• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 2011

Objectives : This study was designed to investigate the collagen metabolism and tyrosinase activity of Angelicae Gigantis Radix extracts (AGR). Methods : The effect of AGR on type I procollagen production and collagenase activity in human normal fibroblasts HS68 after UVB (312 nm) irradiation was measured by ELISA method. The tyrosinase activity after treatment of AGR was measured. Results : Type I procollagen production was recovered by AGR in UVB damaged HS68 cells. The increased collagenase activity after UVB damage was significantly recovered by AGR and the tyrosinase activity was significantly reduced. However, the L-DOPA oxidation was not changed. Conclusion : AGR showed the anti-wrinkle effects and whitening effects in vitro. These results suggest that AGR may have potential as an anti-aging ingredient in cosmetic herbs.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.81-85
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• 2011

Objective : This study was designed to investigate the effects of Angelicae Gigantis Radix (AGR) on Polycystic Ovary (PCO) induced by Estradiol valerate (EV) in female rats. Methods : We investigated the effects of AGR on Changes in body weights and food and water uptake for 5 weeks. In addition, we examined the effects on ovary weights. Finally, we also observed histopathological changes in PCO rats. Results : Treatment with AGR did not affect body weights, amount of food and water uptake. Administration group of AGR restored body/ovary weight ratio to normal levels, which were lowered by induction of PCO. In histopathological observation, formation of cysts was suppressed in AGR group compared with non-treated control group. Conclusion : These results suggest that AGR can be used for patients with PCO to prevent formation of cystic follicles and malfunction of ovary.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6449-6453
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• 2014

Background: Prior studies showed a relationship between serum albumin and the albumin to globulin ratio with different types of cancer. We aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) for survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 240 lung adenocarcinoma patients. Biochemical parameters before chemotherapy were collected and survival status was obtained from the hospital registry. The AGR was calculated using the equation AGR=albumin/(total protein-albumin) and ranked from lowest to highest, the total number of patients being divided into three equal tertiles according to the AGR values. Furthermore, AGR was divided into two groups (low and high tertiles) for ROC curve analysis. Cox model analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic value of AGR and AGR tertiles. Results: The mean survival time for each tertile was: for the $1^{st}$ 9.8 months (95%CI:7.765-11.848), $2^{nd}$ 15.4 months (95%CI:12.685-18.186), and $3^{rd}$ 19.9 months (95%CI:16.495-23.455) (p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly higher survival rates with the third and high tertiles of AGR in comparison with the first and low tertiles, respectively. At multivariate analysis low levels of albumin and AGR, low tertile of AGR and high performance status remained an independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Low AGR was a significant predictor of long-term mortality in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Serum albumin measurement and calculation of AGR are easily accessible and cheap to use for predicting mortality in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nutrition Society Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.125.1-125.1
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• 2003

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2010

The molecular epidemiological characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates have demonstrated their genetic diversity and evolution. A total of 137 strains of MRSA clinical isolates was collected from Korean healthcare facility in 2007. The MRSA clinical isolates were analyzed by molecular typings (SCCmec element and agr locus typing), virule nce factor gene detections {(Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), enterotoxin, exfoliative toxin and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1), and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)}. The MRSA clinical isolates were classified as SCCmec type II-agr type 1 (2 strains), type II-agr type 2 (79 strains), type III-agr type 1 (24 strains), type III-agr type 2 (2 strains), type IV-agr type 1 (27 strains), type IV-agr type 2 (2 strains), and non-typable (1 strain, agr type 3). Based on SCCmec types, SCCmec type II (95.1%) and III (88.5%) indicated higher multidrug resistance rate than SCCmec type IV (10.3%) (P<0.001). The most common enterotoxin genes were seg (83.8%), sei (83.1%), and sec (80.2%). The tst gene was present in 86 out of 137 (62.8%) MRSA isolates. All MRSA isolates were negative for PVL and exfoliative toxin genes. The combinations of toxin genes were observed in particular SCCmec types; 97.6% of SCCmec type II strains carried sec, seg, sei and tst genes, 73.0% of SCCmec type III strains carried sea gene, and 89.7% of SCCmec type IV strains carried sec, seg and sei genes. Each of the SCCmec types of MRSA isolates had distinct AFLP profile. In conclusion, SCCmec type II, agr type 1 and 2 have demonstrated to be the most common types in Korea, and the results indicated that the virulence factors are closely associated with their molecular types (SCCmec and agr types).

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.212-217
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• 2007

The chicken oviduct is a dynamic organ that produces secretory proteins such as ovalbumin during the laying period. In this study, we identified oviduct-specific proteins in hens during the egg-laying period by proteomic analysis. Proteins extracted from the magnum of hens of different ages (5, 35, and 65 weeks) were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to compare the intensity of proteins among samples. Approximately 300 spots were detected on each gel. Based on the comparison of image gels, we found that the intensity of eight spots in 35-week magnums was increased at least by 2-fold compared with the others. Five of the eight spots were identified as calumenin, acidic ribosomal phosphoproteins (ARP), prohibitin, heart fatty acid-binding protein, and anterior gradient-2 (AGR-2). In particular, ARP and AGR-2 were highly expressed in 35- week magnums compared with 5- and 65-week magnums. In addition, the level of these proteins was consistent with their RNA levels. Expression of AGR-2 mRNA was detected in the mature magnum, whereas no signal was observed in premature tissue. Among various tissues, expression of AGR-2 mRNA was highest in the magnum, high in the isthmus, and five fold lower in muscle. It was undetectable in the liver and in other tissues (heart and kidney). However, the mRNA levels of other proteins were ubiquitous among tissues. In transcriptional activity of AGR-2, a 3.0 kb fragment of promoter region containing potential estrogen receptor binding sites had enhanced its activity strongly. In conclusion, these results suggest that AGR-2 has functional regulatory roles in the chicken oviduct during the egglaying period.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.1 s.81
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• pp.150-161
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• 2007

Acori graminei Rhizomn (AGR) is a perennial herb which has been used clinically as a traditional oriental medicine against stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia. We investigated the effect of AGR on the modulation of gene expression profile in a hypoxic model of cultured rat cortical cells. Rat cerebrocortical cells were grown in Neurobasal medium. On DIV12, cells were treated with AGR $(10ug/m\ell)$, given a hypoxic shock (2% $O_2$, 3 hr) on DIV14, and total RNAs were prepared one day after shock. Microarray analyses indicated that the expression levels of most genes were altered within the global M values +0.5 and -0.5, i.e., 40% increase or decrease. There were 750 genes which were upregulated by < global M +0,2, while 700 genes were downregulated by > global M -0.2. The overall profile of gene expression suggests that AGR suppresses apoptosis (upregulation of anti-apopotic genes such as TEGT, TIEG, Dad, p53, and downregulation of pro-apopotic genes such as DAPK, caspase 2, pdcd8), ROS (upregulation of RARa, AhR), and that AGR has neurotrophic effects (upregulation of Aktl, Akt2). These results provide a platform for investigation of the molecular mechanism of the effect of AGR in neuroprotection.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.190-195
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• 2000

In the previous reports, we selected 80% MeOH extract of 7 herbs including Scutellariae Radix(SR), Paeoniae Radix Rubra(PRR), Moutan Cortex(MC), Angelicae Gigantis Radix(AGR), Crataegi Fructus(CF), Bambusae Caulis in Taeniam(BCT) and Cinnamomi Ramulus(CR), which exhibited the inhibitory effect on HMG-CoA reductase and DPPH free radical scavenging effect in vitro, and antihyperlipidemic effects on antihyperlipidemic rats induced by Triton WR 1339 in vivo. Among them, SR, MC, AGR and BCT showed significant suppression of elevated serum LDL-cholesterol level, and AGR and CF showed significant liver weight increase on high cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemic mice. And, SR, PRR, AGR, BCT and CR significantly suppressed the elevated serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels on corn oil induced hyperlipidemic rats. Then, in order to research new antihyperlipidemic agents from the oriental medicinal herbs, we chose SR, AGR, CR and BCT which have the antihyperlipidemic effect in vitro and in vivo, and those herbs were systematically fractionated with organic solvent. EtOAc fraction of SR, hexane fraction of BCT, AGR and chloroform fraction of CR exhibited remarkably inhibitory effect on HMG-CoA reductase activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1060-1068
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• 2021

Community-associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is notorious as a leading cause of soft tissue infections. Despite several studies on the Agr regulator, the mechanisms of action of Agr on the virulence factors in different strains are still unknown. To reveal the role of Agr in different CA-MRSA, we investigated the LACΔagr mutant and the MW2Δagr mutant by comparing LAC (USA300), MW2 (USA400), and Δagr mutants. The changes of Δagr mutants in sensitivity to oxacillin and several virulence factors such as biofilm formation, pigmentation, motility, and membrane properties were monitored. LACΔagr and MW2Δagr mutants showed different oxacillin sensitivity and biofilm formation compared to the LAC and MW2 strains. Regardless of the strain, the motility was reduced in Δagr mutants. And there was an increase in the long chain fatty acid in phospholipid fatty acid composition of Δagr mutants. Other properties such as biofilm formation, pigmentation, motility, and membrane properties were different in both Δagr mutants. The Agr regulator may have a common role like the control of motility and straindependent roles such as antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, change of membrane, and pigment production. It does not seem easy to control all MRSA by targeting the Agr regulator only as it showed strain-dependent behaviors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 1996.06c
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• pp.1101-1116
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• 1996

It is desirable to use the renewable energy for the greenhouse heating in winter season, it makes possible not only to save fossil fuel and conserve green farm environment but also to promote the quality of agricultural products and reduce the agricultural production cost. In this study the heat pump system was developed to use the natural energy as thermal energy resource for the thermal environment control of the greenhouse.