• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.128-132
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• 2001

Bacterial vaginosis can be treated by restoring the normal vaginal flora using lactobacilli. Lactobacillus crispatus KLB46 that was isolated from the human vagina has a string antimicrobial activity and was grown in a batch and in a continuous fermentor. During batch cultivation, the maximum specific growth rate of L. crispatus KLB 46 was 0.63h(sup)-1 and the highest viable cell count (1.9$\times$10(sup)9 CFU/mL) was obtained at pH 5.5. L. crispatus KLB 46 did not grow well at either pH 3.5 or 7.5. During continuous cultivation, the highest viable cell count (1.53$\times$10(sup)9 CFU/mL) was obtained at a dilution rate of 0.32h(sup)-1, and was 7.33$\times$10(sup)11 CFU L(sup)-1 h(sup)-1, that is approximately 5 times higher than that obtained from batch culture.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.309-313
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to simultaneously detect and identify specific genus of Lactobacillus distributed in vagina of healthy women in their twenties by using multiplex primer. Vaginal fluid samples were taken from 166 women who were healthy and did not have vaginosis symptoms caused by bacterial infection. Six species of lactic acid bacteria belong to Lactobacillus genus that are known to inhabit in healthy vagina were selected to make a species-specific multiplex primer. Multiplex primer I was specified to selectively detect L. iners, L. crispatus, L. gasseri and multiplex primer II was specified to selectively detect L. acidophilus, L. jensenii, L. fermentum. L. crispatus (77%) was most frequently detected, and L. acidophilus (57%) and L. jensenii (57%) were relatively higher than others. Although the proportion of L. iners (59%) was a little higher than those of L. acidophilus and L. jensenii, this should be further validated in healthy women's vagina to be sure since they often appear in women having bacterial vaginosis and/or during the antibiotic therapy. Conclusively, the multiplex PCR technique using the species-specific primer could a useful tool to predict variation of vaginal health condition and process of recovery from vaginal disease.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2014

Lactobacilli, the dominant species of microorganisms in the vaginal flora of healthy women, play important roles to prevent bacterial vaginosis and other sexually transmitted diseases. In this study, we carried out studies on stress adaptation prior to various stress treatment. We found that heat or salt adapted KLB46 showed higher cell viability than non adapted upon heat stress at $60^{\circ}C$ for 20 min. When chloramphenicol was added during the adaptation process, heat tolerance was abolished. This result suggested that de novo protein synthesis was essential during adaptation.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.918-922
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• 2001

In a previous study, we have isolated a number of lactobacilli from Korean women, and one of them (KLB46) was identified as Lactobacillus crispatus by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. For the ecological treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) cell suspension of L. crispatus KLB46 was instillated into BV patients. L. crispatus KLB46 was found to persist for several days in cell suspension with no nutrients. In this study, in order to assess the influence of starvation on physiological activity, we compared the viability and culturability of KLB46 following suspension in various buffer solutions. A pair of in situ fluorescent dye was used to assess viability (i.e. membrane integrity) and the culturability was examined by plate count assay. A rapid epifluorescence staining method using the LIVE/DEAD Bacterial Viability Kit $(BacLight^{TM})$ was applied to estimate both viable and total counts of bacteria in cell suspension. $BacLight^{TM}$ is composed of two nucleic acid-binding stains ($SYTO\;9^{TM}$ and propidium iodide). $SYTO\;9^{TM}$ penetrates all bacterial membranes and stains the cells green while propidium iodide only penetrates cells with damaged membranes, therefore the combination of the two stains produces red fluorescing cells. Optimal staining conditions for $BacLight^{TM}$ were found to be with 0.0835M $SYTO\;9^{TM}$ and 0.05M propidium iodide for 15 min incubation at room temperature in dark. When cells were microscopically examined during 140 hours of starvation, the culturability decreased markedly while the viability remained relatively constant, which suggests that large fraction of KLB46 cells became viable but non-culturable (VBNC) upon starvation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2016

Vaginitis, also known as vaginal infection and vulvovaginitis, is an inflammation of the vagina and possibly vulva. The three main kinds of vaginitis are bacterial vaginosis, vaginal candidiasis, and trichomoniasis. The purpose of this study was to characterize Lactobacillus plantarum MG989 and L. fermentum MG901 isolated from the vaginas of healthy Korean women in terms of their inhibitory activity against the vaginitis associated pathogens such as Gardnerella vaginalis and Candida albicans. Co-culture experiments showed that the two Lactobacillus strains MG989 and MG901 significantly reduced the viability of G. vaginalis and C. albicans. Also, the two strains were resistant to bile acid up to 1% and their autoaggregation rates were as high as 83.33%. Further studies are underway to demonstrate that the two strains can be applied as pharmaceutical agents for recovering healthy vaginal ecosystem.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.626-631
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• 2001

Lactobacilli have been considered to play important roles in the health of human vagina. They secrete inhibitory substances to prevent vaginal infection by pathogenic organisms. In a previous study, we have isolated several lactobacilli from Korean woman and one of them (KLB46) was selected and indentified as Lactobacillu crispatus which showed high antimicrobial activity. In this study. cold adaptation prior to subsequent stresses exposure was examined whether L. crispatus KLB46 maintain the viability better than the non-adapted calls under stresses. For pharmaceutical formulation, the lyophilization process is required where stresses such as freezing/thawing and dehydration are routinely applied. Formulated L. crispatus KLB46 can be used for ecological treatment of bacterial vaginosis. The response of cold-adapted cells to other environmental stresses such as acid, heat, ethanol, NaCl, and H$_2$O$_2$ was also examined. The results showed that cold-adapted cells maintained higher survival rate compared with the non-adapted cells (freezing-thawing. 3-folds; dehydration: 3-folds; acid, 3-folds; heat, 10-folds). However, we did net observe any positive effect of cold adaptation on other stresses such as ethanol, NaCl and H$_2$O$_2$. When chloramphenicol was added during cold adaptation, adaptation effect was abolished. This confirms that de novo protein synthesis is necessary during the adaptation process. Moreover, we have identified cold shock protein homolog that codes for a major cold shock protein by PCR amplification using degenerate primers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2069-2074
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• 2014

Purpose: To appraise the frequency of cervical cytological abnormalities in a population at normal risk via analysing the archive records of cytology for the period of approximately 9,5 years, comparing them with patient demographic charecteristics, and discuss the results for women under age of 35. Materials and Methods: A total of 32,578 cases of Pap smears were retrieved and analysed from our archive included the Pap tests performed between January 2001 and April 2010 at the Early Cancer Screening, Diagnosing and Education Center by the consent of three pathologists via utilizing the Bethesda System Criteria 2001 and the results were compared with some demographical characteristics. Results: Our rate of the cervical cytological abnormality was 1.83%, with ASCUS in 1.18%, LSIL in 0.39, HSIL in 0.16%, AGUS in 0.07%, squamous cell carcinoma in 0.02%, and adenoarcinoma in 0.006%. Cytological abnormalities were detected mostly in those with higher age, lower parity, and premenopausal period whereas the smoking status was without influence. Bacterial vaginosis (5.6%) was the most frequent infectious finding (Candida albicans 2.7%; Actinomyces sp. 1.3%; and Trichomonas vaginalis 0.2%) detected on the smears. The rate of abnormal cervical cytology was 9.5% among the women aged between 30-34. Conclusions: Early detection of the cervical abnormalities by means of the regular cervical cancer screening programmes is useful to attenuate the incidence, mortality, and morbidity of cervical cancer. Our prevalence of the cytological abnormalities was much lower than the one in Western populations in general but very similar to those reported from other Islamic countries that may be explained by the conservative lifestyle and the lower prevalence of HPV in Turkey. A remarkable rate of abnormal cervical cytology of women aged 30-34 was pointed out in the present study.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.312-317
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• 2002

Indigenous lactobacilli were isolated from vaginas of Korean women for possible use in ecological treatment of bacterial vaginosis. Vaginal swab samples were obtained from a gynecological clinic and streaked on Rogosa SL agar plates to select the most predominant lactobacilli in each sample. The preliminary identification of the isolates as lactobacilli was based on microscopic observation of Gram-positive rod-shaped cell morphology. The initial characterization was performed on 108 isolates in terms of their cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), antimicrobial activity, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production capability, and 10 isolates were then selected for further molecular identification. For a rapid procedure to identify lactobacilli, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses of the l6S rRNA genes were applied. The 10 selected lactobacilli and 9 different reference strains of Lactobacillus spp. were characterized by PCR-RFLP where the amplified l6S rDNA was digested with 7 different restriction endonucleases prior to analysis. DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of one particular isolate, KLB 46, that had been identified as L. crispatus by the PCR-RFLP analysis, further confirmed its identity as L. crispatus.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.294-300
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• 2003

In the previous study, we have isolated several vaginal lactobacilli from Korean woman and selected one of them (KLB12) for further study, which was indentified as Lactobacillus fermentum by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene. Formulated L. fermentum KLB12 can be used for ecological treatment of bacterial vaginosis. For pharmaceutical formulation, the spray-drying process is required where stress such as high temperature is routinely applied. In this study, we found that heat stress at 60$^{\circ}C$ for 20∼30min reduced the viable cell population of KLB12 by 10$\sub$6/～10$\sub$9/. However, adaptation of KLB12 cells at 52$^{\circ}C$ made them more thermotolerant upon exposure to 60$^{\circ}C$. The level of thermal protection in RSM (reconstituted skim milk) by adaptation in acid (pH 5), cold (4$^{\circ}C$), ethanol (3％), NaCI (0.3M) was also examined. Although not as efficient as the homologous stress, adaptations in both cold and NaCI gave considerable cross protection against heat stress. When chloramphenicol was added during heat adaptation, adaptation effect was abolished. This suggests that de novo protein synthesis is necessary during the adaptation process. Important changes in proteome during heat adaptation was examined with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.165-175
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• 2016

Objectives: The present study was undertaken to study the maternal risk factors for preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) with a special emphasis on assessing the proportions of maternal genitourinary and periodontal infections among Indian women and their association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods: A hospital-based prospective study comprising 790 pregnant women visiting the obstetrics clinic for a routine antenatal check-up was undertaken. Once recruited, all study participants underwent clinical and microbiological investigations for genitourinary infections followed by a dental check-up for the presence of periodontitis. The study participants were followed up until their delivery to record the pregnancy outcomes. Infectious and non-infectious risk factors for PTB and LBW were assessed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Independent risk factors for PTB and LBW were reported in terms of adjusted relative risk (ARR) with the 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Rates of PTB and LBW in the study population were 7.6% and 11.4%, respectively. Previous preterm delivery (ARR, 5.37; 95% CI, 1.5 to 19.1), periodontitis (ARR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.9), Oligohydramnios (ARR, 5.23; 95% CI, 2.4 to 11.5), presence of Nugent's intermediate vaginal flora (ARR, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.4 to 5.1), gestational diabetes mellitus (ARR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.0 to 8.3), and maternal height <1.50 m (ARR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.1) were risk factors for PTB, while periodontitis (ARR, 3.38; 95% CI, 1.6 to 6.9), gestational hypertension (ARR, 3.70; 95% CI, 1.3 to 10.8), maternal height <1.50 m (ARR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.3 to 5.1) and genital infection during later stages of pregnancy (ARR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.2 to 6.1) were independent risk factors for LBW. Conclusions: Our study findings underscore the need to consider screening for potential genitourinary and periodontal infections during routine antenatal care in developing countries.