• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2016

Alzheimer's disease(AD), one of the most common forms of dementia, is characterized pathologically by the presence of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and deposition of β-amyloid(Aβ) peptides of 40-42 residues. Aβ has been believed to be neurotoxic and now is also considered to have a role on the mechanism of memory dysfunction. Only a few acetylcholinesterase(AChE) inhibitors have been developed for treatment of AD, although the numbers of patients are rapidly increasing within aging society. Here, we show that ethanol extract of Rosae Rugosae Flos(RR) or its butanol fraction reduce the enzyme activity of AChE and BACE1(β-site APP cleaving enzyme 1). Furthermore, We found that RR inhibits Aβ aggregation and removes Aβ aggregates by Transmission electron microscopy(TEM). In addition, RR reduces the free radical of 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH). We suggest that Rosae Rugosae Flos may be useful as a herbal medicine to treat AD.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.109-120
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• 2006

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder. The pathological hallmarks of AD are senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Major component of senile plaques is amyloid beta peptide(A$\beta$) which is derived from amyloid precursor protein (APP). A$\beta$ is generated through the sequential cleavage of App by $\beta$ - and $\gamma$-secretases. $\beta$-secretase excises the ectodomain of APP ($\beta$-APPs) to leave a 99-amino acid long C-terminal fragment (APP-C99-CTF) in the membrane. $\gamma$-secretase then cleaves this membrane-tethered APP-CTF within the transmembrane domain, so releasing A$\beta$ peptides and APP-intracellular domain (AICD). Thus, $\beta$- and $\gamma$-secretase are regarded to perform the key steps in the pathogenesis of AD and have become important therapeutic targets in the prevention and treatment of AD. Enormous efforts have been focused to develop the amyloid beta related drug for cure of AD becuase A$\beta$ is believed to be one of the major causes of AD. since major pharmaceutical companies in world wide base compete to develop new drug for AD, we have to be careful to choose the drug target to success the tough race. In the present talk, possible drug targets based on basic research results will be discussed. These molecules should be a good target for development of new drug for AD and be less competitive to have a good shape for world wide competition.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.72-77
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• 2015

One of the most common forms of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder symptomatically characterized by impairment in memory and cognitive abilities. AD is characterized pathologically by the presence of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and deposition of ${\beta}$-amyloid ($A{\beta}$) peptides, believed to be neurotoxic and now is also considered to have a role on the mechanism of memory dysfunction. In this study, we tested that MeOH extract of Impatiens balsamina L. (IBM) affects on the processing of APP from the APPswe over-expressing Neuro2a cell line. We found that IBM increased over 2 folds of the $sAPP{\alpha}$ secretion level, a main metabolite of ${\alpha}$-secretase. We shown that IBM reduced the secretion level of $A{\beta}42$ and $A{\beta}40$ without cytotoxicity. BACE (${\beta}$-site APP cleaving enzyme) FRET assay shown that BACE activity was specifically decreased in the presence of IBM. We suggest that Impatiens balsamina L. may be an useful source to develop a herbal medicine of BACE inhibitor for Alzheimer's disease.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.347-354
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• 2016

This study evaluated the effects of Fructus Corni Officinalis water extract (FCE) on congnitive impairment and Aβ clearance induced by beta amyloid Aβ (1-42) injection in the hippocampus of rat. Aβ (1-42) was injected into the hippocampus using a Hamilton syringe and micropump (5 ㎍/5 ㎕, 1 ㎕/min, each hippocampus bilaterally). FCE was administered orally once a day (100, 250, 500 mg/kg) for 4 weeks after the Aβ (1-42) injection. The acquisition of learning and retention of memory were tested using the Morris water maze. Aβ accumulation and Aβ clearance in the hippocampus were observed using immunostaining. Aβ (1-42) level in plasma was confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). FCE significantly shortened the escape latencies during acquisition training trials. FCE significantly increased the number of target heading to the platform site and significantly shortened the time for the 1^sttargetheadingduringtheretentiontesttrial.FCEsignificantlyattenuatedtheAβ accumulation in the hippocampus produced by Aβ (1-42) injection. FCE significantly increased LRP-1 expression around vessels in the hippocampus and Aβ (1-42) levels in plasma. The results suggest that FCE improved cognitive impairment by ameliorate Aβ clearance and Aβ accumulation in the hippocampus. FCE may be a beneficial herbal formulation in treating cognitive impairment including Alzheimer's disease.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.254-259
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• 2004

Jeongshin-tang (JST) is a Korean herbal prescription, which has been successfully applied for the various neuronal diseases. However, it's effect remains unknown in experimental models. To investigate the biological effect of JST in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in vitro model, we analized the production of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, and expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in IL-1β plus β-amyloid [25-35] fragment (A)-stimulated human astrocytoma cell line U373MG. JST alone had no effect on the cell viability. The production of IL-6 and IL-8 was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with JST (1mg/㎖) on IL-1β plus A-stimulated U373MG cells. Maximal inhibition rate of IL-6 and IL-8 production by JST was about 41.22% (P<0.01) and 34.45% (P<0.05), respectively. The expression level of COX-2 protein was up-regulated by IL-1β plus A but the increased level of COX-2 was inhibited by pretreatment with JST (1 mg/㎖). These data indicate that JST has a regulatory effect on cytokine production and COX-2 expression, which might explain it's beneficial effect in the treatment of AD.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.339-344
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• 2012

This article describes a novel method for the detection of amyloid-${\beta}$($A{\beta}$) peptide that utilizes a photo-sensitive field-effect transistor (p-FET). According to a recent study, $A{\beta}$ protein has been known to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Accordingly, we investigated the variation of photo current generated from p-FET with and without intracellular magnetic beads conjugated with $A{\beta}$ peptides, which are placed on the p-FET sensing areas. The decrease of photo current was observed due to the presence of the magnetic beads on the channel region. Moreover, a similar characteristic was shown when the Raw 264 cells take in magnetic beads treated with $A{\beta}$ peptide. This means that it is possible to simply detect a certain protein using magnetic beads and a p-FET device. Therefore, in this paper, we suggest that our method could detect tiny amounts of $A{\beta}$ for early diagnosis of AD using the p-FET devices.

• The Korean Journal of Food & Health Convergence
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.18-25
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• 2018

Proteins play a key role in many functions such as metabolic activity, differentiation, as cargos and cell fate regulators. It is necessary to know about the markers involved in male fertility in order to develop remedies for the treatment of male infertility. But, the role of the proteins is not limited to particular function in the biological systems. Some of the proteins act as ion channels such as catsper and proteins like Nanos acts as a translational repressor in germ cells and expressed in prenatal period whose role in male fertility is uncertain. Rbm5 is a pre mRNA splicing factor necessary for sperm differentiation whose loss of function results deficit in sperm production. DEFB114 is a beta defensin family protein necessary for sperm motility in LPS challenged mice where as TEX 101 is a plasma membrane specific germ cell protein whose function is not clearly known u to now. Gpr56 is another adhesion protein whose null mutation leads to arrest of production of pups in rats. Amyloid precursor protein role in Alzheimer's disease is already known but it plays an important role in male fertility also but its function is uncertain and has to be considered while targeting APP during the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The study on amyloid precursor protein in male fertility is a novel thing but requires further study in correlation to alzheimer's disease.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.566-571
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• 2017

Background: A number of reports have described the protective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the protective mechanisms of Rg1 in AD remain elusive. Methods: To investigate the potential mechanisms of Rg1 in ${\beta}$-amyloid peptide-treated SH-SY5Y cells, a comparative proteomic analysis was performed using stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture combined with nano-LC-MS/MS. Results: We identified a total of 1,149 proteins in three independent experiments. Forty-nine proteins were significantly altered by Rg1 after exposure of the cells to ${\beta}$-amyloid peptides. The protein interaction network analysis showed that these altered proteins were clustered in ribosomal proteins, mitochondria, the actin cytoskeleton, and splicing proteins. Among these proteins, mitochondrial proteins containing HSD17B10, AARS2, TOMM40, VDAC1, COX5A, and NDUFA4 were associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of AD. Conclusion: Our results suggest that mitochondrial proteins may be related to the protective mechanisms of Rg1 in AD.

• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.345-354
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• 2017

Autophagy, a catabolic process necessary for the maintenance of intracellular homeostasis, has recently been the focus of numerous human diseases and conditions, such as aging, cancer, development, immunity, longevity, and neurodegeneration. However, the continued presence of autophagy is essential for cell survival and dysfunctional autophagy is thought to speed up the progression of neurodegeneration. The actual molecular mechanism behind the progression of dysfunctional autophagy is not yet fully understood. Emerging evidence suggests that basal autophagy is necessary for the removal of misfolded, aggregated proteins and damaged cellular organelles through lysosomal mediated degradation. Physiologically, neurodegenerative disorders are related to the accumulation of amyloid ${\beta}$ peptide and ${\alpha}-synuclein$ protein aggregation, as seen in patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, respectively. Even though autophagy could impact several facets of human biology and disease, it generally functions as a clearance for toxic proteins in the brain, which contributes novel insight into the pathophysiological understanding of neurodegenerative disorders. In particular, several studies demonstrate that natural compounds or small molecule autophagy enhancer stimuli are essential in the clearance of amyloid ${\beta}$ and ${\alpha}-synuclein$ deposits. Therefore, this review briefly deliberates on the recent implications of autophagy in neurodegenerative disorder control, and emphasizes the opportunities and potential therapeutic application of applied autophagy.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2017

The ${\gamma}$-secretase complex represents an evolutionarily conserved family of transmembrane aspartyl proteases that cleave numerous type-I membrane proteins, including the ${\beta}$-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the receptor Notch. All known rare mutations in APP and the ${\gamma}$-secretase catalytic component, presenilin, which lead to increased amyloid ${\beta}$-peptide production, are responsible for early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease. ${\beta}$-amyloid protein precursor-like (APPL) is the Drosophila ortholog of human APP. Here, we created Notch- and APPL-based Drosophila reporter systems for in vivo monitoring of ${\gamma}$-secretase activity. Ectopic expression of the Notch- and APPL-based chimeric reporters in wings results in vein truncation phenotypes. Reporter-mediated vein truncation phenotypes are enhanced by the Notch gain-of-function allele and suppressed by RNAi-mediated knockdown of presenilin. Furthermore, we find that apoptosis partly contributes to the vein truncation phenotypes of the APPL-based reporter, but not to the vein truncation phenotypes of the Notch-based reporter. Taken together, these results suggest that both in vivo reporter systems provide a powerful genetic tool to identify genes that modulate ${\gamma}$-secretase activity and/or APPL metabolism.