• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 1996

Atrial Natriuretic Peptide(ANP) is a hormone with potent natriuretic, diuretic and relaxing properties of vascular smooth muscle. Specific chemical modulator responsible for the ANP secretion has not yet been found. Although atrial stretch of stretch-release is to be a major stimulus for the secretion of ANP, the precise mechano-molecular transduction mechanism responsible for its evoked secretion remains to be elucidated. It is interested to clarify the effect of superoxide anion in the stretch-induced ANP secretion. In order to investigate the effectg of $H_2O_2$ in the regulation of ANP secretion, a perfused model of left atrium of rats was used. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The ANP secretion and the extracellular fluid(ECF) translocation were accentuated by the effect of repetitive atrial distension-reduction volume at atrial pressure($4cmH_2O$). 2. The dilution curve showed to be in parallel between pure atriopeptin III (AP III) and perfusated buffer. 3. $H_2O_2(5{\times}10^{-4}M)$ accenturated a strectch-release induced increase of the ANP secretion. The amount of released ANP was significantly(p<0.01) increased. These results suggest that the superoxide anion may be involved in the regulatory mechanism of mechanically activated ANP release.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.272-280
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• 1983

With respect to controversial opinions concerning the nitroglycerin effects on cardiac muscle the direct nitroglycerin actions were thoroughly studied in isolated papillary muscles, atrial preparations and coronary strips of rabbits. Isometric active tension of papillary muscles developed at $35^{\circ}C$ upon electric stimulation at a rate of 60/min, was not affected by nitroglycerin up to a concentration of 10mg/L Higher concentrations of nitroglycerin, however, reduced action tension progressively. This depression of mechanical activity is accompanied by a decrease in oxygen consumption as measured by means of a flow respirometer. Resting oxygen uptake, on the other hand, remained unchanged. Similarly active tension of spontaneously beating atrial preparations also declined at a nitroglycerin concentration of more than 10 mg/L, whereas the sinus frequency did not change up to 40 mg/L. In contrast, rabbit coronary strips are much more sensitive to nitroglycerin and relax in a range of 10-100 ug/L of nitroglycerin concentration. The results indicate that the pharmacologic effects of nitroglycerin in coronary disease are due to vascular actions, because the plasma levels of nitroglycerin attainable in human therapy are not sufficiently high to directly influence the myocardium.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 1995

Vertical axillary muscle sparing thoracotomy is newly appeared and excellent alternative method of standard posterolateral thoracotomy.It has many advantages compared to standard posterolateral thoracotomy , less postoperative pain, well preserved thoracic muscle strength, full range of motion of the shoulder girdle and attractive cosmetic results. We performed vertical axillary muscle sparing thoracotomy in 36 patients from November 1993 to July 1994. The ages of the patients ranged from 6 months to 71 years[mean 45.1 years , and the patients consisted of 20 males and 16 females.The preoperative diagnosis were as follows : lung cancer in 17 patients, tbc destroyed lung in 7, bronchiectasis in 3, bullous emphysema in 3 and the others are mediastinal tumor, bronchogenic cyst, lung abscess, empyema, esophageal diverticulum, and CCAM [congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation . The operative procedures were as follows : lobectomy and bilobectomy in 16 patients, segmentectomy in 4, wedge resection in 3, penumonectomy in 7, and the others were open biopsy, lobectomy with diaphragm excision, sleeve right upper lobectomy, decortication, mediastinal mass excision, and esophageal diverticulectomy. We had 6 complications : postoperative bleeding in 2 cases, operative wound infection, arrrhythmia[atrial fibrillation , Horner`s syndrome, hoarseness. The subcutaneous seroma occurred in 4 cases but did not require drainage and relieved within 4 weeks spontaneously. We concluded that vertical axillary muscle sparing thoracotomy could be done in most of all thoracic surgery with safety. Comparing to standard posterolateral thoracotomy vertical axillary muscle sparing thoracotomy has many advantages such as less postoperative pain, well preserved muscle strengths and good cosmetic results.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.730-734
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• 2006

Aqueous extracts of medicinal plants traditionally used in the East Asia such as China, Korea, and Japan were screened for inotropic activity using isolated rabbit atria. Among the twenty-one aqueous-extracts from medicinal plants, the aqueous extracts of Convallaria keiskei(ACK) and rhizome of Coptis chinesis (ACC) were found to exhibit distinctive positive inotropic activity. The aqueous extracts of C. keiskei and rhizome of C. chinensis significantly increased atrial stroke volume and pulse pressure in beating rabbit atria. These findings suggest that the aqueous extracts of C. keiskei and rhizome of C. chinensis enhance the cardiac muscle contractility and then could be useful for the treatment of cardiac failure.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.76-76
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• 2003

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells can differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes with proper culture conditions and stimulants via embryo-like aggregates. We describe here the use of mouse embryonic stem (mES03) cells as a reproducible differentiation system for cardiomyocyte. mES03 cells growing in colonies were dissociated and allowed to re-aggregated in suspension [embryoid body (EB) formation〕. To induce cardiomyocytic differentiation, cells were exposed to 0.75% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) during EB formation for 4 days and then another 4 days without DMSO (4+/4-). Thus treated EB was plated onto gelatin-coated dishes for differentiation. Spontaneously contracting colonies which appeared in approximately 4~5 days upon differentiation were mechanically dissected, enzymatically dispersed, plated onto coverslips, and then incubated for another 48~72 hrs. By RT-PCR, robust expression of cardiac myosin heavy chain $\alpha$, cardiac muscle heavy polypeptide 7 $\beta$($\beta$-MHC), cardiac transcription factor GATA4, and skeletal muscle-specific $\alpha$$_1$-subunit of the L-type calcium channel ($\alpha$$_1$CaC $h_{sm}$ ) were detected as early as 8 days after EB formation, but message of cardiac muscle-specific $\alpha$$_1$-subunit of the L-type calcium channel ($\alpha$$_1$CaCh) were reveled at a low level. In contrast, expression of myosin light chain (MLC-2V) and atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) were not detected during EB formation for 8 days. However, a strong expression of the atrial-specific ANF gene was expressed from day 8 onward, which were remained constant in EB. (cardiac specialization and terminal differentiation stage). Electrophysiological examination of spontaneously contracting cells showed ventricle-like action potential 17 days after the EB formation. This study indicates that mES03 cell-derived cardiomyocytes via 4+/4- protocol displayed biochemical and electrophysiological properties of subpopulation of cardiomyocytes.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.279-284
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• 1995

The aim of the present study was to know whether exogenously administered nitric oxide (NO) may differently modulate muscle mechanics between heart and aorta. We used PIANO method to generate NO. In isolated rat atrial tissues, neither heart rate nor contractility was affected by PIANO $(STZ,\;30{\sim}100\;{\mu}M)$. Only high concentration $(100\;{\mu}M)$ of 8-bromo cyclic GMP slightly depressed cardiac contractility. However, the same concentrations of 8-Br cGMP and PIANO significantly relaxed the rat thoracic aorta contracted with phenylephrine $(0.1\;{\mu}M)$. In isolated rabbit cardiac atrial myocytes, the amplitude of calcium currents were decreased in the whole voltage range by the presence of streptozotocin, which was further potentiated by UV light. Calcium currents were also decreased in those preparations treated with bradykinin, nitroprusside and 8-Br cGMP. These findings suggest that exogenous NO may modulate calcium current in cardiac myocyte. However, it remains why this does not affect myocardial contractility and heart rate. We concluded that NO may differently regulate calcium signal between aorta and heart muscle.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2006

This study was conducted to examine whether the parthenogenetic mouse embryonic stem (P-mES) cells can differentiate into functional cardiomyocytes in vitro similar to (mES) cells. p-mES04 and IVF-derived mES03 cells were cultured by suspension culture for 4 days. The formed embryoid bodies (EBs) were treated with 0.75% dimethyl-sulfoxide (DMSO) for further 4 days (4-/4+), and then plated onto gelatin coated culture dish. The appearance of contracting cardiomyocytes from the P-mES04 and mES03 cells was examined for 30 days. The highest cumulative frequency was detected at days 13 (69.83%) and 22 (61.3%), respectively. By immunocytochemistry, beating P-mES04 cells were positively stained with muscle specific anti-sarcomeric a-actinin Ab and cardiac specific anti-cardiac troponin I Ab similar to contracted mES03 cells. When the expression of cardiac muscle-specific genes was analyzed by RT-PCR, beating P-mES04 cells were expressed cardiac specific L-type calcium channel, a1C, cardiac myosin heavy chain a, cardiac muscle heavy polypeptide $7{\beta}$, GATA binding protein 4 and atrial natriuretic factor, but not expressed skeletal muscle specific L-type calcium channel, a1S, which was similar to male adult heart cells and mES03-derived beating cardiomyocytes. The result demonstrates that the P-mES cells can be used as an alternative for the study on the characteristic analysis of in vitro cardiomyocyte differentiation from the ES cells.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 1986

The present study was carried out to observe the effect of triiodothyronine on heart, one of the target organ of thyroid hormone. There are many reports that tachycardia, arrythmia, and agumentation of sodium, potassium pump activity are caused in hyperthyroid animal. To examine these cardiac positive chronotropic effects on sinoatrial (SA) node and atrial muscle, hyperthyroid state was induced experimentally by the injecion of 3,3',5-1-triiodothyronine $(T_3)$ in $3{\sim}6$ month-old rabbits. Then intracellular recordings by inserting glass microelectrode into cell were obtained in SA node and atrial muscle. The results can be summarized as follows : 1) Heartbeat was increased from $169.6{\pm}28.0\;to\;264.2{\pm}18.0$ beats per minute, while body weight was decreased to 68f of the initial body weight (Day 1). 2) In experimental group, the duration of action potential at 80% repolarization was decreased from $148.0{\pm}29.1\;to\;107{\pm}13.6msec$. This suggested the increase heartbeat. 3) The firing rate in hyperthyroid group markedly reduced under the 15 mM potassium Tyrode (p<0.005). 4) In hyperthyroid group, depolarization of atrial muscle cell was lowered significantly in 15 mM (p<0.05), 20 mM (p<0.05) potassium Tyrode solution. 5) Sodium-potassium pump activities in experimental group were higher than those in control group in both SA node (p<0. 1) and atrial muscle (p<0.025). 6) In lower concentration of $MnCl_2$, the excitability of SA node in hyperthyroid group was decreased more than that in control group. Effective inhibitory dose $(ID_{50})$ as 0.6 mM in hyperthyroid statd and 1.1 mM in control group.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.173-181
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• 2002

The sinoatrial (SA) node is a complex and inhomogeneous tissue in terms of cell morphology and electrical activity. There are two models of the cellular organisation of the sinoatrial node: the gradient and mosaic models. According to the gradient model there is a gradual transition in morphology and electrical properties of SA node cells from the centre to the periphery of the SA node. In the mosaic model, there is a variable mix of atrial and sinoatrial node cells from the centre to the periphery. This review focuses on the cellular organisation of the rabbit sinoatrial node in terms of the expression of connexin (Cx40, Cx43 and Cx45), L-type $Ca^{2+}$ channel and $Na^+-Ca^{2+}$ exchanger proteins. These immunocytochemical data, together with morphological and electrophysiological data, obtained from the intact sinoatrial node and isolated sinoatrial node cells support the gradient model of the cellular organisation of the SA node. The complex organisation of the sinoatrial node is important for the normal functioning of the sinoatrial node: (i) it allows the sinoatrial node to drive the surrounding hyperpolarized atrial muscle without being suppressed by it; (ii) it helps the pacemaker activity of the sinoatrial node continue under a wide range of physiological and pathophysiological conditions; (iii) it helps protect the sinoatrial node from reentrant arrhythmias.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.150-153
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• 1994

Ethanolic extract of Daucus carota (DC) at the dose of 10-100 mg/kg caused a dose-dependent fall in systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure in nomotensive anesthetized rats. These effects were not blocked by atropine (1 mg/kg) and pretratment with DC did not alter the pressor response to norepinephrine indicating that cardiovascular effects of DC are independent of cholinergic or adrenergic recptors involvement. In spontaneously beating guinea-pig paired atria, DC induced a concentration-dependent (03-5 mg/ml) decrease in force and rate of atrial contractions. In rabbit thoracic aorta, DC caused inhibition of $K^+$-induced contractions at similar concentrations. These results suggest that the extract may exhibit $Ca^{2+}$ channel blocking-like direct relaxant action on cardiac and smooth muscle preperations and this action may be responsible for its hypotensive effect observed in the in vivo studies.