• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.26 no.2 s.55
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• pp.153-162
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• 1996

Rapid maxillary expansion is widely used for the correction of anteroposterior discrepancies, constriction of the maxillary arch, etc. This experiment was undertaken to examine the serial changes in the osteogenesis as well as the collagen fiber bundles in the intermaxillary suture during the rapid maxillary expansion treatment. Four young female dogs aged 6 to 8 months old and not showing menarche yet were used for the experiment. The maxillary impression of dogs were taken, expansion device cast and Hyrax screw soldered at the midline in the 1st premolar area. RME device was delivered to the dogs and the activation of 0.25 mm per quarter-turn was done 2 times per day for 10 days until 5 mm separation was made. Separation of the maxilla was confirmed by X-ray. The animals were sacrificed on 0, 15, 30, 60 days from the finish of maxillary separation and preparations for light microscopy and surface electron microscopy were made. The sutures were cut into frontal serial sections for examination of the histological reactions. The following results were obtained and the conclusions made. 1. The edges of the two palatal plates bordering the midpalatal suture which at the beginning of the retention period were mainly composed of compact bone, underwent extensive resorption followed by new bone formation and gradually became spongy bone rich in bone marrow which in the 60 day retention animal became the compact bone with short intermaxillary suture space. During this transformation, newly formed trabecular bone tissues were added to the original margin. 2. Throughout the expansion period, the collagen fibers underwent successive changes such as stretching, loss of polarity, and finally fibrillogenesis. Towards the end of the expansion procedure, sharpey's fiber formation in newly formed bones were observed. 3. Bony spicules were found in the initial stage of retention on occlusal topographic X-rays, which later were confirmed to have ossified. 4. Judging from the histological changes occuring during the experimental expansion, excessive expansion will cause an excessive bleeding, and retard the remodeling of intermaxillary suture. According to the above results, the bone remodeling after rapid maxillary expansion was preceded by the migration of migratory cells into the intermaxillary suture area. The bone remodeling phenomena were on-going during the 2 months retention sample.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1447-1451
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• 2007

Through the screening of marine natural compounds that inhibit cancer cell proliferation, we previously reported that pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) isolated from marine sponges exhibits selective cytotoxicity against several cell lines in p53-deficient tumor cells compared to those with functional p53. However, the molecular mechanisms of its anti-proliferative action on malignant cell growth are not completely known. To further explore the mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity and to test whether the status of p53 in liver cancer cells correlates with their chemo-sensitivities to PTX-2, we used two well-known hepatocarcinoma cell lines, p53-deficient Hep3B and p53-wild type HepG2. We have demonstrated that PTX-2 markedly inhibits Hep3B cell growth and induces apoptosis whereas HepG2 cells are much more resistant to PTX-2 suggesting that PTX-2 seems to act by p53-independent cytotoxic mechanism. The apoptosis induced by PTX-2 in Hep3B cells was associated with the modulation of DNA fragmentation factor (DFF) family proteins, up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members such as Bax and Bcl-xS and activation of caspases (caspase-3, -8 and -9). Blockade of the caspase-3 activity by caspase-3 inhibitor, z-DEVD-fmk, prevented the PTX-2-induced growth inhibition in Hep3B cells. Moreover, treatment with PTX-2 also induced phosphorylation of AKT and extracellular-signal regulating kinase (ERK), but not c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MARK). Specific inhibitors of PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) and ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD98059) significantly blocks PTX-2-induced-anti-proliferative effects, whereas a JNK inhibitor (SP600125) and a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) have no significant effects demonstrating that the pro-apoptotic effect of PTX-2 mediated through activation of AKT and ERK signal pathway in Hep3B cells.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.99-110
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• 2013

Hatchery-reared seeds provides a key source of animal protein for human consumption and restocking for fishery management. For stock enhancement program, we have inspected the hatchery-reared seeds of 33 species in 2009, 44 species in 2010, 43 species in 2011 and 46 species in 2012 for legally designated diseases. Results showed that abalone was the most abundant in the marine species group and then sea cucumber, olive flounder, rockfish and swimming crab were followed. Crucian carp was the most abundant and then mandarin fish, Korean bullhead, melanian snail and Chinese mitten crab were followed in the freshwater species group. The number of inspection for black sea bream, rock bream, scorpionfish, black scraper, and eel has continuously decreased for four years. The inspection for flathead mullet has been carried out only in 2009. The total number of inspection cases for eight pathogens in this study were 8,476 and disqualification cases were 56 (0.67%) by detection of aquatic animals pathogens such as koi herpesvirus, white spot syndrome virus, red sea bream iridovirus or viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2006

Natural product compounds are the source of numerous therapeutic agents. The marine environment produces natural products from a variety of structural classes exhibiting activity against numerous disease targets including anticancer agents. Among these, pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2), which was first identified as a cytotoxic entity in marine sponges, which depolymerizes actin filaments, was found to be highly effective and more potent to activate an intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in p53-deficient tumor cells compared to those with functional p53 both in vitro and in vivo. However, the anti-proliferative mechanism of the compound at non-cytotoxic concentrations has not yet been explored. In the current study, we sought to investigate anti-proliferation and apoptosis of PTX-2 against U937 human leukemic cells and its underlying molecular mechanism. Exposure of U937 cells to PTX-2 resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in dose- and time-dependent manner as measured by MTT assay, fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. The anti-proliferative effect of PTX-2 was associated with a marked increase in the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase p21 (WAF1/CIP1) mRNA which was tumor suppressor p53-independent. The increase in apoptosis was connected with a time-dependent down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) family such as XIAP and cIAP-2. Though additional studies are needed, these findings suggested that PTX-2-induced inhibition of U937 cells was associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death and the results provided important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of PTX-2.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.111-115
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• 2002

5-Hydroxytryptamine(5-HT; serotonin) system has been implicated in the modulation of male sexual behaviors and the secretion of reproductive hormones. In human males, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors(SSRIs) are known to improve the major male sexual dysfunction, premature ejaculation, through the central nervous system-mediated pathways. As numerous hormone and local factors, 5-HT may have peripheral role in the regulation of male sexual function. The expression of 5-HT receptor subtypes in the target tissue, however, has not been explored yet. The present study was undertaken to test whether the 5-HT receptor subtypes are expressed in the reproductive tissues of male rat, especially in ejaculatory machinery such as seminal vesicle and vas deferens. To do this, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Southern blot analysis were employed. The transcripts for the 1A, 1B and 2C subtypes of 5-HT receptor were amplified in all the tested tissues. The present study demonstrated the expression of 5-HT receptor in the rat ejaculatory machinery, suggesting that 5-HT may play a pivotal role in the male sexual function via not only central pathway but also peripheral route. Further study on the receptor subtype-specific effect and their harmonized mode of action will be needed to establish the understanding of ejaculation mechanism and drug design.