.5 ㎛). PM_2.5 can pass through the respiratory tract into the circulatory system and thence throughout the body. PM_2.5 is known to stimulate oxidative stress and inflammatory responses to cells, promoting diseases such as asthma, chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and immunological disorders. Although detailed molecular mechanisms for how PM stimulates disease progression still need to be elucidated, together with national efforts to reduce PM production, significant research has been conducted that demonstrates the harmfulness of PM in disease progression through in vitro and in vivo experiments. This review focuses on the harmfulness of PM in disease progression; we also introduce a biological verification method for determining the hazards of PM.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.452-458
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• 1996

A PPIase gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus was screened from a genomic library by plaque hybridization using the A-1 primer as a probe. A PPIase positive plaque contained a 3.0kb insert of the chromosomal DNA. A 3.0kb fragment was subcloned into pUC18, resulting pPI1-40. A DNA fragment encoding the N-terminal portion of the PPIase in pPi-40 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method using the A-1 and B-2 primers. The amplified fragment was cloned into the Sma I site of pUC18 and recombinant plasmid was designated as pSN-18. The nucleotide sequence of 167bp fragment was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of PPIase was completely matched with the determined N-terminal amino acid sequence of PPIase B. stearothermophilus. The translated protein sequence of PPIase B. stearothermophilus was compared with sequence from periplasmic PPIase from Escherichina coil ; homogies of 16 and 58%, respectively, were found. The clond PPIase gene was over-expressed in E. coil cell using pUC19 as an expression vector. The enzyme was partially purified by heat treatment and colum chromatochraphy on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B. The molecular weight of the enzyme was dermined to be about 18.0 kDal by SDS-PAGE.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2022

Since the pandemic of COVID-19, active investigation to develop immunity to infectious disease by delivering nucleic acids has been proceeded. Particularly, many studies have been conducted on non-viral vector as several vital side-effects which were found on nucleic acid delivery system using viral vectors. In this study, we have developed plasmid DNA (pDNA) loaded-hyaluronic acid derivative (HA) coated-polyethyleneimine (PEI) based polyplex for enhanced nucleic acid delivery efficiency. We have optimized the ratio of pDNA : PEI : HA by measuring size and protein transcription efficiency. The final product, polyplex-HA, was characterized through measuring size, zeta-potential and TEM image. Intracellular uptake and protein transcription efficiency were compared to commercially available transfection reagent, lipofectamine, through fluorescence image and flow cytometry. In conclusion, polyplex-HA presents a novel gene delivery system for efficient and stable protein transcription since it is available for delivering various genetic materials and has less immunoreactivity.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.669-676
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• 1995

Background: The cell-mediated immunity is needed for eradicating the tubercle bacilli. Prostaglandin(PG), especially PG $E_2$, is involved in cellular immunosuppression. It is known that the PG $E_2$ is suppressed by indomethacin. For using indomethacin as a immunomodulator of intractable pulmonary tuberculosis(Tbc) patients, we measured the tuberculin skin test(TST) and the plasma PG $E_2$ levels. Method: The forty-eight inpatients with sputum positive acid-fast stain bacilli were classified into 6 groups according to antiTbc chemotherapy history(new and intractable cases), plain chest roetgenogram(minimal and far advanced cases), and TST reaction(nagative and positive cases). Except for one group(n=2; new, minimal, and negative cases of TST reaction) of the 6 groups, all subjects(n=46) were measured for the plasma PG $E_2$, levels with radioimmunoassay. Results: 1) There was no significant difference in the plasma PG $E_2$ levels among A group(far advanced and positive TST reaction cases, n=10, $11.22{\pm}2.86\;pg/ml$), B group(minimal and negative TST reaction cases, n=9, $11.35{\pm}2.20$) and C group(far advanced and positive TST reaction cases, n=7, $11.11{\pm}2.30$) in the new cases(p>0.05). 2) There was no significant difference in the plasma PG $E_2$ levels between positive(n=10, $9.25{\pm}2.21$) and negative(n=10, $8.25{\pm}1.13$) groups by TST in the intractable cases(p>0.05). 3) Comparing the plasma PG $E_2$ levels between new(n=26, $11.35{\pm}2.41$) and intractable(n=20, $8.75{\pm}1.78$) groups, the intractable group had significi- andy lower plasma PG $E_2$ levels(p<0.05). 4) There was no significant difference in the plasma PG $E_2$ levels between negative(n=19, $9.88{\pm}2.43$) and positive(n=27, $10.46{\pm}2.56$) groups by TST(p>0.05). 5) There was no significant difference in the plasma PG $E_2$ levels between male(n=32, $10.07{\pm}2.44$) and female(n=14, $10.56{\pm}2.70$)(p>0.05). 6) There was no significant difference in the plasma PG $E_2$ levels among 2nd(n=5, $10.21{\pm}2.86$), 3rd(n=9, $9.97{\pm}2.47$), 4th(n=13, $11.35{\pm}2.33$) and 5th(n=19, $9.57{\pm}2.48$) decades(p>0.05). 7) There was no significant correlation between the induration sizes of the TST and the plasma PG $E_2$ levels(r=0.054, p>0.05). Conclusion: From the above results, the plasma PG $E_2$ levels of intractable group are not higher as the authors had expected. There was no significant difference in the plasma PG $E_2$ levels by the lesion sizes of plain chest roentgenogram and the induration sizes of TST, so more study will be needed to use the indomethacin as a immunomodulator for intractable pulmonary tuberculosis patients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.855-861
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• 1995

Background: Parathyroid hormone-related protein(PTHrp) was first identified as the cause of hypercalcemia in malignancy. Hypercalcemia can be found in malignancy, especially in the epidermoid carcinoma of the lung, even without extensive metastases to the bones. The application of sensitive assays for PTHrp may help in the early diagnosis of lung cancer, in the monitoring of treatment and in the detection of recurrence. Method: Serum PTHrp was measured by radioimmunoassay detecting the N-terminal 1~34 peptide of human PTHrp(PTHrp 1-34) in 63 histologically confirmed lung cancer patients and 22 healthy controls. Result: Serum PTHrp(mean$\pm$S.E.) was $312{\pm}68.9pg/ml$ in 63 lung cancer patients and $158{\pm}38.2pg/ml$ in 22 controls(p>0.05). PTHrp was $356{\pm}103.9pg/ml$ in 34 epidermoid carcinoma patients, $281{\pm}148.7pg/ml$ in 15 adenocarcinoma patients and $316{\pm}140.8pg/ml$ in 9 small cell carcinoma patients. In epidermoid carcinoma patients, PTHrp was $570{\pm}472.3pg/ml$ in stage II(n=3; p<0.05 vs controls), $166{\pm}22.4pg/ml$ in stage IIIa(n=9), $282{\pm}113.3pg/ml$ in stage IIIb(n=12) and $668{\pm}367.9pg/ml$ in stage IV(n=9; p<0.05 vs controls). PTHrp was significantly increased in 8 epidermoid carcinoma patients with bone metastases($1526{\pm}811.2\;pg/ml$; p<0.0005 vs controls). Hypercalcemia was observed in an epidermoid carcinoma patient whose PTHrp value was 244 pg/ml. Conclusion: The serum PTHrp was increased in advanced epidermoid carcinoma patients even without hypercalcemia. The measurement of PTHrp may be not helpful in the early diagnosis of lung cancer. But the lung cancer should be suspected in the marked elevation of PTHrp. It may be of value in detecting patients of advanced diseases with bone metastases or patients who might develop the malignancy associated hypercalcemia.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.211-219
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• 2020

Quercetin is a polyphenol compound with excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. However, little has been reported about the efficacy of quercetin to control psoriasis. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of quercetin to regulate psoriatic dermatitis with HaCaT cell lines activated by TNF-α and IL-17A, which are in vitro psoriasis skin models. When quercetin was treated with TNF-α-activated HaCaT cell line, inflammatory cytokine expressions such as IL-1α, IL-1β and IL-6 were reduced by 49.1±7.14, 42.8±8.16, and 34.5±2.52%, respectively. In addition, mRNA expression levels of IL-8 and CCL20 the chemokines that attract immune cells such as Th17 cells and dendritic cells to the inflammatory reaction site, were also reduced by 38.4±5.83 and 52.9±4.59% compared to the TNF-α treatment group. The expression of proteins KRT6A and KRT16, which was nonspecifically increased in psoriatic skin was also significantly suppressed. Moreover, phosphorylation of IκBα and STAT3 proteins activated by TNF-α was also significantly inhibited. After stimulating the HaCaT with IL-17A, known as another psoriasis-inducing cytokine, it was observed that IκBα mRNA expression decreased by 55.8±5.28%, and STAT3 phosphorylation was downregulated by 36.3±6.81%. Finally, after co-activation by TNF-α/IL-17A, quercetin inhibited all of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and CCL20 gene expression. The above results strongly suggest that quercetin is a material that has not only anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, but also has an activity in improving psoriasis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.208-216
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• 2004

Purpose: DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a serine/threonine kinase consisting of a 470 kDa catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) and a heterodimeric regulatory complex, called Ku, which is composed of 70 kDa(Ku 70) and 86 kDa (Ku 80) proteins. The DNA-PK has been shown to play a pivotal role in rejoining DNA double-strand-breaks (dsb) in mammalian cells. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the level of Ku expression and radiation sensitivity. Methods and Materials: Nine head and neck, cancer cell lines showed various intrinsic radiation sensitivities. Among the nine, AMC-HN-3 cell was the most sensitive for X-ray irradiation and AMC-HN-9 cell was the most resistance. The most sensitive and resistant cell lines were selected and the test sensitivity of radiation and expression of Ku were measured. Radiation sensitivity was obtained by colony forming assay and Ku protein expression using Western blot analysis. Results: Ku80 increased expression by radiation, wheres Ku70 did not. Overexpression of Ku80 protein increased radiation resistance in AMC-HN9 cell line. There was a correlation between Ku8O expression and radiation resistance. Ku80 was shown to play an important role in radiation damage response. Conclusion: Induction of Ku80 expression had an important role in DNA damage repair by radiation. Ku80 expression may be an effective predictive assay of radiosensitivity on head and neck cancer.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 2009

Purpose : Stem cell transplantation (SCT) has gained worldwide acceptance as a treatment for hematologic disorders. This study was performed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of the acute kidney injury after SCT in children. Methods : The records of 53 patients who were treated with SCT at the pediatric department of Yeungnam University Hospital between January, 1996 and April, 2009 were used as subjects. Their were divided into two groups ; 'Early renal insufficiency' (ERI, n=18) and 'Non-early renal insufficiency' (NERI, n=35). ERI had greater than 25% of drop in GFR after SCT. Results: Total 53 patients were analyzed. In cord blood SCT (n=11), ERI was 4 (36.4%) and NERI was 7 (63.6%). In bone marrow SCT (n=16), ERI was 8 (50.0%) and NERI was 8 (50.5%). In autologous peripheral blood SCT (n=26), ERI was 6 (23.1%) and NERI was 20 (76.9%). There is no difference in both groups according to kinds of SCT. GVHD was developed in 22 patients, and there is no difference in each group. Twenty two of 53 patients died. ERI was 12 (66.7%) and NERI was 10 (28.6%). Acute renal failure is most important cause of the deaths. Conclusion : Out of 53 pediatric patients who were treated with SCT, 18 patients had greater than 25% of drop in GFR. There is no difference in both groups according to kinds of SCT. GVHD was found in 22 patients and there is no relation between GVHD development and acute kideney injury.

• 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 Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.502-508
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• 1998

Proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$(TNF-$\alpha$) have been implicated in myocardial and organ dysfunction associated with postperfusion syndrome. We tested the hypothesis that cytokine productions are depressed by preoperative cortiosteroid injection for cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) and the postoperative courses will be better than without steriod pretreated cases. Cardiac surgery was performed in randomized blind fashion for 20 patients from June 1996 to September 1996. In the steroid group(n=10), corticosteroid(dexamethasone 1 mg/kg) was injected 1 hour before anesthetic induction, but in the control group(n=10), nothing was injected. Each of groups were sampled 11 times as scheduled for TNF-$\alpha$ bioassays. We have checked EKG, cardiac enzymes(CPK, LDH with isoenzyme), WBC count preoperative day, one day and three days after operation. Viatal signs were continuously monitored for three postoperaive days. In the postoperative period three patients in the control group had elevated body temperature and four patients had hypotension that required considerable intravenous fluid administration. But steroid injected patients showed normal body temperture and acceptable blood pressures without supportive treatment. CPK enzymes rose in control group higher than steroid group at postoperative 1st and 3rd day(CPK; 1122$\pm$465 vs 567$\pm$271, 864$\pm$42 vs 325$\pm$87), and CPK-MB enzymes rose in control group higher than steroid group at postoperative 1st day(106.4$\pm$115.1 vs 29.5$\pm$22.4)(P=0.02). Arterial tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ rose during cardiopulmonary bypass, peaking at 5 minutes before the end of aortic cross clamping(ACC-5min) in steroid group(11.9$\pm$4.7 pg/ml), and 5 minutes before the end of cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB-5min) in control group(22.3$\pm$6.8 pg/ml). The steroid pretreated patients had a shorter period of time in respirator suport time, ICU stay day, hospital admission day. We conclude that corticosteroid suppress cytokine production during and after cardiopulmonary bypass, and may improve the postoperative course through inhibition of reperfusion injury such as myocardial stunning and hemodynamic instability.