• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.451-464
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• 2009

Background and Objective : Cyperus rotundus L. (CR) is a commonly used herbal medicine in Asian countries such as Korea, China and Japan. The present study was designated to evaluate the direct effects of CR on helper T cell activities and on Th1/Th2 lineage development in vitro. Materials and Methods : Spleen cells from 8 week BALB/c mice were cultured in CR extracts containing medium without activation for 24 hours and with activation for 48 hours. CD4+ T cells were isolated and analyzed for mRNA expression levels of INF-$\gamma$, IL-4, T-bet and GATA-3 by RT-PCR and secretion cytokines levels of INF-$\gamma$, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 by ELISA. Results : The results demonstrated that CR had no mitogenic effects on unstimulated CD4+ T cells, but augmented CD4+ T-cell proliferation upon activation with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 antibodies in a dose-dependent manner. CR treatment significantly increased CD4+ T cell population and the IFN-$\gamma$ expression was significantly enhanced, while IL-4 expression was significantly decreased. In addition, in vitro Th1/Th2 polarization experiments revealed that CR enhanced IFN-$\gamma$ secretion in Th1 cells, but reduced the IL-4 in Th2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion : These results suggest that CR treatment could be a desirable alternative therapy for the prevention or correction of Th2 dominant pathological disorders, such as allergy and asthma.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.681-693
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• 2007

Background and Objective : Atractylodes japonica (AJ) is a commonly-used herbal medicine in Asian countries such as Korea, China and Japan. The present study was designated to evaluate the direct effects of AJ on helper T cell activities and on Th1/Th2 lineage development in vitro. Materials and Methods : Spleen cells from 8-week BALB/c mice were cultured in CR extracts containing medium without activation for 24 hours and with activation for 48 hours. CD4+ T cells were isolated and analyzed for mRNA expression levels of INF-$\gamma$, IL-4, T-bet and GATA-3 by RT-PCR and secretion cytokines levels of INF-$\gamma$, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 by ELISA. Results : The results demonstrated that AJ had no mitogenic effects on unstimulated CD4+ T cells, but augmented CD4+T-cell proliferation upon activation with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 antibodies in a dose-dependent manner. AJ treatment significantly increased CD4+ T cell population and IFN-$\gamma$ expression was significantly enhanced, while IL-4 expression significantly decreased. In addition, in vitro Th1/Th2 polarization experiments revealed that AJ enhanced IFN-$\gamma$ secretion in Th1 cells, but reduced the IL-4 in Th2 cells in dose-dependent manner. Conclusion : These results suggest that AJ treatment could be a desirable alternative therapy for the prevention or correction of Th2 dominant pathological disorders, such as allergy and asthma.

• 대한약리학회지
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.27-33
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• 1985

전기자극에 의한 적출 정관의 수축 또는 뇌척수제거 흰쥐의 심박동수 증가가 카드뮴 장기투여 (매격일 $10{\mu}$ mols, 1회씩 2주간 복강내 주사)로 인하여 대조군에 비하여 현저히 항진되었다. 이러한 전기자극에 의한 반응은 ${\alpha}_2$-효현제인 clonidine에 의하여 억제 되었고, 이 억제는 ${\alpha}_2$-길항제인 yohimbine 투여로 봉쇄되었다. 나아가 methoxamine에 의한 확장 혈압의 증가는 카드뮴 투여에 의하여 영향을 받지 아니하였으나 clonidine에 의한 증가는 카드뮴 투여에 의하여 억제되었다. 이러한 결과로 보아 카드뮴 장기 노출에 의하여 시납스 전 및 후 ${\alpha}2-adrenoceptors$가 우선적으로 억제되었다고 시사되는 바이다.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.355-360
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• 2011

This study was carried out to analyze the installation effect of an anti-wind net on reducing wind velocity which was used to protect orchards as well as single-span plastichouses. The pressure drop through three types of anti-wind net was measured in a subsonic wind tunnel. The wind reduction through the anti-wind facility for several sets in respect to three types of the net and heights of the facility ranging from 3 to 11 m was analyzed by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The measured data showed that the pressure drop increased as an equation of the second degree of the inlet wind velocity. Numerical computations exhibited that the effect of wind reduction definitely augmented as the net size became smaller and increased with the height of the facility being heightened to some extent. For the typical and widely used anti-wind facility with a height of 5 m and a net size of 4mm, the amount of wind reduction came up to 5.1 m/s for the inlet wind velocity of 20 m/s, and also 7.6 and 10.1 m/s for the inlet wind velocities of 30 and 40 m/s, respectively. In case for the orchard's longitudinal length to be within about 200 m, the appropriately effective height of the facility was predicted to be 5 m. Finally, the negative total pressure on the top face of the single-span plastichouse certainly reduced for all the cases with the anti-wind facility being installed. In particular, the reduction of the negative total pressure was more considerable as the inlet wind velocity increased.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.383-391
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• 1999

This study was carried out to determine whether the effects of an ${\alpha}_2-adrenoceptor$ agonist, clonidine, on mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) are influenced by mild hypothermia. Experiments were performed in respiration-controlled and spontaneously breathing pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. Rectal temperature was maintained at $37.5{\pm}0.3^{circ}C$ for normothermic groups or at $35.2{\pm}0.3^{circ}C$ for mild hypothermic groups. Intravenous injection of clonidine (1 and 2 ${\mu}g/kg)$ produced depressor and bradycardic responses in spontaneously breathing rats under both normothermic and mild hypothermic condition: a decrease in MAP was not altered but bradycardic response was significantly augmented in the mild hypothermic group as compared with the normothermic group. Under the respiration-controlled condition, the hypotensive effect of clonidine $(2\;{\mu}g/kg)$ was reduced, whereas the bradycardic effect was increased in mild hypothermic rats as compared with normothermic rats. Both hypotensive and bradycardic effects of clondine $(2\;{\mu}g/kg)$ were blocked by pretreatment with an ${\alpha}_2-adrenoceptor$ antagonist, yohimbine (0.5 mg/kg), in both thermal conditions. Yohimbine (0.5 mg/kg, i.v.) alone produced signifcantly an increase in heart rate in the mild hypothermic group than in the normothermic group. Pretreatment with a muscarinic receptor antagonist, atropine methylnitrate (1 mg/kg, i.v.), attenuated the bradycardic effect of clonidine in the mild hypothermic group but not in the normothermic group. These results suggest that clonidine- induced bradycardia is amplified by mild hypothermia probably through an increased parasympathetic activity.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.375-382
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• 1999

Growing evidence indicates that enhanced generation or actions of nitric oxide (NO) are implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats and diabetic nephropathy in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. We investigated whether inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in STZ-induced diabetic rats is responsible for the alterations of vascular reactivity. Diabetic state was confirmed 28 days after injection of STZ (i.p) in rats by measuring blood glucose. In order to evaluate whether short term (4 weeks) diabetic state is related with altered vascular reactivity caused by iNOS expression, isometric tension experiments were performed. In addition, plasma nitrite/nitrate (NOx) levels and expression of iNOS in the lung and aorta of control and STZ-treated rats were compared by using Griess reagent and Western analysis, respectively. Results indicated that STZ-treated rats increased the maximal contractile response of the aorta to phenylephrine (PE), and high $K^+,$ while the sensitivity remained unaltered. Endothelium-dependent relaxation, but not SNP-mediated relaxation, was reduced in STZ-treated rats. Plasma nitrite/nitrates are significantly increased in STZ-treated rats compared to controls. The malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of liver, serum, and aorta of diabetic rats were also significantly increased. Furthermore, nitrotyrosine, a specific foot print of peroxynitrite, was significantly increased in endothelial cells and smooth muscle layers in STZ-induced diabetic aorta. Taken together, the present findings indicate that enhanced release of NO by iNOS along with increased lipid peroxidation in diabetic conditions may be responsible, at least in part, for the augmented contractility, possibly through the modification of endothelial integrity or ecNOS activity of endothelium in STZ-diabetic rat aorta.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.77-86
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• 2005

In this study, we examined the morphine-induced modulation of the nociceptive spinal dorsal horn neuronal activities before and after formalin-induced inflammatory pain. Intradermal injection of formalin induced time-dependent changes in the spontaneous activity of nociceptive dorsal horn neurons. In naive cats before the injection of formalin, iontophoretically applied morphine attenuated the naturally and electrically evoked neuronal responses of dorsal horn neurons. However, neuronal responses after the formalin-induced inflammation were significantly increased by morphine. Bicuculline, $GABA_A$ antagonist, increased the naturally and electrically evoked neuronal responses of dorsal horn neurons. This increase in neuronal responses due to bicuculline after the formalin-induced inflammation was larger than that in the naive state, suggesting that basal $GABA_A$ tone increased after the formalin injection. Muscimol, $GABA_A$ agonist, reduced the neuronal responses before the treatment with formalin, but not after formalin treatment, again indicating an increase in the GABAergic basal tone after the formalin injection which saturated the neuronal responses to GABA agonist. Morphine-induced increase in the spinal nociceptive responses after formalin treatment was inhibited by co-application of muscimol. These data suggest that formalin-induced inflammation increases $GABA_A$ basal tone and the inhibition of this augmented $GABA_A$ basal tone by morphine results in a paradoxical morphineinduced increase in the spinal nociceptive neuronal responses after the formalin-induced inflammation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.405-409
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• 2013

We studied the sex different nicotine effect on evoked population spike amplitudes (ePSA) and connexin (Cx) expression in the hippocampus CA1 area of gerbils. Acute doses of nicotine bitartrate (0.5 mg/kg: NT-0.5) slightly reduced ePSA in males but markedly augmented that in females. Acute NT (5.0 mg/kg) markedly increased the ePSA in all gerbils. Unlike acute NT-0.5, repeated NT-0.5 injection (twice a day for 7 days) significantly increased the ePSA in males and slightly affected the NT-0.5 effect in females. The Cx36 and Cx43 expression levels as well as Cx expressing neuronal populations were significantly increased by repeated NT-0.5 in in both male and female gerbils, and particularly, Cx43 expression was somewhat prominent in females. These results demonstrated a sex difference with respect to the nicotine effect on hippocampal bisynaptic excitability, irrelevant to connexin expression.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.218-224
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• 2018

Background: Compound K (CK) is a ginsenoside, a metabolite of Panax ginseng. There is interest both in increasing skin health and antiaging using natural skin care products. In this study, we explored the possibility of using CK as a cosmetic ingredient. Methods: To assess the antiaging effect of CK, RT-PCR was performed, and expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1, cyclooxygenase-2, and type I collagen were measured under UVB irradiation conditions. The skin hydrating effect of CK was tested by RT-PCR, and its regulation was explored through immunoblotting. Melanin content, melanin secretion, and tyrosinase activity assays were performed. Results: CK treatment reduced the production of matrix metalloproteinase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in UVB irradiated NIH3T3 cells and recovered type I collagen expression level. Expression of skin hydrating factors-filaggrin, transglutaminase, and hyaluronic acid synthases-1 and -2-were augmented by CK and were modulated through the inhibitor of ${\kappa}B{\alpha}$, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, or extracellular signal-regulated kinases pathway. In the melanogenic response, CK did not regulate tyrosinase activity and melanin secretion, but increased melanin content in B16F10 cells was observed. Conclusion: Our data showed that CK has antiaging and hydrating effects. We suggest that CK could be used in cosmetic products to protect the skin from UVB rays and increase skin moisture level.

• 폴리머
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.247-252
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• 2006

환자가 요도용 카테타를 장기간 착용할 경우 세균흡착에 의한 감염이 유발되어 심각한 부작용을 경험하게 된다. 본 연구에서는 다양한 양친성 폴리우레탄을 합성하여 요도용 카테타 도포용 소재로서의 응용가능성을 확인하고자 하였다. 양친성 폴리우레탄은 친수성 고분자인 poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)와 소수성 고분자인 poly (tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) 또는 poly (dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS)을 연질부로 도입하여 합성하였다. 상용 실리콘 카테타에 양친성 고분자를 도포한 결과 표면의 친수성이 현저히 개선되었다. 특히, PEO의 함량이 많은 폴리우레탄일수록 친수성이 높게 나타났으며, 세균 흡착량이 감소함을 확인할 수 있었다. 결론적으로, 본 연구에서 합성한 양친성 고분자는 요도용 카테타의 도포용 소재로 적합한 것을 알 수 있었다.